It’s time for another interview with a fellow author of lesbian romance. Today’s guest is Erin Dutton, who has published 14 novels with Bold Strokes Books so far.
Erin is giving away an ebook copy of her latest release, Wavering Convictions. Don’t miss the giveaway at the end of this post!
Welcome, Erin. Please tell us a little about your latest release, Wavering Convictions.
In Wavering Convictions, Maggie is robbed at gun point. She meets a woman in the courthouse cafe that she connects with, only to later find out that the woman, Ally, is the sister of the man who robbed her. So, yeah, built in conflict, right?
Several of your books, including Landing Zone, have main characters that are police officers, other first responders, or in the military. How do you make sure you portray their professional lives in a realistic way?
My day job is in the 9-1-1 system, so the first responders world is one I’m familiar with. The ideas for many of my first responders books germinated during my work day, but especially Landing Zone. I was listening to the radio transmissions of a police pursuit and heard the pursuing officers ask for the helicopter. When the female pilot came over the radio, I knew I had to write a book about a helicopter pilot. I reached out and got the chance to spend several hours with her, seeing their equipment and asking her questions. I also have a good friend who’s retired from the police department. She’s a go-to for police procedure questions. Whether it’s getting info in real-life or research on the internet, I always to make sure I’m thorough enough to strike that balance between realistic and entertaining.
You have published 14 lesbian novels by now. Which one are you most proud of and why?
Oh my god, how can you ask that? I don’t think I can answer that. If I have to pick one, I’d say, Capturing Forever – because those characters have stayed with me always, even after I finished writing it. It’s a sweet, second-chance romance and I’m in love with their story. But, I’m still protesting this question.
What’s the most gratifying or most surprising feedback you’ve ever had from a reader?
I think maybe when you told me that Reluctant Hope had one of the most memorable—and courageous—endings… Seriously, though, it’s gratifying when I get feedback from first responders, police, fire, and dispatchers, letting me know I “got it right.” I have so much respect for the difficult decisions they make in just the span of an instant, all with the goal of keeping the public safe, so hearing that they think I did a good job of capturing what they do is awesome.
If I’m not mistaken, several of your books are enemies-to-lovers romances. What draws you to that trope?
Hm, I guess you’re right. I have written a few versions of the trope, with varying degrees of the enemy quotient. I like writing two women who begin on very different sides of an issue or situation. The ready-made external conflict enhances whatever internal battles the characters are navigating. I find their journey to understanding each other is often interesting and full of the kind of contemplation and compromise that lets the reader see that they’ve grown enough to fall in love—that they’ve earned their happily-ever-after.
Your novel Reluctant Hope has one of the most memorable—and most courageous—endings I have ever found in an f/f romance novel. Without giving too much away to the people who might not have read it yet, did you hesitate to let the book end the way you did? Was there any discussion about it with your editor or beta readers?
First, thank you so much for saying that. My editor and I did discuss it in depth, but I didn’t use beta readers for that book. And I’m kind of glad I didn’t. As you can imagine, when it came out, the readers fell on both sides of the fence on that ending. And I wouldn’t have wanted that to influence where I already knew this story was headed. I wouldn’t say I hesitated to end it the way I did, but I did deliberate on it. Without giving it away, in the end, I feel (or hope) the reader was left with what matters regarding the characters, and that is, that they were ready to face whatever life gave them.
What punctuation mark best describes your personality? Why?
What an interesting question. I didn’t know how to answer this one so I enlisted the help of my wife. She says it would be the semi-colon, because I never just one independent sentence—or thought—or comment. She said this with more than a bit of sarcasm in her voice.
You have the cutest dog, and he’s called Booze. Dare I ask how you came up with that name?
He is adorable, isn’t he? And also, one of my favorite topics to talk about. His full name is Bamboozle, because my wife says we got “tricked” into getting him. We went to the rescue thinking we wanted a small to medium dog at the most. I wanted a dog that liked the water, because we like to camp and hang out on the lake. This dog is neither of those things. He HATES water! Doesn’t even like to go outside if the grass is wet. The woman at the rescue stopped short of telling us he liked the water, she just said she’d had him at the creek behind their house and he didn’t seem to dislike it. Also, she had him in a pen with the really big dogs, Pitt-bull mixes and Catahoula Leopard dogs, so he looked smaller than he was. We got him home and, at about six months, he was already as tall as our Shepard mix. He’s now full-grown and pushing 60 lbs, the high side of medium, at best. Hence the trickery. Bamboozle is a mouthful, so he just became Booze. What he lacks in what we expected, he more than makes up for in who he really is, though. He is this laid-back, chill kind of dog, who loves to cuddle and is so sweet.
Do you have time to read, and do you read lesbian and f/f romances? If you do, what are your all-time favorites?
I love to read, always have. There are times when I don’t read, at a certain point in writing a first draft. But that just means the to-be-read stack gets bigger during that time. I do read lesbian fiction, primarily romance. An early book that really stuck with me was Love’s Masquerade, by Radclyffe. In fact, that book is probably what ultimately led to me seeking to be published by Bold Strokes Books. It’s amazing to think about the growth of lesbian fiction since I first discovered it. What seemed like just a handful of authors back then has evolved into more titles per year than I can keep up with. So many talented authors and great stories to immerse myself in.
When’s your next book coming out, and what are you working on right now?
My next book, Three Alarm Response, comes out in June 2020. It’s a collection of three first-responders romance novellas. They tell the stories of a firefighter, a police officer, and a paramedic as they find the love that’s been missing from their lives amid the chaos that their careers can bring. I’m currently in edits on that one. I’m not exactly sure right now what’s next. I’m mulling over a couple of different ideas.
Where can your readers find out more about you and your books?
I am on Facebook. And on Twitter, @ErinDuttonAuthr. Readers can also find my books at boldstrokesbooks.com and other major booksellers. And I can be reached by email at erindutton@gmail.com.
Book giveaway
Erin is graciously giving away an e-book copy of her newest release, Wavering Convictions.
Anyone can enter. To be entered into the drawing, leave a comment on this blog post.
Entries close on Thursday, November 14, 2019, 10 a.m. CET, when I’ll draw the winners using a random numbers generator. I’ll notify winners via email. Your email address won’t be used for any other purpose.
For the Love of Cake was one of the first lesfic books i found at my library when I (finally) started looking. And I still love going back to it today!!
Thanks, Andi. That’s great to hear. Maybe that my favorite. Oh, I’m so confused. 😉
I think I read 6 or 7books from Erin and loved them all. This one really sounds amazing!
Thanks, Kay,
I’ve read all your books and love them all. Thank you for writing them
That’s so nice, Margaret! Thanks.
Erin Dutton is on my must-buy list. Love her stories.
I love being on the “must” lists. Thanks.
This new book sounds amazing!!! I cant wait to read it!!!
Thanks. Ameliah. Feel free to let me know what you think whenever you get a chance to read it.
Wow!
I’ve bought almost all (13) your books but …I miss the last one ;-)
Thanks for your support, Barbara.
Having read all Erin’s books, I’m like her, you just can’t pick a favourite! In fact I’ve read most at least twice and just live when a new one becomes available. I’m sure it will be another belter!
I absolutely adore Erin’s books! One of the few authors I will buy simply because she wrote it. Thank you Erin
First responders are amazing people and thank you for the great stories.
Love your books. Keep ’em coming.
Lovely interview and another to add to my ever growing TBR list.
This book sounds very interesting, and Bamboozle sounds like a sweetie. Thanks for the interview and giveaway, fingers crossed!
Thanks for an interesting interview. I can’t wait to read Wavering Convictions.
Please enter me in the draw. Your book sounds interesting
I just finished reading Landing Zone recently so this interview feels particularly timely. Thank you for the giveaway.
Love Erin Dutton’s books 👍
Love your stories! Can’t wait for your next one.
Thanks to you both for the interview. Had a chance to hear and see Erin in person when we traveled to PTown 2 weeks ago. So thankful to have that opportunity every fall. Thanks for making that journey, Erin.
The moment I saw Erin Dutton I knew it would be a Marie-Louise interview. I’m not dissapointed.
Give Booze a pat for me!
Thanks Jae for another interesting interview with an author I have yet to read. I am going to check out her books.
Another great interview. Thanks!
Hi Ladies !!
Thanks for sharing this very interesting interview with us.😊
I’ve read several novels by Erin and I liked them a lot. Several others are still in my endless TBR-list …
Oh … BTW … 🍭🎃☠️👻🍭 HAPPY HALLOWEEN !! 🤩🤩
& about the giveaway : Good luck everyone !! 😉😉
Erin is one of my favorite authors, cause I love the ‘first responder’ type of stories!
I love all Erin’s books!
I love Reluctant Hope. The end is perfect for this story.
Thanks for the interview, ladies! Erin, I love your books. My uncle is a retired police officer, and I have a big soft-spot for police/crime stories. Love the backstory for your dog’s name and your wife’s input on your representative punctuation. :D
The book sounds great! I love your work!
Erin’s books are great. Enjoyed the interview
Your latest sounds juicy, Erin!
Hearing from authors on how they develop their books and characters is alp most enjoyable as the actual books!! :)
Such and interesting interview and happy I read it since it introduced me to a new author.
Looking forward to reading her books. Though I think I will be staying away from Reluctant Hope, but the others sounds like some enjoyable reading.
I have never read any of your books Erin. Now I am ready to read all of your books.🥰
I’ve always enjoyed Erin Dutton’s work. Always look forward to new releases :)
Happy Halloween. Looks like there is another author’s works I need to explore.
You literally could have been describing our dog Cassie. We refer to her as our pond dog, but the diva rarely goes in the pond and hates wet grass. Your books combine two things I love, f/f romance and first responders. Looking forward to reading more.
I’d love new books for my ereader! Especially wlw ones.
Love this interview! Erin Dutton books are always on my books to read list!
Great interview, another book to add to my list to read books.
Sounds like another winner! Can’t wait to add it to my collection!
Thank you for the time away from reality.
Interesting and informative interview. Have many of Erin’s book and looking to reading the current release and wait impatiently for “Three Alarm Resonse” Thank you Jae and Erin
Love Erin Dutton and her first responder books. Can’t wait to read her next one!
This sounds like an interesting story.
I love when I surprise myself in my reading selection. Wrin has never disappointed, thank you for feeding my need to read.
After your next release, how about a political thriller surrounding the Special Forces with regard to 45?
Love reading first responder books, and Erin is one of the best. Please keep them coming!!
Love all her books and look forward to more
Always a good day when I can learn more about the authors that write great books.
Erin, this interview is so neat! I just have to start reading your books now. And I’m looking forward to it! Alle the best from Joan in Munich
Erin’s books are SOOOOOO Good!!!
For The Love of Cake is one of my favorite food romance!
I really liked Officer Down, funny thingy with the exes :-)
Capturing Forever also one of my favourites from Erin. Looking forward to the new release.
I just love books with Women in Uniform 😍🤩
I’m in love with the author side of Erin as her books are always so exciting to read and never fail to touch me and entertain me. I appreciate the work that goes into researching these stories to make them authentic and thank you for your dedication. My only wish would be that there wasn’t such a long time between books but then again it goes back to quantity over quality and I sure appreciate the quality.
Love Erin Dutton! Can’t wait to read Wavering Convictions!
Capturing Forever is my favorite of yours too. I always wished for a sequel to that one lol.
Erin, the first book of yours I read was OFFICER DOWN.
I enjoy the realistic feel of your books.
I would love to win a copy of WAIVERING CONVICTIONS.
Thanks Erin, please keep on writing great stories for us to lose ourselves in.
I love first responder books – probably at least partially because I was an ED nurse for 29 years. I can’t wait to read this book!
Looking forward to the new book!
Erin, I have been a long time fan of your writing. My favourite is……..all of them.
First off, what a great name for your fur-baby!
And I loved Point of Ignition!
I have read some of Erin Dutton’s book and enjoyed them, can’t wait for this one! As always, thanks for this interview, Jae…
Great interview. I have most of Erin’s books and enjoyed all of them. It is very hard to pick favorites. I think one of the first I read and really liked was Point of Ignition. Also have to mention A Place to Rest and A perfect Match. Would love to win a copy of your latest! Of course I’m sure I’ll buy it if I don’t win 🤓.
Now I need to read Reluctant Hope…
I really enjoyed this interview as Erin is new to me as an author. I will definitely be checking out her books especially the one with the helicopter pilot. So I would really be grateful to win her book. I really loved the story about her dog and will be finding her FB page in hopes of seeing a picture of him. He sounds incredible.
Thanks to all who took the time to read this interview and comment. I started to reply to each comment individually, but I didn’t know there would be so many. I did read each one and am beyond humbled. Thanks all.