THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY
Ashleigh Lake Series
Get a behind-the-scenes all-access pass to Sophia Karlson's Ashleigh Lake Series!
SYNOPSIS:
This is the first book in my Ashleigh Lake series, which follows a family of 7 cousins en route to their happy ever afters. The first book is about Raiden Logan, the second son in the Logan family. A short synopsis for Raiden’s story:
Two strangers team up to build a tiny house for a televised competition, trying their best not to kill each other in frustration en route…or to fall in love.
What are the sub-genre and tropes? Did your characters lead you to this genre or
was that decided before the story began?
This was such a fun write. The tropes are enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, and fish-out-of-water.
Are you more character or plot driven?
I think my books are about 50% of each, especially this one where the televised competition forces certain things to happen (which is the plot part), and then how the characters make things worse for themselves before things go better.
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?
To date, I’ve not used story or vision boards for my characters…I keep them in my head.
I have started to do book covers before writing the books, so that cements the image of the characters in my mind. It’s much easier to do it this way around than trying to find a photo of a human to match the one I made up in my head!
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?
I tend to reel them back in…that said, I plotted this book and therefore there wasn’t much space to go off-piste!
Are any of the male POVs based on anyone you know?
Raiden is a combination of a few very close family members I know.
Are any of the female POVs based on anyone you know?
No, but I’m sure there is someone like that out there!
Was there any one character/scene
that was harder to write about than the other?
The scene where Raiden tells Georgiana about the car accident in which his parents died wasn’t easy to write at all.
What is your favorite book in the series?
This one! I’ll have to see if it changes as I go along.
I know that we aren’t supposed to have “favorites” as far
as our children, but seriously, who’s your favorite character and why?
I love all my heroes – they are true gentlemen that will go to any length for the heroines.
Series question - Who is your favorite couple and why did
you decide on their dynamics?
Each couple I’ve written is so different, but Isabelle and Chris from Perfect Obsession is a firm favorite.
Their conflict is so organic, and the resolution very dramatic, but what they would give up for each other was really what brought this story together for me.
How do you get inside these characters’ heads to find
their perfect HEA?
I don’t know. It’s so funny, I write a book and when it’s done, I’m not sure how it happened or came together.
What scene in this book/series sticks out the most for you? Why?
I love the scene in ONE SWEET SUMMER where Georgiana asks Raiden how he thinks “this was going to end.”
Somewhere in every book, there is a moment where things can go either way for the couple, and he is so open in how he tells her he wants to be with her. It’s also a very cute and sweet scene and maybe a bit swoon-worthy.
Series - Were any of the books harder to write than
others?
In one of my other series, The Love Nests Series, I have three books out and the forthcoming out later this year.
The Neighbor, which is the 3d book in this series was probably the hardest book I’ve ever written. It is gritty and heavy and probably too dark for a lot of readers, but the book had to out, so I wrote it.
Now it’s out in the world and readers don’t know what to do with it.
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?
I’ve never written a book in multiple POVs, but one day I would love to attempt a murder mystery/thriller in the style of Lucy Foley’s books which have multiple POVs. She does it so well.
How long did it take you to write this book/series?
ONE SWEET SUMMER took me a mere 8 weeks to write. I am still shocked by that too.
That said, I plotted it to the last chapter, and we were in Covid lockdown with nothing else to do…
How did you come up with the title for your book and (if
applicable) series?
I wanted a summer beach to read the book, and this was the perfect title to go with the atmosphere and charm of the book
If you met these characters in real life, would you get
along?
Perfectly! I hope. Yes. Definitely.
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?
I wanted to write a small-town series set in Vermont and knew already that there will be seven books, maybe even more, depending on where this goes.
If your book/series were made into a movie, which actors
do you see as playing your characters?
For ONE SWEET SUMMER, I’d love to have Florence Pugh as Georgiana Wess, and as Raiden Logan, I’d love to sign up Bradley Cooper. J
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?
I have a very steamy book coming out in fall 2022 which is the 4th book in my Love Nest series. It is called The Intern and I’ve been working on the blurb over the past few days.
It will go up for pre-order soon once I’ve decided on the publication date. It goes out here first!
THE INTERN
Izzy Scarpa
I’m a quick study. In the past ten minutes, I’ve learned that unwritten rules are there to make people toe the line. After a most humiliating meeting with my boss, all I want is to walk out of this boardroom, but I have a new contract to sign—one that will derail all my future career prospects and everything I’ve worked for. If only I’d adhered to Bryce Sutherland’s simple rules…
Rule #1:
Don’t let your boss catch you in a steamy video you posted online, flaunting his company logo as if he were your biggest sponsor.
Rule #2:
No tears in the boardroom. Ever.
Rule #3 (and this is one of my own):
If your boss wants to screw you over, screw him over right back.
In theory, this works perfectly, that is until you fall in love with the human behind Bryce Sutherland’s cold, handsome façade and have to make the hardest choice you never anticipated making in the first place.
Bryce Sutherland
All decisions in life fall into one of two categories: good or bad.
I work every day to step away from my past and make good decisions, especially where my company and reputation are at stake. Rules make decisions easy, and I like to stick to them.
Rule #1:
My company’s interns are off limits. And that goes double when it comes to Izzy Scarpa.
Rule #2:
When that same intern makes a hot-as-hell video that lands in my inbox, company logo and all, don’t keep it. Or watch it on repeat. Delete, delete, delete.
Rule #3:
Don’t break rule #1 or rule #2 and be the idiot that falls in love with this gorgeous, feisty woman in the process.
As for Izzy Scarpa…she might break more than rules and my bank account—she might just break my heart.
The Intern is a steamy contemporary romance with forbidden, forced proximity, and age gap tropes!
Check out all my interviews/reviews for Sophia Karlson!
https://readingbydeb.blogspot.com/2022/07/author-at-glance-sophia-karlson.html
Bio:
Sophia is an award-winning author who writes sensual, emotional and evocative contemporary romance.
When she's not writing, she can be found binge-watching the latest TV series, walking the dogs, or planning the family's next trip into the wilds.
She has a healthy addiction to tea, takoyaki (Japanese octopus balls), and chocolate.
Connect with Sophia:
One shot of Miami Sunshine.
Mix with one sweet summer and brew in a barn over six weeks as they build a tiny house together.
So much could go wrong…but so much could go spectacularly right.
Which is it going to be?
Raiden Logan:
Life. Not my forte. But here I have my one chance to change the trajectory I set for myself when I ran away from home at sixteen. Building a tiny house for a televised competition I plan to win might just put me on the map and get me that bank loan I need to start my own business. Losing isn’t an option.
For this competition, I’m allowed one assistant. I’m not going to mess up selecting one by tossing these résumés in the air and going with the first one that lands in my lap. My assistant isn’t going to be a sexy Miami beach babe who wields power tools like she wields social media. And I’m not going to fall for Georgiana Wess either, because business and pleasure shouldn’t mix and can only lead to disaster. Nope. I’m going to nail this and get the kickstart I never had.
Not.
Life, remember? Not my forte.
Georgiana Wess:
I have one summer to create and build something for myself before I return to the drudgery of working for my parents' company. The only problem? The six-foot grouch I’m teamed with.
The first thing I learn about Raiden Logan: he pushes all my buttons. The second thing? He doesn’t do things the way we do them in Miami…or anywhere else in the world for that matter. The third? He’s impossible to ignore, but I can't let him get to me because of all the ways to ruin this summer, falling in love with him would be the worst.
One Sweet Summer is a steamy contemporary romance set in small-town Vermont, with forced proximity and enemies-to-lovers tropes written in the first person from, a dual point of view.
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