Interview with LJ Evans, Author of The Last Dance You Saved
12 Feb 2025
What’s the story behind the story? What inspired you to write The Last Dance You Saved?
This story is kind of funny. One day, my husband was watching some sports channel and a scream on the screen jerked me out of my book to see two bare-chested men with beer hats cheering wildly in a small arena. It took me a minute of watching to realize these extreme fans weren’t cheering at a football game or a soccer match but were cheering for a dart tournament. And not just any tournament, but the World Championship of Darts. And I was like, “Wait, darts has a world championship?” My husband looked at me like I had been living under a rock, but I was truly surprised. After about five minutes of laughing and teasing each other, an idea hit me. I saw a female protagonist entering this male-dominated field, putting the male contestants to shame, and having half-naked men cheer her on. And what would be even more fun would be having the arena owner be some growly businessman who looked down on her in a you-throw-darts-for-a-living kind of way. They’d have this incredible chemistry that shocked them both—an extreme, opposites-attract romance with tons of juicy banter. As I already had an independent, snarky female in my current small-town, grumpy-cowboy series that I wanted to write about, I just had to figure out how to twine her story into this one I’d envisioned. Add in a rival family, a century-old jewel heist, a struggling single dad, and a failing ranch, and I was hooked. I know it doesn’t feel like all these pieces should fit together, but I promise they do, and it might just be one of my favorite stories I’ve ever written.
If you had to pick theme songs for the main characters of The Last Dance You Saved, what would they be?
The song that inspired The Last Dance You Saved is Nate Smith’s “Fix What You Didn’t Break.” Music is a tremendous inspiration for me. Since my debut novel, every chapter in every book has a song tied to it, so a forty-chapter book has a forty-song playlist. The song title becomes the chapter title, and the playlist for each book is up on Spotify. LJ on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/41NgApY
The two main characters in this book definitely have songs I believe should have been written about them. Sadie Hatley’s song is “Wonder Woman” by Miley Cyrus. Rafe Marquess’s song is “Devil You Know” by Tyler Braden. Both of these songs are on The Last Dance You Saved playlist.
What’s your favorite genre to read? Is it the same as your favorite genre to write?
I do read a tremendous amount of romantic suspense and action suspense books (think The Night Agent series). Nora Roberts is an all-time favorite, as are Laura Griffin, Kristen Ashley, Catherine Cowles, Devney Perry, Brynne Asher, and Mary Burton. But I’m a mood reader, and I tend to read a lot of historical romance and romantasy when I’m writing because I need to escape into books with very different vibes and worlds than those I’m writing.
What books are on your TBR pile right now?
I recently finished The Playbook of Emma by Brynne Asher and There’s Something About Mira by Sonali Dev. Next up is First Comes Marriage by Mary Balogh, The Problem with Falling by Brittainy Cherry, and Nightwork by Nora Roberts. I have no idea why I didn’t read the Nora book when it came out, but somehow, it slipped by me, so I can’t wait to dig into it.
What scene in your book was your favorite to write?
Sadie is strong and independent and refuses to back away when the people she loves are in danger. Rafe is used to being in control and setting the pace, so I adored whenever they clashed, often in delightfully bantery ways. Every scene where they could toss out challenges to each other was a blast to write. Here’s one of them:
“You promised me all your dances from now on,” I whispered in her ear. “And yet, I saw you dancing.” “You’re remembering it wrong, Slick. I simply said you’d get my dances tonight, and look at that, we’re dancing.” I swirled her out and around, and when I brought her back, I drew her even closer. Our hips shifted in perfect unison as if we’d always been together. As if we’d already spent a lifetime dancing. “No one else should be able to touch you this way, Tennessee. I’m willing to negotiate. Line dancing with the men in your family is acceptable, but this, these moves with us tucked together, have to be mine and mine alone.” Sadie twined her fingers through the hair at my nape as she aligned herself into my every groove. “How about if I promise you all my last dances?” she offered. I shook my head. “Not good enough. All your last dances and all your slow dances.” She pretended to think about it. “All my last dances and all my slow dances, unless planned and negotiated ahead of time.” I didn’t let her see it, but inside, I was smiling. Instead, I grunted as if I’d barely agreed to her terms. But from this day forward, negotiating with her would be one of my favorite things.
Do you have any quirky writing habits? (lucky mugs, cats on laps, etc.)
I don’t think it’s quirky, per se, but I’m a couch writer. I use a little lap desk and have our three cats, blankets, and a basket full of writer tools surrounding me while I type away. I get pretty deep in the zone, and it often takes my husband or kiddo putting their hand in front of my face to break me out of the trance. When I get stuck with a scene or a plot, I pull out my earbuds, shut my eyes, and listen to music. Pretty soon, the words and rhythms have me back on track. But when I’m actually writing, I can’t listen to anything with lyrics. I need silence or instrumental music, like writing to a movie score.
Do you have a motto, quote, or philosophy you live by?
Our world is pretty chaotic right now, so kindness and generosity matter more than ever. While those aren’t mottos, they are a philosophy I believe in. I also pick one word each year to be a guiding light for me. In the last few years, my word-of-the-years have been not negative, but maybe insinuating some kind of change was needed. So this year, I wanted something more upbeat and positive, and I picked “flourish” as my word. I just want to enjoy what I do, really revel in all the little successes and happy moments, and maybe spread some of that to others who are struggling.
If you could choose one thing for readers to remember after reading your book, what would it be?
I’d love for readers to finish my book feeling like their chests are going to explode with all the heartfelt emotions piling up there. I want those emotions and memories to linger so that they think of the book days after putting it down.
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