With No Strings Attached, Book One of The Carrero Connection, now out in the wild, I thought it might be fun to do something a little different.
So I let Bobby the Author Interviewer loose on me.
We talked about why I returned to Carrero, why I chose Rachel and Nick, what writing three books back-to-back did to me, why my admin sends me crates of Irn-Bru, and why Nick Carrero probably deserves a throat punch.
This Q&A is safe for anyone who has read Book One. No spoilers for Books Two or Three.
L.T.: Mostly because Bobby tried, and I refused to tell him anything.
🎤 Bobby: When did you first start thinking seriously about returning to Carrero?
L.T.: It was about six months before I sat down to write, when I started pulling up my Carrero book ideas to choose a couple and start envisioning the full story.
🎤 Bobby: You had multiple Carrero ideas waiting. Why choose Nick and Rachel to bring the series back?
L.T.: I knew the fans had a huge gap and needed someone to bring them back into the Carrero world seamlessly. Rachel being Cam’s sister meant lots of Camlexi, and they helped the transition.
🎤 Bobby: Did Nick and Rachel develop the way you expected?
L.T.: I knew I wanted something different with them while still hinting at the previous Carreros. Nick has traits of all his previous counterparts, while Rachel has slight hints nodding back to Emma while also having Cam’s sister traits.
I’ve hidden lots of nods to the original trilogy in these three books, and it surprised me how easy that was to do.
Bobby: And now everyone reading this is going back through Book One looking for them. 👀
L.T.: I said all three books!!!! hahahha
🎤 Bobby: You wrote this trilogy differently and drafted all three books back-to-back. Why?
L.T.: Because I didn’t want my fans to get a brand-new Carrero and then wait months between parts. I know they had waited long enough.
🎤 Bobby: What was it actually like writing all three continuously?
L.T.: It was mentally and physically exhausting. I had to rely so much on the good nature of my beta team, who read daily drafts to keep the plot growing. They kept me going when I wanted to pack it in.
It did help me stay in the world and the feelings of the couple, but it was incredibly hard to maintain. I do not recommend lol.
Bobby: So apparently the solution to not making readers suffer was for the author to suffer instead.
L.T.: Excellent system. I make them suffer with my words instead.
🎤 Bobby: Who was easier to write, Rachel or Nick?
L.T.: Rachel, because I write in her POV. Nick is seen through her lens and is open to interpretation.
It’s harder to write him because what I know and what the reader guesses has to match up with how I make him act.
🎤 Bobby: How much did you know about Nick that Rachel didn’t?
L.T.: Everything. Haha.
I know all his reasons, feelings, and hang-ups. I know all his true emotions. I am his puppeteer.
🎤 Bobby: So was there ever a scene where Rachel interpreted Nick spectacularly wrong?
L.T.: That’s a spoiler you cannot have until after his POV. Lol.
Bobby: I tried.
L.T.: You did…You failed.
🎤 Bobby: Wait. Nick has a POV?
L.T.: I swore after Alexi’s POV I would never do another one!
But this time I started between the books, taking some chapters and doing them in his POV so I’ll have it ready faster. It’s my least favorite thing to write.
Bobby: So the woman who swore she was never doing another male POV is already writing another male POV.
L.T.: Exactly. Because I love being a walking contradiction.
🎤 Bobby: What worried you most when you released Nick into the world?
L.T.: Nick coming across as unlikeable with zero redeeming qualities.
It’s always a stressful thought when releasing a Carrero man into the wild.
🎤 Bobby: Have any of the reactions to Book One surprised you?
L.T.: Nope. I think all my predictions have been spot on so far.
Everyone hates Simone, loves Rachel, and is very mad at Nick.
Bobby: Congratulations, Nick. Your release into the wild is going splendidly.
L.T.: Exactly to plan, Lol.
🎤 Bobby: What was it like writing Cam and Alexi again?
L.T.: Fun, because it reminded me why I liked them in the first place. I think having them viewed from an outsider who gets into their inner sanctum was the best way to bring them back.
🎤 Bobby: If you could give Rachel one piece of advice at the end of Book One, what would it be?
L.T.: Breathe. Ride it out. Don’t look at tomorrow, because you’ve got this.
🎤 Bobby: And what advice would you give Nick?
L.T.: I would just throat punch him.
Bobby: Moving swiftly on.
🎤 Bobby: What does writing a Carrero book actually look like behind the scenes?
L.T.: I religiously get sent a crate of Irn-Bru by one of my admins anytime I start a book. It fuels me. So thank you, Jackie.
But I also have a few weird quirks.
First, I write completely in hobo chic. I do not bother with daytime clothing. My seat becomes my entire existence.
I hyperfocus and often do not sleep until I can no longer type coherent words, and then bad posture moves me to shrimp mode by the fifth hour of day three.
Lots of crisps. Tea. Irn-Bru. More crisps and takeaway. I gain like five pounds per book and then have to run it off a month later.
No one is allowed to talk to me, look at me, or breathe near me while I live in their world.
I also lucid dream scenes when I need help and often talk to myself all day long as I work out dialogue. So you will find me wandering aimlessly like a lost tourist in my own home, muttering under my breath while trying to figure out why I am walking around my house.
Bobby: So, for anyone wondering what powers The Carrero Connection: Irn-Bru, crisps, sleep deprivation and eventually becoming a crustacean.
L.T.: And a slightly unstable mentality.
🎤 Bobby: You lucid dream scenes. How much of the story do you actually see in your head?
L.T.: All of it. But I do construct it.
I think in movies. I see images, hear, touch, smell, etc., so when I create it in my head, I can play it like an actual show. I am very good at it.
🎤 Bobby: Does experiencing the story that vividly affect you emotionally?
L.T.: Yes. It’s long been a joke among my admin that I stay emotionally numb through a book, and then as soon as the last sentence is applied, I have a two-week “emotion flu.”
I get sick every single time.
Bobby: Writing: such a healthy and relaxing career choice.
L.T.: Totally, that’s why I am so normal.
🎤 Bobby: Three words for Rachel and Nick. Book One only.
L.T.:
Rachel: Warm. Funny. Likeable.
Nick: Smart. Controlled. Idiot.
Bobby: I have no follow-up questions regarding the third descriptor.
L.T.: Self-explanatory.
🎤 Bobby: Do you have a favourite Carrero couple?
L.T.: I don’t really, but I have a future Carrero couple coming that, I hate to say, might be my first.
And he’s not even a Carrero….. Don’t come for me hahah
Bobby: …
I have been informed that asking another question at this point may result in my removal from the premises, so I shall simply leave that there for everyone to obsess over.
L.T.: I Didn’t threaten him; his boss did.
🎤 Bobby: Finally, what would you like to say to the readers who waited all this time for another Carrero story and came back for Rachel and Nick?
L.T.: Thank you for your patience and service.
Without you, I wouldn’t have bothered, because this is not a fun occupation mid-writing. Hahaha.
Discover more from
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
