Interview with an Author: Sandy Lo

Our November guest is Sandy Lo.

Sandy Lo is an entertainment magazine editor and digital marketing manager from New York City. She enjoys sharing heartfelt, fun romance stories and the occasional supernatural tale. Follow Sandy on all of her social media. @AuthorSandyLo

If you would like to purchase Sandy Lo’s book, Fanning the Fame, you can find a copy here.

Tell us a little about your writing journey. Have you always wanted to be a writer?

I think my first dream job was something to do with animals, but by the time I was in junior high, I knew my career would be something creative and having to do with storytelling. I used to create family newspapers that I would distribute outside my siblings and parents’ bedroom doors early Sunday mornings. As a teenager, my writing turned into fun screenplays and later novels based off of my best friends and myself.

Fiction writing was always a pastime while I developed my dream of becoming an entertainment journalist. By my mid-twenties, I started to take novel writing more seriously and decided I wanted to share my stories with other people, hoping to offer an escape to the world like my writing has provided for me.

Was there a certain point you remember where you felt empowered to call yourself a writer? Or have you always felt like you were a writer?

I started calling myself a writer when I was about 16 and my first article was published in my high school newspaper. I remember it was about Hanson’s new album. But I think the first time I realized how powerful my writing could be was the summer before my senior year of high school. It was the first time I ever wrote in a novel format. The story was semi-autobiographical and semi-fictional.

While my writing style was choppy, there was something satisfying about getting all of my fears, scars, hopes, and private jokes down on paper, especially at that time in my life.

While my writing style was choppy, there was something satisfying about getting all of my fears, scars, hopes, and private jokes down on paper, especially at that time in my life. I was going into my last year of high school and having to make a lot of decisions about life at only 17. Plus, my parents were divorcing on top of it.

Every night after dinner, I would read chapters to my mom and sisters. They were all characters in the story and would laugh or scoff at the words I wrote about them, but they loved it all the same. That first rough story gave me a sense of pride and made me realize I had a knack for storytelling. I even gave it to my AP English teacher to read and she was delighted with my interest in writing.

Your book, Fanning the Fame, is the 7th book of a series called the Dream Catchers Series. Can you talk a little bit about the rest of the series and how this book fits within it?

The Dream Catchers Series is a rock star romance series that focuses on the alternative band Tortured and the people in their inner circle. Books 1 and 2 are all about Tortured’s lead singer, Jordan, and sheltered rich girl, Haley’s love story unfolding, as well as the rise of Tortured from indie band to hitting #1 on the Billboard charts.

From there, the focus shifts to some of the other characters, like Tortured’s band manager, the tough as nails Cami, who was married to the band’s bad boy drummer, Danny D., throughout the series. They have a rocky relationship that ends in Take Me Home (Book 4), which is also the book that paparazzi pop princess Topaz is introduced as a minor character.

Fanning the Fame (Book 7) is Danny’s redemption story and reveals there is more to Topaz than her ditzy party girl image that has been sprinkled in throughout the past books.

The book switches perspectives back and forth from Topaz to Danny so readers get a bigger picture of the story. How did you balance writing multiple perspectives in one book – especially when the main characters were opposite sexes?

It was actually easier than I expected it to be. I think keeping it one point of view would have made the story harder for me to tell. Danny and Topaz are both quick to jump to conclusions and I think without being inside both of their heads, it would be hard to figure them out. I know these characters so well by now – Danny has been a big part of the Dream Catchers Series since book 1 and Topaz made her first appearance in Book 4, so I feel like I know how they think.

It was actually easier than I expected it to be. I think keeping it one point of view would have made the story harder for me to tell.

As far as the sexes go, Topaz is obviously easier because I understand being a woman, especially with some of the insecurities she’s dealing with. But with Danny, I think it helps that I am close with my brother, who sometimes, whether I like it or not, talks to me like I’m “one of the guys”, so I know when to add in little touches of jerky masculinity, haha. Seriously though, most guys I know hate exposing their sensitive sides, but when they do, it’s something special, and I think earlier on in the series, we got to see a lot of the hot headed macho side of Danny, and now we get to see the person underneath all of that.

Do you have any other books or writing projects planned for the near future?

I always have a million ideas and works in progress waiting. Currently, I’m focusing on the sequel to my novella, Decaf For The Dead. That’s going to be a trilogy. I’m also working on book 8 in the Dream Catchers series.

I try not to work on more than one book at once, but the Dream Catchers characters are hard to ignore when they’re calling. By 2023, once I’m finished with the Dream Catchers series, I’m hoping to be fully immersed in a witch/vampire series I’ve had in my head for over a decade.

Describe your writing and/or creative process.

It’s actually pretty simple. The smallest idea will come to me in the shower, while I’m trying to fall asleep, in the middle of watching a movie, or on a walk, and then I take that little idea and keep expanding on it. For instance, the Dream Catchers series started with “a girl gets on the wrong bus.” At the time, I was in college traveling home by Greyhound and I worried I would get on the wrong bus. That fear became the opening of a book that I had no idea what would happen next until I sat down to write it.

I’m not a plotter/outliner. That feels like work or school to me. I like to be surprised where my characters will go and what they’ll do.

I’m not a plotter/outliner. That feels like work or school to me. I like to be surprised where my characters will go and what they’ll do. Sure, as I go, little scenes and ideas pop into my head, but that’s as far as any planning goes. I usually pour myself a cup of coffee, sit down at my laptop, put on some music, light a candle, and start typing.

There are a lot of interesting details about the reality of being famous. How did you go about researching this aspect, and how (if at all) did personal experience play a role in how you depicted Topaz & Danny’s world?

To be honest, I didn’t have to research anything because I’ve always been around fame in some way due to my career in entertainment journalism and marketing. Growing up, one of my relatives was a celebrity in my hometown and I saw how people reacted to him and to me because of it. On top of that, I’ve always been a fangirl myself of John Travolta since the age of 3. I read entertainment magazines as early as I can remember. As a teenager, I became a huge fan of the Backstreet Boys and was outside TRL with all of those screaming girls back in the ‘90s.

By the time I was 18, I became the editor of StarShine Magazine and met and interviewed tons of celebrities, including the Backstreet Boys. 20 years later and I still work with many people in the spotlight through StarShine as well as taking them on as clients with my own marketing company, Sandy Lo Media.

So, writing about famous characters feels pretty natural for me from a professional, personal, and fan perspective.

What was your biggest writing obstacle and how did you overcome it?

I would say overall my biggest writing obstacle is confidence in myself. It’s so easy to get in your own head and tell yourself you’re not good enough and that is oftentimes what causes writer’s block. In those moments, I have to remind myself that all that matters is if I’m enjoying what I’m writing. If I enjoy it or find something valuable in it, then most likely, others will too.

What is the part of your published work or writing process you are most proud of?

I’ve had some pretty amazing moments, like Dream Catchers and Lost In You making it to the to the top 100 bestselling lists in their genre on Amazon.

But something that really meant a lot was when I was publishing my first novel, Lost In You. I gave a copy to Denise Solis, AJ from the Backstreet Boys’ mother. She’s a friend and used to write for my magazine. I wanted her honest opinion, especially since that book had a boy band in it. Her words back to me brought me to tears. At the time, AJ had been struggling with his sobriety, and she thought my character JT captured his personality and feelings perfectly. It was scary knowing she would see the similarities between the two. I didn’t know how she would feel about that, but she went on to write a review of the book saying such wonderful things about it. I was so grateful to have her support as a first-time published author.

Writing is my therapy. Imagine a person or an animal in your life that you look forward to seeing every morning or at the end of each day, that’s how writing is for me.

Another standout moment was when I had this amazing Dream Catchers book release party at one of my old high school hangouts. All of my family, friends, and fans came out. It was such a great turnout and I had performances from some of my friends, including James Manzello, who wrote the song “Haley’s Letter” with me for the book. He performed the song, and it was the first time anyone had heard it. On top of that, Jeff Timmons from 98 Degrees sent over a video to be played congratulating me on the book! It was one of those pinch me nights. Jeff has even read my books and wrote the forward for a special collector’s edition, so I am extremely grateful for his love and support over the years.

What motivates you to keep writing?

Writing is my therapy. Imagine a person or an animal in your life that you look forward to seeing every morning or at the end of each day, that’s how writing is for me. That’s my motivation – I know writing will relieve any stress or anxiety that’s been building. Writing helps me dream bigger, expel past pain, and it teaches me something new about myself, as well as other people since it helps me think from different perspectives.

What is the biggest piece of advice you would give to aspiring writers?

Let go of perfectionism. You will never be perfect. There will always be a critic who hates what you write, but if it makes you happy, that is all that matters. Above everything else, write like no one will read your work. That will remove your fears of what people will think of you. It will give you freedom to say what you really want to say.