Love Lorena

Lorena García Fernández has built her matchmaking company, “Love, Lorena,” from the ground up, but her parents refuse to acknowledge the business as legitimate. Hoping to impress them, she travels to Ìovoria to find Crown Prince Callum a match. However, when Callum unexpectedly abdicates, his wild sister, Rosamund, becomes the crown princess and Lorena’s new client.

Lorena knows “Rowdy Rosamund” from the news headlines, but as she helps the princess, she learns there’s more to Rose than her public persona. The two women grow closer with each date Lorena sets up for the crown princess, and Lorena finds herself falling for Rose.

With only a month to find the perfect match, each failure increases the pressure to succeed. How will Lorena choose between her duty and her heart?

Beyond the Blurb

Beyond the blurb, tell us about your book.  What is/are the genre(s)?  If a romance, is it HEA or HFN?

Love, Lorena is a queer (bi FF) adult romance about a matchmaker who falls for her royal client. It’s HEA as a standalone.

What are the main themes?  How about the tone?

As with all romance, “love conquers all.” This book deals with family drama on both sides, and the main characters coming to terms with themselves. The overall tone is quirky and lighthearted, like a Hallmark movie with adult content. It’s meant to be a good time.

What was the biggest challenge while writing?

The biggest challenge was figuring out the story itself. It started as a novella where Princess Rosamund was only helping Lorena find a match for her brother, but I got most of the way through and realized it wasn’t enough. So I completely redid the outline and rewrote it as a full-length novel where Rose is the client.

Is this a type of story you’ve written before?  If not, what made you deviate from the norm?

I enjoy writing trope-heavy love stories, so Love, Lorena is similar to my other books in that way. It was my first time setting a romance in a fictional European country, though, and I did a lot of research to make Ìovoria feel real. 

What inspired you to write this story?

I wanted to write a FF opposites-attract love story about a matchmaker and a princess. I also, uh, watched a lot of the Hallmark movie “Royal Matchmaker.” Like, a lot.

How do you go about character creation?

I come up with a general storyline first, and then design characters who will make that story happen. It’s pretty rare for me to come up with characters before a concept.

Do you have a favorite side character?

Rose’s brother, Callum, makes me tee-hee-hee. I had to do a lot of horse research to write him, but he’s so funny to me.

Are you the type of writer that plans everything out or do you fly by the seat of your pants?  Some combo therein?

I’m definitely a big planner. I write out a full synopsis and fill out character worksheets before I start a book!

Do you write in order or skip around?

I write chronologically. Occasionally I’ll write a scene ahead of time if it’s really calling to me, but for the most part I write in order.

Be honest.  Do you control the plot, or do your characters take over?

I keep a firm hand on my drafts, haha. I know what I want to happen, so if a scene isn’t working, it’s on me, not my characters.

Have you learned anything while writing this book?

I learned more than I ever wanted to know about horses and dressage. On a more serious note, I also came to terms with the fact that sometimes the people I love will never be happy with my choices, and I have to be able to enjoy my life without their approval.

What do you plan to write next?

I’m working on The Winner Takes It All (Virginia Is for All Lovers, book 2) and The Orange and Pink Sunset (my upcoming poetry chapbook). I also have a few other chapbooks in progress; 2024 might be a poetry year for me. 

Ivy L. James wrote her first story on Post-it notes as a child. Since then, she has graduated to regular paper and enjoys writing inclusive romance, short fiction, and poetry. Her queer romances Border Ctrl+Esc, Make the Yuletide Gay, and Love, Lorena are published by NineStar Press. Her work has appeared in the Stygian Collection (Stygian Society), Seers and Sybils (Brigids Gate Press), HerStry, Snowflake Magazine, and Scavengers Literary Magazine, among others. Ivy lives in Maryland with her wife and their corgi, cat, and two snakes.

Representation For All

Author Identities: I’m a cis white lesbian woman. I’m neurodivergent and mentally ill. I’m kind of…between religions? I was raised Christian, and I still sort of believe that, but I also work with witchy stuff and other deities.

Characters They Write About: Love, Lorena stars two cis bi women, one Latina/Hispanic and one white. Overall, I have written about cis lesbian, bi, demi, and pan characters. I do write BIPOC characters, though I don’t tell stories that are essentially based in those cultures. Most of my characters have mental illness of some kind, especially anxiety. I’ve written Christian (Baptist, Catholic, lapsed Eastern Orthodox), nonreligious, and witchy/pagan characters.

Where to find Ivy:

Website: www.authorivyljames.com/

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