Anna J. Stewart

Q: WHEN DID YOU DECIDE TO BECOME A WRITER?

In high school, shortly after reading my first romance novel, which was a romantic suspense actually. After continually changing my mind as to what I wanted to study in college, what my major might be, what career I might have, it finally dawned on me that becoming a writer meant I didn’t have to choose—I could be whatever I wanted for as long as it took me to write a story. One of the things that makes writing the perfect career choice.

Q: WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO CREATE YOUR NOVEL, EXPOSED?

First, it was my editor asking me what I wanted to write. I knew I wanted to focus on something that interested me, but was also unique and something I hadn’t seen before. I’d had a thread of an idea of a story come to me while watching an episode of White Collar, where one of the characters buys an old storage unit filled with photography paraphernalia. I remember thinking, what if there’s film that needs to be developed in that unit? I wonder what would be on it? In my mind, it was evidence of a possible murder. And thus, EXPOSED was born. It’s darker and edgier than anything I’ve written before and that opening scene and prologue? I think it might be the best opening I’ve ever written to date.

Q: HOW MANY BOOKS DO PLAN FOR THIS SERIES?

There will be five and I start writing book 2 in a few weeks. I have five best friends who all live in Temple House, a Los Angeles apartment building that’s history goes back to the Golden Age of Hollywood. Riley Temple owns the building with her great-aunt, a former actress who longs for a comeback. Riley is first up and gets the story going, and then each of her friends will pick up with the subsequent books. One of the most fun aspects I’m finding is how to lead into the next story and so far, the way it’s working out, it feels like magic the way the pieces are falling into place. Which isn’t normally the case for me as I’m not a plotter. Q: HOW WOULD DESCRIBE YOUR WRITING STYLE?

Visual. Emotional. Exciting. Humorous. I tend to see things running in my head like a filmstrip, probably because I’m such a big movie and TV fan. So imagery is a big thing with me and it’s not something I actually think about; it’s just there. My style is also very open. I might write romance, but there’s always that element of family found and the family we create—whether they’re fighting crime and solving mysteries in my romantic suspense titles or we’re in small-town every day life where everyone’s lives intersect. But I usually throw in some suspense element—even in those smalltown stories, LOL. I can’t help it!

Q: WHAT WAS THE JOURNEY LIKE FOR YOU AS YOU WERE WRITING, EDITING, AND PUBLISHING YOUR WORKS?

I’ve been writing for almost forty years. I started with short stories (what we’d now call fan fiction) back in high school, but I didn’t get serious about until about 10 years ago. It was nice to play at—that’s when the writing is fun, right? But I needed to take that next step and for me that’s always been with the end goal of traditional publishing. I’m not built for indie publishing—that’s so much work on top of the writing, which is really all I want to do. Kudos to all those who do it so incredibly well.

I needed to make some shifts to get to what I wanted. My first love is paranormal romance, but NY wasn’t biting, so I had

to ask myself what the actual dream was and it was to publish in romance. Shortly after I buckled down and decided to make a serious go of publishing, I entered a few contests, finaled in a pretty big one, got my first agent, then my second (long story) and sold to both Harlequin and Berkley within a few months of one another. Now I write primarily for Harlequin (their Heartwarming and Romantic Suspense lines) but also now for Arc Manor’s Caezik Romance. I still have big plans and ideas for even bigger books, but where I am affords me some flexibility I might not otherwise have if I’d taken the more difficult, indie route.

So as far as the editing and publishing side of things, most of that isn’t on me. I get to turn all that over. I write the book, then polish the book, have some say in what the final product will look like and then move onto the next book. I write anywhere between four and nine books a year (I think in 2022 I’ll have written seven full-length novels and 2 novellas? I need to check), but yeah. I just want to write and leave the other stuff to the professionals.

Q: WHEN WILL THIS NEW NOVEL BE RELEASED AND WHERE CAN READERS BUY IT?

EXPOSED releases on November 15th, in digital and print. Most bookstores like BN will be carrying it—if it hasn’t been ordered, it is in their system (I’ve checked with my local stores, LOL). And of course it’ll be on the Big A and available through my publisher. I also have all the buy links on my website, www. AuthorAnnaStewart. com . Oh! And it’ll release on Audio on 11/29! That’s a first for me—coming out shortly after release (all my other audios came years after the fact and purely by chance. This time, my publisher, Arc Manor, sought it out. Yay!)

Q: CAN YOU TELL US, READERS, WHAT YOUR MAIN CHARACTER IS LIKE?

I have two—it is a romantic suspense after all. But my primary heroine is Riley Temple. She’s a Hollywood photographer with paparazzi tendencies (it’s not a job she particularly loves, but it pays the bills). She’s feisty, opinionated, a bit on the judgmental side, and always, always looking for the truth. That’s why she loves being a photographer. The camera doesn’t lie and when she develops some old film that seems to show a dead woman, she has questions. Riley is also super loyal to her family and friends. She lives with her great aunt Moxie, and goes to Sunday morning yoga on the apartment building roof with her four best friends. And she falls hard— albeit reluctantly—for Detective Quinn Burton, a man who has distant ties to the photograph she’s developed. They’re a good match; they compliment but also challenge each other which adds to the layers of the story they have to traverse together.

Q: DID YOU HAVE ANY DIFFICULTIES IN CREATING THIS LATEST BOOK?

Like I said above, I think I might have blocked any difficulties out? Hindsight is always a bit brighter than when you’re in the throes of a tricky story. I do remember about a day after I turned in the final manuscript, I woke up in the middle of the night with the realization the ending I’d written fit what I have planned for book 2 far better than book 1. I emailed my editor at like 1 in the morning saying, don’t start reading yet! I have to rework the end! So I rewrote the last 40 pages in like two days. And of course I saved the original version for when I write book 2.

Q: WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO ASPIRING WRITERS IN YOUR GENRE?

Read. Look for ways to turn the typical on its head. Be different. Take chances.

And above all, write! I’m a firm believer in writing being the biggest teacher. I’ve learned so much just by getting my fingers on the keys and seeing what happens. I’d also advise not to try to imitate other authors’ processes. As many authors as there are out there, that’s how many ways there are to write a book. Figure out what your process is and build on it. Don’t ever let anyone tell you your process is wrong. It’s your process. If it works for you, that is all that matters.

Q: WOULD YOU EVER WRITE BOOKS IN ANY OTHER GENRE?

Sure. I’m actually playing around with a horror novel idea at the moment. I’m getting more excited about it the more I noodle. Dean Koontz was an early inspiration for me (The Watchers is one of my favorite books of all time). I’d love to give that genre a shot. I never say never to anything. I say yes, then figure it out. I’m not sure I’d ever write historical fiction, though. Too much research and things you have to get right. It’s why I love paranormal—I can make it all up as I go along.

Q: WHAT WERE YOUR FAVORITE MOMENTS AS A WRITER WHEN WORKING ON YOUR BOOK?

I had a few aha moments as far as plot twists—I don’t plot, so when I feel things coming together, there’s this internal bounce that I get, that tells me I’m on the right track. It’s also like that final rise of a roller coaster, before that last plunge to the end. That’s the rush and high I’m chasing for all the pages that came before.

Q: WHERE CAN READERS FIND YOU AND YOUR BOOKS?

All of my books are listed on my website, www.AuthorAnnaStewart.com (and I even have a few that aren’t listed yet, LOL). Everything about me— social media links, buy links, bio, workshops for writers—it’s all there.

ABOUT ANNA

USA Today and national bestselling author Anna J Stewart has always had a book in her hand or a story in her heart. A child of the 70’s, early obsessions with Star Wars, Star Trek, and Wonder Woman set her on the path to creating fun, pulse-pounding romance in multiple sub-genres. Since her first novella with Harlequin in 2014, Anna has written and published more than forty romances and swears she’s just getting started. When she’s not writing, she’s dealing with a serious Supernatural and Jason Momoa addiction, experimenting with new cooking and baking recipes, surrounding herself with family and friends or hanging out at her local theater and attending fan conventions. You can read more about Anna, her books, and her workshops for writing groups at www. AuthorAnnaStewart.com.