We were lucky to catch up with Lauren Devora recently and have shared our conversation below.

Lauren, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I definitely learned by doing. I wrote and wrote and wrote until I knew the story I was trying to tell. Then I’d scrap it and start all over, rewriting it until it was the story I wanted to tell others. I started young, at fourteen, and never looked back. I was too passionate about storytelling to ever want to do anything else, so the labor of writing felt like exploring a new corner of my heart I had no idea existed and dwelling in that energy. I went to workshops and writing camps, audited college classes, had one-on-ones with professors and writers. I wasn’t afraid to tear my work apart if it made it better. Stories kept me alive and gave me an escape, and I was motivated by doing the same for others. So my only purpose from the very beginning was to do that as best I could.
I was tenacious and humble – You can’t let your ego hold you back and I learned that early on. My mother was my harshest critic and never coddled me, so by the time I became an adult in the publishing world, I had incredibly thick skin and an ability to see the truth in someone’s critique without turning it into some sort of personal failing.
The only thing I would maybe do differently is take more business courses in school. I’ve learned how to market my work by watching others and learning from my peers, but if I could, I’d go back and tell myself to take classes about the numbers side of things. Don’t be afraid of the math and statistics, use them to your advantage.

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

I’m a full time indie author who has published ten books under two pennames and have eight years of experience in the indie/self-publishing world. I’ve been a creative mentor for numerous clients over the years, helping them with everything from edits and content creation to coaching them through emotional highs and lows of producing and publishing fiction and non-fiction. My favorite saying is, “If I don’t know the answer, I will find you someone who does.” I believe in building creative connections and community with all artists. In this capitalist society, we’re taught to believe that art isn’t valuable and that other authors and artists are our competition, but that is not the case for me. Not only can we all succeed, but we can lift each other up as we ourselves rise. As an author, I strive to entertain. That is my main passion – to give people an escape into a fantastical world. I love exploring all facets of the human condition with the added bonus of mythical beings and magic. The romances I write are epic and swoon-worthy, while also feeling real and between two (or more) flawed, ever-evolving people.
I am proud of the work I create, and even prouder of my clients who find their own creative spark to tend, and kindle it into a brilliant, vibrant dream life for themselves. Witnessing that evolution is immensely satisfying.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding part of being an author is getting to entertain people while also sharing a piece of my soul with them. When I receive feedback about a book or character that impacted a reader, that made them feel seen and cared for in ways other media hasn’t, that brings me to tears (of joy, of course). I believe we all deserve a little dose of escapism in our lives, and if my books are able to give that to someone, then I’ve done my job. And if, on top of that, I’ve managed to touch their hearts, then I’ve truly succeeded in sharing a grain of my own truth in my writing. My characters all have pieces of myself in them, so when a reader loves them as much as I do, it’s a balm to my battered spirit. There’s a gorgeous resonance loop between author/creator and the reader/recipient, and when both parties feel seen and cared for, that’s a true joy of life.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I had unlearn the idea that I am not my job. That is absolutely the case for so many people, but for creatives, our job isn’t just an occupation. It’s our driving force, our soul’s calling. I was told by well-meaning people that I “wasn’t just a writer” and I let that minimize my sense of identity. I felt lost for several years, trying to retrain my brain out of believing I was my work. But I am my work. My work is me. My art is my heart poured out and displayed in ink. It’s often the thing that gets me out of bed every morning. Being a writer isn’t just my job, it’s how I see the world, how I interact with it. Every connection I have, every passing moment with another human is made that much more intense and real and beautiful because I know I’m memorizing details about them to filter back into my art later. No one is meaningless in my world. No characteristic is ignored. I observe, I ponder, but most of all, I cling to the knowledge that within another person is a flickering light of humanity and they are living their own story. If I’m lucky, I get to see some of that story unfold in front of me.
Publishing books and selling them is the business side of my work, and I can see how many people wouldn’t want me to equate my sense of self with that. But my writing? That’s all I am. That’s my passion and fire and life’s blood. And now I’m at a place where, if someone tried to tell me otherwise, I’d smile and firmly disagree.

Contact Info:

• Website: laurendevora.com
• Instagram: @willwrite4coffee and @gwendolyn.harper.books
• Facebook: @AuthorLaurenDevora
• TikTok: @willwrite4coffee and @gwendolynharperbooks

Image Credits
Annie Minicuci Lauren Hall Lauren Devora Creative North Shore events