Hot. Hilarious. Historical
From Childhood Passion to USA Today Bestselling Author
“Step into the world of Caroline Lee, the talented author who fell in love with romance novels at a young age and turned her passion into a successful writing career. Join us as we explore her reading habits, writing process, and the joy of returning to beloved stories.”
USA Today bestselling author Caroline Lee has been reading romance for so long that her fourth-grade teacher used to make her cover her books with paper jackets, but it wasn’t until she (mostly) grew up that she realized she could WRITE it too. So she did.
Caroline is living her own little Happily Ever After in NC with her husband, sons, and daughter Princess Wiggles. She likes to brag that she made it all the way through grad school (her second history degree) without knowing how to touch-type; she taught herself to type only a few years ago and APPARENTLY lesrned imcorrectly, a fact which she’s only now realizing, as other authors point and laugh. Caroline adores rodents, goes through laptops like Pez, and never met a whisk(e)y she didn’t like. She’s also pretty funny in person. Promise.
What do you read when you’re working on a book? And what kind of reading do you avoid while writing?
I like to read in the genre I’m writing, to keep the “tone” correct in my head. For instance, right now I’m binge reading all of Ruby Dixon’s scifi romances, which are written in first-person present tense…and it’s really hard to sit down at my computer and write historical romance in third-person past tense!
What kind of reader were you as a child?
Voracious, of course! I discovered historical fiction in the second grade, and I loved this idea of being transported back in time. Blew my mind. Then I discovered historical romance sometime around the fourth grade—I was really into knights and Vikings and medieval Scotsmen—and I never looked back. Granted, the books were a little spicy for a kid my age, but my mom went to bat for me against anyone who told me they were inappropriate, and now I feel the same way about my kids. If they want to read something “too adult” for them, we talk about it, and more often than not, I agree to it. Books are how we explore our world, and each kid is different!
Which writer would you want to write your life story?
…Someone hilarious.
What books do you find yourself returning to again and again?
I’m a big believer in re-reading favorites. It’s like…visiting with old friends, right? Granted, you know how the story goes, and you know which part is going to make you laugh or melt, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t experience it again and again. I have books I read yearly! I’ve read all of Terry Pratchett’s books, and all of Tessa Dare’s, and so many others, over and over again, because they bring me joy.
What books are you embarrassed not to have read yet?
My choice of books is for me, because they bring me joy, so I’m not going to worry about what other people think I should have read. That said, there are books in my genre I just don’t have much interest in reading, and it’s easier to pretend like I have, rather than trying to explain why I haven’t. <glances around> Outlander. I’m just not a fan of time travel (it makes me anxious) and when people find out I write Scottish, they assume I’m a big fan.
Follow the Author:
- – Web: www.carolineleeromance.com
- – Amazon Author page: www.amazon.com/stores/Caroline-Lee/author/B00AQ2MHRG
- – Goodreads Author page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1198309.Caroline_Lee
- – Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/CarolinesCohort
- – Instagram: @AuthorCarolineLee