Born and raised in New Jersey, Antonia is living there again after years in Washington, DC and North Carolina for school and work. She enjoys being back in the Garden State but admits to being tempted every so often to run away from home and live in Italy.
Forever! When I was a kid, I was always coming up with stories and imagining characters. When I was about 12, I decided I would be a published author when I grew up. I kept writing, but college, law school, and work—and a good dose of fear—kept me from pursuing my dream for a long time. Finally, I got serious and began writing to get published. It took a few years, but I was published in 2014. My eighth book was published recently.
Tell us a little bit about your writing, what is the process like?
I’m mostly a pantser, I guess. When I start a new project, I pull out a fresh journal (and it has to be the right journal...I have a pretty big collection waiting for the right story and characters) and scribble everything I know about the story, which isn’t always a lot. Mostly, I try to get to know my characters. If I know who they are, I can get started writing and figure the rest out as I go.
I’ve never written a book in order, I’m always skipping around and going back to fill in the gaps. And I don’t edit as I write I just keep moving and when I’m finished, I go back and revise. Sometimes I wish I could plan a little more, it seems like it would be less stressful but I’m going with what works for me.
What are your favorite genres? Why?
As a reader, I read most subgenres of romance, but fantasy romance, paranormal, and historical are probably my favorites. As a writer, however, I love writing fantasy romance. Letting my imagination run wild and creating my own worlds is so much fun.
I have been reading romance since I was about 12 and really loving all the happily ever afters in fairy tales. I love writing about relationships, writing more joy and hope and HEA into the world.
What are you currently reading?
The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee in hardcover, A Duke by Default by Alyssa Cole in ebook, and Flight of Magpies by KJ Charles in audio (a favorite that I’ve read a bunch of times). I’m always reading more than one book at a time.
What are you working on currently?
I’m working on two manuscripts, which is unusual for me. I normally work on one manuscript at a time, so we’ll see how this adventure goes.
The first project I’m working on is a contemporary royalty romance, which is a departure for me since I’ve written exclusively fantasy romance for years. I’m also writing the next book in my Chronicles of Tournai series, which allows me to give Griffen – a character who has been in a few previous books – his own HEA. Also, I just love writing about dragons because dragons are fantastic!
Antonia Aquilante's newest release A Harmony of Fire and Earth released March 8, 2019!
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