Q&A with Livy Hart
It’s time for another fun Q & A! Today’s is with Livy Hart. Her debut TALK FLIRTY TO ME will be coming out May 30th (and I’m reading the ARC and it is fantastic!) It’s a second chance romance with a firefighter (who is also the brother’s best friend) and a voice actress.
Here’s the blurb:
I’ve got ninety-nine problems and my brother’s snarky, smart-mouthed best friend Sam is tangled up in every last one of them.
When it comes to firefighter Sam O’Shea, absence—and a regime of tactical avoidance—has been working for me juuust fine. But when the audition of a lifetime falls in my pathetically broke lap, and he’s the only one who can help me land the job, I’m willing to make a deal with the devil if it means I can kickstart my career as a narrator for audio books.
The problem? We’d have to actually do the job. Together. And then we’re told it’s for an erotic romance. Narrating steamy lines in a tiny studio with a man who lights a fire under your skin? An occupational hazard. Accidentally inciting a town scandal when your erotic audiobook clips wind up on the radio? A crisis. And falling for the one man I promised my brother—and my heart—I wouldn’t touch?
A disaster—and temptation—I can’t resist.
1. How did you come up with the idea for Talk Flirty To Me?
The very first Talk Flirty seed was the idea that two people would have to read a smoldering romance out loud and deny that it affects them, even though they were squirming/uncomfortable the whole time.
Eventually, it blossomed into the performative aspect of voice acting. I loved the idea that the lines between reality and acting would blur, and that they’d both have something on the line so they had to get it right.
And the rest— Sam and Piper’s history, her giant Italian family, her quest to prove she could do this one thing right, while her perfect town hero of an ex seemed to win at every other aspect of life— fell into place.
2. Tell us a little bit about Piper and Sam.
Voice actress Piper is your sarcasm-as-a-shield type, but at her core she’s a selfless nurturer who really just needs a win. Being financially unstable as a result of working in a creative field has taken its emotional toll, and she’s almost ready to throw in the towel. When this audition presents itself and Sam offers his help, she’s just desperate enough to accept. In life and in love, she sometimes makes the wrong choices, but for the right reasons.
Firefighter Sam is an earnest overachiever who wants to belong. His parents are emotionally distant and he grew up best friends with Piper’s brother Caleb. Sam longed for the type of big, close family Caleb and Piper have (the Bellini family has 11 kids). As a firefighter running for mayor, he’s doing the absolute MOST in this book— gotta fill those emotional voids somehow!
3. Was there a scene that was your favorite to write?
I loved writing the voice acting scenes, especially the one in Piper’s closet studio. It’s two people denying their massive attraction to each other, in a tiny, insulated space, reciting the campiest romance lines you can imagine (think horny Princess Bride). Writing that was more fun than it should have been!
4. What are some of your favorite tropes?
Brother’s best friend has always been my kryptonite. For TALK FLIRTY, my thought process was— it’s bad enough to want your brother’s best friend. It’s worse to act on it.
But there’s something even worse than both of those things: act on it, date him, ruin their friendship when it all goes south, and then fall for him again years later when they’ve finally restored their friendship. It’s a trope mash!
5. Are you a plotter or a pantser?
Reformed pantser. I now need a very detailed plan to keep me accountable, or I will wander off the tracks into gratuitous hijinks land!
6. Can you tell us a little about your writing process?
When I’m brainstorming a new idea, I think of one or two pivotal moments first, and work backwards to determine how the characters got there. With Talk Flirty, it was the closet recording scene I described above, and a scene with Piper’s big family, inspired by the moment in How To Lose a Guy in Ten Days where Kate Hudson plays Bullshit with Matthew McConaughey’s family (iconic). Those two scenes came to me and gave me the two biggest pieces I needed to get started— Sam and Piper’s romantic dynamic, and Piper’s life and priorities. I like having those foundational things in my head before I even touch a plot.
From there, I hammer out the outline. What would they be doing in the book, what is the reason they are thrust together, all those important beats.
When I feel good about the plot, get approval for the idea, and have a strong idea of who the characters are, I spend a few days jotting down tiny moments I want to sprinkle throughout, which always come to me while I’m driving or walking. When the wheels start turning 24-7, I’m ready to draft! The obsessive note jotting of those little moments continues through the drafting process. You should see my notes app, it’s a wild ride in there.
7. Why do you love romance?
I’m addicted to the rush of love stories. Joining characters at the exact moment their life is about to change forever, experiencing that first lingering glance through their eyes, delighting in the free-fall when they can’t resist their feelings anymore— what could be better?
Oh, and the steam. I’m a big fan of the steam.
Thanks so much to Livy for taking the time to answer my questions!
For more on Livy and her writing, visit her website Livyhart.com. Make sure you pre-order TALK FLIRTY TO ME and follow Livy on Twitter and Instagram @livyhartromance
