Interview with Ciree Hawthorn

I’ve had the joy of working on The Mating Grounds series and Heartland State series with Ciree and her fresh and creative romance stories always leave me swooning. It’s been so fun to work on her stories and I can’t wait to see what else she has in store for readers!

Name/pen name: 

Ciree Hawthorn

If you publish/write under a pen name, how did you come up with it?

Both names are personal to me, if not given names. Hawthorn was actually suggested by one of my best friends and I felt like it fit well. With this pen name, I get to keep a little bit of me in the work while maintaining some level of privacy. 

Tell us a little about your book(s) like its title, genre, and where readers can find it:

I have two series currently. The first is The Mating Grounds; a series of interconnected, stand-alone, dystopian romances. The second is Heartland State; a series of short contemporary romances based around a fictional small college town. 

My ebooks are available on Amazon (and included in Kindle Unlimited), my audiobooks are on Audible and my paperbacks are available wherever books are sold!

What does your writing routine look like? Silence or noise, pen or computer, snacks and drinks, time of day, etc.?

I've recently changed up my writing routine, so this is a fun question since I've been tinkering around a bit! What seems to work best for me currently is doing a very loose outline, I'm talking just chapter titles, then dictating all the dialogue in Google Docs on my phone. From there, I go back through and insert blocking (the movements of characters in their space) and other descriptive details on my laptop. To me, dialogue is most important, so that comes first and generally leads the storyline. I also keep a running list of scene ideas and plot devices that occur to me when I'm not in the writing zone, so I can come back to them later. Those are labeled with a character/book/series as I record them. 

As far as my actual writing space, I work in my home office or (new!) home library, usually with a hot chai. I play 8D instrumental music in the background a lot, I have ADHD so I like to let the brain squirrels have something to latch onto while I concentrate on getting the words down and this does the trick!

Plotter, pantser, or in between?

Mostly pantser! My outlines truly are just chapter headings with a quick sentence of what needs to happen in that chapter, the rest just flows once I start writing to that prompt. 

Where do you keep your writing ideas? Notebook, phone, email thread?

I use the Google suite across devices, not because I love it, but because it's the most convenient for me! I dictate on my phone, write and edit on my laptop, and sometimes jot down quick notes on an iPad if it's the closest device. I love that Google syncs everywhere for me. I also really dislike overly complicated software, and I'm very familiar with the Google suite due to my day job so it was the path of least resistance for starting up for me. At some point I may transfer to something new, but nothing else has checked my boxes yet. I have really bad handwriting so I tend to avoid paper at all costs, haha!

Who reads your writing first? Your spouse, friend, CP, etc.?

My youngest sister is my Alpha reader. She's a gem and reads in my genres so she has great overall story feedback. From there it's just me, my editors, and sometimes a handful of beta readers. I tend to write and release a story fast once it's in progress so I try not to spend a lot of time shopping it around. My spouse is wonderfully supportive, but doesn't read romance, so I don't expect him to read my work. If he does, it is once it is published :)

Does reading help you write or distract you?

I'm a voracious reader! I would absolutely not be where I am today without it. When I'm writing a book, I tend not to read as much, just to keep focused. But I write short novels, and quickly, so I can get back to my hobby of reading fairly fast :)

What (if any) research went into writing your book?

For The Mating Grounds series, I did research on genetic diversity and how it affects small isolated communities. In various parts of the world there are or have been instances of trading young breeding-age people to other areas to help prevent inbreeding, this was one of the big inspirations for the series and overall premise. 

Being as specific as you want, who is your target audience?

I write short, new adult romance books. I really wanted to write for people that enjoy reading but are short on time (or attention span, like myself!) and enjoy a good HEA. My target audience can be fairly varied based on demographics, but enjoying short "little treat" romance books is the main common thread!

What advice would you give your earlier self?

Budget more time for the business side of publishing than you think you need! That has been the most surprising part for me, how much time is spent on things other than writing! I budget monetarily for editors, cover design, artists, marketing, etc. but time, man, that one sneaks up on you!

What monetary or numerical goals do you have for your book?

I would love to make enough to eventually be a full-time author. That would really be the dream for me! The amount that would require changes based on where we live (we are very nomadic as a family), but someday, I'd love to be living overseas, writing full-time, and enjoying my family.

How long did you work on your book from the first idea to the date of release?

My first published book took a few weeks from concept to publication. I don't think that was super great, in hindsight, I was very stressed, but it put a fire under my ass to get the rest moving! The first book I wrote took about 3 months from conception to publication. Those two books overlapped. Fun times! Now it generally takes me a week or two to write the draft, then the rest of the time spent is based on edits, formatting and cover art!

How did you decide on your publishing method (self, indie, trad, etc.)?

I decided to go the indie route because I wanted full (or as close to full) control over my work from start to finish. If there are any mistakes along the way, they are mine, and I can own them, but I also get to keep more of the profits, hire who I want for my team, and so on. That was what really sealed it for me. Not to mention timelines! I would've never been able to publish as quickly from draft to customer if I had gone trad. 

What else do you want to share about yourself or your writing?

I really want my work to be accessible to readers. It's why I write short, make multiple formats available as quickly as possible and take part in KU. I want everyone who wants to read (or listen to) my books to be able to! I'm currently working to get my books into more libraries as well, I love a library :) I have been a ravenous reader for most of my life, and I do not have unlimited expendable income for books, so I really try to be mindful of that now that I'm on the other side as an author. 

Where can readers connect with you?

I am on Facebook, Instagram, Threads and TikTok as @cireehawthorn. You can also find all my up to date information on my site, linked here.