An excerpt from the December 21, 2018 interview--
Let's start with the basics. What would you like people to know about you?
L: In brief, I am fifty-two. I was born and raised in London and worked as a successful management consultant until I was 35. Then I decided to move to Tenerife (one of the Canary Islands, which are a part of Spain) to pursue a relationship. I gave up my career, sold everything I owned in London in the hope that I’d found true love. BUT, it went horribly wrong. Seventeen years later I still live here and I have found a new prince charming, so yeah, it didn’t go that horribly wrong. Now comes the really tough part for me. I lost both my parents when I was 27 to cancer, so it’s been me and my older sister supporting each other from thereon in. Thankfully, we have a very loving relationship so life goes on and my memories of my parents will never die. If you really want to know me, then read my book Sun, Sea and a Contemporary Art Gallery. It is basically my memoirs, but a literary agent recommended that I rewrite it in third person, which I did. The main character is Berkeley and he took on a life of his own. Due to popular demand, I wrote another seven books featuring Berkeley. Now I’m in a really good place.
Author Lee Collins
S: You made an incredible sacrifice for love! That took a lot of courage. I think many people fall in love when it's easy. Few are willing to make sacrifices to pursue it.
Is that why you write romance?
L: I write romance because I am a die-hard romantic. I have had a lot of relationships, fallen in love, had my heart broken more times than I care to mention, but for me, romance will never die. I also love to write books about how I wish a romance I’ve had should have gone. I also use it as a platform to vent my frustration. I live with my ex, but the love and bond between us is stronger than ever, so I’ve got my prince charming/knight in shining armour and I wouldn’t give him up for anybody. I found true love, even if he is a pain in the, ahem, at times!
S: (chuckles) They can be the love of your life, but that doesn't mean they're perfect!
If someone wrote a song about you, what would it say?
L: (Laughs) This is going to sound so corny, but I actually wrote some songs when I was in my 20’s and I wrote a song called ‘Making Rainbows," because I wanted to make rainbows for all my loved ones. It is featured in my first book, "Mistela." I would have to choose this one for that reason. The words mean so much to me--
Making Rainbows
There was a time
When I believed
That I’d been deceived
Because I didn’t have all of the things that I should
Then much to my surprise
I finally realised that nothing in life is free
When it comes to money and love
And when it comes to push and shove
You’re the one to make it happen
You have to make your own rainbow
If you’re looking for a pot of gold
You have to shoot cupid’s arrow
If you don’t want your heart left in the cold
So if no-one's gonna give
Then use your initiative
To get the things in life that you want
It’s a lesson to be learned
That all you want can be earned
Rather than waiting and never getting
You have to make your own rainbow
If you’re looking for a pot of gold
You have to shoot cupid’s arrow
If you don’t want your heart left in the cold
![Mistela (Men in Love and at War Book 1) by [Collins, L.J.]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51xQ42T3tqL.jpg)
Mistela was Lee Collin's first book
S: Wow. That's really beautiful. "You have to shoot cupid's arrow if you don't want your heart left in the cold." That's a lesson some never learn, but it is one of life's truths.
Complete this sentence for me. Writing is...
L: First and foremost a crazy experience, and one you have to be absolutely determined to pursue and succeed in! I sent my first book to about 40 publishers and literary agents and got turned down by all of them. I had balls and guts at the time and I refused to accept their judgment and decision so I kept on trying. Then I struck gold with eXtasy Books who specialize in the type of genre that I write in (MM romance). Fourteen books later it is now a question of when the fingers connect with the mind. I plan things—plots, stories, etcetera, in my head, but when the fingers take over something else comes out. (Chuckles) I can’t complain though. I think my subconscious takes over and I am always happy when it does. I go into a "zone’ when I’m writing and I have to be in that zone or I write a load of… Being a writer is not easy, but I love it, and I don’t have to do it for financial reasons. I do it for the love of being given the opportunity to be creative and express my inner being and thoughts. I get so much joy and satisfaction from it, and I hope you all will when you read my books.
(Want more? Refer back to the December 21, 2018 post!)
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