Q & A with Lea Siciliana!

  1 )       I LOVE the Lockdown series premise. In this time of quarantining, we all need a bit of steamy escape. Can you tell us a little about the series?

My parents still live in Italy. The lockdown there has been very strict. As everyone in Italy carries identity cards with their details, I had an idea. What would happen if a man still had his estranged wife’s address on his identity card?

I imagined the police stopping him in the street and forcing him to go ‘home’ to his wife’s flat. How would the two of them react being trapped together, if there was still had a strong sexual chemistry between them? This is how the first short story was born. Then I thought of other people who might be forced together by the lockdown and be attracted to each other, and the other stories were born.

Interestingly, the most popular have been Lockdown With My Boss, Lockdown With My Brother-in-law and Lockdown With My Ex, while by far the least popular has been Lockdown With My Husband. I should have expected it, shouldn’t I?

Now that summer has arrived, I’ve started a new series called Steamy Sicilian Summer Nights but I think that I might still add new stories to the Lockdown series when I get new ideas. 

     2)      Do you plan all your characters out before you start a story or do they develop as you write?

I plan my characters beforehand and I have a pretty good idea of where the story is going, but sometimes the characters take the lead and guide me somewhere else. When that happens, it’s a lot of fun.

     3)   What is your writing process? Do you outline, write by the seat of your pants (Pantser) or a combination of both?

When I have a rough idea of what the main points of the story will be, I start writing. I need to know what the characters want, what stops them from having it and how they’ll get it in the end. The rest comes up as I write.

      4)   Do you have a ritual when it comes to writing? Example….get coffee, blanket, paper, pen, laptop and a comfy place.

I don’t have a strict ritual, but I find that listening to certain music puts me in the right mood. The soundtrack for the Lockdown series has been I’m Not the Only One by Sam Smith. I find this song extremely sexy and I’ve listened to it on repeat more times than I can count. I also find it easier to write the hotter scenes at night, when everyone is asleep and I’m all alone.

 

      5)  Do you have a favorite line or scene in any of your books?

I love the opening scenes of Lockdown With My Ex. I love Alessio’s Italian swearing and the banter between him and Chiara. These two are clearly very much attracted to each other even though he calls her a rompipalle, a ball-breaking pest, and she’s so fed up with her body’s reaction to him that she’s contemplating giving up the shared custody of their dog so that she won’t have to see him again.

     6)   What’s your favorite thing about being an author/writer?

I love spending time in other people’s lives, even when they are not real people. I love feeling what they feel, enjoying what they enjoy and taking the readers with me into the world I’ve created. I feel a special connection with the readers, because we’ve shared something.

     7)   If you could choose, which published author would you like to brainstorm with and why?

I’d love to work with Talia Hibbert. I’ve just discovered her and am enjoying her books.

       8)  Do you have anything you would like to say to your current readers or to those that haven't yet read your work(s)?

I love to hear from you. What you’ve liked about the stories, what you didn’t like, what or who you would like to see in my next stories.

I haven’t got a website or social media yet, but I’m thinking of setting something up soon and in the meantime I’ve been communicating with my readers through Booksprout. Or you can sign up to my newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/a88e0fdf15f7/leasiciliana  

9    9)      What future projects are on the horizon for you?

I want to write something longer, like a novella or a novel. It’s hard for me because I’m an impatient person and I can’t wait for my characters to come to their happy ending and to share the story with my readers. With a novel you have to wait a long time before you can share the story with the readers. I guess that I’ll just have to grow up and learn patience. Thank you for having me in your blog