I am so excited to get to know London Saint James!
London wrote her first short story in the second grade. Her teacher informed her parents London had a big imagination, but having a big imagination wasn’t necessarily a good thing as far as he was concerned. Without watering that seed of imagination, London placed her vivid characters, her childhood stories, along with her imagination on the shelf, where they would wither.
At the urging of her eighth grade English teacher, London pulled her imagination off that shelf, and wrote her second short story. To no surprise, it was a love story inspired by a song. Then as life does, it moves on, so yet again London placed her imagination on the shelf to wither for a while. She needed to do the “sensible thing.”
The sensible thing earned London a degree in Psychology, but while in college she traversed into writing once more, and was encouraged by a couple of professors to pursue that endeavor. She took on the world of written word and has never looked back.
London’s book we’re talking about today is The Good Sister. Here’s a bit about it!
Trinity Lane Winslow feared everything and lived her life vicariously through others. She dreamed of the impossible, yearning to be the kind of woman men desired—especially Reid Addison.
Reid Addison feared nothing, except how the mousey little blonde daughter of his housekeeper made him feel. Even though Trinity Winslow wasn’t his type, there was something intriguing about her.
Lord Ashton Archer lived a fairy tale life with property all over the world, was heir to a ducal dynasty, and had women fawning all over him. Anything a man could want, he obtained by the snap of his fingers.
By a twist of fate the three of them find their way into the same illicit world of the infamous Madam Jacqueline Claudette Rousseau. But will they find what each of them truly desires? Or will they always long for the forbidden?
How did you get the title of your book, The Good Sister?
The title came to me as Trinity’s story unfolded. She has an older, somewhat wild, bold sister, and one of Reid’s friends referred to quiet, mousey, scared Trinity as “the good sister.” Then as the story moved on, Trinity leaves home and ends up staying with a group of women who work in a house of ill repute. It becomes clear those women are a family who look out for each other. They take Trinity under their collective wings so to speak, and come to see her as one of their “good” sisters.
Sigh. I was always the bad sister. LOL
I was drawn to Reid who seemed tortured and wanted to know more about his relationship with Trinity. Who is your favorite character?
You’re correct about Reid. He is a tortured character who doesn’t know how to love. He’s sexually driven and into things he doesn’t want Trinity (or baby bird as he refers to her) to be privy to. Especially the harsh reality of what fuels Reid’s rough edge. He’s conflicted when it comes to Trinity and sees her as a fragile person he shouldn’t desperately want. She stirs emotions inside of him that makes him consider a lot of things about himself, like trying to be the kind of man he believes she deserves, and yet can a leopard ever change their spots? So he desperately wants to protect her too.
Trinity is my favorite character, because no matter how flawed she believes herself to be, she reaches deep, finds her inner strength, and in doing that she musters up the courage to become herself. When she does, Trinity breaks from the cocoon that has encased her and transforms. Empowered, she finally sees the beautiful person she’s always been. This becomes more apparent in the completion of her story in The Good Sister: Part Two.
Part Two??? Wow wheee! The names Trinity and Bentley are unique for girls. How did you come up with that?
I like unique characters and that includes unique names. When I was much, much younger I knew a little girl named Trinity and it sort of stuck with me.
Inspiration for something always strikes at odd times, or at least it does for me. Something online caught my attention and I hit the play icon on YouTube. A Bentley (the car) came into the scene with a beautiful woman behind the wheel that I pictured as Trinity’s sister. I went to my manuscript and typed in—Bentley.
Bentley’s are awesome cars. Good pick.
At first, I thought the book would evolve into a Young Adult or New Adult; however, it changed to an erotic romance. Those sex scenes are hot too! What caused you to move in one direction over another?
The characters made me do it! LOL. Really, it was the complications and complexity of the characters; along with the life Reid and Lord Archer lived (the two men Trinity is faced with learning from and learning about). They drove the direction of the story, as well as the lengths Trinity was willing to go to in order to obtain her desire. When she steps out of her fantasy world and into the real one, she begins her journey in finding herself, even though the catalyst for doing this was finding a man—Reid. So, in a nutshell, all the characters and their collective and individual desires directed the genre to the erotic side of romance.
I just love that when a story propels itself. Like magic writing. Great stuff! These lines stood out to me:
What would it be like to be loved? …baby bird? Because you’ve never learned how to spread your wings and fly away. …filled with the knowledge I was indeed a complete and total loser. I don’t want you to be me, but I want you to be you. Don’t let your fears strip you from all the joy there is to life. Find a penny, pick it up, make a wish and have good luck. …sometimes are intentions and our actions are two different things. What else is there but to love your family, flaws, secrets and all? If you cannot see the beauty within your own body, how do you expect others to? …when you are desperate for the love of a person you do desperate things in order to gain that love. For you are the purity among the sin.
Did your muse lead you to write these fabulous lines?
*Smiles* I suppose she did in her roundabout way. When my muse wakes up from her slumber she has a lot to say. Or maybe it’s all those characters running around inside my head who have a lot to say and my muse interacts with them. Either way, my muse is always involved, kind of like the nosy neighbor of the bunch!
In the book, we find Trinity suffers from agoraphobia and why she has a particular behavior and appearance. Did you do research on phobias?
Research is always a big part of writing any story, but since my resume includes working in the mental health field, I fortunately, or unfortunately, have some insight into behaviors. Trinity was a complicated case who had many behaviors and fears, so yes, for some nuances of her character I went to one of my many, many reference books on disorders.
Having a background in a specific area for your book is always of great benefit. Congratulations on weaving in the intricacies so well.
A large portion of The Good Sister is set in France. Are you familiar with France?
I’ve never been to France, but can speak some French. France is a destination on my bucket list though.
It’s a good bucket list! I’ve been to Paris and now, want to explore even more.
How did you get from a career in mental health to writing?
In a past life, like my bio states, I did the sensible thing, earned a degree, and worked in the metal health realm for several years. Like many authors, I scribbled down things, little stories and such from a young age. Something about the art of storytelling has always been a part of me. As I grew older, the scribbles became an outlet for me. A stress reliever. An escape. In late 2010, I worked up the courage and decided to submit a short story I had written. I figured what’s the worst thing that could happen? I pictured the rejection email telling me in polite terms my story sucked, but that didn’t happen. *Smiles* Evernight Publishing accepted my story for publication, and I’ve literally never stopped writing. I followed my heart and all those non sensible things people in my life tried to discourage me from doing. Now, I have 17 published books, three upcoming releases, and probably far too many WIPs (works in progress) to keep me busy.
OMG, you have been so prolific. Love this!
What is the hardest part of writing: drafting, editing, research, or marketing? Marketing. There are a lot of great writers out there and you soon realize you are a little fish swimming in a big sea. You then learn you need to be savvy, creative, find like minded people, and be active in social media. No doubt about it. Marketing is a full time job.
Sigh, yes, marketing is a big job.
What is your newest project? Anything else you want to add? I’m happy to let people know The Good Sister: Part One which we are talking about is currently in audio production and will be releasing this summer as an audiobook through Audible and will also be found on Amazon and iTunes. A super talented narrator, Kitty Barclay, is bringing Trinity’s story to life in a different medium and I’m super excited about that. There’s something surreal when you actually hear a real voice to the character that was in your head.
On a side note, Reid Addison’s story continues and is one of those works in progress. *Smiles*
That’s great news because Reid has a story that needs to be finished.
Let’s do a speed round:
Favorite color: Blue
Favorite drink: Coca Cola
Favorite movie: Oh gosh. *Wipes brow* I can’t pick just one! Okay here’s the first that comes to mind: My Big Fat Greek Wedding.
Favorite accessory: Hair scrunchies
Find The Good Sister at:
Amazon | All Romance eBooks | Barnes and Noble | Bookstrand | Evernight Publishing
Coming soon to Audible, Amazon, iTunes (Audiobook)
Find London at:
Website | Facebook | Twitter
Leave a Comment