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Writer's pictureColleen Daley

The talented Andie Bale Interview!!!

Updated: Apr 4, 2023


I would like to thank the wonderful author, Andie Bale for sitting down with me and answering a few questions about her books, writing, and even a few fun personal questions. She was a delight to speak with and I am so excited to start reading her books. Make sure to come back and check out my review of Five Reasons to Stay on Thursday! You can find all of Andie's links to follow at the end of the interview along with a link to a free book.


When did you first start writing?

Andie: I feel like I’ve always written, but just for myself. But I got serious about it in 2016, published my first book in 2021.


Why did you start writing?

Andie: It started out as a release of sorts. Putting my thoughts on paper felt cathartic, and I enjoyed it.


What or who inspires your writing?

Andie: Everything really, life in general. Sometimes it’s a song, other times it’s an article that I read.


Is writing a therapeutic process for you? How does your writing help you?

Andie: Definitely! There is this huge sense of peace and relief when I am done writing a scene. It is as if I can finally get all my troubles off my chest and put them on paper. They become my characters’ problems then, and I love coming up with ways for them to find their own path.


What is the most difficult part of your writing process?

Andie: Believing in myself and in the fact that someone out there will want to read my stories, and they will love it.


Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Andie: It depends on the story I am writing. I started as a total pantser, but for my most recent series, I tried outlining the plot first. I liked that a lot more than I’d have expected despite the fact that I changed a few of the elements of my original plot outline.


What comes first for you – the plot of the characters – and why?

Andie: The plot, always. Now that I have created an Andie Bale universe so to speak, where my series are interconnected in one way or another, as I write one story, I usually come up with a plot I’d like to use in a future book, then I try to figure out which secondary characters I already have would be a good fit for it. It helps me keep my focus and look forward to continue writing.


How do you develop your plot and characters?

Andie: My goal is always to make my story and the characters in it as realistic as I possible can. I want readers to not necessarily relate to them, but to find them convincing, to be able to place them in a real life situation and believe it.


How do you use social media as an author?

Andie: I have a love and hate relationship with social media. I am an introvert by nature. Trying to connect with others has been my biggest hurdle in general. Being active on social media needs to be the opposite of that. So, I go through spurts. I have days when I am active and days when I don’t even open it. I am still working on finding a balance with it.


How do you handle writer’s block?

Andie: I used to stress myself out so much over that, thinking that it was all over, and I’d never be able to write another book. It became a vicious circle where I’d stress because I couldn’t write, but then I couldn’t write because I was stressed. I learned to be patient, and work on myself a little. I also learned that I do need a break once in a while. There is so much pressure to put books out at a rapid pace, I just had to ignore that and do my thing.


How do you process and deal with a negative book review?

Andie: I have great respect for everyone’s opinion, and I try to see where they’re coming from, especially when they are worded in a more considerate and respectful way. They are just feedback, and I learn from it.


What advice would you give to a writer working on their first book?

Andie: Do not let anything or anyone discourage you. We all do things our own way, and we learn from our own mistakes. Don’t let the pressure of comparing yourself with someone you consider successful take you out. You got this.


What is your favorite part of publishing? What is your least favorite part?

Andie: My favorite part is when I finally finish writing a book and it is ready to be shared with others. Those first couple of days as you wait on reviews and watch your numbers are the best. My least favorite part is brainstorming the never ending marketing strategies that are also evolving. What worked for my last book may not work for my next one. It becomes stressful when I try to decide what I think will work this time to get my book out into the world. Some authors make it all look so easy. It is not easy for me.


What do you think is the most important part of publishing after you finish writing your manuscript?

Andie: Having a good editor to work on it. A good editor is not just someone who knows the craft and has a good reputation. It also has to be someone who can understand your writing style and doesn’t try to take your “voice” out of the equation to make the book more like what they feel it should be. It needs to be someone you trust whole heartedly with your work that you just poured your soul into.


Did you choose to write romance or did it choose you?

Andie: Ha! A little bit of both 😊 I’ve loved reading romance for as long as I can remember, going all the way back to my middle school days. As I got older, I devoured romance books even more. Writing my own stories felt like a no brainer.


Which book is your favorite that you have published so far?

Andie: That would have to be Seven Ways Back. This is book 7 in a series of interconnected standalone novels. It is also the book that closed my very first series named Love in #’s. I had this story so clear in my head as I was writing book 1 in the series, and it stayed with me until I got to it. I really wanted it to be the grand finale to this series, and I fell completely in love with its characters.


Are any of your books part of a series or are they all standalones?

Andie: Love in #’s is a series of 7 interconnected standalone books. I also have another series, Wrecked, that’s a bit more different than what previously wrote. The first 4 books in the Wrecked series follow the same couple. They are followed by the Lost trilogy, which takes place in the Wrecked universe but can be read on its own.


Do you base your characters on real people?

Andie: I can honestly say that the only thing I’ve been using that’s based in real life is the humor in all of my books. The dry comments and punchlines are basically how my husband is in real life, and I loved using all of his “wisdom” in my stories.


Which of your characters do you relate to the most and why?

Andie:I would have to pick Becca from the Wrecked quartet. She is strong and wants to put her foot down, but at the same time, she can’t help but following her heart.


How much research do you need for your books?

Andie: I haven’t written anything that required to much research. I usually looking things up as I write, as the ideas come to me.


What was the hardest scene to write, and why?

Andie: In the Lost trilogy, there is a part where the hero, Puck, has to deal with the heartbreak of having a dysfunctional and toxic family. He reads a letter his mother wrote to him where she tells him she never wanted him, never loved him, and wished she’d never given birth to him. His reaction while reading the letter brought a lot of my own emotions to the surface. It was harder to write than anything else.


If you could meet your characters, what would you say to them?

Andie: It depends on who it is LOL For my most recent ones, I’d say, I love you, but you need to get your head out of your ass LOL


What is your favorite quote from one of your books?

Andie: "When life gives you lemons, you take them and crush them in your enemy’s face." From the Lost trilogy.


What tropes are in each book?

Andie: In my first series, Love in #’s, I have insta-love, single dad, best friend’s ex, age gap, best friends to lovers, hockey and, last but not least, second chance romance.

For my second series, it started out as a motorcycle club romance, but it evolved into what I like to call an anti MC romance. I always wondered what would happen when the club members didn’t want to be a part of the club that made them anymore. It proved to be quite an emotional journey overall, and I loved every word of it.


What is your favorite trope to write?

Andie: I love the single parent trope. The idea of finding love for a single mother or father, finding a parental figure for a child who never thought they’d have that, it makes my heart squeeze in my chest. I love everything about it.

How long did it take you to write each book? If one book took longer to write, why?

Andie: With my first series, I pretty much spit all seven books out in about a six-month time frame. It was wild and the process consumed me. I needed a break after that, but I jumped into the next series pretty quickly. I had the story in my head, my notes all written down, I wanted to put it on paper, stat. My current work in progress seems to be taking the longest so far. This will be the final book in the Wrecked series, and I feel the pressure of it having to be as close to perfection as possible. Because of that, I seem to be overthinking everything too much, which, in turn, makes me write a bit slower.


How would you describe your book’s ideal reader?

Andie: Anyone who wants to read my books!


Are your books wide or only in Amazon?

Andie: All my books are in Kindle Unlimited, on Amazon only.


Tell us a little about each book or a little about a new release?

Andie: I love this question!! And it’ll have a long answer haha.


Love in #’s is a series of seven books that follow a group of friends, and each book can be read as a standalone. As the name of the series shows, I had a theme in mind 😊


Book 1 is One for the Road. It is an insta-love romance, and also my very first book published. The hero has been with his on again, off again girlfriend for a while until they finally break up for good. It is a bad breakup, causing him to take a break from dating. That is when he meets the heroine. She is very attracted to him, but her best friend is his employee, and she hates him. They decide to risk it and see where a relationship could take them.


Book 2 is Two for the Road. I love this book so much. It is a single dad romance. The hero has a four-year-old daughter. The heroine doesn’t want a relationship or kids. Until she falls in love with the man of her dreams and his adorable daughter, but she manages to mess things up in the process.


Book 3 is Three for the Show. This story circles back a little to book 1 in the series. The hero Book 1 hero’s best friend, while the heroine is Book 1 hero’s ex boyfriend – the one she had a very bad breakup with. As it turns out, her ex’s best friend has been in love with her for years. Now he just needs to convince her of it as well.


Book 4 is Four More Days. This is another favorite of mine. Hero meets the heroine on a business trip. They spend four days together, he promises to call her, but she never hears from him again. That is until she happens to get a job as a nanny for his best friend’s baby. The timing is less than perfect, but he decides to risk it anyway.


Book 5 is Five Ways Back. The heroine is the older sister of Book 4 heroine. The hero is her best friend. She’s been in love with him forever, he’s finally just seeing it, just as she had enough of pining for him. This book also sets the scene for the Wrecked series.


Book 6, Six Wishes, is meant to be a really light romantic comedy between a hockey player that is on the verge of involuntary retirement from the sport he loves the most, and the woman he first thinks is a puck bunny. Spoiler alert – she is not.


Book 7, Seven Ways Back, is the final book in this series. The heroine is Book 1 hero’s little sister and also Book 6 heroine’s cousin. The hero is Book 6 hero’s best friend and also Book 2 heroine’s newly found brother. The two have a wild romance when the heroine is in college. She ends up breaking up with the hero, while also breaking his heart into pieces. Now, it is seven years later, and she has a lot of groveling to do.


And that is how we get to the Wrecked series!!! The scene is first set in Five Reasons to Stay. The first four books follow the same couple, where the hero is the VP in a motorcycle club that is run by his father. Betrayal is at the forefront of this story, from all sides. The only bright spot is the heroine, but he is at the point where he can’t deal with anything anymore. Finding love is not even at the bottom of his list of priorities because it is not on the least at all.

The following three books in the series form the Lost trilogy. They follow another member of the motorcycle club in his quest for freedom. He is all about falling in love when he meets the heroine. But she has secrets that she is not willing to share, thinking that she is protecting him. It all blows up into everyone’s face, and sacrifices need to be made.

The very last book in the Wrecked series is aptly named Ghosted, and it follows the third motorcycle club member that ran with the group. Now that they are away from the club, and his brothers are busy with their women and their drama, he feels a bit misplaced. The woman he falls in love with is exactly what he needs. The heroine is a single mother whose past will come back to haunt her.

I am also currently working on two sports romance series!!! One is football, the other one is hockey. The stories are a little lighter, with way more humor sprinkled in.

I have a short story, Our Kind of Love, that is part of the Shades of Love anthology. It is a sports rom-com. The hero is the owner of a professional football team. The heroine is the sports reporter with a mad crush on him.


What do you need in your writing space to help you stay focused?

Andie: Peace and quiet, as simple as that. Although, I’ve written in plenty of loud spaces too. Peace and quiet doesn’t necessarily mean that I need to be cooped up in my own space. I actually love sitting on the couch and typing away while my husband watches TV and rubs my feet mindlessly. It is my happy place.


What is your favorite writing snack or drink?

Andie: I don’t have a favorite writing snack. My favorite drink is the Mexican Coca-Cola in a glass bottle. That first sip is heaven!! And so, so bad for you haha. But, it fuels my writing spirit.


If you could spend a day with another author, whom would you choose and why?

Andie: Oh my gosh, this is really hard to answer!! I have so many authors who I absolutely adore. My very favorite romance author is Carian Cole. And I’d love to just hang out with her for one day, I wouldn’t even need to talk about anything writing related 😊


How do you celebrate when you finish your book?

Andie: With a super long nap!!! As soon as I type the end, it’s like my brain instantly shuts down. My batteries need to be recharged, and I love just closing my eyes and trying to process how I even am an author. It is such a humbling experience.


What risks have you taken with your writing that have paid off?

Andie: Writing more to market, so to speak. Writing the stories that people love to read, regardless of the fact that everyone else is doing the same thing. We can all put our own spin on things, and there is room for everyone.


What has helped or hindered you the most when writing a book?

Andie: Self-doubt is the one thing that always tries to creep its way into my head. Having a positive attitude is what saves me from that danger zone.


What advice would you give to help others create plotlines?

Andie: Write down all the ideas that you have, because, trust me, you think you’ll remember later, but you won’t. Then, take a deep breath, a break even, before you start organizing them all into what you feel is going to be your story.


How many hours a day do you write?

Andie: Sometimes three hours, sometimes five, and other times a full eight. But on some occasions, zero. But I have learned to be okay with that.


What are your favorite or most helpful author resources?

Andie: I love the different groups I am in, especially the reader ones. I love seeing what people’s likes and dislikes are, and why. I try to absorb it all and recognize what would work for me or not.


I have a free book that you can download via Bookfunnel: https://BookHip.com/FNQCJKR

All other books can be found on my Amazon page 😊


Andie Bale’s social media links:

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