Author Interview: Vanessa Luisa

1. For those who don’t know you, tell us a little about you?

Hi, I’m Vanessa Luisa, a contemporary romance author that loves everything angst, emotion, and steamy passion in books. I reside in Melbourne, Australia, with my army of current reads, sassy cat and Tom Hardy…the latter is purely all in my mind, but shh don’t tell me! I adore all things from the Golden Age of Hollywood, Seinfeld and believe tea is a writing essential. My love of reading and writing have always been with me, and while I have a background in certified personal styling, nowadays I’m turning my dream of being an author into reality. I love writing angsty, sexy, swoon-worthy, and emotionally gripping stories with passionate alphas and strong-willed women. When I’m not writing, I’m busy running my own business and spending time with loved ones.

2. What is your writing origin story? Or when did you realise you wanted to be a writer?

I’ve been a writer and reader ever since I was little, always with a pen and paper in hand. As I think most authors are, I’m very reserved and introverted. I’d rather have a nice cozy night in and curled up with a good read, than a wild night in the city. Writing is my escape. My therapy. I wouldn’t know who I’d be without writing. It’s always been a part of me, and always will be.

3. You are such a beautiful soul that just pulls people in with your charm and amazing books. For people who don’t know, can you tell us a bit about your debut novel Merciful Vows?

Aww, thank you, Ellouise! You’re amazing! Merciful Vows is a bittersweet second chance romantic suspense standalone featuring a damaged Italian alpha hero, emotionally gripping moments, twists, and a heart-wrenching slow burn. Merciful Vows follows the tantalizing love story of a broken marriage, Valencia and Giulio Giannotti, navigating their way through the broken pieces of their legal separation after their youngest daughter is abducted and their split views of the outcome of the event toys with what should be their epilogue in life. It’s filled with angsty passion, swoony and sexy moments. Giulio, the architect husband. Valencia, the hopeful wife. And love, the ultimate sacrifice… Merciful Vows is available now on all retailers!

4. I am so excited about everything coming your way with all the bookish goodness! But how do you balance writing, marketing, social media, life? Everyone has their own way but I’m curious about yours.

Thank you, that means alot to me! Balance is definitely such an important tool to grasp. It can be difficult to execute, especially during deadlines, but what I find works for me is to create allocated deadlines and days to divide writing, promotion/marketing, social media, and admin. Afterall, this is a business, so knowing when to take your author hat off and put on your business hat is definitely important. What works for me is creating writing days and days where I work solely on promotion/marketing, and admin. During deadlines where I may be writing, editing or revising everyday, I like including the promotion/marketing and admin at the end of the day, or when I have a writing rest day, I do the other work then. With social media, I usually weave that throughout my day-to-day, and also pre-plan posts to be more efficient, and set aside time a day to reply to comments, check out reader reviews and interact with my lovely readership.

5. If you were to tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?

Continue investing yourself in those characters, in those books, in those worlds, because it’s all worth it. Don’t give up on yourself and never lose sight of who you truly are at the core. Don’t worry what others think, they don’t have your sentiments and vision of the world. Be passionate. Be brave. Be you. Also, nothing is too out of reach...all you have to do is reach if you want it bad enough. So reach!

6. What is something you struggled with when writing your debut?

Good question! Believe it or not, but my first draft I wrote of Merciful Vows back in early 2020 was all in the heroine’s, Valencia Giannotti’s, point of view. I then realized I wanted readers to experience the hero in a much more intimate and complex light too, something that can’t be done solely in just the heroine’s point of view. So, when I reached self edits I had an ah-ha moment and re-wrote it with alternating POV (point of view) with both Valencia and the hero, Giulio Giannotti. Best decision I ever made! Learning the ins and outs of the indie publishing business was also a little intimidating at first, as it always is for newer authors, plus it was my debut, but once it was all settled, everything was much more clearer. Also once my book was finished, I definitely got major separation anxiety from my Giulio and Valencia from Merciful Vows, and I did struggle with that. It’s why all of my characters will always have cameos here or there, just so I can feel their presence still alive in books after theirs. The hardest thing I experienced when writing my debut was losing somebody so close to my heart during the later drafts of Merciful Vows, while still trying to breathe again following another loss a few years ago. But grief never stops, ever, and it’s why Merciful Vows and all of my books will have aspects of poetic melancholy, because I write what’s inside my heart… the darkness, the light, the ache, the depths of both joy and fear. I’ve learnt to write what I love first and what speaks to me through grief, passion, and sentiments...the rest will follow.

7. What is your favourite part of the writing/editing/publishing process?

Definitely when I’m up to writing the last few chapters of a book! It thrills me to know the book is shaping up nicely. I also love the research stage and unraveling the raw roots and complexities of my characters—especially the alphas. I adore investing in their emotional connection, diving deep into what truly makes a character them. Oh, and writing epilogues! Epilogues always make me smile!

8. What are you currently reading?

I wish I could give you an answer to that! Truthfully my work schedule is so complex that it doesn’t allow for much reading time. However, the last book I read was Liar by Fiona Cole and it was sensational, just as expected! I simply adore all of her Voyeur series. I am also excited to soon get my hands on Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward’s latest releases. They are one of my favorites too!

9. What inspires you the most with writing?

Definitely music and pictures/mood boards. I love creating private Pinterest boards for all of my novels/WIPs/books I’ve spent countless months thinking about but aren’t in my lineup to write just yet. I love all of the visual overload of collections of photographs evoking such vivid imagery and inspirational sparks which come alive in my mind. Whether it be a photo to inspire a character, or scene, or mood, those Pinterest boards have such importance in the development of my books. The same goes for music and Spotify playlists. Music refuels me. I alternate between writing with silence and writing while listening to music on low. When I’m really deep into writing and a certain song comes on which describes my characters and their complexities perfectly, the song is often on repeat for six plus hours while I write.

10. Any writing quirks?

Truthfully, I have to have a new candle for every book I work on to evoke the scent of the central mood/s of the book and mimic the heroine or hero’s cologne; for example bergamot, sandalwood, musk, rose, jasmine, etc. For me, it makes my characters come to life even more, and who wouldn’t want that, right? Haha!

11. Do you work on one book at a time or multiple? If multiple, what is your process?

Sometimes. I’ve tried both processes and find it more productive to place all of my focus onto the main book I am working on so I can invest my all into both the characters, but also the plot. However, I think writing a novella or passion project on the side while working on a normal full length novel can also work as the word length is shorter and allows your creative mind to expand, while still staying within the limits on the full length book as it takes priority. I do this if time and deadline permits working on both is achievable.

12. How many hours a day do you write, or do you go by word count? Night writer or morning writer?

I used to be a night writer, but now I find I write better during the day. I always have to start early in the morning before the thoughts and words clear away. I always set an average overall manuscript word count, then usually write by chapter. I typically write 6-10+ hours a day when on deadline. My characters never leave my mind, so I usually tend to always sneak more words in later on in the night to get ahead for the next day.

13. What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

Writing has been a part of me for so long that if I’m not on deadline writing my next book, I’m working on the following book after that, or at least finalizing plotting. Being a self-published (indie) author, work never stops. My schedule is just as busy when I’m not writing with all of the business side—promotion, marketing, social media, admin—for just a glimpse. When I can also fit some reading time in, I’m happy! I have a huge ‘To Be Read’ list, and also love watching films from the Golden Age of Hollywood and catching up on some of the shows that I have to put aside while on deadline, however whenever I do watch something, it always seems to inspire an aspect of a new characters or a scene, and I return back to plotting and writing away. I can’t seem to rest, my mind is too ready to write, haha.

14. In your experience, how long does it take you to write, edit and publish your books?

Every book is different. Merciful Vows took me 5-6 weeks to write, a couple weeks to edit each draft. For my next book, it took significantly less to write as the words really flowed out of me and I couldn’t rest until their story was finished. It took me under a week to edit, which surprised me considering the high word count, but as I said, every book is different. I’m really invested in my characters and books, so they always lead me in the right direction when writing, which makes the following processes much less complex.

15. Favourite book boyfriend?

Too many to choose from! One of my all time favorites is definitely Hollis from Park Avenue Player by Penelope Ward and Vi Keeland. I also loved Chase from BossMan by Vi Keeland, and Daniel from Teacher by Fiona Cole. My OG book boyfriend is definitely Christian Grey. From my own book, Giulio Giannotti from Merciful Vows, because he’s a gorgeous Italian alpha who is compassionate, respectful, a successful CEO who started from the ground up and a man who adores his family and would do anything for them. I enjoyed writing Giulio because there are also darker complexities to him and emotional torment, vulnerabilities, and demons of this past which shape him to be the man he is today. However my next novel is coming out soon, so I’d also like to say the hero to that. Can I answer by saying all? All! They are all my book babies, haha!

16. How do you develop your plot and characters?

Through understanding their complexities as characters and diving deep into understanding the reason their hearts beat the way they do. The human condition. Their complexities. I love stripping my characters down to the core, and seeing how their flaws, motivations, and goals shape not only their development from start to end, but also how it allows the plot to progress in a neutral, realistic and intriguing way. I write realistic, complex, characters. Real feelings. Raw situation. Deep love.

17. Describe a typical writing day.

An early start to the day. I get some exercise in, set my intentions/goals for the day, make a warm cup of tea, and then I sit down and write. I usually track my writing by chapter with a word count goal for the overall book, that way it’s less pressure chapter-to-chapter in case the chapter length is altered.

18. What books or authors have inspired your own writing?

I adore everything by Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward, their co-writes and individual novels. I love the mixture of phenomenal plot, intriguing twists, iconic characters and all of the emotion, angst, and steamy moments too.

19. What are you currently working on?

A lot, haha! It’s pretty exciting times for me now. My next book is completed and currently with my proofreader so I’ll be releasing more information regarding that one very soon! It’s a standalone and all of the angsty, steaminess, and emotion you can expect from a Vanessa Luisa book, plus more! I love the dynamics of the hero and heroine in my next book, and I have a perfect mix of all of my favorite hot tropes… Can’t wait! As for what I’m currently working on, I’m currently writing but can’t say too much for now, other than be excited for all that’s to come for 2022—and it’ll be a lot!

20. Any advice for new writers still navigating the writing trenches?

Yes, the greatest advice I can give is to set achievable goals, write what makes you happy, and trust your gut. Be kind to yourself. Take your time. Your only competition is yourself, remember that. We all have off days, so don’t stress when that happens, embrace it and learn from it. That’s how you’ll grow as a writer, when you understand your limits and capability. Just because you didn’t hit a deadline or goal doesn’t mean whatever you’re working on isn’t good, it simply means you need to create a more achievable goal/deadline and break it down so that you can see everything you need to tick off day-to-day, week-to-week, month-to-month to achieve the goal, instead of the entire goal in its entirety and this way you’ll understand the goal is actually achievable and you’ll be proud of yourself. Believe in yourself, and you’re halfway there.