Claire Contreras interview

Claire Contreras is a New York Times Best Selling Author. Her books range from romantic suspense to contemporary romance and are currently translated in over ten different languages.

She lives in Miami with her husband, two adorable boys, three bulldogs, and two stray cats that she refuses to admit are hers (even though they live on her porch, she named them, and continues to feed them). When she's not writing, she's usually lost in a book.

As an author of beautiful, often gut-wrenching romance, in your opinion, what are some of the biggest misconceptions about the romance genre as a whole?
I think people think romance books are sappy, happy-go-lucky stories where people are perfect and live in equally perfect worlds. I'm sure if they pick one up they'd be pleasantly surprised to discover that they can relate to a lot of these stories.

What’s the best line from a book, movie or TV show that you wish you wrote?
Good question. Basically, any line that comes out of Tyrion Lannister's mouth (Game of Thrones). Also, even though it's a band, so it doesn't technically count: "I don't know where you're going, but do you have room for one more troubled soul?"

If you could borrow any character from a book, movie or TV show and put him/her in one of your stories, who would it be and why?

The Punisher (specifically the one from DareDevil on Netflix). 1- Because I love him 2- Because I love that character 3- Because he's flawed and such a badass. 

If you could co-author a book with anyone you haven’t worked with before, who would it be and why? (feel free to time-travel on this one—it can be any author, living or dead) 
I'm not sure that I could actually co-write a book with anybody, to be honest. It seems like it would take a lot of discipline, which I lack. If I could, I'd pick Stephen King or Dennis Lehane.  

Becoming a NYT bestseller is no easy accomplishment. What advice do you have for all the authors and aspiring writers out there who hope to someday achieve your level of success? 
I don't think hitting the NYT is something that anybody should have on their mind when they're writing or publishing. I never in a million years thought I'd hit it, so while It's definitely an accomplishment, but it's never been my "goal" when I publish a book. I think everybody needs to keep in mind that the definition of success varies depending on each person. NYT is a tough one to give advice for because sometimes it seems like it just takes luck and a good story, other times it seems like it takes a lot of time and a good story, but we don't really have control over it. I hit it with my sixth book and after that didn't hit it again until my last release. Building your platform and establishing a connection with your readers and peers are things that I find make me feel successful and in the grand scheme of they're things are much more valuable than any list. 

The zombie apocalypse has hit (as we all knew it would one day). Which TV or movie characters do you want as part of your crew? (no superheroes…that’s cheating) 
Jon Snow, one of Khalessi's dragons, The Punisher (he doesn't have any powers), I want to say Neegan from The Walking Dead, but he'd want to be the boss and we can't have that, so I'll go with Michonne from TWD . . . I think I'd be good with them. ​​

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