Erin La Rosa Interview - For Butter or Worse ~ JeanBookNerd

Photo Content from Erin La Rosa

Erin La Rosa has written many highly engaging… tweets, as a social media manager. But on her way to writing romance, she’s also published two humorous non-fiction books, Womanskills and The Big Redhead Book. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and three daughters (one human, two feline).

Greatest thing you learned in school.
I got my master’s at University of Southern California, and had a really wonderful writing professor named Mark Richard. He was this incredible man with a really epic life story, and he told us that the most successful writers he knew were simply the ones who stuck with it. He said that he’d known beautiful writers who eventually gave up writing to pursue other careers, but the ones who made a career did the simple act of continuing to try, and that really stuck with me (and Mark was right, in my opinion).

Tell us your most rewarding experience since being published.
I’ve gotten some really thoughtful messages from readers about how much they enjoyed the book, and I really love talking to them about the story and characters! As a romance book lover, I have so many authors who I admire, and their stories make me feel so many emotions, so it’s really neat to know that For Butter or Worse is reaching people in a similar way.

Was there a defining moment during your youth when you realized you wanted to be a writer?
So many people are likely influenced by their teachers—and I absolutely was. I had a fantastic teacher named Mrs. Winer when I was in high school. I just really connected with her, and felt safe in her class, and I remember she wrote on one of my papers, “This is really well written, you should be a writer!” and that was really all of the encouragement I needed.

What’s the best advice you can give writers to help them develop their own unique voice and style?
I feel the best teacher of voice is to read, watch, and listen to a lot of different kinds of writing. I listen to audiobooks a lot, and consume a solid amount of podcasts, and TV as well. I’m more of an auditory person—I absorb information when I hear it. And that goes for voice and tone as well. I think reading a lot of different authors and genres will tell you what you like, and what you don’t like. I get so amped up whenever I read Alexis Daria or Alexis Hall (Alexis is clearly an amazing name), because their writing is so fun and fast and I aspire to be like them.

What are some of your current and future projects that you can share with us?
I’m currently working on a spin-off book from For Butter or Worse. It focuses on Sophie, who is Nina’s little sister, and jumps ahead a few years. We see her as a successful romance author in a bit of a sophomore slump (very meta, for me). And this will be a friends to lovers, only one bed, grumpy meets sunshine, kind of book.

In your newest book; FOR BUTTER OR WORSE, can you tell my Book Nerd community a little about it.
For Butter or Worse is basically if Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry from The Great British Baking Show had to fake date in order to save their relationship. The book has lots of snappy dialogue, is very much centered on the LA food scene, and has plenty of steam.

SEVEN REASONS TO READ FOR BUTTER OR WORSE

1. This is a slow-burn romance book, so there will be a lot of chemistry and build up before the big bang, so to speak.
2. If you love cinnamon roll heroes—meaning the hero is supportive, kind, and generally means well—then you will love Leo, who is a secret cinnamon roll.
3. Only 7% of kitchens in America are run by women—not a lot! My book deals with sexism in the food industry and addresses it head on.
4. Do you love witty banter? You will love this book.
5. There’s a 69 scene in the book…you’re welcome.
6. If you are a foodie, then you will love all of the delicious food descriptions in this book. Just make sure to read with snacks!
7. My dad read my book in a day, and gave it this review: “It was quite good!”

What do you hope for readers to be thinking when they read your novel?
Above all, I want readers to have fun when they’re reading my book—I know how important escapism is, and how amazing a great book can be when you need a respite. So I hope when readers go through For Butter or Worse, they just want to keep living in the world and with the characters because they’re getting a lot of joy from the experience of it.

What part of Nina and Leo did you enjoy writing the most?
I love a good slow burn romance, so writing scenes with stolen glances, and where they’re longing for each other, but are too afraid to express their feelings…those are a lot of fun to write!

If you could introduce one of your characters to any character from another book, who would it be and why?
As Nina and Leo are a Hollywood couple, I think they’d have a fun double date with Jasmine and Ashton from You Had Me at Hola by Alexis Daria.

What is the craziest thing you have ever done?
Quit my six-figure, extremely secure job at Netflix to pursue writing For Butter or Worse…but it paid off.

How far away from your birthplace do you live now?
I was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and I now live in Los Angeles. I Googled it, and it’s a 27 hour drive!

What were you doing at midnight last night?
I was sleeping, because I’m so not a night owl! I get up at 5:15 every morning to write, so I’m in bed by ten.

They go together like water and oil…

All chef Nina Lyon wants is to make a name for herself in the culinary world and inspire young women everywhere to do the same. For too long, she’s been held back and underestimated by the male-dominated sphere of professional kitchens, and she's had enough. Now, as co-host of the competitive reality TV series The Next Cooking Champ!, she finally has a real shot at being top tier in the foodie scene.
Too bad her co-host happens to be Hollywood’s smarmiest jerk.

Restaurateur Leo O’Donnell never means to get under Nina’s skin. It just seems to happen, especially when the cameras are rolling. It's part of the anxiety and stress he has come to know all too well in this line of work. So nothing prepares him for the fallout after he takes one joke a smidge too far and Nina up and quits—on live TV.

To make matters worse, the two are caught in what looks like a compromising situation by the paparazzi…and fans of the show go absolutely nuts. Turns out, a “secret romance” between Nina and Leo may just be what their careers need most.

Now all they have to do is play along, without killing each other...and without catching feelings. Easy as artisanal shepherd's pie. Right?

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