I had the privilege of interviewing Lora back in August, and in that time, she’s released the rest of the series! (The third book was just released — literally — it came out on October 22!)

As soon as I renew my Kindle Unlimited subscription, the rest of this series will be the first on my list! I loved the first book (read my review here), so I can’t wait to catch back up with the Sparrow sisters.

Lora was nice enough to answer any questions that any of you might have in the comments, so make sure to leave them below if you have them!

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What inspired “Broken Hollywood”? Relatedly, why did you decide to make the series follow each of the Sparrow sisters? (Which I love, by the way!)

There are some tropes I absolutely cannot resist. Celebrity-meets-regular-girl is one of those. If I see one, I cannot help but buy it. I’ve always wanted to write a story featuring a movie star, but wasn’t sure how I wanted to execute it. So I let the idea marinate while I worked on other things. I’m also a sucker for any story where two main characters get stuck somewhere together. I smashed those two ideas together, and along with my typical small town atmosphere, Broken Hollywood was created.

Were there any scenes you had to cut from the book that you loved? If so, can you tell me a little bit about any of them?

It’s crazy you ask this question, because this is the only book I’ve ever written where I cut nothing. (Well, I cut paragraphs here and there, but no entire scenes or chapters.) Usually I cut entire chapters and rewrite a ton, but not this time. I attribute this to two things. 

Will we ever see characters from “Broken Hollywood” pop up in any of your other books? I’m sure Cat and Jesse will be mentioned in the rest of the series, but any other books outside of the Sparrow Sisters?

I think it’s so fun when authors do this, so I’ve done it in several of my books. In the next book in this series, Broken Rebel, Johnny, Audrey’s guy, goes to a small town called Juniper to buy a pie. That particular restaurant features heavily in the Juniper Series. In Awakening Autumn, a book in my second series, the characters also go to Juniper. I have no doubt I’ll put Jesse and Cat, as well as the other Sparrow sisters, in little cameos in upcoming books.

What was your writing process like? (i.e., did you outline everything first, write out of order, etc.)

I’ve written books in so many different ways. I wrote my first two books just by sitting down and typing on a blank page, with zero idea where the story was going. But as the years have progressed, I’ve come to respect the outline. I was able to write Broken Hollywood, and the next book in the series, very quickly due to having a tight outline. I prefer writing in the morning when I can, and outside on my back deck is my favorite spot. I like to get a cup of coffee and something sweet to munch on, and I try to complete an entire chapter in one sitting. If that’s not possible, I’ll do shorter 20 minute writing sprints throughout the day, as I can fit them in.

The release dates for “Broken Hollywood” and “Broken Rebel” (the second book in the series) are so close together! What was it like planning out those releases?

Releasing this series as quickly as I can has been exciting, chaotic, challenging, and tons of fun! Like most of us, I’ve had a lot of time at home this year. I had both books finished before the first one came out, and I’m working on the third now. It might be a little longer before that one is done, but I wanted to get Broken Hollywood and Broken Rebel out into the world before summer ended, because they’re summer books. Plus, I’m impatient and couldn’t wait for people to read them! 

What can you tell me about your next book and the rest of the series?

Book 2, Broken Rebel, completely captured my heart. Johnny is a misunderstood bad boy, and Audrey is a misunderstood good girl, and when they get together it will really take you on a ride. It also has super hot kissing scenes. Here’s a secret about the book: The very first scene is Audrey experiencing her first kiss, and it’s absolutely terrible. The worst kiss you could imagine. And…it’s based on a real kiss I had once, when I was fifteen. It will make you laugh. 

Book 3, Broken Outsider, is Valerie’s book. You’ll learn why Valerie is such a commitment-phobe, and you’ll meet Wes, who works pretty hard to change her mind.

Have you thought about writing any novellas that show Jesse and Cat in California? I think it would be interesting to see how she adjusts to life there when she visits, and how Jesse continues to deal with the loss of James when he’s surrounded by so many reminders.

I would love to write more about Cat and Jesse. In Broken Outsider, the book I’m writing now, there is a scene with Cat and Jesse where they are working out some of these issues. She’s still a little intimidated by his “other” life, and it’s been fun to revisit that.

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HUGE thanks to Lora for taking the time to answer my questions, and for providing me with a copy to review! Her books are all free for your reading pleasure on Kindle Unlimited right now! Come back here tomorrow for my playlist of the book!