We had the good fortune of connecting with Stephanie Rose and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Stephanie, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
It started out as more of a bucket list type of thing. All throughout school and at every job I’ve had, I was complimented on my writing skills and was always an avid reader. When I was a book blogger, a friend of mine suggested I start writing something, and one night I thought what the heck and wrote a scene that was simmering in my head. From that day on, now at seventeen completed books, I haven’t stopped. I remember telling someone I finally get that saying if you find something you love to do, you’ll never work a day in your life. While I still have to keep a day job, writing, even when it gets really difficult, is my greatest joy. When I wrote Always You in 2015, I remember telling a friend, this actually feels like what I was meant to do.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My art is my books. I write contemporary romance and I like to say that I write the nice guy, who doesn’t get enough play among the bad boys (don’t get me wrong, I love a good alpha story arc, but that’s not my author niche). Readers have told me that what they love the most about my books is that the stories are real, why my tagline is romance that’s real. I write love stories about characters that you could be or could know. I wouldn’t call it easy, you have to love writing enough to continue on the days when you stumble upon a not so nice review or you cant find the words to fill a blank screen one day and fear your writing mojo is gone. Growing a thick skin is easier said than done, but even on the tough days, I wouldn’t want to do anything else.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
As a New Yorker, I rarely see the big landmarks like the Statue of Liberty or museums (other than field trips in school). If someone was visiting the area, I’d take them to the Bronx Zoo—the best zoo in the world in my opinion and buy them dinner at Frankie and Johnny’s Pine Restaurant in the Bronx (I love it so much, I wrote it into The Marriage Solution).

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My husband has kept me sane through all the ups and downs. Writing a book is both so joyful and very hard on your mental health at the same time. He’s there to assure me as I’m writing that “no my book isn’t awful like I think” and pushes me to keep going. Lucy Score and Melanie Moreland are both author legends that I am blessed to call good friends and mentors. There are so many friends I could name: my alpha reader and PA Jodi, my author friends LJ Evans and Kathryn Nolan and so many others. To survive in this industry, you need to find your community and I”m very blessed to have an amazing one to lift me up every day.

Website: https://www.authorstephanierose.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/authorstephanierose

Facebook: www.facebook.com/authorstephanierose

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