An Interview With Lauren Price | ABBSMB Blog Tour

First of all, happy publication day to A Bad Boy Stole My Bra!

I'm so happy to be a part of the blog tour for Lauren Price's debut. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book - and I have included a review paragraph at the end of this blog post - so I thrilled to have the opportunity to ask Lauren a few questions.

Read on for my interview with Lauren...

Hi, Lauren. Congratulations on the publication of your debut novel, A Bad Boy Stole My Bra! I’ve just finished reading it and I absolutely loved it! So, how does it feel to have your book out in the world?

Thank you! It feels immensely surreal and exhilarating, and makes me very nervous! This book has been such a large part of my life. Its amazing growth on Wattpad and its preparation for publication has spanned my teenage years, teaching me so much and offering me opportunities I didn’t think possible for myself. It’s terrifying sending that little piece of yourself into the world, but I’m so excited to share it!

Your writing was previously published on Wattpad, which I am a huge fan of. How did you first discover Wattpad?

I initially joined Wattpad because a couple of my friends were writing books on the website, and I wanted to support them. I did nothing but read for quite a while, as I’d never really shared my writing before. When I came up with the title for ABBSMB, I decided to post a chapter!

Your work had over 101 million reads on Wattpad, which is massive! Did you ever expect it would be such a hit?

I believe I knew when I posted the first chapter that the book I had brainstormed was something a little unique, otherwise I don’t think I would have posted it to the site. However, I didn’t have much confidence in my writing at the time and really wasn’t expecting it to achieve much. Every milestone felt impossible to me, and I’ll always remember reaching that first million!

Which did you enjoy more, the planning process or the writing?

The planning process of writing a book is so much fun. It encompasses me entirely and I don’t focus on anything else until it’s finished! While the pace of writing isn’t anywhere near as high, I’d have to say that writing it is my favourite part. I get so immersed sometimes that there seems to be a connection from my brain directly to my laptop keys, and obviously it’s so rewarding to look back on what you’ve created.

Do you show your drafts to family and friends or do you keep it to yourself?

Despite sharing the first draft of my novel on Wattpad, I am ironically quite private when it comes to my writing! I don’t tend to share any full drafts, but occasionally I’ll send excerpts I’m particularly proud of (usually this is where I’ll make myself laugh).

I’m interested to know, do you write with music/background noise or do you prefer to write in silence?

I can’t write with music or background noise, as much as I’d like to! I’m very much Team Silence.

I know you’re a self-confessed book lover, so what is your go-to genre and do you have an all-time favourite book?

I’m nineteen now, so I’d say I am transitioning more into Adult Literature, but my go-to genre is definitely Teen Fiction still. I love how fun and light the books can be, and I love how relatable the messages still are to my own growth. I’m not sure I have an all-time favourite book at the moment: I feel I’ve grown out of my old ones a little bit, but not quite found a replacement. My old favourites were probably Michael Grant’s ‘Gone’ series and Rachel Caine’s ‘Morganville’ series.

I also feel like this is a compulsory book-related question: Hardback or paperback?

Paperback!

Do you still read books on Wattpad?

I admit, I don’t read Wattpad books as much as I used to, but I do still read them. There was a period whereby I almost forgot that published fiction existed. There are definitely some golden stories on that app. Most recently I re-read “I’ll Protect You” by OrangeChicken, a consistent favourite of mine.

Finally, could you describe your book in three words?

Charming, funny and surprising!

Thank you so much for answering my questions, Lauren!

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I'm a huge fan of Wattpad, so if you haven't checked it out then I definitely recommend it. It's so amazing that stories like this are being recognised on Wattpad.

Overall, I loved this book. It is definitely my kind of story, being something fun and easy to connect with. It was written in a way that kept me hooked, with brilliant characters that I really routed for and enjoyed reading about. I adore books like this that have great romantic tension and a build-up to a relationship. There were some hilarious moments and I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a light, playful read. I love a Wattpad success! I'd definitely rate this:

Don't forget to follow along with the rest of the blog tour (see the schedule below) and join in with #UKYAChat with Lucy Powrie tomorrow (Friday 13th July), with Lauren as the guest author.

I hope you've enjoyed this post as part of the blog tour. 

Thank you to Ink Road for sending me a copy of the book and inviting me to be a part of the blog tour and another thank you to Lauren for writing a brilliantly fun book and for answering my questions. 

I can't wait to see what Lauren writes next...