Interview with Sabrina Blaum, author of THE TRUCE

 

Hi everyone! Today's interview is with Sabrina Blaum!! This was quite a fun interview and I'm excited for everyone to get to read it.

In this interview we talked a bit about her writing process, her most recent release, and what ties the books in the Constellation series together. As always link to follow Sabrina on social media as well as links to buy her books will be at the bottom.
     

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What inspires you to write?

Music is a great source of inspiration. But overall, everything can be an inspiration, from something that someone says or a personal experience. Generally, I have way too many story ideas, so I'm set for the next several years with writing projects.

Solid! Better to have too many ideas than too few! Can't wait to see what you write in the future.
What's your favorite way to write a book? Do you have a specific way you plan out the books that you write?

I used to just have an idea and sit down and write it, unplanned aside from a general vague notion of a few future scenes. That takes forever, though. Now, I basically outline the plot via brainstorming with my best friend. Then, I sit down to write. The more details I plan beforehand, the faster I can write the story. Still, nothing is set in stone, and I usually also end up changing stuff based on what I write. It's more like when you plan a trip, and you know you will visit cities A, B, and C, but you won't know what you do there until you arrive and check it out. So, this has become my favorite method. I rarely write on paper. Mostly, it's on my laptop. I try to write every day, but life often has other ideas. Still, I try and usually succeed in writing a first draft in 6-9 weeks on average, sometimes it takes me about 12 weeks.
Yes, by now, I plan out a lot, but I am still flexible to change things or follow a different path if needed.

Ooh that's interesting! I'm impressed that you were able to change the way you wrote books! Also I love comparing it to planning a trip, because I think that works so well.
How do you come up with the plots for your books?

There is no one specific way. Like I said, something inspires me, gives me an idea for a character or a relationship dynamic, or even a general plot. Then, I follow that along and see where it takes me.

Fair enough! Get an idea and just see where the path takes you.
Where do the character names come from?

I use names I like, and with which I have no real or negative real life association. There are several name websites as well that I sometimes use to research names.

That's smart! I'm curious if that's limiting or not. I feel like there are so many names that you'll probably never run out, even with excluding names you have associations with.
You just recently (or will soon release) a new book. Can you share a bit about what that book is about?

I've published The Truce on March 7, 2023. It's the third book in my stand-alone Constellation series, which is made up of contemporary romance novels where the characters live in the same universe and know each other in some way/or even are related.
The two leads, Amy and Jess, used to be best friends and had a terrible falling out at seventeen. Twenty years later, they are forced together on a work trip to Germany. This time together unleashes all sorts of demons between them, and they have to navigate where they are now without drowning in the past. It is a friends to enemies to lovers and forced proximity trope, and it was much more fun to write than I expected.

Congrats on the new release!! It sounds like a rollercoaster of emotions but in a good way! I'm glad to hear that it was fun to write at least.
It's part of a romance series of standalone novels. What ties these books together and makes them a series?

So in book one, The Chase, we meet Seren and Bree. Seren's best friend and ex-girlfriend is E, and we meet her in The Chase. Then, book two, The Deal, tells E's story. Here, she gets together with Nicole, who is from a large family. One of her sisters, Amy, is married and has a little girl in The Deal, but there you already see cracks in her marriage. In The Deal, there is a scene where E and Nicole meet up with an old friend of Nicole's from school, whose sister Jess used to be Amy's best friend. They all end up on a semi-forced outing at a bar that introduces the drama between Amy and Jess. This is explored in my newest book, The Truce, as Jess and Amy are the leads of that one.
So basically, the main characters in Constellation so far are either friends or siblings of characters we've seen before. There is another one coming up that deals with one of Bree's daughters.

Ooh, yes!!!! That's my favorite type of standalone series! That is so cool! I love when you get little hints of the other characters in the books.
What's your favorite scene from each of the books in the CONSTELLATION series?

Wow, OK, let's see. In The Chase there's a scene where they sit by the fire during a bonfire at E's place. They are talking, and flirting a little bit. They are both so taken by each other. I don't know. That scene always appealed to me during my read-throughs.
For The Deal, I want to say there's a scene late in the book where they share a very significant and hard conversation. Reading this always left me a bit breathless because they are throwing truths at each other's head, and these are hard to swallow. It's a sort of turning point that always had a big emotional impact on me.
As for The Truce, that is more difficult to choose as this book has such a personal and emotional significance for me. So I have many different scenes there that are meaningful to me for various reasons. For the story itself, I really like scenes where they are truly and openly communicating, like when they share their past struggles with previous relationships/connecting emotionally with others.

All of those scenes sound honestly amazing!!!! I love a good flirting scene, but there's something about the hard coversations and the honesty that usually steals the show.
Are you planning any other books right now?

Yes. I am about to get back to finishing the spinoff to Constellation which I will publish in July. It is called A Question of Sincerity, and I am about 45k words into it. Then I will finish the last book of Constellation, which is called The Homecoming. For that one, I have about 20k words already. After that, I plan to write 3-4 novellas on the same topic/theme, before taking a year to write two new novels and revise two others (my very first two which I've been working on since 2012)

Sounds like you've got a lot to work on and that you're properly prepared for this. I look forward to seeing what books you come out with, I'm especially interested in the two that you're revising. I also love the title for the Constellation spinoff book.
What are some of your favorite books that you've read recently?

Oh, I really loved Rust in the Root, and Dread Nation by Justina Ireland, and the last one of the Scholomance trilogy, The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik. I also recently read Chef's Kiss by Stephanie Shea, and Louder than Words by Lisa Elliot, and I've enjoyed them as well.

Yes! I need to read Justina Ireland's books!! I see them recommended so often but I still haven't gotten around to them! Also, Chef's Kiss by Stephanie Shea looks so amazing.
Thank you so much for joining me for this interview. It was a wonderful time!!! I appreciate you taking the time to answer these questions for me. I wish you luck in writing/editing your future books and I look forward to seeing what you release.
If Sabrina Blaum's books sound like something you'd enjoy, make sure to check out the link included below to follow her or purchase her books. If you like what I do, consider giving me a follow on social media or donating to my Ko-fi. Thank you for reading!!

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You can find Sabrina Blaum on their website, Instagram, Twitter, or Nota.

You can buy Sabrina Blaum'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!