LUANA STEWART (Cont.)
INTERVIEW
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Tell us about your latest book. What moti-
vated the story? Where did the idea come
from? Where do your story ideas usually come
from?
The heroine of my latest book, Love and
Redemption , first appeared as a minor
character in a previous book and she de-
manded her own story. Given who she
was, she needed to relocate to build a bet-
ter life for herself, and so I decided to
transport her to my native Nova Scotia. Of
course, she would need a hero, and who
better for a former courtesan than a some-
what straight-laced judge!
Bubble baths or steamy showers? Ocean or
mountains? Puppies or kittens? Chocolate or
caramel?
Bubble baths, the ocean, kittens, and
chocolate.
If you were on a reality show, what one would
it be?
Does the Great British Bake Off count as
a reality show? I would love to be a baker
in that massive tent, conquering the
“soggy bottom” and
winning a coveted
handshake from the
yummy Paul Holly-
wood.
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After you‟ve writ-
ten your book and
it‟s been published,
do you ever buy it
and/or read it?
No. I’ve read the
story so many
times—first draft,
second draft, first
round of edits,
second round of edits, galley correc-
tions—I can practically recite it from
memory. I do NOT want to read the
bleeping book again. But the characters
stay with me for weeks and months after
publication. I occasionally daydream an-
other epilogue to see how they’re doing in
their happily-ever-after.
Which comes first, the story, the characters,
or the setting?
I always discover my characters first, and
it’s usually the heroine. I interview her and
learn about her life, and through that
process, I develop the hero—someone
who will challenge her in every chapter.
And then I get to
know the hero to
figure out how he
can drive the hero-
ine crazy, while also
being her soulmate.