Q&A With Leslie A. Rasmussen

Tonight I have the pleasure of doing a Q&A with Leslie A. Rasmussen who is the award winning author of the women’s fiction novel “After Happily Ever After”. 

Q: Where did you get your idea for your novel “After Happily Ever After”? 

A: As my children got older and more independent, my friends and I had some in depth conversations about what the next chapter of our lives would look like. I realized that we had so much in common that a story about what we were going through would be relatable to so many other women and they’d realize that they weren’t alone. I also knew so many people that were facing their own mortality as they witnessed the difficulties their parents were going through as they aged. Being in the “sandwich” generation was universal, where you aren’t only taking care of your kids; you are also helping with your parents. 

Q: What were your favorite novels you read so far this year?

A: I read a lot because not only am I in a book club, but I also read all my author friends’ books, too. The books I enjoyed the most this year have been Colleen Hoover’s ‘Verity’, ‘The Plot’ by Jean Hanff Korelitz, and ‘The Match’, by Harlan Coben.

Q: What is your advice to those who want to write? What is your advice to those who deal with writer’s block?

A: If you are just getting started in writing, I would say, go to conferences and meet and listen to various authors, go to workshops for your genre, follow authors online and ask for advice, and read as many books in the genre that you want to write in. As far as writers’ block goes, sometimes you have to just write even if you think it’s not good. The empty page is far scarier than when there are words on it. When there are words, you can at least edit and rewrite those words into something you think is so much better. If you are really stuck, sometimes you need to walk away and let ideas and characters germinate for a while. If you put too much pressure on yourself, you won’t be able to write anything.

Q: Does Hollywood have the rights to your novel yet?

A: As of now, Hollywood doesn’t have the rights to my novel yet. I own the rights, and am in the process of looking for an agent to represent those rights.

Q: If you were to collaborate with another author, who would it be and why?

A: I would collaborate with either Jennifer Weiner or Colleen Hoover. I like to write stories that have realistic relatable characters and both women write those kinds of stories. I have been a fan of their novels for a while, and I think I could learn a lot from both of them.

Q: Are you currently writing a new novel now? If so, can you please spoil a little bit about it? 

A: My second novel The Stories We Cannot Tell will be published by Touchpoint Press next year. It’s the story of two women, Rachel, whose thirty-years-old married, and Jewish, and Katie, who’s thirty-two, single, and Catholic. The women meet for the first time when at five months pregnant, they have each received shocking news that there’s something very wrong with their babies. Rachel and Katie must make the difficult decision whether to terminate their pregnancies. The women bond through tears and laughter, and develop not only a close friendship, but find they have more in common than they ever would’ve expected. The novel deals with loss, love, hope, and family.