Interview with Alexa Aston, Author of Heartstrings and Helmets

What’s the story behind the story? What inspired you to write Heartstrings and Helmets (Hearts in Hawthorne Book 1)?

I’ve set two of my small-town contemporary romance series in Texas (Sugar Springs and Lost Creek, Texas Hill Country). Being a native Texan, I have a feel for all things Texas, and I love making my setting of a small town one of the characters in my romances. This series focuses on five cousins who all return to their hometown of Hawthorne, looking for a slower pace of life, ready to settle down and find their soulmate.

As a longtime Dallas Cowboys fan, it was fun to make West Sutherland, the hero in Heartstrings and Helmets, the first to come home. He’s retiring at the top of his game, having won a Super Bowl, and his goal is to coach football at the high school he graduated from. As a former teacher, I certainly know the inner workings of a high school, so it was fun to bring that aspect to my romance novel, as well. I also like the idea of second chances, and West will find that Kelby Blackstone, the one who got away, has just landed in Hawthorne again.

If you had to pick theme songs for the main characters of Heartstrings and Helmets (Hearts in Hawthorne Book 1), what would they be?

I would go with Every Road Leads Back to You, an old Bette Midler song from a movie she did called For the Boys. It talks about two old friends running into one another. Years have passed, and they’ve been through a lot, but they always knew each other better than anyone else has. It ends with talking about how they always could make one another smile and how, after all this time, you’re the one I still want beside me, and how every road leads back to you. West and Kelby dated briefly in high school, but they knew they were headed in different directions and ended their relationship. Fourteen years later, they now have a second chance to be together.

What’s your favorite genre to read? Is it the same as your favorite genre to write?

Even though I write historical & contemporary romance, I don’t read but a handful of romances because I don’t want other romance authors’ voices in my head. I want to keep what I write fresh and sound like Alexa Aston! I adore thrillers and read everything by Michael Connelly, Lee Child, Brad Thor, and David Baldacci, to name a few favorites. I also enjoy mysteries, women’s fiction, and biographies.

What books are on your TBR pile right now?

I just finished Jeremy Renner’s autobiography, as well as John Sandford’s Lethal Prey. I’m looking forward to Daniel Silva’s An Inside Job and Steve Berry’s The List. I’m most excited for Stephen King’s Never Flinch.

What scene in your book was your favorite to write?

It would have to be the epilogue. I think romance readers enjoy pulling back the curtain and seeing the couple who earned their HEA down the line, even more in love with one another. West is the head football coach at Hawthorne High School now, and we see how he’s doing professionally. We also meet the adorable children he and Kelby have, and this final scene ties a lovely bow on their love story.

Do you have any quirky writing habits? (lucky mugs, cats on laps, etc.)

I actually do a lot of my writing when I’m walking every morning. I’m a true believer that movement spurs creativity, and I get my best ideas when I’m briskly walking. I dictate a chapter into my iPhone as I’m pounding the pavement, then I transcribe it once I arrive home. When I’m in my office writing, I always have to burn a scented candle. Vanilla and cinnamon are favorites.

Do you have a motto, quote, or philosophy you live by?

It would have to be from Lao Tzu—“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Writing a novel is an incredible, sometimes daunting journey. You have to start with that first word, and then all the words that follow, which, over time, create your story.

If you could choose one thing for readers to remember after reading your book, what would it be?

Since I write romance, I want my readers to know they’ll always find a happy ending for my heroes & heroines. The journey they embark upon certainly has a lot of bumps along the way, but they learn they are better together, as well as learning to be better individuals because of the love they have for one another.

Alexa Aston is the author of the new book Heartstrings and Helmets (Hearts in Hawthorne Book 1)

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