Interview with Cheyenne Blue, author of FOR THE LONG RUN

 

I am so very excited that I was able to chat with Cheyenne Blue about her newest book, FOR THE LONG RUN. I was thrilled to be able to read this book (the summary was enough to hook me) and I absolutely adored every second of the book. It was a great read and getting to pick Cheyenne Blue's mind about the book was a treasure.

Read on to find out what Cheyenne Blue currently has in the works, a little more about Everyone's Choir, and where the idea for this book (and the meet-cute) came from. As always, there is a link at the bottom to buy this book as well as links to follow Cheyenne Blue on social media.      

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How and when did you first get started with writing?

Back in 1999, I was reading a lot of online erotica. There was a fantastic website, Cleansheets, which published excellent erotic stories, and I wondered if I could write one. I sent my first story to Cleansheets, and it was accepted. I was paid $50-my first income from writing fiction.
Cleansheets is no more, but I continued with short erotica and romantic stories for anthologies right up until 2014, when I attempted something longer. My first novella, Never-Tied Nora was published by Ylva Publishing. Since then, I've mainly stuck with longer stories-my latest, For the Long Run, is my tenth book.

Oh that is so cool. I'm kinda disappointed that Cleansheets doesn't exist anymore. Congrats on 10 books though!! That's an amazing accomplishment.
What is the most difficult part of writing for you?

Honestly? It's the first draft, particularly the first third of the first draft. Even with a solid outline, character sheets, and so on, it always takes me a bit to ease my way into a book. By the middle third, things flow easier, but I'm always relieved when the first draft is done. Then my favourite part starts-the editing. First a lot of self-editing, and then the process with external editors.

That actually makes a lot of sense. Grappling with getting into a book and getting it to flow. I can't tell if you're joking or not about editing being your favorite part but either way, go you!
You write the complicated emotions in this book so well and they feel so realistic. Do you have any tips or tricks that you keep in mind when writing these feelings?

Thank you. I really don't have any particular tip other than trying to get into the skin of my characters and trying to inhabit their feelings and emotions, how they react, and what body language would reveal this. I'm a blatant people-watcher in public (my partner often nudges me to stop staring at strangers!). Maybe this helps.

It was kind of a vague question but I really enjoyed your tip. I get how people-watching could help with that, but kudos to your partner for keeping you from staring.
How do you come up with your characters? Do their names or personalities or appearances come to you naturally or is it sometimes a journey to find them?

It's definitely a journey! I start with a character sheet, which is a step-by-step process of physical description. I use placeholder names (always tennis players) and the characters' names evolve during the writing. Thank goodness for search-and-replace. Sometimes, the tennis names stick, particularly for secondary characters. I have a Simona, Casey, Sam, and so on. Personalities, too, evolve as the story progresses, and most times I have to edit back to include things I've added as I went along.

That is so cool! I love that tennis players is the placeholder names for some reason.
What was the process/timeline like for writing this book?

I started writing For the Long Run in April 2021 and the first draft was finished at the end of September. Then it jogged through beta readers, ran past my elite-athlete sister for fact checking, chugged through a content edit, copy edit, an expert read on one particular scene, proofread, and two final readers. It was done and dusted by June 2022, after which the cover was finalised, the blurb rewritten yet again, and then it sat until the end of October waiting for its publication slot with Ylva. So from go to whoa was eighteen months.

That's a lengthy process. Sounds like it passed through a lot of hands to make it into what it is today. Kudos and congrats! I am curious about the expert read though.
Where did the idea for this book, or more specifically for the first meeting between these characters, come from? I can't remember reading a first meeting quite like that before and I am interested in where the inspiration for that scene came from.

I tend to set my romances around things I know well: professional tennis, lawyers, horses, rural and outback Australia. (There's a couple of books where that's not true- for example, I barely knew anything about sailing until I wrote All at Sea.) So a romance where the characters were runners was always on the cards.
As for the meet-cute scene, I wanted a scenario when an elite athlete and a fun-runner would be in the same running space at the same time. A community fun run was a realistic way to bring my two very different characters together.
Once, in my running days, I arrived late for a fun run. I couldn't find a parking spot, and as I was jogging across the park berating myself for bad planning, I heard the starting pistol for the race. By the time I made the start, the walkers, pram-pushers, and runners in costume were starting. I'd been training for the run, hoping to get a new personal best, and was so annoyed with myself that I ran as fast as I could with no regard for a steady pace, dodging around the walkers and prams-just as Shan does at the beginning of For the Long Run. No one tripped over me, and I managed not to fall flat over anyone, but that experience was the basis for the meet-cute scene.
Strangely, that day, I did run a personal best (just under 25 minutes for 5k, in case anyone is interested-I never was fast!).

I love that the meet-cute was at least partially based off a real experience. That honestly, somehow, just makes it so much better. I'm also very impressed that you managed a personal best that day.
I thoroughly enjoyed so many scenes in For the Long Run, so I have to ask: do you have a favorite scene in this book?

It’s near the end, so it’s difficult to describe without spoilers, but it’s Lizzie’s personal achievement, Shan’s grand gesture, and the despair before the elation.

I know exactly what you're talking about and it is a truly amazing scene!!!
There is one particular part of For the Long Run that I have to ask about: Everyone's Choir. Where did the idea for this come from? Is this a real thing that you've gone to/heard of or did you just come up with this idea?

This is totally a real thing. It's actually called Pub Choir and it started some years ago in Australia as a series of small events in local pubs. For those who are unfamiliar with this, it's basically a directed community sing-a-long with alcohol, where several hundred (or thousand) people come together to sing all the parts of a popular song. Zero singing skill required, just the desire to have fun.
Nowadays, as well as small events such as the one Shan and Lizzie attend, there are huge events in concert halls, often accompanied by a full band or orchestra. Sometimes the original singer leads the choir.
Here's a great Pub Choir event of a classic Aussie song: "Leaps and Bounds" by Paul Kelly, who leads the singing. Even watching on YouTube it's impossible not to get caught up in the joy of it all.
In North America, it's called Choir, Choir, Choir.

I am so very excited that this is a real thing. I might have to see if there's anything going on in Nevada.
In your acknowledgments you spoke about when and how you became a runner. Were any of the scenes in For the Long Run based on personal experience?

Lizzie, the fun-runner in a koala suit, has a running journey very similar to my own-that of a slow, plodding person struggling to run who learns to love it. That's my experience in a nutshell. Some of the final scenes in the book (no spoilers here) from Lizzie's point of view were written from my own experience.

I greatly appreciate you trying to avoid spoilers. It's amazing that her journey was able to be plucked from your own experiences with running.
Do you have any favorite sapphic books? Any sapphic books that you think are underappreciated?

Heaps! I pretty much love anything by Clare Lydon, KJ, Ann Roberts, Ann McMan, Harper Bliss, Jae, Angela Brooks, Andrea Bramhall, and Melissa Brayden. Newer authors I'm enjoying are Allie McDermid, Liz Rain, Ana K. Wrenn, Neen Cohen, and Ashley Herring-Blake.
Underappreciated authors? There are many sapphic authors just starting out and it's getting harder to get noticed in our genre. I encourage everyone to jump onto Amazon and browse the lower rankings and give an author you don't know a go. Or pick an older book from several years ago. You might find a gem.

Some familiar favorites in that list and a bunch more that I need to crack down on and start reading! Definitely gonna have to pick an older book or an author I don't know sometime this year and see how it goes.
When you're not writing, what do you like to do?

Nothing makes me happier than a long, slow road trip in my four-wheel drive, taking the small dirt roads and tracks and camping along the way. I'm lucky living in Australia, as this sort of trip is easy-after all, most of the country is desert, and even on the coastal fringe where most people live, it's fairly easy to find a quiet camp.
Other than that, I love to cook, make my own cheese, drink gin, grow veggies, play and watch tennis, and go for long walks. Oh, and I'm running again. Slowly, carefully, and against my chiropractor's advice. So far so good.

That honestly sounds very amazing and quite soothing. I get why that would be something you enjoy doing. It's awesome that you're running again too!!
Are you able and willing to share any information about any upcoming books you have in the works?

I have two books coming in 2023. Not For a Moment is out, I think, in March. It's a friends-to-lovers, roommate romance with a spur-of-the-moment fake relationship between a single mum and her childfree friend. There's a soft butch with a toolbelt, family drama, a cute seven-year-old apprentice, ponies, and plenty of ice cream.
The second release, right now titled I Do, will be out towards the end of the year. It's a gay-for-you romance between a metal worker and an unemployed accountant who is faking her way in her identical twin's event planning business. It revolves around a gay wedding festival in a small town in Australia, culminating in a pretend wedding.
And I'm still wallowing my way through the first draft of the book after that, which will be a 2024 release.

I am so very excited about the two books you have coming out this year. They both sound absolutely amazing and I look forward to being able to read them! I can't wait until they're releasd and I can pester my library into getting them.

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You can find Cheyenne Blue on their website, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads.

You can buy Cheyenne Blue's books from Amazon.

If you can't buy her books but you still want to read them, consider requesting them to your local library or suggesting them on Overdrive!