Interview with Annie Rains, author of Forbidden Kisses

What can you tell us about your new release, Forbidden Kisses?

Grace and Jack used to be step siblings, but this isn’t your typical stepbrother romance. It’s a sweet story of two characters who fell in love when they were young and were torn apart by their families’ dislike for the other. A modern day Romeo and Juliet, if you will.

Grace is down on her luck at the start of the story and Jack offers her a job working for his family, which is obviously complicated. As Grace wins her spot back into the family, she finds herself having stronger feelings for Jack. While Jack has made peace with her, though, he’s not about to forgive Grace’s mother for her past transgressions.

If you were a teacher, what book would you assign to your class?

The Diary of Anne Frank is a must read for students. It reflects a piece of the world’s history and captures the life of a person and time that should never be forgotten.

Who is your favorite couple from literature?

Landon Carter and Jamie Sullivan in A Walk to Remember (Nicholas Sparks) will always have my heart. What a sweet, romantic story! The movie was good, but as usually is the case, the book was a thousand percent better. I adore this book!

If you could have dinner with anyone, alive or dead, who would you choose and why?

Mother Teresa. She was a beautiful person who did so many great things while she was alive. She made a difference. It would be amazing to sit down with her.

BAM. You’re a superhero. What’s your superpower?

Happiness. I don’t like to see people sad or suffering. If I had a superpower it would be to zap everyone with happiness.

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

An author, of course! I remember telling my grandfather when I was 6-years-old that I wanted to be an author when I grew up. It’s always been my dream, even when I wasn’t actively chasing it.

What scene in Forbidden Kisses was your favorite to write?

There’s a scene where Jack and Grace are keeping their relationship a secret from their families. Their families have quite a volatile history and Jack and Grace aren’t ready to come out as a couple. They’re on a boat in the middle of the ocean, Grace just caught her first big fish, and she’s elated. They kiss and Jack’s father catches them in the act. The scene was so complicated in my head because there were so many emotions coming together all at once: joy, fear, lust. It was a lot of fun to write and I breathed a big sigh of relief when I finally had it down on the computer.

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

Every morning when my alarm clock goes off way too early, I think to myself “Get up now or forever hold your peace.” Meaning if I don’t drag myself out of bed to write, I can’t complain and mope later when there’s no time to sit at my computer because I have a day job and 3 kids who need me. Life is busy. If I don’t make sacrifices to get my writing time, that’s on me. That’s something I’ve learned over the years. It’s not deep, but it’s my daily motto and it gets me moving.

Annie Rains is the author of the new book Forbidden Kisses. 

Connect with Annie:
Author Website