Interview With Author Kayla Gerdes
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m Kayla Gerdes, an indie author, Esthetician, small business owner, and full-time mom based in New Orleans, Louisiana. I write stories that bleed truth, whether it’s a dark MC romance, a spicy motocross love story, or a children’s book meant to build confidence from the ground up. My journey started back in 8th grade when I wrote a script for my entire class to perform. I didn’t know it then, but that spark would grow into something much bigger. I’ve always loved storytelling, but I didn’t always feel seen in the stories around me, so I started writing my own. Stories for people like me. For survivors. For women who feel too much, too deeply, and too often.
Books like Savage Devotion, The Circle: The Masked and the Marked, and The Wicked Saints: The Wild Ride let me dive into complicated, broken, passionate characters who fight like hell for something real. And under my pen name, Tuesday Monroe, I get to lean into steamy, sharp-witted romance with books like Flip Flops & Fast Laps, the kind that leaves a grin on your face and a fire in your chest.
No matter the genre, everything I write comes from the same place: the messy, raw, beautiful parts of being human. I write for the ones still healing, the ones still rising, and the ones who never saw themselves as main characters, until now. If you’ve ever survived something you weren’t sure you’d come back from… you just might find yourself in my pages.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My most recent book is called Flip Flops & Fast Laps, written under my pen name, Tuesday Monroe. It’s a motocross romance packed with heat, heart, and second chances. The story follows a sharp, sarcastic single mom who crashes into a motocross legend, and neither of them walks away the same. There’s tension, banter, emotional wreckage, and a whole lot of fire.
What inspired it? I grew up riding dirt bikes. That thrill, that freedom, it shaped me before life got complicated. Years later, watching my son at the track brought something full circle for me. I remembered the girl I used to be. The wild. The want. The strength. And I wanted to write a story that captured that kind of spirit.
Flip Flops & Fast Laps is more than a romance, it’s a love letter to resilience, to women who’ve been through hell and still find a way to laugh, and to the kind of messy love that makes you feel alive again.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Absolutely, I don’t write in perfect silence or some peaceful cottage with tea. I write in the middle of chaos, between client appointments, after my son goes to sleep, or while reheating leftovers and cracking open another Red Bull. Red Bull is my lifeline when I’m writing at 2 AM because a line hit me too hard to sleep.
My ADHD means my brain never really sits still, so I bounce between writing dialogue, editing chapters, and planning TikTok content like I’m juggling fire. I’ve written emotional scenes in full glam and finished steamy ones in sweatpants with a face mask on. Sometimes, I scribble plot twists on the back of receipts. And sometimes I just lock myself in my room and write until the noise in my head turns into something beautiful.
Honestly, writing is survival for me. I don’t wait for inspiration. I write in the mess, in the real life, in the middle of whatever storm I’m walking through. That’s where the rawness comes from. That’s where the power lives.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
So many, I could give you a whole scroll of names, but the ones that really stuck with me? The ones who made me feel something I didn’t even know I needed? Lani Lynn Vale taught me that messy, chaotic characters are the ones who feel the most real. J.L. Beck and Tijan showed me how to mix dark and emotional with just the right amount of heat. Avelyn Paige and K.E. Osborn made me fall in love with MC worlds that weren’t just tough, they were tender under the grit. Autumn Jones Lake reminded me that loyalty in fiction hits just as hard as betrayal. Lisa Renee Jones and Vi Keeland? They gave me permission to be bold with desire. T.M. Frazier, M.N. Forgy, Dannika Dark—they wrote fearlessly. And that fearlessness made me brave. Chelsea Camaron, K.C. Lynn, Lena Bourne, Max Monroe, Molly McAdams… they all wrote about women who were complicated, messy, soft, savage, and I felt seen. Their books didn’t just entertain me, they helped me survive. They taught me that a story doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to be honest. And that’s what I carry with me every time I sit down to write.
What are you working on now?
Right now, I’m juggling a few beautiful, chaotic projects, because that’s just how my brain works. I’m working on Savage Devotion: Book 3, which picks up with even more heat, heartache, and revenge. If you thought Roman and Presley were intense before, just wait. Their world is getting darker, and so is their love.
I’m also writing The Circle: Book 2, a multi-POV psychological thriller where secrets unravel and nothing is what it seems. It’s layered, raw, and twisted in all the best ways. The more I write, the deeper the secrets get.
And, of course, I’m still living in the world of Flip Flops & Fast Laps. Readers wanted more of that story, and I listened. So, I’m developing a follow-up that dives deeper into Mae and Trace’s chaos, chemistry, and everything that comes after the happily-ever-maybe.
Plus, I’ve got poems, children’s book ideas, and a few spicy standalone stories simmering under the surface. My mind never stops creating, I just try to keep up with it.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Honestly? TikTok has been a game-changer for me. It’s where I built a community of over 33,000 people who don’t just follow—they engage, they read, they share. TikTok allows me to connect in a real, raw, sometimes hilarious way that feels more personal than polished. I can share quotes, behind-the-scenes chaos, emotional rants, or just talk straight to the camera, and it lands. Instagram is something I’m just starting to use for book promotion, but I’m having fun learning how to make it more visual and engaging. I’m slowly building it out with quote cards, cover reveals, and sneak peeks into my writing process. It’s a work in progress—but it’s becoming another space where I can show up creatively and connect with readers in a new way. Facebook helps me stay connected to readers on a more consistent, conversational level. Whether it’s through my author page or reader groups, it keeps the door open for casual check-ins and deeper discussions. And Goodreads is where I connect with readers who really want to dig into the stories. The reviews, the reading lists, the chance to show up where readers are already searching? That’s priceless. Wattpad has been an unexpected but powerful tool for connecting with readers. It’s where I share early versions, sneak peeks, and even exclusive stories under my pen name. It gives readers a chance to discover my work organically, and engage in real time. The feedback, the reads, the comments? It’s raw and immediate. And for someone like me, who writes from emotion, that kind of energy means everything. But honestly,nothing beats authenticity. No matter the platform, I show up as myself. Messy, honest, funny, emotional. I don’t market like a machine—I connect like a human.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write like no one’s watching, because at first, no one is. And that’s a gift. Don’t wait for perfection. It doesn’t exist. Write the messy version, the raw version, the one that scares you a little. You can always polish later, but the truth in your words? That’s what readers connect to. Protect your voice. Everyone will have opinions, some helpful, some not. Learn to trust your gut. Your story is yours for a reason. And don’t be afraid to take up space. Especially if the world taught you to shrink. Your words matter. Your experience matters. If writing feels like breathing, it’s because it’s keeping something alive in you.
Publishing doesn’t make you a writer. Finishing the thing, even when you’re tired or doubting yourself, that’s where the magic is. Keep going. Even when it’s hard. Especially when it’s hard. Because somewhere out there is a reader who needs your exact kind of chaos, comfort, or fire. Don’t rob them, or yourself, of that. You’re not just writing a book. You’re building a legacy.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Stop asking for permission to be who you already are.”
That one cracked me wide open. For a long time, I shrank myself, trying to be likable, digestible, quiet enough to fit into rooms that were never built for me. I softened my voice, my writing, even my ambition. But that advice? It reminded me that I didn’t need approval to exist loudly, to create fearlessly, or to turn my pain into something powerful.
Now, I write what I want. I show up messy, real, and unapologetic. I parent, I create, I survive, on my own terms. So if you’re waiting for a sign to take the leap? This is it. It wasn’t delay, it was survival. And everything you need to become her is already etched in your soul and your bones.
What are you reading now?
Right now, I’m reading The Bennett Family Series by Layla Hagen, and I’m obsessed. It’s one of those series that wraps around you like comfort and chaos at the same time. The family dynamics, the romance, the chemistry, it’s addictive in the best way. Sometimes I need to step away from the darkness I write and fall into something that feels like love, loyalty, and slow-burn healing. This series is giving me all the warm, flirty, emotional energy I didn’t know I needed. And as a writer, it’s a reminder that even the softest stories can still hit hard.
What’s next for you as a writer?
More. That’s the only word that feels big enough. More stories. More risks. More truth. More heat. More healing. I’m not afraid to write the things most people whisper about anymore. The next chapters of my author life are about digging deeper, into the messy, painful, beautiful parts of love, trauma, survival, and desire. I’m working on sequels, spin-offs, and brand-new projects that scare me in all the right ways. The kind of stories that make your heart race and break. I want to keep building a space where people feel seen in the pages. Where the broken girls become the heroines. Where the men are dangerous but loyal. Where healing isn’t clean, it’s wild and raw.
What’s next for me?
Books that bleed.
Characters that burn.
And writing like the whole damn world is finally listening.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Oh, that’s easy, and a little cruel, because choosing only a few is basically emotional sabotage. First, I’m taking anything by Daphne Loveling, but especially something from the Lords of Carnage MC series. That whole crew? Gritty, loyal, rough-around-the-edges, and hot enough to make the island steam. Yes, please. Then it’s gotta be Tijan’s Carter Reed, because that man is dangerous, devoted, and downright unforgettable. It’s the kind of story that grabs you by the throat and never lets go. Dark, emotional, and so intense it feels like a storm in book form. Lani Lynn Vale’s Too Bad So Sad is coming with me too. Her brand of badass heroines and men who love them hard? That’s survival material. And you better believe I’m packing any book by J.L. Beck. Doesn’t matter which one, I love them all. She writes the kind of twisted, addictive romance that keeps you up way past survival-mode bedtime. Basically, I’m not trying to survive the island, I’m trying to enjoy every page of it.
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