Tell us a little bit about your new release, I Wish You Were Mine.
I Wish You Were Mine is the second book in my Oxford series (although it can most definitely be read as a standalone!) about a former NFL quarterback whose career is ended abruptly by a car accident. He finds himself accepting a job as Fitness Editor at Oxford magazine in New York City, where the only person he knows is his ex wife’s sister—the one woman who’s always been there for him . . . and the one he can never have.
Who is your favorite couple from literature?
Emma and Mr. Knightley from Jane Austen’s Emma. I find Mr. Darcy as swoony as the next gal, but to be honest, I was much more convinced of Emma and Mr. Knightley’s happy ever after.
What's on your writing desk?
Not much! My computer, my planner and a water bottle. I like a clean writing space. No papers, sticky notes, notebooks, etc. Sometimes I’ll splurge and buy some fresh flowers for the desk.
What's your favorite thing about New York City?
The energy. I know that sounds sort of woo-woo, but there’s an energy in New York that I haven’t found anywhere else, and I’ve lived quite a few places. I don’t know how to describe it other than that everyone is always doing something, going somewhere. It almost feels like every person in the city is there for a reason, living with a very deliberate purpose, whether it be making it on Wall Street or having the best fruit stand on the block. I find it incredibly intoxicating.
What's a typical day like for you?
I’m pretty regimented! I feel like my best self when I have a routine. I wake up early. I aim for 5, never later than 7. I drink my first cup of coffee while updating my planner for the day (I use the DayDesigner). By the time I’m on my second cup of coffee, the laptop is open and I’m writing my first words of the day.
My first writing session always lasts for at least two hours, but I’ll often do more if I’m on a roll. If I’m not on a roll, this is usually about the point where I take a break to gym, shower, have breakfast etc. Then it’s back to the computer, where I’ll set my timer for thirty minutes and catch up on my social media messages (I use SproutSocial so that I don’t actually log into Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest and get distracted).
Then it’s back to the writing (or editing, depending what part of the book process I’m in). My creative energy is usually pretty spent by about 4pm, so I’ll switch over to email, website updates, and other business tasks for an hour or so.
The laptop is usually closed around 5/6pm and I’ll have happy hour with Mr. Layne. Usually at home, but sometimes we’ll go out. Drink transitions to dinner, then we tidy up the apartment (love waking up to a clean home!) and get ready for bed. I’ll read sometimes, but I prioritize sleep over TV, and even my Kindle, so I’m almost always asleep by 10pm.
Thrilling, right?!
What makes your world go round? Why does it bring you joy?
Well this answer is perhaps “too obvious,” but writing really is the center of my world. I had a recent epiphany recently after I started getting irritable when I was expected to do “fun” things like go out to dinner, or go to a movie, or watch Netflix … I realized that it’s not that I don’t want to do those things, it’s that I just want to write more. There are very few things in life I’d rather be doing than writing. Hanging out with my husband is perhaps, the one exception, but often he hangs out with me while I write. Win/win!
What's your favorite quote or scene from I Wish You Were Mine?
“If she’d thought the man was dangerous in a football uniform, he was positively lethal in a tux.”
Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?
“Stop Wishing. Start Doing.”
Lauren Layne is the author of the new book I Wish You Were Mine.
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