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Lauretta L. Kehoe

Meet Romance Author Joy Valentine

Posted on January 16, 2019June 9, 2019

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

  1. Tell us about yourself: I am a single mom living in mid-Maine with my three daughters about ten minutes from Stephen King’s home in beautiful downtown Bangor, Maine. I have lived in Maine but also CT, VT, and VA. I have two Associates degrees in Criminal Justice and Accounting.
  2. How did you start this journey to become a writer? I have always been a writer and all through both high school and college, I had teachers/professors encouraging me but I didn’t consider it at that time. About three years ago, I started thinking about it after reading my first contemporary romance, Love Hacked by Penny Reid. I have always read the classics like Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, Bronte sisters etc. I was a bit of a snob before reading Love Hacked. I thought that contemporary romance was garbage but I was glad to be wrong. After the first book I could stop…..some of my favorite authors are: Penny Reid, Mickey Miller, Chance Carter, Sloane Howell, Katy Regnery (love Never Let You Go, it’s my favorite!), TM Frasier, Rachel VanDyken, LJ Shen, Carian Cole, K Webster, Emma Chase, Jana Aston, Alice Ward, Helena Hunting, Mariana Zapata…and many more. I can’t pick just one that I could ever live without.
  3. What have you written so far? I am relatively new to publishing but have many books in the works, I currently write contemporary romance but will be writing some erotica and a few non-fiction books about personal experiences. 
  4. Tell us about your current book. My first book, Shadows and Whispers, was published in August 2017. Due to health issues and family, I was not able to do anything in 2018 but I am releasing my next book, 5Guyz a romance and bromance (reverse harem).  It was inspired by the people and experiences by people I knew when I lived in Randolph Vermont. I moved from Enfield Ct and that was really city life. Things were entirely different in the small Vermont community. I hope to finish and publish 5 books and I am part of an anthology releasing this May with all contemporary romance stories called Pretty and Witty. 
  5. What is the inspiration for your current book? One thing I want to aim for is more normal/everyday characters. I like people that work everyday jobs with normal lives. I take inspiration from people around me. I have an overactive imagination and find myself starting new books all the time to at some point focus on and finish.
  6. Who was your favorite character to write and why? My favorite character so far is Ruby from Shadows and Whispers. She is a redheaded spitfire and a little unfiltered. I am a lot like her…lol
  7. What do you have planned next? I have a website, twitter and Facebook. I am starting a newsletter after 5Guys is published and hope to do fun things like sending birthday and holiday cards to people along with emails that keep readers updated on what I am doing.
  8. What advice would you give new writers? Find a kick-ass personal assistant. Mine is awesome and I couldn’t do any of this without her. Finding good, reliable beta readers is something that can be difficult but soooooo worth the help. Find people who read a lot in your genre and are willing to help by reading yours. I myself have yet to break out but this Spring and Summer I have two books that I am promoting that will involve challenges of social experiments to readers or anyone, and Youtube videos with me. I am hoping to get my name out there.  I have started two women’s groups on Facebook. With all the shaming going on, I want other women to be encouraged to be themselves and not let others make them feel bad. Curvy Girl Nation is a movement I am starting. The web page is under construction but shame on shallow men or anyone to make someone feel bad about their shape! I am older than a lot of romance authors but young at heart. I also have several causes I hope to fundraise for in the next couple of years and they include Homeless teens, Suicide prevention, Wounded Warriors.
  9. How can readers get in touch with you? website: joyvalentinebooks.com and twitter and Facebook: joyvalentineauthor

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