We were lucky to catch up with Julianna Writing As Lalalalawriting recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Julianna thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you tell us the backstory behind how you came up with the idea?

While I started writing songs and short stories from a young age, I came up with the idea for my first book, When in Rome, from a dream. In the dream, it was summertime. I was painting a large canvas in a backstage room in a small theater. The air was hot and sticky with humidity. I shrugged off my sweatshirt and started painting in my bra. Then, a boy walked into the room and his eyes went from my face to my chest and back up again. I have never painted murals in my bra, nor been to Rome, Italy, but I turned that little dream into a popular boy meets shy girl forced proximity high school romance novel. The story still exists solely on Wattpad. Although my writing has developed since then, it feels like a time capsule to my younger self and marks the moment I started dreaming of becoming a best-selling romance author one day.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’ve always been a hopeless romantic. After falling in love with reading romance as a tween, I started writing because I selfishly wanted to write my daydreams down so I could read them for fun later. I stumbled upon Wattpad and wrote my first novel when I was fourteen years old. Since then, writing has become a pillar in my life and is how I make sense of the world. With the support of the Wattpad community, I wrote five young/new adult romance books. After winning a Watty Award in 2021 in the new adult category, I self-published my debut novel, Potentially You and Me, in 2022 and then the Watty Winner, The Culture of Hooking Up, in 2023 under the penname, lalalalawriting. My author pipedream is to become a full-time writer and see my books on the shelves at Target. In the meantime, I’m currently re-writing another book and diving deeper into my second love, sociology, by pursuing a M.A. in Sociology to pair with my B.A. in English. I’m interested in researching anything related to gender, women’s issues, dating expectations, and hookup culture.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I’ve always tried to inject as much realism into the romance genre as possible, especially when it comes to the struggles of dating within the young/new adult genre. I’ve always preferred the beginning of romances. The pursuit of romantic love has always fascinated me more than the attainment. From the meet-cutes, meet-awkwards, or meet-agains, to the first flutters of flirtation and smile-inducing banter which will later become inside jokes, and the build-up of every kind of emotion. Not only the burning sexual tension, but also the embarrassment, frustration, and even miscommunication because we are all learning as we go, how to love someone and how to be loved by someone. While this happens at any stage of life, I’m especially drawn to the young/new adult age bracket, not only because I currently identify with it, but also because it often feels like we’re all at different stages. There’s people who don’t have dating experience and are just learning what it feels like to fall in love, like Lacie O’Connor in Potentially You and Me. There’s also people who know the dating playing field like the back of their hand and are tired of playing, like Laney Emerson in The Culture of Hooking Up. (Of course, there’s everyone else in between!) I hope to shed a more realistic light on romance, love, and the trials and tribulations of dating, so we can not only happily kick our feet together, but also lament and learn together, too.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

When people find out I write books, the responses are usually ninety-nine percent positive. Most people are congratulatory and awe-struck. However, there’s still one percent of people who’s light dies in the corners of their eyes when I tell them I write romance novels. I’ve even had a handful of people look me dead in the eyes and say, “you should try writing mystery novels instead.” Over the last five to ten years the stigmas around romance books and their authors have changed with the help of social media and Booktok communities, which help advocate for the integrity of the romance genre as well as equal representation for marginalized groups in fiction and nonfiction.
I’m forever thankful for the love and support I’ve received for my writing from my family, friends, professors, Wattpad community, and other book friends on the internet, but one thing I hope non-creatives take away from my author journey is the importance of the romance genre. Specifically, how intrinsic romance is to the human experience. Whether it’s paternal, platonic, or romantic love, it’s always worth seeing how love survives and endures despite the chaos of everyday life. It may sound silly, but I’ve always believed “happily ever afters” are not only possible but also make life worth living. To quote Lacie O’Connor from Potentially You and Me, “That’s why we daydream about meeting cute boys in the grocery store. We are always looking for hope in the corners of ordinary places.”

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.lalalalawriting.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lalalalawriting/
• Other: https://www.wattpad.com/list/59131159-reading
  
  https://www.tiktok.com/@lalalalawriting