Meet Lauren Connolly | Award-Winning Romance author

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lauren Connolly and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lauren, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
The interesting thing about being an author is, I don’t think a lot of people assume that you’re going to be running a business when you decide that you want to write books for a living. At first, it seems like solely a creative process where you would be handing in a manuscript to a publishing company. That all your job consists of is putting beautiful words on the page. But what I’ve come to find out is that being a successful author means I’m running a business. To have a career as an author, I needed to both create stories and establish a business that handles everything else involved with putting my books into the world. Half of my day I spend writing, the other half I am thinking about finances and marketing and formatting my products. In my opinion, the best way to be a successful author is to think of writing as one part of the author business.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’m excited that I always have new books coming out! I’ve built a rich author career where I get to release multiple stories a year in different methods. Some of my books I self-publish, some I publish with small presses, and in December 2024, I will have my first release with a large publishing house: Berkley, in imprint of Penguin Random House. I can’t wait for the day when I can walk into a Barnes & Noble and see my book sitting on the shelf. I know that in December when my book PS: I Hate You releases, I am going to find a whole new audience of readers, and I look forward to meeting them.
Becoming a published author and building my writing career took a lot of time, dedication, and effort. But I was happy to give all of that to this dream of mine. My first career was as an academic librarian, and I had to find time around that full-time job where I could write my books. Some days this meant that I only got to write for 10 minutes right before bed. But I made sure to take that time and use it to the best of my ability. Those first few years, it may have taken longer to craft a book, but I still made sure that writing was always a part of my life. Now I am so excited that I get to be a writer full-time, which means that I am crafting stories every single day for hours. I love delving into these worlds I’ve created for long stretches. On Monday morning, I get to wake up and tell myself ‘you are living your dream and earning money while you do it.’ So even though there are aspects of running a writer business that can be stressful and anxiety inducing, I feel like the trade-off is worth it.
The best lesson that I have learned along the way is that editing is your friend. Something that tends to trip up writers in all genres is worrying about the quality of the words we are crafting and letting that loom over us to the point where we’re scared to put any words on the page. But when I finally told myself that I can write the messiest first draft that I would be embarrassed for anyone else to read–when I gave myself permission to be bad–I finally started creating. I got words down at a rate that I never had before. And once I had those messy sentences, I could edit them and make them into what I wanted the story to be. But you can’t edit a blank page. So I would encourage anyone who has the dream of writing creatively to not let the fear of a bad first draft keep you from making anything at all.
I’ve always loved romantic plot lines in stories, but it wasn’t until I discovered the romance genre that I found where I belong as an author. My stories all fit the genre conventions of following a love story and ending with the love interests together in a happiness that they have built for themselves. Readers come back to my books time and time again because of the humor and banter that I infuse into my dialogue along with the heartfelt scenes paired with a touch of steamy intimacy.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I live north of Atlanta so any friend that is visiting I would take them on the beautiful hikes in northern Georgia. Maybe go to see a waterfall in Helen, or trek through Tallulah Gorge. On a sunny day, I’d pack us a lunch, and we’d drink wine all day at Currahee Vineyard & Winery. We would spend a lazy day or two cruising on a pontoon in Lake Hartwell, enjoying the cool waters and forested shoreline.
When we make our way into the city, I would have to take them to eat at Jen Chan’s. Brunch or dinner, maybe both! Their fusion food is honestly the best that I’ve ever had. We would definitely check to see if there is a live show at Buckhead Theater. My favorite would be is if a country artist is playing, but you can find all types of shows at that wonderful, intimate venue. Every single day I would treat my friend to a latte at a new coffee shop:
Pop’s Coffee in Roswell
Golden Drops Cafe in Decatur
Cafe Rothem in Duluth
Alcove Coffeehouse in Lilburn
(There are so many more but these are a good starting point!)
And of course, we would have to browse through the best local bookstores:
Eagle Eye Bookshop
Read it Again
Brave + Kind Bookshop
The Reading Attic

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Throughout my life, my parents have supported me and my dreams. Neither of them are romance readers, but they still shout out my books to anyone who will listen! Don’t be surprised to see one of them slipping my novel into a little free library, or trying to convince a coworker they need some more romance on their bookshelf. I would not be where I am in my author career without their constant unconditional love and cheerleading.

I also have to shout about my agent Lesley Sabga from Seymour Agency, who has fought for my stories over the years and landed me a deal with one of my dream publishers! She’s guided me in this industry, and I know I can always go to her and be met with kindness and enthusiasm!

Website: https://www.laurenconnollyromance.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurenconnollyromance/

Other: TikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@laurenconnollyromance

Image Credits
Headshot images – Sara Wooten, Evermore Photo Co.
Conference images – MC Coxwell