Q&A with Elle Gonzalez Rose, debut author of "Caught in a Bad Fauxmance"!
Talking celebrating everything in a publishing journey + her debut book!
Let the festivities begin šÆļø
As I write this on Saturday, I have a āsugared plumsā candle burning, the delightful sweet smell filling my room with a festive aura. Itās early December, and the air has a bit of a bite to it. I need to wear a jacket when I go outside. I saw snow falling on Thursday. Itās winter, baby, and Iām so here for it!
I am delighted by December. Thereās the usual freaking out about the year ending, of course, but otherwise, this is my second-favorite month1 of the year. I love cozy sweater vibes, candles and tree lights brightening the darkness, making cinnamon rolls for breakfast on the 25th, and just in general everything that comes with it.
As we barrel toward New Yearās Eve and 2024, Iām taking some time to reflect, so stay tuned in a few weeks for a lil retrospective newsletter. And now, without further ado: the reason youāre all here, Elle Gonzalez Rose!
Welcome to the interview š£ļø
Today, Iām delighted to feature a Q&A with Elle Gonzalez Rose, whose debut Caught in a Bad Fauxmance released this past Tuesday. I hopped on the phone with Elle the day before she debuted and we had a lovely chat all about the book and writing, and it was just so much fun. I hope youāll be equally delighted by this Q&A as I was!
Karis Rogerson: How did you first get started writing and telling stories?
Elle Gonzalez Rose: This is such a hard question because I am one of those people who started writing when they were super youngā¦I wrote my first short story when I was in kindergarten, so thatās the first quantifiable timeā¦I showed it to my kindergarten teacher and she was like āthis is great, you should keep doing this!ā
Iāve been drawn to writing ever since I was five, and Iāve been doing it on and off ever since then. I studied it in college, I took a quick break after collegeā¦and then thought letās try pursuing this thing.
KR: Why do you write ā what drives you?
EGR: I donāt know, itās genuinely one of the few things that I really love to do ā some poeple love to play video games or watch movies ā I feel that way about writing.
Thereās something about creating stories that is so much fun to meā¦always thinking of scenes and stories and dialogue. Itās not great when Iām listening to an audiobook cause I should be paying attention! I also have a very visual, day-dreamy way of thinkingā¦I have to write it down, my fingertips are itching. I like to write every day but itās not a slog. I genuinely enjoy writing.
KR: Letās chat about Caught in a Bad Fauxmance! What is your favorite thing about this book?
EGR: How fun it is! My intention with writing this book was to write something that is just shamelessly self-indulgent for me. It is that. Itās very much a story that is not happy-go-lucky at all times, but it is unabashedly fun. iIās joyfulā¦[published with] Joy Revolution. Iāve never had to add any unnecessary trauma or strife to this book.
KR: What is a secret dream you have for this book (that youāre okay sharing)?
EGR: I really really want a Spanish translation ā I am Puerto Rican, and I would love to be able to share this book with the members of my family who would rather read in Spanish than in English. I grew up speaking bothā¦but I canāt write in Spanish. Thereās something very interesting about knowing a language so intimately, but not feeling able to create in it.
KR: Is there anything about Fauxmance that may surprise readers?
EGR: Two things ā there is grief in the book, a big content warning but itās hinted at in the blurb. The main character and his twin sister are dealing with the loss of their mother a couple years prior.
The second I donāt talk about (as much) is it is a holiday book, it is set at Christmas and New Yearāsā¦we have this conception of what a holiday romance is, and itās not a classic Hallmark Christmas story, but it is at that time2. Itās a nice little surprise for people who want something that lines up with the season, itās a pleasantā¦surprise.
KR: What was the most challenging aspect of the publication process for this book?
EGR: A big part of it is just keeping your eyes on your own paper in many ways ā challenging at any part, but especially when youāre debuting and your book comes out in the 12th month of the year. Iām a 2023 debut but my book comes out in the last three weeksā¦youāre watching everybody go before you.
I blocked goodreads, Iām more mentally well because of that. It is very hard and challenging when youāre debuting to remind yourself of what youāre capable of and the biggest responsibility is to write the best book you canā¦comparisonā¦itās such a breeding ground for being mean to yourself and being really hard on yourself. I was very hard on myself for a long time because i was at a different stage from everyone else. I was my biggest critic the entire time. I donāt even know what people are saying ā I only had my own judgment to sit with.
KR: Is there something youāre celebrating today, and how are you celebrating it?
EGR: Iām celebrating that I have several books lined up for the future. Iām almost done with second pass pages on my second YA rom-com which comes out in May. Thatās happening, and Iām working on that and developmental edits for my thriller in winter 2025, plus some other projects I canāt talk about yet.
Iām just so grateful that I have a body of work already before the first one comes out. It has been amazing ā stressful ā to have work that is released in the more broad senseā¦not think about perception (while creating book 2 etc). I was waiting til December to hustle and work on all this.
There will someday an āA0lso by Elle Gonzalez Roseā page. Thatās confirmed! I have at least a couple books confirmed and this is not going to be the last one. A fear not to have on the debut day. Thereās at least two more.
KR: Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?
EGR: I have so many different pieces of advice. Two big ones: write what you love because you are going to spend so much time with that book. Iāve been with this book for so freaking long. Iām excited because I donāt have to look at it again. Itās been three years, and itās time for them to go! Iām evicting them from my house, itās time for them to either pay rent or leaveā¦I really believed in this story and I loved this story and these characters.
Itās difficult when it feels like the story that you wanna write is not the one that publishing wants. Try not to write something that youāre not passionate about or love and your nameās going on it itās something that you really really wanna be proud of.
Celebrate everything and be easier on yourself! I was unnecessarily mean to myself many many timesā¦due to other layers of adviceā¦at the end of the day, youāre gonna be your biggest critic so celebrate your wins and yourself ā like writing a book at all! We lose sight of the fact that itās not a thing that a lot of people do. You should be celebrated no matter where you are.
KR: Can you recommend 1-3 books youāve read and loved recently?
EGR: I wanna recommend, Iām shameless, same imprint ā I loved Sinnerās Isle by Angela Montoya, I ate this up. I loved it. Really really amazing!
In the same romance vein ā earlier in the year but i reread it recently, Sorry, Bro by Taleen Voskuni, itās a sapphic adult romance, fresh & witty.
And one of my favorite books ever ā The Lesbianaās Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyesā¦itās the kind of stuff I would have been getting up to in my youth.
Alla prossima š
Thatās all for todayās Q&A with Elle! Elle, it was a pleasure to chat with you, and Iām so excited for this book and all your upcoming ones as well!
Friends, you know what Iām going to say: there is an ongoing genocide in Gaza. This week, the UNās ceasefire resolution was shot down by none other than the US. Thatās horrifying ā this country is bankrolling and approval-stamping a massacre. I am refusing to lose hope, because Palestinians who are still alive deserve to be fought for, and because the voices of the martyrs, including poet Refaat Alareer who was targeted in an airstrike this week, ring out from beyond asking us to keep fighting.
I have been bad about consistently calling my reps, although I have emailed them a lot. Iām going to make a commitment to reach out to my reps every day this week. I will not be quiet about this. I encourage you to join me in speaking up. Do what you can, whether thatās donating money, protesting in the streets, or calling for a ceasefire.
I love yāall. Be well.
Obviously, my first-favorite is May: birth month.
Wow itās a Christmas book that means itās a PERFECT Christmas gift for you or a reader in your life: Buy it now.