Welcome to my weekly Author Spotlight. I’ve asked a bunch of my author friends to answer a set of interview questions, and to share their latest work.
Today: Drea Roman is an author of omegaverse and contemporary LGBTQ romance. She loves cats, as well as acting, dancing, and writing. Her life revolves around her cats, Benny and Kookaburra, which is right and proper. Without her friends, family, and cats, this journey would not be possible. Thank you so much for reading.
Connect with me!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorDreaRoman/
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/dreasdirtydivas
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drearomanauthor/
Thanks so much, Drea, for joining me!
J. Scott Coatsworth: When did you know you wanted to write, and when did you discover that you were good at it?
Drea Roman: I have wanted to write since I was a teen. I always wanted to write romance, but when I tried to write MF, I felt blocked by the sexism inherent in American culture. I couldn’t write the stories I would be interested in without falling into tropes I hated. I started reading MM and fell in love. A plot bunny jumped into my brain and I went with it. I am an academic and knew I could write that way. It has been a learning curve changing to fiction – but mostly about contractions, and making sure speech is life-like not technically correct. My first book was received well and I have been writing ever since then.
JSC: Do you use a pseudonym? If so, why? If not, why not?
DR: Yes, Drea Roman is my pen name. Now that I’ve returned to acting, it is also my stage name. I like having my academic/career life separate from my creative life. Also, Drea Roman has come to represent the creative aspects of my person and life. This allows me to focus better—the various parts of my life are separate and I prefer it this way.
JSC: If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
DR: Just start. Don’t let ANYONE talk you out of anything you want to do. Realize you are your own biggest obstacle. You have to set aside fear and find a way to work with it. You cannot ignore it and you cannot defeat it. Working with why you feel afraid will get you further than burying the fear or trying to ignore it. Make friends with your fear. This is the only way to work through it.
JSC: How long do you write each day?
DR: I don’t write every day. It doesn’t work for me. I write when inspiration hits. I do write in a regimented way only when I reach what I call a tipping point. This is usually about 30k words. Then I print it out and tie the parts together. I do not write in order, so I need to see it printed out to see the whole picture. My method works for me, but it can be a headache at times.
JSC: How long on average does it take you to write a book?
DR: The shortest time was six weeks. The longest was 5 years. Every book is different. Every book is it’s own kind of chaos. It is never predictable for me until about ¾ of the way through the story. Then I can look at it and see how much longer I need.
JSC: Are you a plotter or a pantser?
DR: I am a planster, hybrid of both. I write what scenes come to me first. Then I write all over the timeline of the story, from both main characters’ perspectives, then hit my tipping point (about 30k words, 100 pages or so), print it out, and map out what I have and what I need to connect. So all over the place until I hit that point when the story starts to hold together as a whole, then I am a little bit of a plotter.
JSC: Do you believe in the old advice to “kill your darlings?” Are you a ruthless darling assassin? What happens to the darlings you murder? Do you have a darling graveyard? Do you grieve them?
DR: No, I think it is some of the worst advice anyone can try to follow. As the writer and interpreter of the characters and their story, I know what belongs and doesn’t belong. The editor cuts I have ignored have always been little character moments. I do not cut those as they advance the character and the plot in ways I can see even if my editor cannot. I think the advice to cut your favorite lines and moments is author suicide. The reader is there for your unique voice and perspective. Why then would it be a good practice to cut those details and moments? And one part an editor wanted me to cut from my first book turned into a moment I have had several readers mention to me as their favorite moment. And it was a character moment. So, I will never follow that rule as I fundamentally disagree with it.
JSC: How does the world end?
DR: One poem by former US Poet laureate Joy Harjo, Mvskoke/Creek poet, called “Perhaps the World Ends Here,” has the best ending line: “Perhaps the world will end at the kitchen table, while we are laughing and crying, eating of the last sweet bite” (line 19). This answers another one of your questions about lines which stick with me. This poem really describes human life as a community of love, boiling our myriad experiences down to the act of sharing food with family and loved ones at a kitchen table. It is one of the most perfect, loving images of human life. The world may end with a nuclear blast, but I hope I am at the kitchen table with my loved ones, laughing and crying and holding tight to their hands and our interwoven bonds of love.
JSC: What is The Selkie’s Mate about? Who are the main characters?
DR: The Selkie’s Mate, which came out in January, is Book 2 and focuses on Henri, a French human omega and a selkie alpha, Winston. This book picks up right where book 1 left off. They meet at the wedding of Gregory and Daniel. Henri is dealing with the grief of loss and heartbreak. Winston is ecstatic to discover his mate. But, of course, love is a harder road than either one of them imagines. Henri is sweet, sassy, and determined. Winston is straight-forward, strong, protective, and caring. I adore them. All of my characters have aspects of who I am, but I have to say that Henri is who I would want to be if I were to be a character in my own world. He has gone through so much, but retains his joie de vivre and spark of life throughout it all.
JSC: What are you working on now?
DR: I am working on Book 3 of Waves of Fate. The Selkie’s Mate, which came out in January, is Book 2 and focuses on Henri, a French human omega and a selkie alpha, Winston. The next book picks up with the ‘sort-of villain’ of their story, Cody. There are real reasons why the selkie alpha lost his mind and acted as he did. However, just like in real life, he now has to deal with the consequences of his actions. It is the worst possible time for his fated mate to show up. So, of course, that is exactly what happens. This is a hurt/comfort story. Cody first appeared as an annoying selkie who liked to cause problems. But, of course, his life is far more complicated than it seems when we first meet him at the end of book 1, The Selkie’s Coat. His love and knowledge of literature is allowing me to share some of my favorite lines of poetry and prose through his story. He founded a library in the 1950s, before his life went selkie belly up. His mate is someone Cody never would have imagined. And they are perfect for one another.
And now for Drea’s new book: The Selkie’s Mate:
Against all odds and after years of searching, selkie Winston has finally found his mate, the sweet and sassy Henri. There’s only one problem. Okay, so there may be more than one problem.
When Henri’s best friend mated a selkie, he couldn’t have been happier. Unless…he were lucky enough to find his own fated mate. But someone crushed his soul once before and he’s not sure he can ever trust again.
Winston has held his best friend to the earth for decades, keeping him from destroying himself through loneliness and reckless behavior. Now Gregory is mated to Daniel, Winston can search the seven seas for his mate. But there is no need to search–his mate shows up –in Gregory’s wedding party! Henri flirts but a wall of reserve seems to separate the French omega from the selkie who recognizes him as his mate.
Henri and Winston must unravel the tangled past before they can achieve their long overdue Happily Ever After.
Slow burn (for omegaverse, if you know what I mean); hurt-comfort; fated mates
The Selkie’s Mate is book 2 of the Waves of Fate series. It is best read after book 1, The Selkie’s Coat.
Get It On Amazon
Excerpt
Winston
Dawn breaks bright over my small stretch of island beach. My selkie grouches away in my head, despite the extra-long swim in the ocean we took this morning.
Mate. Mate. Mate, he reminds me, groaning like a metronome.
Yes, I know. Dear God, would you relax? Everything is under control. Everything is working out.
No, it is not. You are acting like your stupid best friend. Doing everything the human way and ignoring the selkie way.
My mouth drops open in astonishment. “Gregory? Did you just compare me to Gregory?” My selkie holds incredibly ungenerous feelings toward my best friend over how he handled his courtship with his human mate. My own feelings aren’t exactly the kindest either.
Uh-huh, you’re just as dumb as he is. Dumb as a bunch of dead starfish at the bottom of the ocean.
Stunned over the conversation occurring in my head, I sit down on a large boulder, my pelt draped over my lap. I’m unaccustomed to my seal taking me to task so harshly. What would you have me do then? Whisk Henri away in the middle of the night before we’ve gotten to know each other at all?
My selkie huffs. Do something. I am tired of sleeping alone at night.
The plaintive note in his grumble pierces my all-too-human heart. I know. Today will be better, I promise.
Will you tell him? Tell him he is our mate, the other half of our soul?
As soon as I can, I try to reassure him.
Don’t like that answer. But he recedes without another complaint, and I’m more nervous about everything than I was before. I hadn’t anticipated my animal would be anywhere but on the same page as me. Honestly, I have no clue what page we are on besides the first one—mates meet. I also feel we are moving too slowly, but everything about Henri screams vulnerability and unhealed pain.
Suddenly declaring myself his fated mate without establishing some rapport and friendship first seems like a bad idea. Perhaps my selkie and I were a tad too judgmental over how Gregory struggled to win Daniel’s favor. Shaking my head, I make my way up the sandy, rocky path to my back door. After securing my pelt in its secret location, I dress for the day. While walking down to the café in the early-morning light, I scroll for date ideas on my phone.
This is giving me a headache. Always cool, calm, and collected before, I never expected to feel so conflicted over how to move forward with my newly found mate. I chuckle to myself as I open the café door for one of the baristas, who appears to be running late. Perhaps spending so many decades as Gregory’s companion allowed his quirks to rub off on me. Heaven forbid.
My selkie growls at the thought, and I cough to stop myself from laughing like a lunatic in public. I wait for the servers to get things going before I order a black coffee. I will wait until Henri arrives before I order a pastry.
The bell over the door clangs loudly, and I turn to find my best friend bustling through, talking a mile a minute on his phone. My heart leaps in happiness to see such a smile on his face, and even my grumpy seal is pleased with how much healthier and whole he looks now than a few short weeks ago.
When he sees me, he hangs up and rushes over to grab me in a ferocious hug. “Winston. How have you been? We must catch up. How goes everything with Henri?”