Saturday, August 2, 2014

#RomanceInAMonth Author Interview - Lyssa Layne and The Right Pitch #romance #baseball


Lyssa Layne is full of ideas and has several projects going on at any given time. She joined Romance In A Month and finished the first draft of The Right Pitch in a month. I'm happy to have Lyssa tell you about her experience with our Romance In A Month class.

Tell us about your writing. What types of stories do you like to write?
I’ve only written one book previous to The Right Pitch and it was really heavy on the drama side. Colie’s story is a lot more laid back but still filled with lots of drama, just a different kind than Love is a Fire.

What stimulates you to write? How do you motivate yourself on days you don’t feel like writing?
Really anything around me can be motivation to create a story. For instance, there’s a new country song out that I’m planning a whole story around.

I always feel like writing, just don’t always have the time! I always try to take at least a few minutes a day to do something “writing related.” Whether it be actually writing, beta reading, or just trying to market myself, I figure something is better than nothing, right?


Before Romance in a Month, how involved were you with other authors? How long did it take you to write a first draft?
Not very involved at all! I had a few writing buddies on Faceook and interacted with authors on Critique Circle, but this class opened up new doors to new friends! Now that downfall is that I now stay up way too late brainstorming and chatting with my new-found friends!

What made you sign up for Romance in a Month? What did you learn and enjoy the most about the class?
I’m a newbie writer without any “training” other than high school English that I took too many years ago to count. I jumped on the chance to get some real education on writing.

When class started, I had no idea about tropes. Well, honestly, I had no idea about any of the stuff you introduced us to! I found it all so interesting and I think (hope!) that it helped improve my writing.

My favorite part of the class was the interaction and support from fellow authors and the daily questions about our characters which I tried to tie into my story.

Tell us about the story you wrote for the class. Was it something you would never have written without the class? What about the class made your story different from how you would usually write?
I was hoping to use the class to write another book for my Burning Lovesick series. When I got my assigned trope, it just didn’t work out so I was forced to think of a new storyline, characters, etc…

So yes, it was something I wouldn’t have written! After writing The Right Pitch, it made me realize that there’s a whole world of stories I can tap into and it doesn’t all have to be part of the series. The class, and my classmates, have really got my creative juices flowing and now I have too many stories to keep up with!

I also took on a different approach in this book and wrote in first-person from one POV which was totally new to me too.

What do you do differently now that you’ve written a story with the class? What was something you liked most about the class?
Brainstorming with others! I think this has helped tremendously especially when I get “stuck” in a plot. Before, I really didn’t interact with other authors too much but it’s great to have a new support system to help with my writing.

Now that I’ve broadened my horizons outside of my Burning Lovesick series, I’m having trouble reining myself in on the ideas that are flowing! For the September class, I’ll be working on Jules Hinton’s story. Jules’ big brother is getting married and she’s not a fan of the nuptials. When she meets her future sister-in-law’s brother, she might just change her mind…or not.

Rachelle did a great job facilitating this class and creating a supportive, fun environment. Now that I’ve started writing with these ladies, I can’t imagine doing it any other way. So a big thank you to Rachelle for taking the time to put all of us creative people together and getting fabulous results!

Lyssa, thanks for being an active member of our class. I hope we’ll meet many more classmates for the September 1-Oct 15 class.


The Right Pitch
Coming Fall 2014
Contemporary Romance
“Life will always throw you curves, just keep fouling them off ... the right pitch will come, but when it does, be prepared to run the bases.”
-Rick Maksian

Colie Adger is trying to make it in the big leagues as an athletic trainer. Working in a man's world isn't easy but Colie has the help of Grant Adamson, a veteran pitcher on her team that has her back through the good, the bad, and the oh-so-ugly times.

Colie's elated when big time pitcher Jace Richards, her former crush, comes back into her life. This time, he wants it all, with Colie front and center.

Grant thinks Jace is too good to be true and doesn’t trust his rival with the heart of his trainer. Voicing his opinion, Grant steps to the side and lets Colie follow her own path. Colie is torn between Jace's lavish attention and the common sense of a solid friend.

Throughout the season, Colie must figure out how to make the best decisions for all the men in her life—both on and off the field. As good as she is at making decisions for others, can Colie figure out her own heart and hit a homerun off the right pitch?

Author Bio
Lyssa Layne is first, and foremost, the proud momma to her precious daughter, AR. In addition to working full-time and being a mommy to AR, she is also an avid St. Louis Cardinals fan, a runner, blogger, and an infertility survivor.

Having watched one too many medical dramas and being inspired by author Rachelle Ayala, who introduced her to the world of indie writing, Lyssa decided to try her hand at writing a romance story. Her attempt turned into the Burning Lovesick series. You can find Lyssa’s own interests throughout her stories although all stories are fictional.

You can visit Lyssa’s writing blog at http://www.lyssalayne.wordpress.com. You can also follow her on Twitter @layne_lyssa or check out her Facebook page at Lyssa Layne

Don’t forget to add Love is a Fire to your bookshelf on Goodreads!




From Sept 1 to Oct 15, 2014, we're opening up the Romance In A Month group. There is no cost for the class. If you're interested in writing along with a group of friendly, fun, and slightly crazy romance authors, please contact me (Rachelle) at my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/RachelleAyalaWriter.

The Romance In A Month textbook is available now on Amazon. It contains all of the lessons and slides [in bullet form], as well as resources for brainstorming, and a reading list. I hope you'll join us and share our adventure in writing a Romance In a Month [and every month after that].

Watch my blog for more author interviews and exciting news from the RomanceInAMonth authors or RIAMers - because writing romances are addictive.

4 comments:

  1. Ohhhh! Can't wait to read The Right Pitch! Great interview gals :)

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    1. I really enjoyed beta reading The Right Pitch. She's a great storyteller, that's for sure.

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  2. Interesting way of writing that I'm looking forward to putting into practice. A supportive environment can work wonders for the creative process.

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    1. Hi, J.L. I'm so glad to have you and can't wait to see what you'll come up with.

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