Interview With Author Luna Westish
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’ve just published my first novel (a neurodiverse coming of age study abroad novel) and am writing my second (a leaving-a-cult rom com).
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Meet Me at the Ruins was very loosely inspired by my time studying abroad in Edinburgh, Scotland in the early 2000’s. It was a unique time where cell phones were just starting to become part of our daily lives. Back then, we could follow each other on MySpace, but it was before Facebook, Instagram, or even Skype! The main character, Margo, is an anxious overthinker who struggles to build and maintain relationships, but is willing to put in the work – once she figures out what she’s supposed to do, exactly. Because the book is set before we, as a society, really started having deep conversations about mental health, Margo feels like something’s wrong with her, and doesn’t have support for her challenges.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I can only write in the mornings. Not “wake up 3 hours before my kids” kind of mornings! Sit at the coffee shop for four hours with headphones on, mornings. I have a playlist of really innocuous singer-songwriter tunes that I enjoy but won’t distract me. I’m a black coffee kind of person, though I love sipping an oat milk latte with homemade vanilla syrup when I can find it. Another unusual habit is that I sketch out an arc of where the story is headed – but then as I’m writing, the characters change their minds!
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Even though I’m not a huge romance fan, I love the way Emily Henry writes about relationships – messy, real, quirky. I’m a big fan of stories that really dive into characters, rather than just whip through a courtship just to get to “the good stuff.” I’ve also come to love personal essays in the last few years – it’s basically the same deep dive into who a person is, and why.
What are you working on now?
I’m a little ways into writing a rom com about a grad student leaving a cult. Neither of my books are traditional romance novels, although – at least currently – the new one will have a more traditional Happily Ever After than my first novel.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
ARC readers! I used Library Thing and Voracious Readers, although my best ratio of reads-to-reviews were from my personal network and Facebook/Whatsapp groups.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Learn about querying BEFORE you start writing a book. I did everything backwards! I’m really happy with the final result, but if I knew how hard it was to promote a cross-genre upmarket novel as an indie author, I might have reconsidered the arc of my book.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
What other people think of me is none of my business. As an author – woof, this is hard. As a human – even harder! But it’s great to keep in mind.
What are you reading now?
The Best Way to Bury Your Husband, by Alexia Casale (audiobook via Libby – I’m a huge library fan!)
What’s next for you as a writer?
I would love to leverage my first, self published novel into a direct publishing deal with an independent press for my next novel. I had the opportunity to publish with a couple of different small presses for this book, but was uninspired by the approach / contracts they provided. That’s another piece of advice – just because someone’s willing to publish your book doesn’t mean it’s a great fit. Do a LOT of research about contracts before signing anything!
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?
Wow, No Thank You, by Samantha Irby. Everything’s Trash and That’s Okay, by Pheobe Robinson. Detransition, Baby, by Torrey Peters (on my TBR). An Emily Henry novel I haven’t read yet.
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