#lwlinterview – Alexandria Lee

Hey, romance addicts. Today, romance author, Alexandria Lee shares a little about herself and her contemporary romance, Dancing with Sin.

Thank you for joining us, Alexandria!

Tell us something really interesting that’s happened to you.

I was chased by a peacock into a bathroom stall at a zoo when I was on a school field trip in middle school. My friend dared me to try and “talk” to it and being the weirdo that I am, I totally made a bunch of weird bird calls to try and get it to open up its feathers.

Well, it did. Then, it ran after me and I booked it into a nearby bathroom stall! Lol

Do you have a favorite movie?

Jaws. Hands down. Best casting, filmography, and director. I also LOVE sharks!

What can we expect from you in the future?

Lots more forbidden romance! It’s my bread and butter along with making readers cry at least once during each of my books. I’ve had readers tell me that they have “Reading Kits” for my books that consist of alcohol and lots of tissues lol

How did you come up with the concept and characters for the book?

I think the best part of reading and writing romance is the tension, both emotional and sexual. What brings more tension than falling in love with your sister’s fiance and him falling back?

I like to write stories that twist the norm and shine a light on difficult topics such as infidelity and show all sides of it without justifying it, of course. Something about taking good people and putting them into bad situations and watching how they react and change [fascinates] me, and I love writing in the moral gray.

If your book was made into a film, who would you like to play the lead?

I’m actually an actress myself, so can I say me? LOL Kidding! (Sort of)

Are your characters based on real people or did they all come entirely from your imagination?

This is actually the most personal book I’ve written as yes, the main character of Alice is somewhat pulled from personal experiences of me at my most vulnerable after a brutal breakup. Also, the villain in the book– the cheating ex-boyfriend– is based on my cheating ex-boyfriend, and a decent amount of the lines and actions that the character says were inspired by reality.

Check a taste of Alexandria’s book, Dancing with Sin.

“Why are you so against me fixing your shower, huh? What’s so awful about me that you can’t even stand the thought of me helping you?”

“Nothing is awful about you, I just don’t want you here!”

Hurt clouded Ethan’s stare over in the time it took for me to realize what I’d said.

To me, I said it because being alone with him was a tornado of disaster, chasing me down and trying to suck me up, but I was still running. Still trying to survive him. Though to Ethan, I plainly said that I didn’t want him, and unless I explained myself, he’d continue to think that, and I couldn’t explain myself.

Though, maybe that was a good thing? If he thought I hated him, there was no chance of us falling into the trap of each other again. If he thought I wanted him nowhere near me, he’d stay as far away as I said to. Yet the cost of him believing such a thing was knowing I was the one to put the anguish in his eyes that was there now, and I wasn’t sure I was strong enough to live with that. Hurting Ethan willingly felt like the cruelest thing I had ever considered inflicting on another person in my entire life.

“I—” My heart was telling my tongue to say one thing, but my mind was telling it another. The longer I didn’t speak, the louder the agony became coming from Ethan’s suffering gaze. And the longer still that I didn’t utter one word, the agony rolled over into fury that screamed so loud I wanted to cover my ears.

“Fine,” Ethan spat. “I’ll fix it without the fucking tools.”

He turned from me without any of his tools and disappeared into my bathroom. The sound of the bathroom fan kicked on as the light fluttered to life, and in the blink of an eye I didn’t register, I found myself standing right behind Ethan who was crouched inside of my shower.

“Ethan, it’s fine. Please.” I tried harder and harder still, but he wasn’t listening anymore and I needed him to listen more than ever before. He needed to leave now, because I could feel it. As strange as it sounds, I felt us in the air. Threatening, imposing, and cataclysmic to the world we both cherished.

And us couldn’t happen.

“The shower works fine! It’s not even a big deal!” In a hopeless, last-ditch effort, I reached out to the shower handle. No logic or consequences in my head, I latched my fingers around that handle and I jammed it all the way to the side. Water shot out from the showerhead above, sputtering to life before raining down just like gravity intended, and right on top of Ethan’s head.

The moment the water hit him, Ethan’s body froze in time with my heart.

Petrified in place, I watched Ethan just sit there, letting the water from above pour down and drench him head to foot. His light blue T-shirt was painted dark by the spray of the water, and his hair sank flat atop his head, bits of it sticking across his forehead.

“I’m-I didn’t—” Any words I was attempting to say evaporated into the damp air as Ethan stood up inside the shower. From the tips of his nose to the jut of his chin, water dripped and splashed across his chiseled face. Slowly, he turned that face towards me.

The water droplets falling down his face could have evaporated off his skin given the extremity of his visible outrage.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, I—No. Ethan—don’t!” But it was too late.

By the time I turned on my heel to run, both of Ethan’s arms landed right around my waist, gripping down tight as he pulled me back. A yelp tore past my lips as the first cascade of water hit my body, soaking my thin shirt through to the skin. The water was as warm as Ethan’s chest that my back was flush up against, feeling the water pour between us. It suctioned our bodies together even as I twisted and I turned and kicked out. Nothing worked. I didn’t budge until Ethan himself plucked me away from him, wrapping his large hands around my upper arms.

My heart slammed against my chest as Ethan slammed my back up against the shower wall.

A whimper fell from my parted lips, and my eyes jumped straight up to his. That alone was my first and fatal mistake.

Behind his tumultuous anger and shadows of pain, I saw a glimpse of it. I saw a shining glimpse of the thing that brought him to hate, to guilt, and to lie to himself and everyone around him.

I saw the reason he came here today. He came here with a purpose and a plan and absolutely no second-guessing. The closer Ethan leaned into me, the more vivid the intention he decided on became and the faster my heart began to beat.

All right, romance addicts. Here is the part where you click if you want more!

Alice Monroe was a good person who was about to do a very bad thing.

A professional dancer at twenty-four, Alice had worked tirelessly for years to achieve perfection in all areas of her life. She had the perfect boyfriend, the perfect dream job in her pocket, and the unfortunate, naïve belief that perfection was built to last.

All it took was one night to tear down everything Alice had built for herself until she was left single, jobless, and her heart stained with betrayal. With her tail tucked between her legs, she drives to Chicago to move in with her older sister until she’s back on her feet.

Little did she know that this was just the beginning of her twist of fate nightmare. Ethan Black is waiting for her in Chicago as a perfect stranger, but soon after he and Alice meet, it’s impossible for either of them to deny that they’re destined to be much more.

The only problem?

Ethan’s engaged to be wed to her sister.

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