Meet Lily Luchesi

Today we’re excited to be connecting with Lily Luchesi again. If you haven’t already, we suggest you check out our prior conversation with them here.

Lily, thanks for joining us again. Just to level set a bit for folks who may have missed our last interview together, can you briefly introduce yourself?
Hi, everyone! I’m Lily Luchesi, USA Today bestselling author of urban fantasy, horror, and paranormal tales. I’m also the co-founder and owner of Partners in Crime Book Services, where I provide professional editing and formatting services to authors and small-press publishers.

I have been a proofreader since 2011, not long before turning eighteen, an editor since 2019, and a published author since 2015; this is my tenth anniversary!

I composed my first poem at age three, wrote my first horror story at seven, began querying at sixteen, and became a published author the spring before turning twenty-one. Since then, I have written over 40 books across three pen names, though today I’ll focus on this one in particular.

Alright, so our main goal today is to give our audience an update on what you have been up to since our last conversation. We’d love to hear how things are going and what you are most looking forward to or excited about these days.
Since 2021, I have begun a new series, the Paige Papillon Paranormal Mysteries. Paige Papillon is a paranormal investigator in Chicago, Illinois, a city that behaves like a small town. Whip smart and intuitive, she never expects to have to solve the crimes of paranormal perpetrators. Alongside her magical best friend Shayla, Shayla’s “cat” Maura, the wolfish Detective Randale, and her benefactors, the mysterious Jonathan and Vera King, Paige takes on the Midwest’s creepiest cases.

I expanded Partners in Crime Book Services, and plan on doing more expansions in 2025 to include author coaching alongside editing and formatting.

I launched a new pen name for more explicit romances, while also planning for my tenth anniversary publishing as Lily Luchesi. I will launch a Kickstarter campaign in April for Stake-Out, which was my first novel, an urban fantasy with mild romance that follows a human detective and a not-quite-human FBI agent as they hunt down a rogue vampire in Chicago.

While many exciting things happened, in 2022 I sadly lost my best friend, business partner, and mother, Annie. She was my alpha reader, my friend, and my cheerleader, as well as the one who helped me start the business. Since her passing, I made it my goal to fulfil my promise to her: never give up.

Alright, so let’s do something a bit more fast-paced and lighthearted. We call this our lightning round and we’ll ask you a few quick questions.

Favorite Movie: Queen of the Damned

Favorite Book: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Favorite TV Show: Supernatural

Favorite Band or Artist: Jung Kook; Dynazty

Sweet or Savory: SWEET

Mountains or Beach: Mountains

Favorite Sport (to watch): Baseball

Favorite Sport (to play): Soccer (football to those outside the USA)

Did you play sports growing up (if so which ones): Soccer, basketball, baseball, floor hockey, touch football, badminton

As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up: An author, ever since I was eight!

French Fries or Onion Rings: Fries

Chuck Rhodes or Bobby Axelrod: (I had to look this one up) Bobby

Favorite Cartoon growing up: So many! Pokémon, Sailor Moon, Teen Titans

Favorite Childhood movie: Kiki’s Delivery Service

Favorite Breakfast Food: Waffles with bacon on the side

What do you want people to remember about you and your brand? What are some of things that you feel are most important, unique, special, etc?
I am a queer, neurodivergent writer, presenting female, who lives an “alt” lifestyle (Goth really isn’t so “alternative” but that’s what they call it). In addition, I live with anxiety disorder, C-PTSD, and clinical depression.

I want people to come to me, to see my brand, and to feel seen and heard. I want to write stories where, fantastical as they are, people easily can settle in and find something to relate to. Oftentimes, I say, “I don’t know what it feels like to disembowel a werewolf, but I know about the anxiety one might feel while doing it.”

Books are an escape, they always have been, so I built my brand since day one to be that escape for people who may not have ever seen themselves within a story before. Angelica, the lead in The Paranormal Detectives Series, is a plus-size Goth with trauma and tattoos as well as a savior complex. Paige in the Paige Papillon Paranormal Mysteries is an autistic Italian-Mexican-American trying to navigate a world not built for her. Harley in the Coven Series is an intelligent, shy, sarcastic teen who experiences bullying and becomes an outcast because of her Dark magic, with which she was born.

So my brand? My brand is humanity. It’s bringing humanity to a paranormal world, and bringing the reader along for the ride.

I hope everyone comes away from one of my books feeling empowered, seen, and happy.

Website: https://partnersincrimebookservices.substack.com/about

Instagram: http://instagram.com/lilyluchesi

Twitter: http://twitter.com/lilyluchesi

Facebook: http://facebook.com/lilyluchesi

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@lilyluchesiauthor

Other: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Lily-Luchesi/author/B00GBFAE0E

Image Credits
Stock photos: AdobeStock
Cover design: Partners in Crime Book Services