The Location Shoot follows a group of people brought together by a controversial filmmaker who, in the process of filming, look to answer the big questions of life. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

I wrote this novel during the pandemic when we were in lockdown. At the time, we were all isolated. During difficult times, I always turn to the arts. So, I was thinking about isolation and the arts when an idea came to me: a novel about a group of artists living together somewhere remote while creating a daring work of cinema.

Was there anything from your own life that you put into the characters in your novel?

It’s definitely a work of fiction that was based on my imagination, but there are always seeds of me in the books. For example, the filmmaker invites his friend Ella Sinclair to join them for the summer as they shoot the film in a remote location in Sweden. Ella is a philosopher and writes her books in artistic ways. There’s a bit of me there. I have a doctorate degree in sociology and my nonfiction works are creatively written. Like Ella, I’m also interested in asking the big questions. Like her love interest, movie star Finn Forrester, I’m definitely a romantic at heart. I identify in ways with Jean Mercier, the filmmaker too. He likes to push the envelope with his art. I relate to that.

What was the chosen theme of the novel, or did it develop organically as you were writing?

It was a completely organic process. I immediately became swept up in the story and worked on it seven days a week. I usually write my novels out of order, as a series of scenes, which I stitch together in the end. I began The Location Shoot with a scene at the inn in Sweden. The group is a couple weeks into shooting the film when Ella arrives and immediately enchants Finn. At the time, I didn’t fully understand what the themes of the book would be, but they began to reveal themselves. The pandemic was a time for reflection and introspection for many of us, and so the film the group is making became about the big questions of life. Ultimately, that led to an exploration of the meaning of life, what love is, and why love is everything. 

What is the next book that you’re working on, and when can your fans expect it out?

I loved writing Finn and Ella’s love story so much that I decided to continue with it. My next novel, After the Red Carpet, picks up where The Location Shoot ends. The novel follows Finn and Ella for the next five years as they build a life together. It’s a really romantic book about what it means to love someone and choose them every day. I think of it as a spin on a Cinderella story. After the Red Carpet comes out September 3, 2024. If readers are looking for a romantic escape before that, they may want to check out my last celebrity romance, Hollyland, which was also a feel-good read.

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