For today’s author spotlight, the wonderful Colette Davison is here! We’re talking about her brand new omegaverse release, age gap and who she’d cast Tom Holland as.
So without further ado, over to you Colette…
First things first, please introduce yourself!
Hi! I’m Colette, a gay romance author from Leeds, in the north east of England. I used to be a teacher, but right now I’m a stay at home mum and author. I write a mixture of contemporary and paranormal romance, with flawed characters, happy endings, and lots of heart.
Tell us a little bit about your writing style.
I’m going to fall back on what a couple of readers have told me about my books—according to them, my writing style is like coming home. I guess that means it’s cosy and welcoming?
Describe your books in only three words.
This is really hard, because I write some pretty varied stuff. I can’t even describe them all as sexy, as I have two very slow burn books! Hmmm…
Emotional, heartfelt, and intimate.
What’s your next book about and when is it coming out?
I have a new book coming out tomorrow. Openly Yours is the second book in my Offbeat Shifters series. It follows on directly from book 1, Secretly Mine. It’s set in an alternate universe where everyone is a shifter, and specifically revolves around characters in and around the pop music industry.
This book continues the story of Jesse and Isaac, as they adjust to life together as mates, and try to make all their dreams come true.
It’s an omegaverse book, with a storyline revolving around infertility.
Out of all your books, which one are you most proud of?
That’s such a hard question! I think A Boy Made of Sunshine, simply because it was my first attempt at writing humour. I normally include a fairly large dose of angst in my books!
What or who (or both) has influenced you most as a writer?
When I first started writing, it was fantasy, because I loved The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander and The Song of the Lioness series by Tamora Pierce. So, they are definitely my early influences. My parents also always encouraged me to write. They read all my stories, no matter how awful they were, and gave me the confidence to keep writing.
What inspired you to start writing?
I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember. I’ve always made up stories and written them down. As for what inspired me to start publishing—a friend read the first draft of Why I Left You a year after I wrote it and told me I shouldn’t just sit on it.
What’s your writing process like? Do you have a typical “writing day”?
I would love to have a typical writing day! It mostly consists of fitting in writing whenever I can, around being a mum. It’s easier during term time, when we’re not in a national lockdown!
What comes first for you – the plot or the characters?
The characters, always. I’m a pantser, so the plot comes organically.
What’s a book that you wish you’d written?
Is it a total cop-out to say none? There are so many amazing books out there, but if I’d written them, they would be different to how they are. That’s what I love about reading and writing—every author has their own style.
If you could only write one trope for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?
Age-gap. It’s my absolute favourite trope. I just love the way that two (or more!) people can fall in love and have so much in common, despite having vastly different life experiences.
What would be your three desert island books?
You mean I can’t take my Kindle and an infinite power supply? Joking! Hmmm… The Sweetest Goodbye, by Christina Lee. It’s a novella, but it’s one of the few books I’ll read over and over. Redeeming Rafe, by Sloane Kennedy, because I absolutely love the emotion in this book. It was also one of the first MMM books I read and it definitely inspired me to write my own. Simon Vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli, because it’s such a cute, heartfelt read.
If one of your books could be made into a movie/TV series, which would you choose and who would you cast?
Do I have to chose just one? A Boy Made of Sunshine would make a really fun film, but it would be lovely to see the gymnastics in Hold Me Up on screen. Equally, the ballet sequences in A Dance For Two and A Dance For You would be wonderful to watch.
I’ll pick one of those to cast… A Dance For You. Tom Holland could be Mason, he’s got that bouncy, innocent, slightly naive quality about him and he’s a trained ballet dancer. He’s also the same age as Mason is in the book. Can you see him blindfolded and tied to a bed? Slight snag, Mason is blond with blue eyes, but I can’t think of anyone who fits that description that would be as perfect as Tom Holland.
I’ll admit, I’ve gone purely with looks alone for David. I almost picked John Barrowman, because he also has a dance background (although only musical dancing, rather than ballet, as far as I’m aware), but I’m not sure he would be able to pull off David’s character. I would love it if he could prove me wrong though! I ended up with Paolo Andino, because when he has a beard he looks pretty much how I imagined David. He’d need to be able to pull off an English accent though!
What do you like to do when you’re not writing? Do you have a secret passion or hobby that we don’t know about?
I tend to flit from one hobby to another. Between writing and looking after my kids, I don’t always have a lot of time for anything else. I have a spinning wheel and I also knit and crochet. I’m just getting back into art. I’m trying to learn how to use watercolour properly. It’s definitely a work in progress!
Finally, what’s your favourite dinosaur?
Pterodactyl. Wait, are they actually dinosaurs? I’ve got a feeling they’re not! I was going to say plesiosaur next, but they’re not dinosaurs either! I’ll have to go with deinonychus, because my little boy has an adorable book about a deinonychus called Boo.
Colette’s personal love story began at university, where she met her future husband. An evening of flirting, in the shadow of Lancaster castle, eventually led to a fairytale wedding. Several years later, she’s enjoying her own ‘happy ever after’ in the north of England with her husband, two beautiful children and her writing.
Ever since she could hold a pen, Colette has been writing stories. Always an avid reader and lover of the arts, Colette graduated in Theatre Studies from Lancaster University in 1999, and in English Literature from the Open University in 2010. After studying for a P.G.C.E. in secondary education, and subsequently teaching english and drama for six years, Colette chose to become a stay at home mum and to focus on her writing.
Colette’s first M/M romance, Why I Left You, was published in November 2017. Since then she has continued to write books with flawed characters, lots of heart, and happy endings.
You can find more information about Colette on her website, sign up to her newsletter for updates and join her Facebook group, Colette’s Cosy Corner.
