Our reviewer Miranda Owen had a chance to chat with L.P. Maxa. Listen in as we find out some of the behind the scenes scoop on the three series.
In HEART STOPPING Baze and Pen are star-crossed lovers given another chance to make things right. Is this a favorite trope for you? Was it hard deciding how much of their past to reveal in the form of “flashbacks”? Who are some of your favorite fictional couples – ones you’ve written as well as others from either books or films?
Second chance romance is actually not one of my favorites. I don’t typically read a lot of novels with that topic, for some reason I tend to veer away from those. I think with Baze, his history kind of unfolded for me somewhere a long the way. I certainly didn’t plan a star-crossed lovers HEA for him from day one. My publisher will attest to the fact that I’m more of a fly by the seat of my pants type of writer. It wasn’t until Linc’s book that I finally decided to bring in Pen the way I did.
As far as how much of their past to reveal or not, I wanted to try and make readers understand his love for Pen from the beginning. They’d already spent so much time apart, I didn’t want to have to work too long on rebuilding their connection. I wanted people to see that their love never died, it was too strong for that. I don’t like the will they/won’t they part of books. I want to get to the good stuff 😊
Some of my all time favorite fictional characters…let’s see. I love all the couples from the Eagle Elite series by Rachel Van Dyken, that is hands down one of my favorites. I enjoy a jerk who falls hard on his ass for his girl. I enjoyed writing Luke’s story in the Devil’s Share series, I feel like he was so over love because of what happened between him and Lexi. But then Lo comes in and BAM, he has no choice but to fall for her. I love Tim Riggins and Daryl Dixon and Jax Teller. But those are like crushes, I have crushes on those characters. Oh and Stiles from Teen Wolf, he’s not broody like the others, but he’s funny and funny is always good.
The villain in HEART STOPPING is one that has been tormenting the main characters throughout the series. Are you happy with the interplay between the villain and the good guys, and the direction their story has taken? Who are some of your favorite villains – in books or films?
I do like the way the Franklin battle played out. I love that he underestimated the good guys, which in my opinion is something you should never do. I also really enjoyed writing the end of Franklin, the scene between Jace and his twin. I think Jasper spends a lot of time being a funny little brat, but we got to see that there is real depth to him. And we got to witness the love those two brothers have for each other. At first, I worried that I was putting too much on the younger shifters, but when all was said and done I was happy with it. Their stories are coming next, so I feel like it was right to put them in the spotlight. And ultimately, Franklin was Jace’s battle to fight, he was his demon.
I like when characters band together to defeat the bad stuff. I hate when the bad tears people apart. I have literally skipped through movies and books when I know that the characters are going to be torn apart for a while. Its terrible, but its true. As far as movie villains? I love Boondock Saints, its full of vigilante justice and one of my favorite movies of all time. My daughter has watched the Descendants 10 times this week and I like how those kids are fighting themselves, the internal battle. That song the little prince guy sings on the field? I could do without though. It literally won’t leave my head.
Having read your other contemporary romance, I was surprised but delighted by the different and slightly darker tone you take in this paranormal series. Is it difficult balancing the intensity and sense of danger with the lighter moments in this series? How would you describe this series to readers who might be new to it?
I have a lot of fun adding light to the darkness. I make sure to always write those one or two characters that don’t mind making jokes while they’re looking into the face of failure of despair. And the way I write them, those oddly placed sarcastic comments just seem right, you know? Like of course Linc is going to give Baze a hard time while he’s losing his mind in front of everyone. It’s true to character, so it doesn’t come across as out of place. At least in my opinion. But it’s not always easy. I’ve had readers who don’t love the darker themes in the RiffRaff series because they miss the lighter side of the Devil’s Share. Every book isn’t going to be for every reader. There are lot of books I sample and then don’t read. Not because they aren’t wonderfully written, but because they just don’t fit my mood at the time.
I always tell people that the St. Leasing series is shifter light. It’s a series about shifters, but being shifters isn’t what necessarily drives their every interaction. It’s about finding your own family, building your own pack. It’s about love; the soul deep, no matter what kind. And it’s funny. I mean, I think I’m funny.
I love reading about doppelgangers and twins. In your Riffraff Records contemporary romance series you write about twins Cash and Crue Matthews in LOYALTY. In your new St. Leasing book you write about werewolf twins Jace and Jasper. What’s so intriguing about twins that inspires you to write about them?
Honestly? I have no idea. Jace and Jasper were the first twins I wrote. And with them, I needed them to be twins to make readers understand their vast differences. Does that make sense? Anyone who has read MOUTH WATERING gets where I’m coming from. The pack needed to assume they were the same, the readers needed to assume that as well. That assumption is what makes the discovery of Franklin and how he plays into the story that much more dramatic.
I do enjoy reading stories with twins in them. What’s better than a hot guy? Two hot guys. 😊 As far as Crue and Cash, I just thought it would be fun to give Luke twins boys. If you’ll recall in the Devil’s Share series, Lexi says that everyone will have girls because they deserve the punishment for being such players. But then she says, everyone except Luke because he’s a good guy. So I gave Luke all the boys, and his first born? Twin boys. Almost like an inside joke.
What are you currently working on? As a fangirl I have to ask about two of my favorite supporting characters – will you write stories in the future for Jace (St.Leasing) or Talon (RiffRaff Records)? Jace seems like a wonderfully complex and super intelligent guy who would probably just get better with age, and Talon seems to strike the right balance between swee t, sexy, and enigmatic.
So first up, I have Maykin and Bleu. They’ll be part of an anthology for charity I’m doing with my publisher in the fall. It’ll be a sexy flirty funny little road to HEA for those two, who were supporting characters in SANCTUARY {Nick and Evie’s story} And then, it’s JETT! I’m so pumped for Jett. He has all of Crue’s swagger and Cash’s charm. He’s going to be a deadly combination. Jace, I think, will be the next St. Leasing book. I fell a little bit in love with that boy while writing HEART STOPPING and I’m not ready to let him go yet. Talon will play more of a staring role in the future…And that’s all I’m going to say because anything else would give away what’s to come 😊
I love my supporting characters too, I really do. If I could give them all their own HEAs I would gladly do it. There isn’t enough time in the world for me to accomplish that. I have enough problems getting the main characters turned in. But like with Bleu and Maykin, and then Talon coming up, I try to let their stories get told along the way. I don’t want to leave them out in the dark either. I want all my people to end up happy.
About L.P. Maxa
wife/mom/writer/aspiring farmer
L.P. Maxa lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband, daughter, 3 rescue dogs, 1 stray cat, and 1 fish that keeps dying and she keeps replacing so her toddler doesn’t notice. She loves reading romance novels as much as she loves writing them. L.P. is new to the writing game, but she has published 4 books in her first year alone. She says that inspiration can come from anywhere; a song lyric, a quote, a weekend with friends. The tiniest things spark amazing stories.
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