Tell us about Kara, the heroine of Yes, Mr. King. She’s funny, self-aware, and clearly carrying some emotional weight. Was her voice fully formed from the start?

Absolutely. I always start with character. Kara introduced herself to me early on, and it was clear she was dealing with a lot. She’s sharp and funny, but it’s a defense mechanism—a way to guard herself. Underneath that humor is someone desperate for approval, who slowly learns she doesn’t need it. That’s her arc: letting go of people pleasing and learning to value herself.

She’s actually loosely based on someone I know quite well, which I didn’t realize at first. But once I saw it, I had a moment of panic—was she going to recognize herself? Fortunately, when I told her, she laughed and took it as a compliment.

The book mixes humor and vulnerability really well. Was that a deliberate balance you tried to strike?

Definitely. I wanted the voice to be witty, but I didn’t want it to deflect from the emotional reality of the characters. Kara starts out guarded and sarcastic, but as the story unfolds and her relationship deepens, her humor softens. She becomes more open and willing to be vulnerable, which is what I think makes her arc so satisfying.

You play with some great tropes in Yes, Mr. King—revenge romance, boss-assistant, brooding billionaire. Did you plan those in advance?

Sort of. I’m still growing into the romance genre, so tropes are something I reinforce after the story starts taking shape. I knew the initial setup: a woman jilted by her long-term partner who ends up discovering that her ex is now engaged to the fiancée of her billionaire boss. The boss also wants revenge, so they team up. From there, all the tropes grew naturally—grumpy/sunshine, power imbalance, forced partnership. It was fun to see how they unfolded.

So the story came first, and the tropes followed?

Yes. I did know I wanted to write a billionaire romance, but when I started writing the hero, I let him speak for himself. He’s furious—his fiancée left him, his company was stolen, and he’s ready to burn it all down. But unlike the stereotypical billionaire who flaunts power and control, he’s a self-made man. His pride comes from what he built, not what he owns. That gave me something deeper to work with.

You’ve recently gone full-time as a romance author. What inspired the leap?

I’m a hopeless romantic—I always have been. Writing romance lets me express that part of myself in a way that real life doesn’t always allow. And honestly, I was ready for something different. I left a job I hated and gave myself no backup plan. It was terrifying but freeing. The response to Yes, Mr. King and my earlier fantasy romance series was incredible—reader messages, daily feedback—and I finally hit a point where it felt possible to make this a career.

How did you learn to write and publish so quickly?

I did a ton of self-teaching. Two books really helped me: Anatomy of a Story by John Truby and Story Engineering by Larry Brooks. And I took the Self-Publishing Formula course, which was a game changer. It gave me practical, step-by-step guidance and helped me hit the ground running. I’m creative by nature, but I love checklists.

Any marketing tips you’d share with other new authors?

Build your mailing list. BookFunnel has been amazing for that—giving away bonus prologues, excerpts, or even the first book in a series at a discount. That early boost really helped. Social media takes time and I’m still working on it, but the newsletter list is gold.

Your dialogue is a standout—sharp, funny, believable. How did you develop that?

The best tip I ever got: go to a café, sit quietly, and just listen. Eavesdrop, but don’t be creepy. Real people have rhythms and cadences that reveal relationships instantly. You can hear the difference between new lovers and old friends, between flirtation and friction. I also give myself permission to let characters talk. Some might say my dialogue is unconventional—it’s fast, maybe even strange—but it feels alive. That’s what matters.

Your next book sounds like a real twist—tell us about Stormsoaked Strangers.

It’s the first in a new novella series called Dark Encounters, and yes—it’s much darker. We follow a young lawyer who discovers a company that fulfills fantasies. Any fantasy. No safe words. No moral compass. You pay the fee, you agree to pay it forward, and they’ll give you exactly what you want—even if you’re not sure you do. The fun is in asking readers: what if someone could make your darkest desire come true? Would you say yes?

Each book in the series is a standalone, with a different fantasy being fulfilled. They’re short—about 40,000 words—but intense. Think bite-sized adrenaline with emotional depth.