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Lasairiona E.
McMaster

Lasairiona McMaster writes sassy, classy and badassy women and strong, yet vulnerable men. She challenges reader’s expectations by openly dealing with mental health issues, often exploring tough-to-handle topics and ‘taboos’ and books with a whole lotta heart.

She can either be found enjoying a gin and lemonade by the Irish sea, or baking sweet treats in her kitchen while singing at the top of her lungs. When she’s ‘home’ in Texas, and isn’t eating fresh-popped popcorn while buying things she has absolutely no need for in Target, she can be found at Chuys eating her body weight in chips and queso and washing it down with a margarita swirl.

How I found out about Lasairiona's books

I feel like this is turning into a common theme. I discovered Lasairiona because she brought her books on tour with Rachel’s Random Resources. 

Why you should read Lasairiona's books

I love that Lasairiona’s books are fairly quick to read, enjoyable and test your thinking on things. 

We all have our fairly set ways of thinking about things, and I love that she challenges us to think about it differently. Like, how many of us really consider the lasting emotional impacts of various trauma on the people who experience it? AND the people around them?

What Lasaisiona writes about

Lasairiona writes contemporary romance (set in and around American college aged students) with a heavy focus on some pretty heavy topics that often aren’t talked about. 

Reading about them from various perspectives makes you really think about them. Which is something we lack in our everyday lives I think. 

My top picks

Top pick

This is actually harder than I thought. I know my favourite moment which I really don’t want to ruin for you, but I’m struggling to remember which books it’s in.

I think it’s in…. The Good in Goodbye and Game Changer?

There might have even been a little bit of it in one of the Jeremy Lewis books. I can’t remember. 

Second pick

After that part of the books, I think Four Letter Feelings would be my second pick. Going through what Jeremy did. 

It changed your perspective of him. Even when I knew some of it from Lisa and AJ’s books, it still surprised me and I enjoyed reading his perspective of so many events. 

My chat with Lasairiona

1. What first drew you to writing novels?

I wrote my first book back when I was in college. I met a guy on the internet, fell in love with him and got inspired. He was my muse. 

I couldn’t sleep until I’d typed out the words bubbling inside me. When it was done, I sat the one printed copy I’d kept on a shelf, and left it there for over a decade while I went on and lived my life. 

In 2018, my husband got laid off from his job of 22 years while we lived in India. We had 4 weeks to pack up our things and move back to a country I no longer considered home. Yet I was born here, and no one could understand why I didn’t want to come back. 

So I wrote a book about being an expat and living abroad. When we got back to Northern Ireland, I found my old manuscript and decided to dust it off and get back into writing fiction. 

4. How do you decide what stays in your books?

For my first books, I was a bit precious. 

I thought all of my words needed to stay in, they were all important and to be cherished and every sneeze and blink needed documenting. 

As I’ve grown as an author, I’ve surrounded myself with a team of delightfully ruthless alpha and beta readers who swing the red-pen-machette at my manuscript and help me trim the fat so the meat of the story can shine. 

Oh jeeze. Romance author talks about meat!

That’s classy right there!

2. What is your aim with your writing?

I love writing about the things society tells us we should hide behind closed doors, the taboos. 

I love writing about mental health, especially male mental health, grief, loss, miscarriage, women’s issues, everyday subjects that everyone can relate to, but so many of us struggle to talk about. 

3. What drew you to contemporary romance?

I have been a hopeless romantic from an early age. I love rom coms, Disney, and happy ever afters. There was no question where I’d start my author career.

Add in the fact I am a huge hockey fan, and hockey romance was an easy choice. 

5. What is your greatest writing acheivement?

Y’know what?

I’ve started and stopped typing the answers a few times.

So much has happened over the last two years of being an indie author and it’s all nothing short of amazing. But my greatest achievement is writing books and characters that my readers can’t get enough of. 

Nothing beats waking up to messages from my readers asking me to write X character from Y book, or writing more books in the series. It’s mind blowing. 

Reviews

Stand Alone

Lisa Miller

Jeremy Lewis

Cedar Rapids Raccoons coming 2023...

AJ Williams

Snow Pirates

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