Hello! This month’s author interview is with Emma St. Clair, prolific author of witty, funny, sweet romance novels. Her books are perfect for days when you want an easy, breezy comfort read. Meet: Emma St. Clair!
What are your favorite and least favorite parts of the writing process? I love love love STARTING. When I get an idea, it's so hard not to dive in right away. So, at the point the characters start "speaking" to me or I can picture a scene, that's the best. The early writing. I don't love the editing process only because I'm slow with it. And I prefer fast speeds. It forces me to be slow and I don't wanna. I'm always MORE than ready to move on to the next project and not get bogged down with edits.
You write sizzling romance but without any open door sex scenes–what’s the secret to creating that sexual tension while also keeping things PG? For me, I think of all the slow-burn goodness. The small touch that ignites a fire, the flirting, the waiting, the LONGING. Bridgerton season two did this SO well visually, showing how incredibly hot it can be even before there's kissing. So, I lean hard into those early, innocent touches, and the longing.
What’s your typical writing routine? I spend an hour a day or so writing on the elliptical machine, typing with my thumbs into my phone. I know that's weird, but it's the way I'm most focused. I get into this lovely zone and the endorphins kick in and it's great. I usually then take care of other things (email, social media, ads, etc etc) after that and try to get back to writing on the computer later. But I think I write my BEST on the phone just because it's easier to turn on focus mode, ignore all messages and just write.
What books do you gravitate toward in your own reading life? I love reading all kinds of books. Since Covid, I've been reading tons of romcom and contemp romance. I don't do historical. I do love paranormal and urban fantasy, but for whatever reason, I haven't enjoyed those lately. Same with angst. No angst right now. I do love a good YA book as well. YA was what I originally wanted to write, and I'm sure I'll do more of those sometime. (I have some YA urban fantasy books under the pen name Sullivan Gray.)
What’s your (non-writing) superpower? I used to play roller derby, so I could outskate most people and also take them out with a hip hit. Other than that, I'm pretty good at cooking. Not so much baking, as I'm not into following recipes to the letter, so I mostly riff off a recipe and adapt things to make food. My husband wishes I still did this more. But with five kids, I don't like spending hours in the kitchen for fun. I'm sure I'll get back to that one day. ;)
What is one of the best pieces of advice you’ve ever gotten? This is a weird one. But when I was a teenager, one of my youth leaders told this story from her childhood that stuck with me. Her mom promised her a cookie if she obeyed the babysitter. And when it was time for the babysitter to leave, she was so focused on the cookie, she didn't want to get up and say goodbye. So her mom told her she needed to remember that people are more important than cookies. I LOVED that and it resonates so much with me, as someone who can get task oriented. It's why I didn't write very much (okay, at ALL) when my kids were younger and I was getting used to motherhood. I can way too easily get wrapped up in the cookies (in this case, writing and working) and put the cookie ahead of the people.
