We recently connected with Laura Drake and have shared our conversation below.

Laura, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

The book that enticed an agent to represent me agreed with me that it was Women’s Fiction. Half the editors at publishing houses she submitted it to thought it was Romance, the other half agreed with us. It sold as a romance, so that’s what publishers wanted from me from then on. Don’t get me wrong, I was thrilled. But as time and published books mounted, I found the tropes and expectations of romance, binding.

I wrote a book just for me-a Women’s Fiction that honored the bond my sister and I had (I lost her to cancer at 32.) It was my first self-published book.

After 11 romances, I was tired, and burnt out. Deadlines and requirements of the genre made writing a chore instead of a joy. In a paradigm shift, I decided to write Women’s Fiction off-contract. I am retired and not doing this for money, so why not write what I want?

I’ve since written three more novels in the genre, and haven’t looked back. I think my writing is more mature, more meaningful, and hopefully longer-lived.

But more important, I’ve rediscovered my joy of the writing process, and I couldn’t be happier.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I was a CFO in my career (read: Corporate bean-counter). My husband is a motorcycle fanatic, and we took all our vacations on two wheels, putting on 10,000 miles a year. We lived in Southern California at the time, and to get almost anywhere, you have to go through a desert (read: boooring.) I’d prop a book on his back and read, but eventually my mind would cast around for something to do. In one town, a dog ran in front of the bike, and luckily, after scaring us, ran back the other way. But it gave me an idea…what if a woman on a motorcycle came along after a dog was hit on the road? What if… I basically became an author because of boredom!

No matter what the genre, I write emotional stories about women. My tagline is: ‘Ordinary women at the edge of extraordinary change’, and it fits my voice and style.

I’ve been in bad places in my life, and I want to remind anyone experiencing the same to realize that life can change in an instant – and things won’t always be so bleak. Books helped me in dark days, and I hope my books will do the same for others.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

It took me 15 years, 3 manuscripts, and 417 rejections before I finally got an agent and sold a book.

But I kept going for two reasons: first, I loved writing, and second because if I kept improving and didn’t quit, I HAD to sell eventually, It’s science!

And that first book? Won the romance equivalent of an Oscar.

Don’t ever give up on something that close to your heart.

How did you build your audience on social media?

My advice is to do what you enjoy, and don’t let anyone guilt you onto a platform that doesn’t suit your style.

My audience and my style intersect at Facebook. It’s the only platform I’ve found that fosters a discussion, not just cute photos, videos or truncated opinions. 8 zillion followers and ‘likes’ won’t help you – they won’t even buy you a cup of coffee. Discussions allow me to find readers, and for them to find me.

I bumped up against my ‘friend’ limit, so I started my own group: Laura Drake’s Peace, Love & Books. I don’t even mention my writing often. It’s a place I play. I post snarky memes, beautiful photos, ask probing ‘get to know you’ questions, and basically just have fun. But my voice and things I care about shine through, and it’s now a thriving community of 1600 people, having fun, every day.

Does that correspond to sales? I think so, but as with most marketing, it’s hard to quantify. In the meantime thought, I’m having fun with all my new friends, and that’s important too!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://LauraDrakeBooks.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauradrakebooks/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/lauradrakespeaceloveandbooks
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/LauraDrakeBooks
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCexKC_mroN5YluFQ2pDJjHw