Julie Navickas is a best-selling author of contemporary romance with Inkspell Publishing.
She is known for her keen ability to tell heart-wrenching, second-chance love stories through relatable characters with humility, humor, and heroism. Her Trading Heartbeats trilogy is the recipient of a Literary Global Book Award and three first-place wins with the BookFest in the contemporary romance category. Her debut trilogy has also earned two finalist designations with the American Writing Awards and a Clarion Award.
Q: Does writing energize or exhaust you?
A: Writing energizes me. After a decade-long career in higher education, I now work in corporate communications at a national insurance company. I write strategic comms for a living. And while I enjoy the work, I look forward to the time I block in the evening hours to work on my own creative craft. Storytelling gives me energy and “fills my cup” at the end of a long day.
Q: What is your approach to incorporating elements of diversity and inclusion in your writing?
A: Recently, I attended a small local author event and sat next to someone I had never met before. She complimented me on my table presentation and the custom character bookmarks I share with my readers. But then she said something that struck me. She pointed out that every character displayed on my table was either a young white male or female. I embarrassingly pointed to my most recent release, Finding Love, and tapped my finger over one of my favorite characters, Miguel Rodriguez. It took me five books to write my first character that wasn’t about a young white male or female. And while I’m proud I’ve branched out it was most certainly an experience that will stay with me. Diversity and inclusion matter and as authors, it’s our job to tell stories for everyone. It’s a lesson that will carry forward with me in future books.
Q: Do you prefer to write stand-alone novels or series? Do you make connections between non-connected books?
A: I’ve written two back-to-back trilogies: The Trading Heartbeats trilogy and The Clumsy Little Hearts trilogy. Both are contemporary romance. But after six books, I had the desire to try something new. My current WIP is a standalone romantic suspense. I will definitely say, it’s a breath of fresh air to write this story! There are far less details to pay attention to!
Q: Do you have an all-time favorite writer, or does your favorite change over time? Who is your favorite writer today?
A: I would like to amend this question to reflect favorite “storyteller” instead of writer. My entire life I have been an avid consumer of J.R.R. Tolkien’s works. From early reads of The Hobbit to the far more complex The Silmarillion, Tolkien has held my heart for a very long time. BUT – the writing leaves something to be desired and would without a doubt not pass an editor’s desk today before publication. He is, however, my absolute favorite storyteller.
Q: What kind of music or sounds do you like to listen to as you write, or do you prefer complete silence?
A: I write in silence. Sometimes I’ll turn on my white noise machine but prefer the quiet. I know most writers enjoy creating playlists to write to. And while I certainly love music, it’s incredibly distracting when I write! I focus too much on the lyrics instead of writing my own words!
Q: Do you read your book reviews? How do you handle those reviews, whether good or bad?
A: I read every review I receive – the good and bad! Though I’m very grateful that the “bad” are very few and far between. I have a lot of confidence in the stories I tell and know I write well. I recognize that not everyone will enjoy my stories (and that’s okay!), but 3-star reviews still teach me something. And I learn something from them all.
Q: Do you hide any secrets or “Easter eggs” in your books that only a few people will find? Examples?
A: I sure do! I’m a huge fan of Tolkien’s legendarium. In every book I’ve written, you’ll find a reference to The Lord of the Rings.
Q: How long (on average) does it take you to write a book?
A: I’ve written a book (a crummy first draft) in as little as two weeks. But I’ve also taken upwards of five or six months to complete the same amount of work. Much of my career has been spent in higher education, so I can produce more work when school is not in session. I wrote a book over winter break one year. It just depends on the academic calendar!
Q: How long have you been writing?
A: I started writing during the COVID-19 pandemic as a mental health exercise. It was just a fun project at first that offered me a creative space to have fun and take a step back from the hard times we all experienced. But then when a small press publisher picked up my first book, I dove in head-first. It’s been about four years now. I have five books published, one under contract to be released later this year, and a 50K WIP just waiting to be completed and queried.
Q: What are some day jobs that you have held? If any of them impacted your writing, share an example.
A: For the past ten years, I’ve instructed writing coursework in the School of Communication at Illinois State University. I teach classes in editorial & feature writing, writing for public relations, magazine production and design, and public speaking. When you teach students how to become better writers, you inevitably become a better writer yourself!
Q: What process did you go through to get your book published?
A: I submitted a manuscript to Inkspell Publishing, a small press publisher based in South Carolina. I’ve worked with this publisher for my first five books (soon to be six). It’s been a good experience and I highly recommend this route to any author looking to get started. Small press publishers help you build a solid foundation.
Q: What projects are you working on at the present?
A: I’m working on a romantic suspense, tentatively titled Loved You Then, Love You Now. It’s an enemies to lovers, steamy love triangle. It’s the first book I’ve ever written in first person POV – and also the first book I’ve taken the pantser approach on. I’m in love with the story and cannot wait to complete the first draft.
Learn more about romance author Julie Navickas on her website or follow her on social media at @julienavickas.
Write on the World 