Author Interview: Autumn Reed and Julia Clarke

Autumn and Julia are the authors of the Stardust Series (see my reviews of the books here) as well as contributing authors to the Falling for Them Reverse Harem anthology. I contacted them to see if they'd be willing to do an interview for this blog. Luckily, they agreed!

Here is more information about the authors, taken from their website:

Autumn and Julia became fast friends, bonding over their mutual love of historic homes, photography, and good books. While they didn’t plan on co-authoring a novel, what started as daydreaming transformed into brainstorming and then actual writing.

A lifelong bookworm, Autumn loves nothing more than immersing herself in a fictional tale. When she isn’t dreaming up stories about insanely attractive guys, she spends her free time browsing antique stores and fixing up her house.

Julia is a philomath who loves trying new things from tap dance to calligraphy. If she won the lottery, Julia would travel the world with her husband; in the meantime, she enjoys cooking, hiking, and sailing.

Together, Autumn and Julia make the perfect pair, balancing impulsive with indecisive and attention to detail with an eye for the big picture. Despite their different personalities, Autumn and Julia share a common vision in their writing and love bouncing ideas off each other. They see the creative process as a challenge, a game, and delight in living in a world of their own creation.

Check out their website to learn more about their books and sign up for their newsletter!

Now let's get this interview started!

How did you two become co-authors? What inspired you to write the Stardust Series?

We are both avid readers (Autumn especially) and daydreamed about writing a novel. At first, it started as a fun mental exercise, creating the characters and settings. But then, we decided to go for it and actually write a book. We had no idea if anyone would ever read our books, and we're thrilled every time we hear from a fan!

What is your writing process like?

Our writing process has evolved over time, but typically, we meet in person to brainstorm. We’ll spend hours discussing the characters, their motivations, and the timeline. Then we go through chapter by chapter and split up writing assignments. Sometimes we each write an entire chapter and other times we break it down into smaller sections depending on the content. 

What is your favorite scene from the series so far?

Autumn - 
I don't know that I can pick a favorite, but one of the most memorable scenes to write was the "camp out" in front of the Christmas tree in Pyxis. The scene itself was very simple, but knowing how much it meant to Haley that the guys would do that for her might have caused a few tears when I was writing it.

Julia -

That’s a tough question! One of my favorite scenes is in Pyxis when Haley is hanging out with Liam after she goes sailing with him and Jackson. Their interaction shows how much both Haley and Liam have grown. Haley is more comfortable around him, flirtatious even. Liam reveals a depth of character that goes beyond the playboy facade. And, of course, there's the steamy pool scene that follows.

What else have you written and are there any projects in the works that readers can look forward to?

Currently, we're writing Vega (Book 4 of The Stardust Series), which will be released later this year. And, Autumn is writing the follow-up to Raising the Stakes (Risking It, book 1) from the reverse harem anthology, Falling For Them, released last month.

What is your favorite part of being a writer/author? The most challenging part?

Autumn - 
I have always, always been an insatiable reader (of novels), but I never thought that I was creative enough to be a writer. So, I really have two favorite things, if I can claim both: 1) the sense of accomplishment from doing something I never thought I could, and 2) knowing that other bookworms are staying up way too late reading books I helped write.

Most of the time, my biggest challenge is getting words down on the page. I'm a perfectionist by nature, and I tend to write my first draft like it's the final one. I can't move on from a paragraph until I'm happy with it, which means that I tend to write painfully slow.

Julia - 

Nerdy as it sounds, I always enjoyed logic puzzles in school. Writing a series is like solving an enormously intricate logic puzzle with no one correct answer. There are so many moving parts, from individual character choices, to group dynamics, to mystery and intrigue. I love the challenge of determining how all of those pieces fit together to create the story.

One of my biggest challenges is ensuring that the scene comes to life on the page just as vibrantly as I've imagined it. 

What advice do you have for aspiring authors? 

Autumn - 
If you are considering writing a series, make sure that you're prepared to put in the time and effort to keep going after the first book... and deal with the possibility of the series taking off. As Julia and I have discovered, what started as a hobby has transformed into a business. In addition to writing, editing, and self-publishing our books, we also juggle a website, social media, newsletters, giveaways, bonus material, fan interactions... the list goes on and on. I find it all very rewarding, but it's a LOT of work.

Julia - 

You may start out with one idea of your character or plot and end up with a completely different one. Don’t be afraid to change the story as you go, letting the characters evolve naturally. 

Thank you so much Autumn and Julia for taking the time to answer my questions!