Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
My name is Steph Nuss, and as of right now, I write contemporary romance. As a young girl, I fell in love with reading, and I’ve carried that passion with me into adulthood. I have a black labrador retriever son named Gunner, who isn’t a huge fan of my writing career as it sometimes gets in the way of his walks. I’ve only written three book so far, but I have many more planned for the future, with the hope of diving into more than one different genre.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I released Pleasured By You (Love in the City, #3) on March 20th, 2015. The inspiration for the Love in the City series came from the TV show, Friends. As a huge fan of that show, I wanted to create my own group of friends readers could feel like they were a part of and enjoy reading about. I also try to highlight an awareness in each of my books, and in Pleasured By You, both my heroine and hero are very outgoing individuals, so I incorporated the Big Brothers Big Sisters program into the storyline. The story is all about enjoying the pleasures of life and never letting your fear decide your fate.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t think so. Most of my writing habits seem pretty normal to me because that’s just how I write. I write better in the morning. I do tend to forget to eat or drink when I’m deep into my writing. Listening to music while I write is something I’ve learned I can’t do, but I do make playlists for each of my books and will listen to them while I’m not writing as a way to stay in what I like to call, “writer mode.”
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Jennifer Probst has been a huge influence me. She’s someone I reached out to before I started writing and she immediately encouraged me to pursue my dream. I’m also a big fan of Christina Lauren and their Beautiful series. I’m a huge fan of book series in general, where the books can be read as standalones since they’re each about a different couple. If I had to choose my top five book series that have influenced me to write my own, they would include: Marriage to a Billionaire by Jennifer Probst, The Beautiful Series by Christina Lauren, With Me in Seattle by Kristen Proby, The Bride Quartet by Nora Roberts, Off series by Sawyer Bennett, and because I can’t choose just five, the Caught Up in Love series by Lauren Blakely!
What are you working on now?
Cherished By You (Love in the City, #4)
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I don’t think there’s just one method or website that works best for promoting my books. I use a mixture of social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, as well as my website in general by blogging about my books and helping other authors promote theirs. I also really like Goodreads. I know most authors try to stay away from Goodreads, but I check my author dashboard daily on there to see if there are new ratings and reviews of my books. I think interacting with readers and book bloggers and just being present in the realm of social media is one of the best things an author can do to promote themselves. When a reader messages me, I message them back as soon as I can. I also try to post updates on my website enough so that my subscribers are interested in said updates but not enough to where they’re deleting every email from me instead of checking out the post.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
My advice to new authors is to believe in yourself and never give up. I know it’s said a lot, but that’s because it’s really easy to feel discouraged in the writing industry. I know what it’s like not making money off of my books. I know it’s really easy to feel like nobody wants to read my work. But if you reach out to people and put yourself out there, I promise, someone will take a chance on you and all it takes is one person. You just have to be willing to take a chance on yourself and never ever give up.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Even bad reviews are better than no reviews. I truly believe this now, too. Most authors are so worried about getting bad reviews that they don’t realize that a bad one is way better than none at all.
What are you reading now?
Hard As It Gets by Laura Kaye
What’s next for you as a writer?
I have a few more romance series planned as well as a young adult standalone, a mystery/thriller series, and a dystopian trilogy. Surprisingly, I’m most nervous for the standalone because as a fan of series, I love when secondary characters get their own stories. So, we’ll see if I have it in me to write a standalone!
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?
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Boycotts & Barflies by Victoria Michaels, The Marriage Bargain by Jennifer Probst, Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
Author Websites and Profiles
Steph Nuss Website
Steph Nuss Amazon Profile
Steph Nuss’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account