Author Interview: Sariah Wilson

I stumbled upon Sariah Wilson’s books per Amazon’s suggestion of books I’d like. The first book I read was called Royal Games from the Royals of Monterra Series. It was technically the third book in the series, but it didn’t matter, I caught up to speed quickly and enjoyed the book immensely. Of course, I went and bought the other two books immediately after finishing. Pretty sure I finished all three books within a week—while having a small toddler to contend with. I know what your thinking, you must have neglected your toddler. Wellllll, I wouldn’t be completely honest if I didn’t say only a smidgen. It was back when long naps were a glorious blessing I didn’t know to savor when I had them.

At the time I discovered Sariah’s books I was trying to figure out how to rewrite the manuscript I had started four years prior. She was the very first author I gathered the courage to contact. (Hence, why I wanted to highlight her and her books first!) I loved—and still do—her voice and writing style, which I’d like to consider similar to my own. Amongst her busy schedule, she took the time to contact me back. I was giddy for a solid week! (And probably pestered her more than I should have with my immediate and lengthy replies.) She was gracious enough to answer several questions of mine and offered her advice on how to get started and how to learn more on the craft of writing. I’ll be forever grateful to her for this bit of kindness.

Here we are, a measly two years later, and Sariah has written a whole slew of books—all of which I love. I have personal favorite stand-outs, but I’ll let you read her books first and decide which ones you love the most. They’re all exceptional.

If you’re looking for funny, clean romances, with snarky dialogue then Sariah’s books are for you! I hope you’ll take the time to check out her books and get to know her a little more by reading the interview below.

First off, how do you pronounce your name? And how did your parents pick it?

My name is pronounced just like Mariah (as in Mariah Carey) but with an S.

The story of my name always seems a little difficult to believe but it is 100 percent true. My parents, as most parents in the 1970s, had chosen Jennifer as my name. And that’s what they called me all throughout the pregnancy, even though they didn’t know if I was a girl or not. (My mom really, really wanted a daughter.) Just before I was born, my dad was sitting in a class at church and said he heard a very clear and very distinct voice say to him, “Her name is supposed to be Sariah.” He very incredulously looked around to see who was speaking to him, but there was no one. He heard the voice again, repeating the same message. He felt like it was divine inspiration and returned home to tell my mother what had happened and they both felt like that was supposed to be my name. When I was born, the nurse asked if my parents had picked out a name yet. When they told her they had, she said, “Well, I hope it’s not Jennifer. I’ve got twenty Jennifer’s in the nursery already!”

Sariah is also a name from the Book of Mormon. And since my parents chose it, all of my siblings have names from scriptures. Rachel, Jared, Rebecca, Elizabeth, Jordan, Adam, Stephen and Charity.

How did you first become published? 

I got my big break via Kindle Scout. It was a program Amazon started, kind of like “American Idol,” but for books. Readers could read your first chapter, look at your cover, read your blurb and nominate you. I ended up winning the very first round of Kindle Scout. The woman in charge called me and asked me why I’d entered. I told her it was because I wanted to be in business with Amazon and more specifically, their romance line, Montlake, which required you to have an agent (which I didn’t have at the time). Next thing I know, I’m on the phone with Montlake’s editorial director who is offering me a two-book contract (I was in total shock!) and everything’s just grown from there. 

I know choosing one of your books as a favorite is like selecting a favorite child—impossible—but if you absolutely had to (because I’m making you), which would you choose? And why?

I would choose Once Upon A Time Travel. That is definitely the book of my heart. Its Jane Austen meets Bridget Jones, and it was a book I wanted to write for almost a decade before I was finally able to get Amazon’s imprint Kindle Press to buy it. I spent so much time thinking about and planning that book that it was a total joy to get to write it. It didn’t fit into any conventional publishing genres, so I thought it would never see the light of day. And it totally thrills me that I can share it with the world!

Out of all the main characters you’ve written—which are you most like? Why?

My family thinks I’m most like Kat from Royal Date (only without the terrible home life). I think every heroine has some element of me; I would say that Lemon from Royal Chaseis probably the least like me. I am snarky and sarcastic and even when I try to make my heroines more bubbly and optimistic, it doesn’t really work out. But obviously, none of them are exactly like me. 

You were on the set of Jane the Virgin—how did that come about? And how was that experience?

That is a STORY. To quote Inigo Montoya, there is too much. Let me sum up. Basically, I met Justin Baldoni (Rafael on Jane the Virgin) through a charity event. He helped a little to inspire a specific scene in #Starstruck, and I wanted him to take a photo of himself with the book (like those hot guys reading memes on Instagram). Instead, he did a video pitching my book (!) and asked me to send out the book to his assistant. I kept in touch with the assistant and later on (totally unrelated) I won an auction for a tour of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. Since I was going to be in the “neighborhood” (so to speak) of Southern California, I asked the assistant if I could come by Jane the Virgin. To my surprise, Justin himself saw the email and answered and said YES! So I got to go out in January on an episode that Gina Rodriguez (Jane) was directing and it was totally thrilling. Justin’s wife Emily was there with their little boy Maxwell and I talked to her for a long time, got to see all the sets (which was really exciting for me since I LOVE THIS SHOW) and got to say hi to Justin and take a photo with him. Then he offered to go get Gina (who is starring in this episode AND directing it, keep in mind), and she came out to talk to me about being a romance writer and was so open and enthusiastic and kind (as was Justin!) and then they got called back to the set and I handed my phone to Justin to take a picture of me and Gina. I had an absolutely incredible experience thanks to Justin and his assistant, and it is something I will never, ever forget. 

Your book series, The Royals of Monterra, seems rather inspired by The Bachelor. Is that one of your guilty-pleasure/binge-worthy TV shows? I saw you had the chance to meet Jared Haibon and Ashley Ianconetti from The Bachelor. How was that?

The second book in The Royals of Monterra is inspired by The Bachelor. I used to love it, but hated how it never seemed to work out. I don’t actually watch the main show anymore (although I do read Reality Steve to find out who will win), but I am obsessed with the spinoff shows like Bachelor in Paradise. My evening with Ashley I. and Jared was also incredible. I got to take photos with them, chat with Ben Higgins and Nick Viall (as well as Tanner and Jade Tolbert, Annaliese and a bunch of girls from Colton’s season). They took me to dinner and I closed the place down with Ashley and Jared. Total blast and I had the best time! Another night I’ll remember for the rest of my life. 

(If you want the full scoop, here’s Sariah’s blog post about it.

What are some of your favorite books you’ve ever read?

Choosing favorite books is impossible. Growing up I loved the Shannara series by Terry Brooks (and was thrilled when he came to my university to sign books!). I also have a deep-seated love for Maeve Binchy, which is so strange because she writes so differently from me. But I adore her work. I also love Sophie Kinsella. She was hit or miss for me for a while, but thankfully she’s back on track and writing books that I really enjoy. 

Did you ever have a writing mentor? If so, who? What advice did they give you?

I never really had a writing mentor. I had some people that I asked questions. I also had an amazing writers’ group, the Ohio Valley chapter of RWA (which no longer exists). It had a ton of NYT bestselling authors as members, who brought in their friends who were also hugely famous. So I got to sit at the feet of a lot of very talented and accomplished women and listen to their advice. One thing that really stuck with me—was to not let other people beta read my stuff. That I wasn’t writing a book by committee; that it was my voice and my words and I shouldn’t let other people kill my voice. When I have let people beta read, I get conflicting advice about what does/doesn’t work. How do you know which opinion to listen to? It actually caused me a lot of stress and anxiety. So at this point the only people who work on my manuscript are me and my editors.

What inspires you to write when you get writer’s block orl ack the motivation to write?

Contract deadlines. Seriously. I’ve never had insurmountable writers’ block when a book is due. It also resolves my lack of motivation problem. Like, I love indie publishing, I’m such a huge supporter of it (and may very well end up doing it myself again someday), but I don’t know how I would ever finish a book because in the back of my mind I would KNOW that I didn’t really have to hit my deadline because I was the one who set it in the first place. 

What would you like readers to get out of your books?

I would like them to have a good time, be uplifted and entertained. When my younger sister died while I was in high school, all my mom wanted to do was read books and watch movies. Because for a couple of hours she got to forget. And we all have so much drama and trials and hardships in our own lives that if I can be an author you read that makes you forget everything for a couple of hours, eases your burdens just a little, I want to do that. 

Why don’t you write “saucy” romances which tend to be more popular in the romance market?

It’s been my personal decision to write sweet books. It’s not a judgment against anyone else; it’s just my own comfort and personal standards in making that choice. Have I thought about the fact that I would probably be making a lot more money if I was writing steamier books? Of course. But that part of me isn’t for sale. 🙂

Are you working on a project now? Any hints about it?

I just finished up my second book in my new series, End of the Line University (the first book will be out June 11; the second next January). I’m working on some ideas with my agent as to what we want to do next. 

More about Sariah:

Bestselling author Sariah Wilson has never jumped out of an airplane or climbed Mount Everest, and she is not a former CIA operative. She is, however, madly, passionately in love with her soul mate and is a fervent believer in happily ever afters—which is why she writes romances like the Royals of Monterra series. After growing up in Southern California as the oldest of nine (yes, nine) children, she graduated from Brigham Young University with a semi-useless degree in history. The author of the #Lovestruckseries, she currently lives with the aforementioned soul mate and their four children in Utah, along with three tiger barb fish, a cat named Tiger, and a recently departed hamster who is buried in the backyard (and has nothing at all to do with tigers). For more information, visit her at www.SariahWilson.com.

Sariah’s latest release, The Friend Zone, will be available for purchase on June 11th. However, you can preorder your book now!

You can find all of Sariah’s books on Amazon (several of which are free if you have Kindle Unlimited). Feel free to check her out on BookBub and follow her on Facebook and Twitter.