Prolific author Rochelle Alers is back with another great read. I recently spoke with her about A Winning Season.
Tell me about your book.
A WINNING SEASON is about a young woman willing to sacrifice love and a nursing career to become the legal guardian for her brothers following the accidental death of their parents, and also a former baseball phenom volunteering to mentor her at-risk youngest brother.
Why did you decide to write it?
When I initially contemplated writing A WINNING SEASON, I wanted to focus on family loyalty. The question had become: what if an eighteen-year-old is faced with the responsibility of raising her six and eight-year-old brothers. Would she let them go into foster care to fulfill her dream to become a nurse, or put her life on hold keep her family together. I normally don’t write about athletes, yet I couldn’t resist profiling the hero Sutton Reed as a baseball player.
What’s one thing readers would be surprised to learn about you?
I’m not a sports junkie except when it comes to baseball. I always follow my favorite team for the entire season, even going as far as to watch encore games. I’ll occasionally attend a home game, but I much prefer sitting home and watching them on television in the privacy of my home where I can act a complete fool whether they win or lose. And for those that don’t know – I am a rabid New York Mets fan!
To what do you attribute your success?
To me there are different degrees of success. I feel I’ve achieved a modicum of success as a romance writer because I will celebrate my thirty-second year as a published author this December. I also believe I am blessed because after writing so many titles I am still in awe that I can come up with new plots and characters without becoming repetitious. And if that equals success, then I humbly accept it.
What do you hope your legacy will be?
I hope my legacy will not be the number of books that I have published, but whether they will continue to resonate with readers for generations to come. And, also, when someone picks up and finishes one of my novels they will look forward to reading another one.
What’s the most difficult part of being an author?
The beginning page of a new manuscript. There have been times when I’ve begun the first page countless times while doubting whether I will be able to write and complete the book. This is when I put it aside and take a break. And once I go back to it the words follow effortlessly on the screen. I also must be conscious of the pacing when it comes to a specified word count because I tend to exceed it. I am also a verified procrastinator. As a full-time writer I find I’m not as disciplined as when I worked outside the home. Then, I only had so many hours in a day in which to write, but now it’s different, because I am not as focused and with the quarantine I am combining writing with knitting and crocheting.
What was your most memorable experience writing this book?
I was drawn to the interaction between Sutton and Harper. Although Sutton is not a father he relates to Harper as if the teen were his son. And it was through their candid conversations that Harper was able to turn his life around to become a responsible young man, and this is a scenario I would love to see repeated with so many men and their younger selves.
What’s next for you?
I am beginning a new project for Harlequin’s Special Edition. The Bainbridge House will be four-book series. A NEW FOUNDATION – an April 2021 release features adopted siblings willed property listed on the National Register of Historic Places and together participate in restoring it to its Gilded Age splendor.
Do you have anything you would like to add?
I am also working on the third book in The Book Club series for Kensington’s Dafina Books. I currently don’t have a title or publication date. Book #2 – THE BEACH HOUSE is scheduled for May 2021.
To learn more about Rochelle Alers, visit her website www.rochellealers.org., email her at roclers@aol.com or connect with her on Facebook and Twitter.
Use Black Fiction Addiction’s affiliate link to purchase your copy of A Winning Season.