Presenting Ms. Leela Lou Dahlin!

I can’t think of a name as fantastic for a romance author as Leela Lou Dahlin. Ms. Dahlin, a native of Pittsburg, explained that she derived her nom de plume from the childhood nickname, Leela Lou. “When a babysitter from down south asked me to do something she'd add darlin on the end. ‘Leela Lou darlin, bring me my purse.’ I always said if I ever needed another name it would be Leela Lou Darlin’, but I changed the spelling.”

As a child, Leela Lou started reading the romance novels her grandmother left around the house during her summer vacations. She soon learned to enjoy the type of story that could make a reader have fluttering butterflies in her stomach and tears to her eyes.

Leela Lou resides in southwest Pennsylvania working as a RN Case Manager during the day and spinning her sweetly sexy stories by night.

You’ve been reading romances since you were a little girl. What novelists and books have most influenced you?

I grew up reading Linda Howard, Shiloh Walker, Lora Leigh, Barbara Freethy, and so many others. I couldn’t say which one or ones influenced me the most but it was the feeling these writers were able to evoke in me that made me long to write in a way that would conjure emotions.

You write non-fiction articles for medical journals under your real name. Can you talk about that process? How difficult is the switch from scientific to romance for you?

Writing scientific or answering nursing questions for medical articles is easier than writing fiction and doesn’t require the same creative muscles. The nursing articles are based on facts that have been stated in books and applied to the situation at hand. Romance writing allows your mind to find answers to questions that could be far away from what I would do or maybe the situation calls for something I’d do in real life. The dialog between the characters and the setting are all up to my discretion and it’s a power I love to manipulate. I love words. It’s amazing the feelings and emotions you can create just using the 26 letters of the alphabet.

What is your writing process?

It usually starts with a scene in my ahead that plays out. Sometimes it’s short and other times it’s lengthy but after it plays out a few times I start thinking of questions. Why is this couple where they are? Why are they in this particular situation? Who are they? After I get the answers to these questions I find names for them and then I loosely plot it out. I have to have a name for the book before I start writing and I typically have a picture of what I think they look like (Pinterest is my very good friend) and away I go.

You worked on your earlier novels, A Haught Date and Rumor Has It, with a small publisher, but you chose to go indie with your newer works, A Wish Granted and One Last Fling. Can you discuss the process of doing it yourself? What are the advantages? What are the disadvantages?

The process of doing it myself includes obtaining beta readers that I can trust. People who will honestly tell you what they like and dislike in a story is key. Then you need an editor who can you’re your story and help you fill in gaps or let you know when you need more or less of something. After that you need a proofer (I like using a few of them) before you get your work out there. There are a lot of advantages and disadvantages to both ways of publishing. One of the most thrilling and the most scary thing is that you’re on your own to make decisions…all of them from who you use to when your book will come out. The marketing on both sides is pretty much the same but the stakes seem higher because it’s your time and resources are on the line.

Can you discuss your newest title, One Last Fling?

It’s a title I came up with listening to the excitement a friend of mine had with a television show called the Bachelor. I wondered what would happen if you mixed the looking for love/marriage with another show I like called Undercover Boss. What if the love interest was an unknown? Ryder Blake is an up and coming chef in the area who is creating the food for the Millionaire Match Up but he’s also the surprise billionaire Kaleb Derry (anagram Ryder=Derry and Blake=Kaleb) This started my mind going and I came up with the opening of the book where we have Daisy who is an event planner who’s family needs financial help because of an accident her sister was in and the high medical bills that came from it, but Daisy also has an interview with the family for a chance to plan the wedding. The bantering dialog between Daisy and Ryder was quick and witty. I knew they were going to be a good match.

Your covers are terrific. Who does them? What is your process of collaborating with an artist?

My cover art is done by another author named Jan Meredith. She is fantastic and she spoils me a little bit. I tell her briefly what the story is about and she rattles off a few ideas which I say I like or I don’t. Then she puts a few together and asks me what I like or don’t about them and she tweaks them accordingly. She’s done both of my indie titles and I have another series that she’s already completed. That woman is unbelievably talented with her words and her covers.

You write erotic romances, not over-the-top with sexual content, but still erotic. Would you consider writing “tamer” romances in the future?

I write the story as it comes to me. This should probably tell you the naughtiness of my mind…lol. I’m not against writing tamer if the story demanded it, but the scenes that play out and the characters in them are far from tame.

What advice would have for a new writer breaking into the market?

This is not a quote from me but it’s the best piece of advice I’ve ever seen for a writer and that is ‘write the story you want to read’. The fads will come and go…stepbrothers, motorcycle clubs, bsdm, etc…If what you want to write falls into the category that is popular then great but if you want to write about something that you’ve not seen out there or that’s not as popular write that as well. You could be the one to bring that topic to the foreground and have everyone else chasing your tale with stories of their own.

What will your fans see from you in the future?

I plan on writing more of the stories that move me under my Leela Lou Dahlin name. I am co – authoring a MM book with the talented Draven St. James under the pen name of LL Dahlin that I will use for books I write that aren’t strictly MF contemporary erotic romance. I’m so excited to bring out the books of my heart and I appreciate you, Francesca, for asking these awesome questions.