Welcome, today we are talking with Layla Reyne! I would like to thank you for taking time out of your busy writing schedule to answer a few questions. First, I think it’s important for readers to get a little insight on an author that they don’t necessarily get from your professional bio. You’d be surprised at what readers connect to, and sometimes the simplest ‘I can relate to that’ grabs their interest where nothing else can.
Can you share a little something about you that’s not mentioned in your bio on your website?
As much as I love a good book, I’m a TV/Movie gal at heart. Sacrilege, I know! I got into writing, and reading, romance via fanfiction, and I also wrote screenplays in college. So, if my books tend to read like TV shows or movies, including those cliffhangers, that’s why 😉
What is your favorite:
Animal – Dogs
Food – Cheese
Movie – The Usual Suspects
TV show – The Wire (favorite), Breaking Bad (best), The X-Files (sentimental)
Actor – Too hard to pick an all-time favorite. I’ve been on John Krasinski and Anna Kendrick kicks lately. Love them both.
Singer – Pearl Jam
Author – Again, too hard to pick an all-time favorite. The author I await releases for most eagerly these days is LJ Hayward. Thankfully, we beta read for each other so I get her manuscripts early!
What are your pet peeves?
Dirty dishes in the sink. The dishwasher is right there, dear husband! Otherwise, any repetitive noises – throat clearing, nail biting, pen clicking, nail tapping, gum chewing. I’ll fixate on it to distraction.
Who is your hero?
I don’t have a single hero. Any person has the ability to be a hero to anyone. Personally, my hero one day may be my six-foot three husband who can reach the top shelf, another day the coffee barista who gives me a smile and the elixir of life, the next the guy who lets me out of the drive-thru in traffic, the next the amazing number of women recently elected to Congress. We all find gratitude and inspiration in and where we need it, when we need it most.
Give us one thing on your bucket list.
Spend a month in French wine country.
What would readers find surprising about you?
I actually prefer tequila over whiskey.
If you could go back in time, who would you visit?
My great-grandfather. He died before I was born, but my great-grandmother was awesome and she loved him so hard, keeping his memory alive for the rest of her life. I can only imagine he was awesome too.
Any bad habits?
If it’s pumpkin, I’ll eat it.
What’s the funniest thing that ever happened to you?
So, generally, if there’s a hole, I will find a way to fall in it. Be it a pot hole, a hole in the backyard, or the black hole that is Lip Sync Battle on YouTube.
Now that our readers know a little bit more about Layla Reyne, let’s get down to the business of your book, Craft Brew, book 2 of your Trouble Brewing Series.
Craft Brew, has received some great reviews. I believe one Amazon reader said she’d give it 100 stars if she could. That kind of comment makes an author’s day! Can you tell us a little bit about the book?
Craft Brew is the second book in the Trouble Brewing series and follows FBI Agent Cam Byrne back home to Boston. His mother’s had a heart attack, and fearing she might not have long, she asks him to solve the case of his missing sister. Her disappearance has haunted the family and Cam for decades and was the life event what drove Cam to be a kidnap specialist with the FBI. Complicating matters, he needs the help of his boyfriend, federal prosecutor Nic Price, but Cam isn’t out as bisexual to his family. Nic, for his part, is happy to escape to Boston to help Cam and to run from his own problems—a shady father who has made some shady business deals that are now threatening Nic and those he cares about most, including Cam.
What was your hardest challenge writing this book?
It’s a middle book, so there are a lot of pieces to juggle. The developing relationship between the main characters, the overarching mystery/suspense plot, the case for this particular book, and all the family members. Just making sure I didn’t repeat names was a challenge!
What in your opinion makes good chemistry between your leading characters?
I love Nic and Cam because they are older, mature adults who both know what they want out of life and this relationship. They’re professionals when they need to be, they communicate and do so honestly, and they support each other one hundred percent. There’s no bullshit with these two and it’s refreshing.
How many books do you plan for your Trouble Brewing Series?
Trouble Brewing is a trilogy, concluding with Noble Hops releasing on e-book and audio on February 11, and in mass market paperback on February 26.
Can you tell us a little bit about the series as a whole?
Trouble Brewing follows FBI agent, Cam Byrne, and federal prosecutor Nic Price, as they work kidnap and rescue cases together, law and order style, while developing personally from friends and colleagues to lovers, and managing the increasing threat from Nic’s father’s business dealings with a loan shark out for revenge.
Do readers have to read the series in order or are they standalone stories?
While the books can be read as standalones, it’s best to read them in order to appreciate the development of Nic and Cam’s relationship and to follow the over-arching suspense/mystery plot.
Any other works in progress?
Hahahaha. Too many! I’m launching a new romantic suspense trilogy – Fog City – this spring/summer that involves a family of assassins and as many plot twists as I can throw in a series. Fasten your seatbelts! Then in the fall, look for the book of my heart, Dine With Me, a foodie romance following a dying chef on a last tour of his favorite meals, and the travel companion who must convince him the cost of love is worth living for.
Any advice for aspiring authors?
Incorporate something you love into your work, be it a topic you’re passionate about it, or something simple like a drink, a pet, or a place. Those personal Easter eggs will make you smile when you need it most. I will forever grin about the fact that I have books with whiskey and beer titles 😉
Final words?
Thanks so much for having me on Coffee Time romance! I loved chatting about Nic and Cam and Trouble Brewing. I hope you enjoy Craft Brew and the upcoming finale, Noble Hops!
Please include the following links:
Website: www.laylareyne.com
FB Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/laylaslushes/
Email: laylareyne@gmail.com
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