Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Born and raised in New York City, I was always a California girl at heart, obsessed with sports cars in a town with no parking. I couldn’t wait to leave. So I did.
After graduating from Vassar College where I studied Psychology and Economics, I headed to Los Angeles. Then, after a brief stint in Washington, D.C., to earn my MBA, I headed back to the beach, and became a film production accountant, working on movies you’ve probably never heard of.
I wrote my first novel at the age of six, and didn’t write another until Hollywood Princess, my debut. I’m a political news junkie and a baseball addict who loves a good love story. There are too many tragedies in the world. Why not provide an escape?
Now living in Connecticut, I’m married to a New York-based film producer. We have three children, two are not yet old enough to read Hollywood Princess, though one keeps trying to peek.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is the New Adult Contemporary Romance, Hollywood Princess. I am inspired by this genre. It’s such a great age to explore. The protagonists are recently out of high school. They’re either in college or at first jobs. Everyday presents them with new challenges. Every decision impacts the life path they will ultimately find themselves on. How will they embrace their new freedoms?
More specifically, Hollywood Princess has allowed me to take fictional characters living in the industry I’ve spent my adult life in, and have them experience the joys and pitfalls of falling in love in a small college environment.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write any and all the time. I write everywhere. Unusual writing habits? You betcha. The original plots points for Hollywood Princess sprang into my head while on a Walt Disney World vacation. While riding the resort buses, and standing in ride lines, my mind freely wandered. Each night, I would go back to our hotel to jot my thoughts down on yellow pads; old-fashioned, but effective. Nothing is more portable. Later, when we returned home, I typed everything into my computer.
Composing dialogue is the best! I love when I am writing a scene, I have it mapped out in my head where I want it to go, and then my characters take over. My fingers may be flying over the keyboard, but it is their words that are coming out. Before I know it, the scene has gone in a direction far from the one I had originally imagined. That’s when I sit back and grin. I’ve nailed it! It’s totally organic. I take pride in knowing my characters so well that they can speak for themselves.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
E.L. James, though not for the obvious. I admire her research skills and attention to detail in setting up locations, as well as her not letting being over 30 stop her.
Tammara Webber whose books introduced me to the genre I now call home, New Adult, and also for her well-developed character arcs. By the time you reach the last pages of her series, Reid, Jacqueline, and Landon’s stories make perfect sense. With the Hollywood Princess series, I try to achieve similar results.
Jamie McGuire for furthering my exposure to New Adult, and introducing me to a different college experience than the one I was familiar with, and depicted in Hollywood Princess.
Stephenie Meyers; I don’t write about vampires, werewolves, or any other fantastical beings, but something about reading Twilight sparked my creativity and my writing journey began.
Finally, and this author is not in my genre but I read all his books, David Baldacci. I love the realistic banter between his characters, especially King and Maxwell. I only hope Elizabeth and Daniel sound as natural.
As a reader, I have eclectic tastes. I can be found reading New Adult romances, but I equally enjoy Steinbeck, detective/lawyer mysteries, and nonfiction, including politics, sports, and economics.
What are you working on now?
I am currently working on the three sequels in the Hollywood Princess series. Editing is well underway on the still untitled Book 2, slated for release in late April or early May, 2015. I am having a very difficult time coming up with a title. A good portion of Book 3 has been written, and I continue developing the story lines. Book 4 is still in its early stages, but I have formulated the major plot points.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have my website, DanaAynnLevin.com, my Dana Aynn Levin author Facebook page, and my Twitter @OfficialDLevin. I try to post at least several times each week. I have a mailing list that I have sent announcements to. I have recently begun participating in GoodReads groups, and I have been using Bookarma. It is too early to tell what will be the most effective method.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write from the heart. If you’re not passionate about your project, nobody else will be.
Every author has their own methods. You have to know yourself, and do what works for YOU. Many authors swear by outlining. Conversely, I have never written an outline. Early on, my husband scolded me for not having one; he insisted that all writers had to have an outline. I knew that was not me, and I didn’t listen. Today I can be working on Chapter 3, and tomorrow I could be composing what will ultimately become Chapter 27. Whatever enters my mind is what I write. Then I go back and fill in the gaps.
Know your characters. I learned when I studied screenwriting, to write character biographies. Like real people you are meeting for the first time, your characters had lives before page one of your project. Do your prep work and first write these short biographies for your main characters. You will be amazed by how this improves your story flow, and how dialogue comes out sounding so much more natural, when you know your characters this in-depth.
Finally, now that I am marketing Hollywood Princess, I remind myself every day that this process is a marathon, not a sprint. Do a little something each day, and hopefully in the long run it will pay off with success.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Hugh Howey discussing how he published seven novels before he found success as an author. This helped me focus on the big picture and develop a long-term plan.
What are you reading now?
You Were Meant for Me by Yona Zeldis McDonough. This is an excellent book about finding love in a very unusual place, and were falling in love has multiple meaning. I highly recommend it.
My library is an interesting mix of classics, detective/cop/spy intrigues, YA dystopia, and new adult romances. Next up, I will probably re-read some favorites while I wait for the latest David Baldacci novel that is due out in November.
What’s next for you as a writer?
See “What are you working on now?”
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
This is an incredibly difficult question because a desert island by definition means no electricity, and thus no iPad and its limitless stream of books.
So many of my favorites belong to series, but I think if I were stranded, I would want more variety. Then again, if I were stranded for more than a month, and I had to keep reading the same books over and over, I would soon catch every flaw in the stories, and my favorites might cease being my favorites.
Hmmmm. I might be over thinking this.
Ultimately, I think I would pick books from different genres to fulfill different needs, and appeal to a variety of moods. Of course, I would start with a good NA Romance, probably Easy and its sequel Breakable by Tammara Webber. Then, I would take John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, my all-time favorite – I haven’t read it in years, so not only would it’s length use up a lot of my time, it would be fresh to me. Finally, I would take a non-fiction book, An Empire of Their Own by Neal Gabler, because I love history, and found this story on the birth and growth of the movie industry to be a fascinating read.
Author Websites and Profiles
Dana Aynn Levin Website
Dana Aynn Levin Amazon Profile
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Dana Aynn Levin is a post from Awesome Gang