SEELIE KAY: Postcards from The Ledge: This week in The Loft: Author Serena James Chase!

Joining me today in The Loft is author Serena James Chase. Serena writes contemporary and fantasy romance. Her stories are sometimes angsty, always steamy. Serena loves to deliver those hard-earned happily-ever-afters. By day, she works in the non-profit world, but by night, she writes or spends time with her family. Serena is also a knitter, wanna-be foodie, and a proud life-long lover of hot cocoa and fuzzy blankets. She lives in New England with her husband and two sons.

S: Good morning, Serena. Thanks for joining me today.

Why write romance?

SJC: I always say I didn’t choose romance, romance chose me. And it’s true. Over the years, I’ve written stories in several genres and no matter how they started out, I always found my imagination locking on to building and crafting the love stories between the intended lead and sometimes not the intended lead, characters.

S: I know exactly what you're talking about. To me falling love and romantic relationships are an important part of life. I can't seem to avoid writing about them.

Do you write in other genres?

SJC: Yes, I do. Besides contemporary and fantasy romance, I also love writing about vampires and magic. I write urban fantasy, science fiction and speculative fiction under a different pen name, but fear not, even these stories have romance at the heart of them.

S: What do you appreciate more in your romantic partners--Brains or brawn/beauty?

SJC: I love an intelligent man, but I got lucky when I met my sexy and brilliant hubby. After 18 years of marriage, he’s still handsome and just as smart.

S: I'm with you. There is nothing more sexy than an intelligent man!

How did you meet your husband? When did you know he was “the one?”

SJC: This is going to sound like it’s completely made up, but I swear it’s the truth. My husband and I met randomly in a bookstore in June. We got married in June and the 19th is our wedding anniversary. I knew he was the one when we would stay up late at night just talking on the phone and yeah, we had those long moments of comfortable silences where neither of us said anything and we just listened to the other person breathing.

S: That's so romantic!

Complete this sentence: “When one of my books is released, I….”

SJC: Try not to think about it or the next book for at least a week. Sometimes I fail, though.

S: What inspired "Everything You Need?"

SJC: I began writing what would turn out to be the five-book series that includes "Everything You Need" over 10 years ago and living through two life-changing events—the birth of my second son and a relocation—and quitting writing. I don’t quite remember what inspired their story, but more than any other fictional people that I created, Alan Mitchell and Brianna Walsh clung to me through all that time. No matter how busy or chaotic life got during those days, I couldn’t get these characters and the love they had for each other out of my head. I had to put the story down on paper and I’m so happy I found the courage to publish it and share it with other romance lovers.

S: Is there anything special you would like people to know about "Everything You Need?"

SJC: As I mentioned before, sometimes my characters do what they want in the story. In the Being the Billionaire’s Girlfriend series, Alan Mitchell is the billionaire who falls for the woman he never expected. Well, that makes two of us because when I wrote the first words for these stories, Brianna was supposed to fall for another guy altogether. I still remember the exact scene I wrote where I knew there was no turning back. These two had to be together. Yes, Alan’s love for Brianna was that powerful. The memorable scene takes place in the fourth book, "Everything You Want," during one of the couple’s late-night rendezvous. If you’re curious to know which one after reading the books, you can always email me. I write back! One last note, while many readers have thoroughly enjoyed "Everything You Need" by itself, I’d recommend you read "Everything You Want," too. Both books showcase the struggle of an unconventional romance as well as the beautiful and steamy love story between Alan and Brianna. I hope you enjoy it!

Here's the blurb--

You can’t get everything you want. Sometimes, though, you get exactly what you need.

From the moment she met Alan Mitchell, Brianna knew he would be trouble. Nothing prepared her to fall for the guy of her dreams. The guy who just happened to be her billionaire client. Their contract was long over now. But he wants more. And trouble is, so does she.

Leave it to him to fall in love with the most stubborn woman he’s ever met. But Alan has never been closer to winning over Brianna Walsh. He almost lost her forever when his heart got way ahead of his head. She gave him a second chance. And now he’ll stop at nothing to convince her their love might be messy, but it’s real.

They know they love each other. But can they finally make it work?