Author Spotlight: An Interview with Danielle Slater & Allegra Ryan co-writers of Made

11 March of 2016 by Deb Markanton

Danielle Slater

Danielle Slater writes romance stories involving the men we hate to love and love to hate: the bad boys. She has always been drawn to them, whether she wanted to be or not, and loves to tell stories about their irresistible natures and, of course, the heroines that capture their hearts.

She hopes to become a full-time writer and currently resides in San Francisco as a secretary for a small law firm. Her goal is to entertain, and she hopes you enjoy each and every story along the way.

Allegra Ryan

Allie loves stories served up steamy, twisty and suspenseful, with an extra helping of bad boys. For story fodder, she’s waited tables, driven a bus, interviewed politicians, and traveled the world. Although her suitcase is tucked away in the attic, she’s always itching to get back on the road. For now, she lives with her family on the West Coast of the United States.

Interview Q&A…

Congratulations on your debut novel! Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Danielle:

Writing has always been in my blood. My mom was a huge reader when I was growing up. I think she passed her love of story to me. It’s so exciting to finally be able to live this dream.

Allegra:

Love of writing is what brought Danielle and I together. I’ve been writing forever, also. In my case, I’ve kept journals and written about my travels and only ventured into fiction recently.

Deb:

How did this book come into being? Who had the initial idea, and how did you proceed from there?

Danielle:

Allegra was the driving force behind the idea. After she created the outline, I roughed in more of the story and we ping-ponged after that.

Allegra:

Danielle is the logical, structured part of the team. I’m the outside-the-box-why-won’t-it-work? person. She keeps me grounded. Most of the time. Hint: it’s a big job.

Deb:

What challenges did you encounter as co-authors?

Danielle:

I’d say the biggest challenge was that we both have day jobs. Getting projects complete comes down to good communication and time management, and sometimes just busting it out on deadline.

Allegra:

There were a couple of times we each wanted to go in a different direction with the story. In those cases, it was a place where the story could have been expanded into a much longer novel. We made some hard choices, but ones we both felt we could live with.

Deb:

This may sound a bit far-fetched considering the plot of Made, but was anything taken from real life situations? Any characters based (however loosely) on anyone you’ve met?

Danielle:

Whether we realize it or not, most of us encounter people on a daily basis who are worried about a problem they fear they can’t solve. They might have something to hide or be up against individuals or corporations in a situation where they are the underdog. All those people and situations get my imagination rolling. What if. . .?

Allegra:

A few years ago, I blew up my life, which means I changed everything that was within my power to change and started over. It was the best thing I ever did as well as the most challenging. As a consequence, I’m fascinated by people in extreme situations. These can be people who hang on to situations with gritty determination as well as those who take a huge leap of faith.

I can see those elements in both Brooke and Nathan.

In his heart of hearts, Nathan knew he needed to change. He knew that coming in off the road and taking the job at Dominion was a demotion, but belonging was more important to him and made him look the other way. Brooke’s life changed in an instant the night her parents were killed. Both had to adapt–willingly or not–and that leaves a lot of room for a fun story to develop.

Deb:

Without giving any spoilers, what was your favorite part to write and why?

Danielle:

I’m shameless. I love all the heat and the steam. <>

Allegra:

I’m over here plotting all the twists and turns and OMG moments. There are many more coming up in the other books in the series! Promise.

Deb:

Who was easier to write, Nathan or Brooke? Why?

Danielle:

Nathan was easier for me. That may be because I work with a lot of men and am privy to their conversations. As a side note, I’ll add that anyone who says men don’t talk as much as women hasn’t spent much time around them! At least that’s true of the males in my vicinity. They are fascinating. And rarely quiet.

Allegra:

Brooke was easier for me. I think that’s because when I was writing her I was channeling the part of myself that’s all gritty determination and not much faith that things will work out. That last part–the no faith part–is why I wanted to give her a hunky guy and a happy ending. She deserves it!

Deb:

What celebrities do you envision playing Nathan and Brooke?

Danielle & Allegra:

Brooke is (very) loosely based on a friend of Allegra’s who is half Latina, half Irish. In our heads, she would be played by Christina Hendricks.

Nathan: nobody gets to play Nathan except Australian-New Zealand actor Manu Bennett. Spartacus, anyone? He’s currently playing Allanon in The Shannara Chronicles.

Deb:

There are two more books in this series. When will they be released? Where can we expect the story to go?

Danielle & Allegra:

Laid, which features Caylee and Hunter’s story, will be released the first week in May. All we can say right now is that there’s a lot more to Caylee than you’d think, considering she was described as a “pint-sized Barbie.” Powerful women can come in small packages. Hunter’s background is a lot darker and more twisty than Nathan’s was in Made. Secrets from Hunter’s past come back to haunt him in Laid.

Blown will be out in late spring or early summer

Allegra Ryan