March Madness Co-op Author #1

The first author of the March Co-op is LILA FELIX!! She is the author of

Lightning Kissed!

Lila Felix is full of antics and stories. She refused to go to Kindergarten after the teacher made her take a nap on the first day of school. She staged her first protest in middle school. She almost flunked out of her first semester at Pepperdine University because she was enthralled with their library and frequently was locked in. Now her husband and three children have to put up with her rebel nature in Louisiana where her days are filled with cypress trees, crawfish, and of course her books and writing. She writes about the ordinary people who fall extraordinarily in wild, true love.

Excerpt One:

I flashed straight into his room after asking the people at the front desk which one he was in. His parents always seemed to get adjoining rooms or cabins, no matter how old Theo was, but I asked anyway. He stood on the balcony in jeans—his shirt flapping in the ocean wind. I could no longer differentiate between habit and desire with him—my feelings were blurry. I swayed in his direction involuntarily, but stopped myself. We were no longer together—I’d made sure that I’d stayed away from him so the Resin, the Synod, and the government were all kept at a distance.

Because they were constantly on my trail.

“Took you long enough,” he remarked, still facing the beach.

I blew out an emotionally loaded breath. “I needed time to think.”

“And to what conclusion did you come?”

Leave it to Theo to sound cavalier at a time like this.

He turned around and my breath caught in my throat. His dark brown hair was gelled in a completely clean-cut style out of another time. Even as a child, he emitted an air of vintage class. He wore suspenders at the age of ten. In high school, he wore button-down shirts and slacks, the exact opposite of the other boys with their sports jerseys and ragged jeans. He was James Dean meets David Gandy, but with glassy gray eyes. He was my every desire and it pained me not to run to him, bury myself in the security of his embrace, and let him tell me it was all going to be okay. It was not going to be okay. So many suspicions and insinuations were flitting through my mind. And none of them ended well.

“I don’t even know, Theo.” My voice cracked as I said his name. It showed my weakness for him.

I hated my weakness.

“Come here.” He motioned with open arms.

I screamed in response. He wasn’t just going to hug me and think all of this would go away. “No. I’m pissed off at you. How are you doing this? You’re gonna get caught. And then what will I do?”

Interview with Lila Felix

What would you be doing right now if you were not an author?

If I were not an author, I would still be editing books for indie authors and loving every second of it.

5 years ago: what were you doing?

Five years ago, I was working nights at Wal-Mart in their cash office, counting tons of money every night.

Do you have a certain writing ritual?

My writing ritual is to listen to some inspiring music for about a half hour or read some before starting. After that, I try to write whenever I can, sneaking in the time gaps in our schedules.

What has been the toughest criticism given to you as an author?

My toughest criticism has been that my endings aren’t always what the reader expected. I see this as a criticism and a compliment. I don’t really want to write what everyone expects.

Ever fangirled over another author? Who was it?

Absolutely! I’ve totally fan-girled over so many authors. I’m first and foremost a reader after all! It was actually Shelly Crane. I flew to Florida to see her and wigged out hard.

Is there an author you'd like to meet?

I would love to meet Jay Asher. 13 Reasons Why is a book that continues to impact my life every day. It makes me think about who I am and how I treat others in every situation. He’s a brilliant author. I’d probably faint.

Biggest writing pet peeve?

My biggest writing peeve is that horrible little word count box at the bottom of the page. Once I learned to make that sucker go away, I was in heaven.

Do you read other's reviews of your books?

I read other’s reviews of my books in the first month of their release. After that, I check them every 6 months or so. It can be painful and humbling to see what others think of our books.

Thank you for being on my blog today!! Check Lila's book on all platforms!