AUTHOR INTERVIEW + SIGNED GIVEAWAY: Collen Hoover - author of Ugly Love

When Tate Collins meets airline pilot Miles Archer, she knows it isn’t love at first sight. They wouldn’t even go so far as to consider themselves friends. The only thing Tate and Miles have in common is an undeniable mutual attraction. Once their desires are out in the open, they realize they have the perfect set-up. He doesn’t want love, she doesn’t have time for love, so that just leaves the sex. Their arrangement could be surprisingly seamless, as long as Tate can stick to the only two rules Miles has for her. Never ask about the past. Don’t expect a future. They think they can handle it, but realize almost immediately they can’t handle it at all. Hearts get infiltrated. Promises get broken. Rules get shattered. Love gets ugly.

Colleen Hoover's love for writing began in 1985 when she was five years old. Her first story was titled "Mystery Bob" and was a huge hit with her mother, who was really good at faking interest.

Colleen continued to write short stories for friends and family until December of 2011, when she decided to write a long story she titled, "Slammed." She self-published SLAMMED to Amazon in January, 2012 and it hit the NYT's bestsellers list in May, 2012. She has since signed with Atria Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, and now has six NYT's bestsellers. Colleen prefers to be called a writer, as the term "author" still terrifies her and makes this feel like a job with expectations. She doesn't work well under pressure and hopes writing will always remain fun and exciting. Colleen's newest novel, UGLY LOVE, just released August 5th, 2014. She is currently working on a new novel, CONFESS, which she is writing as fast as she can before she wakes up from this crazy dream.

Colleen also wants the world to know that writing short biographies in third person is incredibly awkward.

When you write, do you outline the story from beginning to end or do you create the ending as you progress into the writing process?  If you outline the plot, how often does the story turn out completely different then your plan? Or does it come out exactly the same?

Sometimes I try to outline, but it never works out for me. The story always ends up going in a completely different direction. I usually have a basic idea of where the story is going to go, but I always get to a certain point where the characters start to take over, and it feels more like they're guiding me and less like I'm guiding them. 

Do you have any friends or family that read your rough drafts? If yes, do you change the outcome and plot based on their feedback?

Yes, I have several. I have actually changed some parts of my books after hearing feedback from friends, family, and beta readers in the past. They'll point something out that I hadn't noticed and it'll cause me to view the story differently and change certain parts.

In your writing career, who or what do you owe the most to your success?

My readers, 100% I have the best, most supportive readers in the world. Without them, I wouldn't have any of this.

How long did it take you to write your first book? And subsequently how long did it take to edit and polish it to a state that it could be published? How long did this all take for your novel to actually be published?

It only took about a month for my first book, but it's all I did. And since I wasn't planning to publish it, I didn't hire an editor. Now that I'm with Atria Books, the process takes a lot longer, because the book goes through several rounds of editing with them, then it has to be formatted, covers have to be designed, the whole nine yards. It can easily take 9 months from the day I write the first word to the day it's available for purchase. 

If writing had not worked out for you as a profession, what would've been your back up career plan? What would you pursue instead?

I was a social worker before, and I really did like my job. I worked with great people, I had Fridays off, and I had decent benefits. I most likely would still be where I was.

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