Hi! I hope you all had a great week, and here's to a great weekend. For me, I just finished my last online class of the day, so I am super happy about that! Today's interview is with the talented author, Ali Dean! She is the writer of many fantastic sports romances, like Pepper Jones, and my personal favorite, Stark Springs Academy.
Ali is a USA Today Bestselling author of sports romance. She has always loved to read, especially when there's a happily ever after, but found that there weren't enough books out there featuring girl athletes.
So, she decided to work on that. Like the heroines in her books, Ali is an athlete, with running and skiing her favorite sports these days. Ali hails from Vermont and now lives in her own happily-ever-after in Colorado with her husband, two sets of twins, and golden retriever Pancake.
When she's not pursuing an outdoor adventure, Ali's less healthy passions include ice cream, coffee, and beer.
Our interview: :)
J: Hello! Why don't you introduce yourself to new readers?
A: For those who don't know me, I'm a YA/NA contemporary romance author with nearly all of my books featuring a female athlete. Most of my stories have some suspense or mystery, humor, and coming of age themes. I'm originally a lawyer but now write full time. I'm also the mom of two sets of twins. No, they don't run in the family, both were surprises! The second set was just born on August 5, 2020.
J: Well congratulations on the twins! That must be super exciting! I like to start these interviews with a funny question. The question is, "What is a secret hidden talent you have?"
A: I can't think of anything too exciting for a secret talent. I used to speak French and studied abroad in France for a semester in college, but that was nearly 15 years ago and I pretty much never have a chance to speak French anymore so I don't know if it would come back to me in conversation or not! I probably should have learned Spanish instead it would have been a lot more useful, oh well!
J: That's so funny because I wish I learned French!
Why did you choose to be an author as a career? Or in other words, what got you into writing and becoming an author?
A: Initially I didn't choose to be an author. I've always liked to write but I guess it never occurred to me that being a novelist was a real career path I could pursue. Until indie publishing and ebooks and audio books became big, I guess it wasn't a career option for most writers. Anyway, I didn't even discover how much I loved reading romance until I was commuting by bus to my first job as a lawyer and reading a lot during that down time. I think I enjoyed knowing there would be a happily ever after; it was a nice reprieve from the heavier reading I did for work. But when I read "sports romance" books I was disappointed they were all about football, baseball, or hockey - all about MALE athletes. Where were all the female athletes? I decided to write the kind of book I wanted to read. That was seven years ago. After five years of writing on the side, I decided that writing full time really was a valid career option and I left the law. I've been writing full time for 2.5 years now.
J: YES! There are so many events in our society that is overrun by males. It's about time we have a female kicking ass!
After your success with some of your books, how has tour life changed, if at all? For example, do you have a different daily routine, or schedule?
A: Now that I write full time, I have a lot more flexibility over my hours. Overall, and especially as a mom and even more so during COVID, this control over my hours is absolutely awesome. However, it does mean I have to be very self-disciplined and make sure I do get the time to write. Before COVID hit, I wrote while my kids were in school. Since then I've been writing more in the evenings or weekends. I'm not quite sure what my writing schedule will look like with twin babies and remote-learning for the 6-year old twins!
J: I can't imagine how busy your life will get shortly. I wish you the best of luck. :)
What is your writing process like? I know for some authors it’s literally type and go process, but do you have a certain way you do things?
A: I'm definitely a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants author. I like the IDEA of outlining and understand in theory why it is more efficient but every time I've tried that approach, it doesn't work for me. My characters go off and do something different than I expect no matter how much I plan. And if I try too hard to stick to the plan or outline, the story falls flat and it takes the fun out of writing for me. So I've given in to the pantsing approach. despite how frustrating it can be at times.
J: I totally understand that! Sometimes words just flow onto the page.
Many authors use different things for inspiration, like music and movies. Do you use personal experiences as inspiration in your books?
A: I get a lot of ideas for books from real life, sometimes from friends or strangers or sometimes my own life. All of the sports I've written about are sports I've done myself (at least for the female athletes in the books), with the exception of my recent skateboarding series. I got the idea for the skateboarding series because my son likes to go to skateparks. He mostly bikes or scooters but sometimes skateboards. Anyway, I was spending a lot of time hanging out at skateparks with him and noticed there were hardly any girls. I asked a young woman skater about this and we got to talking about skate culture and next thing I knew, I had a crew of characters in my head I wanted to write about! I had to do a lot more research than I did for other books. I do snowboard, so that helped a little with describing how it feels to ride.
J: I snowboard too! I'm not the best, but I do love it. I wish I ran a lot, but unfortunately I get bored during the run.
Ok, so the next few questions are all about characters. Personally, I feel like characters make up a large part of a book. You have multiple books, with a variety of characters in them.
Who would you say is your favorite character to write about, and why? Is it easier to write certain characters than others?
A: Clearly, I love writing the challenges that come with being an athlete. I love writing about young women discovering who they are and how strong they can be through the people they met, the man they fall in love with, and the sport they are passionate about.
J: I'm not like a super athlete but I do understand all the struggled and challenges an athlete faces. think it's important to showcase their struggled, and that life is 100% perfect.
Speaking of athletes, who do you relate to the most in your books, and why?
A: It wasn't until I'd written over a dozen books that I noticed some themes with my characters. I suppose I identify with female characters who love something (a sport usually) and/or someone, but are afraid to admit it to themselves or go after what they really want for whatever reason (ie. familial or societal pressure, or internal battle like anxiety or lack of confidence). As for male characters, I know the asshole alpha male type is very popular with readers, but I'm not good at writing those characters. Most of the male characters in my books are genuinely good guys, so I suppose I identify more with women who fall for guys like that, since I did myself!
J: Yeah, just because people like a certain characteristic doesn't mean authors need to write them in. Authors should write what they want to write, so I applaud you for writing good guys. We could all use a little good in our lives.
Let's talk about movie adaptations. If given the opportunity to have your book adapted into a film, which book would you choose? Who would be the leading actor and actress?
A:I think the Pepper Jones series would make a great Netflix series! I know you asked for film but I could see that 6-book series unfolding in a tv show really well.
J: I agree! I think it would be really cool to see how that plays out. So, you have a new release coming out soon called Brazen Tricks! In honor of that, how would you describe it in 3-5 words?
A: Brazen Tricks, the final book in the Brazen series, just released! In a few words I'd describe it as inspirational, suspenseful, and heartwarming.
Thank you so much for doing this interview with me! As always, definitely check Ali Dean out if you have never read any of her books before! I guarantee you will fall in love with all of them. My first series I read of Ali's is Pepper Jones. Then I read the Stark Springs Academy, which we all know is my favorite!
So if you are a fan of good sports romances, go check these out. I will link everything down below!
Links:
Ali Dean
