L.L. Lily also known as the Lost Little Lily started her writing journey at the age of 15, but hadn't officially published her works online until 2013. What started out as a hobby, turned into a drive to inspire others just as books and words inspire her to write and dream the unimaginable. She likes to keep her writing, personal, and professional life separate, hence the pen name she adopts for her current and future works.
website: lllilybooks.com
twitter: @lllily13
FB: @lllily13
IG: @l.l.lily13
Meet the Bestselling author, L.L. Lily, who talks about her book “His Friend Request”, her fav. quote and her upcoming novels in this candid interview..
Q : How would you describe yourself in one word?
Quirky.
Q : Do you have a specific reason or reasons for writing " His Friend Request " , Can you please tell us a bit about the book?
HFR is a contemporary romance set during the current global pandemic. The characters are stuck in quarantine and connect via social media. When the female lead receives a friend request, that's when the magic happens. The book was also an experiment to Law of Attraction as I added an activity for the readers before and after the story (which I highly encourage readers to try and make sure their E-Reader doesn't skip that part as they always do and go straight to the first chapter.)
I didn't really have a specific reason for writing the book, it just came about when I saw a random video that explained the concept of manifesting just about anything you desired even a text message from a particular person. Readers leaving reviews that it was a nice/light way to make of an otherwise depressing year for everyone who is currently facing during the pandemic, was just a bonus. I didn't really think much of it as giving "hope" to people who otherwise thought this year was such a depressing year. At the last minute, I did dedicated the book to my father who at the time of writing the book, passed away. It made me realize that life was short and by dedicating the book to him, I felt that it was rather fitting as it pushed me to pursue my dreams to thrive as a writer instead of playing it safe and taking the practical route of getting a "real" job and hating every bit of it.
It was surprisingly easy for me to write this book, you could say I wrote it in real time as the story takes place in April and I started writing it on April 2020. It started out as one of those text role play apps [Wattpad chat stories] before I took it down and reworked it as a full story. The chat app was helpful as it helped me visually see how the dialogues would pan out rather than simply writing it on a word document.
I believe it was by far one of the fastest book I've written too as I published it in July. I probably finished writing it in a month and the last two months prior to the ebook release I was trying to polish the manuscript. The story itself didn't stress me out from writing rather it was editing and formatting both the ebook and paperback version of the book. I kept revising the manuscripts because formatting the interior is tedious and if you don't properly format it, you end up having a paperback with the words too close to the spine or even cut up and I'm not taking any chances having to continuously order proof copies of my book to fix the formatting. Not only does it cost me money to order proof copies, it takes two months for the book to ship where i'm from. So I made sure to minimize the errors on my first try because if I didn't, the paperback would never be published sooner (hence why the ebook was published on July and the paperback on September).
Q : Who’s the most important character of this book ?
Because it's a multiple POV book, it follows Hailey and Gideun as the main/important characters and they alternate between chapters.
Q : Is there anything else you would like to tell us about your novel?
Don't skip the activity in the beginning of the book! Kindle would typically skip the introductions and table of contents on the book and go to the first chapter. The experience wouldn't be complete unless you participate in the challenge from beginning. Likewise, don't just stop reading the book after the ending. The activity is explained shortly after and it has some snippets of one of my other books!
The paperback version is slightly different too! Not only is the cover design prettier than the ebook, it has some other extras and extended previews of some of my books!
Q : Any upcoming book?
DTMY (This ones a secret, though I've probably dropped some easter eggs here and there on my instagram account) & Knight of Swords. Both of which are quite different from my usual quirky, first person style. The characters are more mature compared to that of my previous stories and the books are written in 3rd person - something i'm uncomfortable in writing as I spent most of my writing career writing in 1st person - but the process has been fun so far. They are also a little different from my preferred genre (contemporary romance & Romantic Comedy) as KOS is a dark romance (another thing i'm uncomfortable writing as my writing is usually lighthearted/funny/sweet/quirky) and DTMY walks between romantic suspense, crime thriller, and paranormal romance/fantasy.
Q : What do you do when you're not working?
Mostly reading, watching funny youtube videos, or hanging out with the writing community on social media.
Q : Where do you see yourself in three years from now, or where would you like to be?
Still doing what I love - writing and being able to financially support my family through my craft. Inspiring people to pursue their dreams and do what they love.
Q : What is your favourite quote?
"Living without passion is like being dead." - Jungkook, BTS.
Q : Finally, if you could pass on a single piece of advice to authors out there reading this interview, what would it be?
Keep writing! Follow your passions/dreams and don't be discouraged if people tell you that writing or pursuing your passions isn't practical.
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