Today’s Featured Author: Taylor LaVonne
I met Taylor at a local author event in Lisle, and I was really inspired by her decision to write sport romance with underrepresented women’s sports. It really is an area in romance novels that isn’t explored much, so I appreciate her filling the gap! Please enjoy our interview below.
Meet Taylor
Taylor LaVonne is an English teacher, author, and lifelong lover of stories from the Chicago suburbs. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign and went on to complete her Master’s Degree in English at Eastern Illinois University.
A forever sports fan, Taylor noticed that most of the stories being told about sports revolved around male athletes. Armed with her pen and her passionate enthusiasm, she wrote her first contemporary romance, A Shot at Love. Set in the WNBA, A Shot at Love is perfect for fans of amazing women athletes, complex female friendships, swoony love stories, and second chances. When she’s not in the classroom or lost in her next story, you’ll find her cheering for the Chicago Sky, eating a big slice of pepperoni pizza, or binge-watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy with her family.
Q&A
What inspired you to start writing in general?
Basically it was the typical love of reading when I was younger. I was obsessed with reading as many books as I could. Then right around third or fourth grade, I decided, as many do, to pick my favorite book and write own version.
I wrote my first fantasy novel in high school and self-published it through Kickstarter. The cover was kind of hideous, but at the time it was really exciting to hold my book. So that was at 16, I was a junior I believe.
As I got into college, I started reading romance books. When I was young, I think I pictured romance books as like bodice ripper books. But Red, White & Royal Blue and The Love Hypothesis were coming out and getting popular, so romance was different than I thought. It could really shine a light on a different environment or an inequality, but also be a beautiful story.
The Love Hypothesis in particular, I felt like was shining a light on inequality in STEM, but it was also a gorgeous story. That was where I got the inspiration to write A Shot at Love.
I had always been a sports fan as well, so it kind of married my two interests when the WNBA doesn’t get the same funding or the same attention that it deserves. I thought I can shine a light on that, I can write what I want to write, and I can still bring people joy and entertain people, which is what romance is really all about.
I wrote the first draft of A Shot at Love in college actually, and I left it for a little bit because I was busy teaching and getting my degree. But I came back to it and did the editing and all the professional things last summer and it came out in August. It was a long journey, and yet it all kind of came to a close for the first time last summer.
What inspires you to continue writing?
I think a lot of time you hear the concept of there’s no new ideas, and certainly I agree with that to some degree. But when I was doing A Shot at Love, I felt this new wave of inspiration that there is a niche that really hasn’t been touched.
There’s a ton of sports romance, but I did some research last year, and I think like 80% of sports romances were about men’s hockey, I thought I can open up this small subgenre and do women’s sports, particularly women’s team sports, that don’t get a lot of attention. There is a little bit of figure skating, tennis, Ali Hazelwood’s diving book, so there’s a little bit there, but I felt like the WNBA was totally unexplored and that made me really excited to get back into the world of writing.
I did my creative writing degree in college, so I never stopped writing, but that just wasn’t my main agenda because I was getting my teaching degree. So, I’ve always kept writing, but this was the first time where I felt like this could fit into the market. This is something a little bit new, and this marries a couple of my passions together.
Have you always liked watching or playing basketball then?
My family is a sports family. My grandfather played in the NFL, so we’ve always watched sports growing up. We watched a lot of the Bulls, and I think it was one of those realizations you have as a young woman where you realize you’re just watching men’s sports. Not that I don’t like men’s sports, but it sort of hits you all at once, where are the women’s sports?
The year after college it was COVID, and the Chicago Sky won the championship, it was crazy. That brought me into women’s sports more because they’re on TV a little bit more and the playoffs were starting to become on TV. Now we have Caitlin Clark, we have Angel Reese, and it is becoming more mainstream.
So, I was transitioning my love of men’s sports to where are the women, and I need to write about them to shed more light on their stories. They’re not getting enough media attention.
I don’t watch too much WNBA, I should get into it. I used to watch women’s tennis obsessively.
That’s my next book. It comes in September and is about tennis. I love all sports, I am sports obsessed for sure, so I kind of switched gears to tennis.
For women’s basketball, it’s all about the inequalities because they’re paid less than 10% of what the men are paid, but they’re on the rise. Tennis is the exact opposite. They’re one of the few sports where women are paid more or less the same as the men.
Women have a little bit more power, influence, and money with tennis, and yet, there are still subtle issues of inequality at the lower levels of tennis. That made me decide to switch gears and highlight how inequality and sexism in sports is prevalent, even in something like tennis, where it seems like it’s finished. We got equal pay (thank you, Billie Jean), but still there are issues, so I decided to kind of go in that route.
Then the next book will be flag football, which is really growing rapidly in terms of attention, media and league play.
The tennis book is pretty much done at this point, it’s coming out September 16th, it’s just waiting on a few business things regarding the cover and things of that nature, but the book itself is done.
I just started drafting the flag football book, and I’m hoping that can coincide with the Olympics because they’re debuting women’s flag football in the next Olympics.
What is your writing routine?
I feel like I love hearing writers talk about their writings. I remember a writer came to my school when I was in elementary school and said they get up every day, make their bed and write 5,000 words. I thought as a kid that would be my life.
Now that I’m an adult, I realize he was successful enough as a writer where that was his only job. For me as an educator, I get up at 5am to teach 150 high schoolers, so definitely a lot of the heavy drafting gets done in the summer. That’s one of the good things about being a teacher is having the summers off.
So, I don’t write every day, just to be honest. I usually write for 8 hours on the weekends when I’m teaching, and then I’ll write every day in the summers.
I tend to write pretty heavily outlined. I know some people are a pantser, but that isn’t me. I am a planner, so I do make a chapter outline.
It starts in pen and paper, because I think that’s better for brainstorming. Then I use a couple different platforms, but I create tabs for the chapter outlines. I work through the first draft for about 3 months.
It depends on whether I’m teaching or not, though. For the tennis book, the way it worked out was I did write most of it when I was teaching, so that took a little longer than 3 months. For A Shot at Love, I think I wrote the first draft in like a month in the summer, so it does vary for me.
Some writers say they have to write every day, even if it’s a 100 words, but I feel like that hasn’t really helped me. I’m more of the type to sit down and do it for 3 or 4 hours, or 5,000 words in a sitting. I don’t love to do just 500 words because I feel like it’s not getting anywhere.
I like to write scene by scene, and then after that I do a developmental edit, story edits, and line edits. I would say the whole process usually takes about 9 months.
Oh, okay, that’s pretty fast, though.
I am trying to go quickly, because they say the more you churn out, the better. But also I have to have quality stuff, so it’s a balance, but I am trying to do one book a year.
How do you go from an initial idea to a finished manuscript?
Romance at least follows a pretty traditional structure. When you’re writing fantasy or something like that, there’s a little bit more of a variance there, but at least with romance, you can kind of set up exactly the idea.
We always said in my creative writing class it was like boy-meets-girl or partner A meets partner B, they fall in love, they lose each other, they fall back in love.
So inevitably, you have to do something along those lines, though a lot of times now, I feel like writers say no third act breakup. Don’t worry, I’m like if there’s no third act breakup, there has to be at least a third act drama or a third act argument, inevitably, so it still fits that same structure.
For me, I like to set up like chapter by chapter. Usually there’s like 10 to 12 chapters, and within those chapters, there are 3 scenes, so it is pretty strongly outlined. I keep to the outline for the most part. Sometimes I’ll go back and even edit the outline when I come up with an idea because I like the outline to be accurate.
It doesn’t really say anything about the dialogue or anything else much more than that. It’s usually just a paragraph chunk of like, “She plays in this game. She meets this person. This is thrown at her during the game.” It’s just the basic plot points just to keep me going.
It’s not like pages of an outline because I’ve seen people have some long outlines. It’s not that long, but it’s to try to keep it accurate or else you end up adding a plot hole, or you leave this side character in the dust because you forgot they existed. Outlining just keeps me organized, so usually it’s like I’ll scribble in my notebook the basic idea, like, hey, should I write a tennis book where XY and Z happens, and then write the full outline in the notebook, and then the full outline in some sort of computer doc, and then flush it out from there.
Do you write in order of the scenes, or do you jump around while you’re writing?
I so admire people who can jump around. But no, I go pretty much sequentially the whole way through. During edits you start flowing around a little bit more, but for the first draft, I definitely go in order.
Have you dealt with writer’s block and how do you handle it?
Writer’s block is an interesting conundrum. I think in terms of traditional writer’s block, I’ve been stuck for a week, but I’ve never been like just staring at a blank page for a week. I think for me it’s more of getting stuck on a specific scene, thinking it’s not working. I’ve never just stared at the blank page for hours without any idea on what to write.
But I’ll write and hate it. Delete it, write again, I hate it, delete again. I try to figure out, is it just the scene as it’s coming out on the page or for me, it’s usually this idea that I’m trying to write isn’t working.
If I’m feeling that sort of stuck feeling, I just won’t write for a bit. I’ll take a walk, read, something else. I love to read, as most writers do. So, I think that helps a lot too, to be like, yeah, this isn’t working. Let me get inspired by what someone else is doing.
I’ve never been stuck for a super long time, that would be really hard, but I think we’ve all gotten in that loop of like something isn’t right, and you can’t figure out what isn’t right.
I remember the first fantasy book I wrote when I was 15 or whatever. No one would ever tell you to do this, by the way, but I wrote 50 pages, hated them, and deleted the whole thing. I didn’t keep a single word, just deleted it all.
I’m definitely black and white of like it’s working or it’s not. I know some people will write and then just keep fussing and fussing, but I tend to get a little stubborn. If I don’t like it, I’ll just rewrite it until it’s right.
So, I think the sort of blank page aspect of writer’s block I’ve maybe not had to deal with, but definitely taking breaks when needed, reading more, and sometimes touching grass does help with writer’s block. Just get off your own way for the most part.
What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received?
I was a creative writing major in college, so I do think a little bit back to some of my professors. I remember one of my first classes ever. I think it’s literally like Creative Writing 100. It was taught by a poet, which I like poetry, but it’s not necessarily my expertise. I remember thinking, like, okay, we’re kind of apples and oranges here at the time. I thought I was only forever going to write fantasy novels. So, already he proved me wrong by my changing tracks to romance.
One exercise he had us write was if you can’t decide how to come up with a unique character, you take a note card and imagine one thing on their nightstand, one thing they always have in their pocket or their purse, and then one thing that they wish they had, but they didn’t. He had had us with like our mom or someone we knew really well, which was really funny because he didn’t want us to overthink it very much.
I still use that exercise to this day. I feel like it’s a more organic way of getting to know your characters. Sometimes you see the exercise in help books, but it’s like, write down a dream they once had and write down their childhood trauma. It’s sometimes too black and white, like I’m writing a book report on the person.
I just love that he had this idea of like a lived-in, organic way to make a character seem more realistic, and a good way to practice is to use people you know, and then try to make it similarly realistic for an actual character that you have in mind.
Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?
I think at least recently I’ve landed on you have to find your niche. I think so often young authors, myself included, take inspiration from what’s already out there. Maybe their favorite book their favorite author. and then they’re like, I want to create something just like that.
While that’s a great way to grow, and it helped me grow so much, I feel like you don’t really find your voice until you find something in the market or in the world that you think isn’t quite there. It doesn’t mean that it has to be like they’re inventing a new genre, but even for me, changing my mindset to think like, hey, nobody’s really writing about the WNBA, something I really care about, and it’s a little bit new, but it’s also a little bit like The Love Hypothesis, which I love and which I wish I could write.
It’s sort of like marrying that you’ve always wanted to write like your favorite author, but also what do I bring that’s a little bit of myself?
I definitely was there when I was writing my fantasy books, where I was trying too hard to write my own version of the chosen one books that I loved reading when I was a kid, but they ended up not being new or exciting, so I think it does help to find something a little unique that you think the market needs. What the world needs from you that you don’t think they’re hearing already.
It is interesting how a book that’s so popular inevitably starts trends. Where you can see with Twilight, then there was like a trend of love triangles, so it does happen a lot. Also, because you loved that thing, you might get sucked into it, too.
Plus, if you go traditional publishing, it’s very slow. So that’s what’s really interesting about if you’re trying to query or get an agent and get a publisher. You think you’re hitting this trend at the perfect time, but you have to think two years from now, will it still be trending, because if you do get picked up by a traditional publisher, that’s about when it’ll come out. So, it is a bit strange, but it’s good to also plan ahead. Everything is slower than you think, and your book’s not going to come out when your idea came to your mind.
Which books or authors have most influenced your writing?
I have so many favorites. I’ll read pretty much any fiction genre, so I don’t have a favorite genre, but I’ll stick to romance for this since I’ve been writing romance.
I would say the romance authors that immediately come to mind are Ali Hazelwood, Abby Jimenez, Talia Hibbert, Jasmine Guillory, Emily Henry, Nikki Payne, who is completely underrated, I love her books. All of those authors have inspired me for my romance writing.
In terms of authors that have amazing prose, or just get me excited about writing, I think about when I was a kid, Michelle Moran wrote these incredible historical fiction books. I also love An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir, she’s one of my absolute favorites.
There’s so many that I could choose. Legendborn by Tracy Deonn. I’m waiting anxiously for the next book to come out. I think historical fiction, fantasy and romance I read the most, so when I think of authors who inspire me, I think of those authors.
Are you currently reading anything?
I can’t wait to talk to someone about this. I’m actually reading Julie Berry. I read one of her books a couple years ago called Lovely War, which is about World War I, but it’s narrated from Aphrodite’s perspective, like the Greek goddess of love. It’s absolutely amazing.
She does historical fiction, but it has a magical realism element, and so I just picked up like two days ago If Looks Could Kill. I’m in the middle of it right now. It’s a Jack the Ripper historical fiction, and he’s being chased by Medusa. So it’s in the historical time period of Jack the Ripper and has the mystery of that, but there’s also multiple POVs. One is Medusa’s POV as she’s trying to find him, one is Jack the Ripper’s POVs, and then there’s two girls who are working for The Salvation Army, who get pulled into some of the dens of inequities and the brothels that he’s hunting in. I haven’t finished yet, but it is so unique and interesting so far.
What’s something readers might be surprised to learn about you?
I mean, I feel like as a writer, I definitely get a couple blank stares when I say that I don’t write every day. I feel like it’s good to say that sometimes, though, because there’s a little shaming of like, if you’re a good writer, you write every single day.
So, maybe readers would be surprised that I don’t write every day, and sometimes I write like one or two days a week, depending on if I’m working or not. I think it just shows us a lot of different ways to do something because I feel like, at least when I always listened to writers when they came to speak at school, they say you have to write every day and have a writing routine.
I’m very type A myself, but that routine for me ended up being writing for four hours on Saturday and four hours on Sunday, so you can create your own routine. You don’t have to feel bad if your routine isn’t what everyone else is doing.
Are you going to any more events this year?
I’m waiting for the tennis book to come out before I book myself for anything else. We’re hoping to go to a couple more winter Christmastime holiday shops and events. There were a couple that I was looking at but waiting to make sure everything goes smoothly with the second book so I can have both of them at the event. Hopefully there will be an update soon, and I am regularly on social media, so I’ll put the dates out there as soon as they’re accurate.
Connect with Taylor
You can buy Taylor’s WNBA romance book A Shot at Love from Bookshop.org to support independent bookstores as well as this blog. (Affiliate link; I may earn a small commission.)
You can also pre-order her next book Love, Amy on Kindle, coming out September 15th!
Keep up with Taylor’s writing journey and see what events she’ll be at next through her Instagram @taylorlavonnewrites, TikTok @taylorlavonnewrites, and Facebook at Taylor LaVonne.
Wrapping Up
I loved when Taylor said you have to marry your favorite author’s stories to what you can bring to the table that’s uniquely yours. I think so many people do feel they need to copy a certain style or storyline to be successful, but writing is all about telling a story with your own flare on it. There are only so many types of stories to tell, but you put your own perspective on it, which no one else can do.
I love that Taylor is using her writing to highlight inequalities in various women’s sports. She’s really found a niche that is not being explored too much in fiction writing, and I truly feel she’s pioneering the subgenre of women’s sports romance. Her passion definitely comes through in her writing and speaking on these topics. I can’t wait to read her new books, and I’ll definitely be following her writing journey in the years to come.
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