Q&A With Raina Joy Wilder 

Yesterday in the Romance Book Lovers Club on Facebook Raina Joy Wilder posted about her debut novel Make Me A Double. After reading the synopsis of the rom com I asked if she’d be interested in a Q&A and of course she said yes. 

 Q: Would you like to tell the readers of the blog who are hearing about Make Me A Double, of what the story is about? How did you come up with the concept of the book?

A: Sure! Make Me a Double is an enemy’s-to-lovers romantic comedy about two rivaling bar owners locked in a feud to put the other out of business.

When I was growing up, some of my favorite movies were rom-coms. I especially loved enemies-to-lovers stories like You’ve Got Mail (and the classic film it was based on, The Shop Around the Corner). I also have a real love for classic literature and cocktails. Put all that together, and you’ve got my book!

Q: When did you realize that writing was your calling? 

A: I’ve been writing since I was old enough to hold a pen. The first work of fiction I remember writing was The Little Mermaid fan-fic when I was seven or eight. I’m not sure I ever really thought of writing as a calling—more like a compulsion. I couldn’t stop writing even if I wanted to. 

Q: Who among your family and friends were your biggest supporters of your writing talent and goal? 

A: My mom was absolutely the biggest champion of this book. She challenged me to write it in the first place and was the person I bounced ideas off of and who read it chapter by chapter as I wrote it and cheered me on every step of the way. Not only that, she edited it for me. It wouldn’t exist without her.

My sister also helped edit the book, and my entire family encouraged me and supported me from the sidelines.

Q: If and when Hollywood gets the rights to Make Me A Double, who would you cast to play the characters? 

A: Oh gosh, I’m so bad at this game! I would definitely leave it up to the Hollywood people to figure that out. Most of the actors I can think of to play the parts are too old to play Isadora and Chuck now, but I love imagining someone like Aubrey Plaza playing Isadora and a young Eric Stoltz playing Chuck.  

Q: We spoke yesterday that you would write some sequels if Make Me A Double, did well. Would these sequels be about the other side characters in Make Me A Double, or would it be about the main characters again? 

A: It would be about the side characters. I have stories for Zofie and Eva already mapped out in my mind—but we’ll have to wait to see how the first book does first.

Q: Where is your favorite writing spot or spots where you plot, write and edit your stories? 

A: Boring answer: my desk. I have a slim little mirrored desk that sits in the corner of my room and that’s where I do all my writing. But I think about the stories I’m writing all the time, especially while walking, exercising, and cooking.

Q: If you were writing in another genre that wasn’t romantic comedy which genre or genres would you choose and why

A: Thrillers, for sure. It’s what I read the most.