Get a behind-the-scenes all-access pass to Shani Haim's The Heart of a Painter!
SYNOPSIS:
The Heart of a Painter is a story about two, flawed and tortured souls.
Erin haven’t had an easy life and just got out an emotionally abusive relationship, determined to not let another man have the power to hurt her ever again. Thomas on the other hand refrained from serious relationships to safeguard his heart from getting hurt like he did in the past. He carries a secret that made him run from his Boston home to Russia when he was 18, and now 15 years later he returned as a wealthy painter to teach Art at a Boston college. Luck would have it that these two, that haven’t gotten along from their very first encounter on a dark street, work together. Erin is the new professor’s TA, and side by side they learn the meaning of friendship and eventually fall in love. It’s a bumpy, steamy and sweet ride but when there’s love, nothing’s impossible.
The second book is called “The Benefits of Love” and it’s about Erin and Thomas’s best friends, Zach and Laura.
What is the sub-genre and trope? Did your characters lead you to this genre or was that decided before the story began?
I write contemporary romance just because it’s most of what I read, and I really love telling stories about struggling, real characters.
Are you more character or plot driven?
More character driven.
With many main and secondary characters, how do you keep
them separated in your mind? Do you have
a story/vision board above your workspace?
I love that question! I’m creating a universe for all my characters to be connected one way or another and to have their spinoffs, so for example the bartender that makes an appearance at the end of The Heart of a Painter starts a series I’ll start publishing in November, and so many others will come to life throughout the years over other spinoffs.
I have a lengthy Word document detailing the character's names, professions, years when they met, ages, etc. so I’ll keep track of them.
I know from previous interviews that characters take on a
life of their own. Were any of the
characters in this series determined to take their own direction instead of
where you initially wanted them to go?
Oh, yes! I always start with a solid outline, but sometimes they just have their way to direct me in other paths.
Are any of the characters based on anyone you know?
My characters are a mixture of real-life experiences and memories from my past with a lot of imagination peppered into them.
Erin in particular is more myself than anything, just because of the abusive relationship I was able to survive years ago.
Was there any one character/scene
that was harder to write about than the other?
I think the revelation scene in the end, just because I wanted it to emulate all the emotions I went through when I something similar happened to me.
I know that we aren’t supposed to have “favorites” as far
as our children, but seriously, who’s your favorite character and why?
Well I really don’t, haha. I fall in love with all of them as I write.
Series question - Who is your favorite couple and why did
you decide on their dynamics?
Also here, I can’t decide. Erin and Thomas, I wanted them to clash, I wanted them to have a slow learning curve because they really endured troubled pasts.
Zach and Laura have a more fun retort, both of them are the light to Erin and Thomas and so this was a big part of their interactions, light and funny.
How do you get inside these characters’ heads to find
their perfect HEA?
I create a “character interview” page whenever I start a new book. I have standard questions like age, appearance, what makes them happy or sad etc.
I write my HEA in the outline at the beginning, but like I said, they have a life of their own and it usually changes according to what happens throughout the story.
What scene in this book/series sticks out the most for
you? Why?
I don’t want to give too much about Zach and Laura, so I’ll mention which ones I loved about Erin and Thomas in The Heart of a Painter—the times they joked together. They were always so serious and when they found moments to laugh with each other, these were my sweet highlights of them.
Were any of the books harder to write than
others?
Definitely The Heart of a Painter. It was my first ever book and extremely laden with emotions that it took me time and effort to make it something that made sense and that I was proud of.
This question is if you write in MULTIPLE POVs not just
the hero and heroine - I love the multiple POVs in a book. It’s not just the hero and heroine, but we
get inside the heads of multiple characters throughout this series. I feel that it gives the story further
depth. Do you think you will write
another book or series following this multiple POV outline? (if applicable)
I always write in multiple POV. I see it as an opportunity to get out of one head and to another, to leave some mystery while revealing other sides of the story.
How long did it take you to write this book/series?
The Heart of a Painter took me a year to write.
How did you come up with the title for your book and (if
applicable) series?
I tried making the book title match the feeling of the story, and the series name, As I Am, I chose because I love that my characters eventually accepted the other, flaws and all.
If you met these characters in real life would you get
along?
Oh, for sure. They’re a part of me and I would love to hang out with them!
Series question – Did you know in advance that you were
going to write this as a series or did one of the characters in book one demand
their own story?
Yes, I knew in advance and built Zach and Laura so I could dive right into their story.
If your book/series were made into a movie, which actors
do you see as playing your characters?
I’m in love with Brad Pitt, so he would definitely be Thomas (when he was younger and had long hair), and I think Anne Hathaway would’ve made a lovely Erin.
Can you give us a hint as to what we can expect
next? Whether a new book and series or a
sequel to an existing series? Can you
share a small tease?
So, yes! Zach and Laura will star in the second part of the series in a book called “The Benefits of Love”, it starts with both of these workaholic characters looking for a human connection, after their first attempt at dating hadn’t come up to anything three years ago.
They make a friends with benefits pact, no strings attached, work comes first kind of thing, but eventually, the heart wants what it wants.
The first chapter is up on my website!
https://readingbydeb.blogspot.com/2022/02/interview-with-shani-haim.html#more
BIO:
Shani Haim has been a romantic at heart for as long as she can remember.
One of her greatest passions has always been reading, and she devoured anything that swept her away to faraway places.
From reading she made the transition to writing, falling in love with her flawed, broken and full of soul characters one happily-ever-after at a time.
When she’s not swooning over book boyfriends, she’s practicing yoga, drinking unhealthy amount of coffee, or watching Netflix with her husband in their Tel Aviv home.
Connect w/ Shani:
Email: authorshanihaim@gmail.com
Website: authorshanihaim.com
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