I am thrilled to have interviewed author Liberty Lane, who shared with us details of her writing life, her book ‘Chasing Sevens‘, which was released on 30th October 2023, and answered a few fun questions. This post contains affiliate links.

Bringing refreshment and charm to the literary fiction world, Liberty Lane specializes in character development—highlighting strong voices in forgotten worlds. As a singer/songwriter, Liberty’s main goal is to evoke emotion in her readers. She aims to craft characters and worlds that are realistic, tangible, thought-provoking, and sometimes controversial. Taking readers on a journey of love and loss, she explores gray areas of the modern world that typically fly under the radar.

Chasing Sevens is a project very dear to me. I received bits and pieces of inspiration from everywhere! It’s largely inspired by the area I grew up, which is why it was very important to me to keep the character’s dialect authentic. I got the idea for the book and many of the plot points in a dream, and then gradually built it out from there!

I’m not really a planner when it comes to writing. I’ll frequently take a hiatus from my current projects to obtain inspiration. I typically create a rough outline of the plot points and fill in as I go. I do not typically write chapters out of order, unless I’m going back and adding in a completely new scene!

I chose the title pretty close to the beginning of the process and built the plot around it. I knew that I wanted the story, among other things, to revolve around a luck-based central theme. The title is meant to have dual meanings – metaphorically in chasing a streak of luck, and literally in chasing Seven, which is the name of Tobi’s friend in the story.

In some instances, they came from my dreams. In other instances, I just chose names that I liked or thought worked well in the story. None of my characters are named after real people.

Much of the book, though fictional, is based to some degree on my own experiences or experiences of those around me, and the settings on places I’ve been. Factors not based on my own experiences were extensively researched online, in literature, and by conversing with others.

It was really important to me to write a realistic portrayal of the human experience as well as the emotions involved, and to write something gritty, raw and relatable. Chasing Sevens is a very character driven story, and readers get to experience life in Tobi’s shoes. I really wanted to write something that differed from tropes and genre-related expectations, and contributes a unique perspective to the literary market.

I don’t remember the exact date I started writing this, but sometime around 2018-2019. It was around a 4-5 year process of writing and refinement!

Relatable, Emotional, Lucky

I know it’s different for everyone, but for me, writing consistently! I tend to be a writer that cannot say “I’m going to write X number of words today,” and then do it. I have to be inspired to write and ready to feel and experience the emotions of my point-of-view character. Because I need the inspiration to be there, I tend to write at a bit of a slower pace, but I feel it adds a unique emotional depth to the narrative and to the character’s story.

If you’re an open-minded reader and want to read something that challenges your perspectives and views on tough topics, yet is still easily readable, digestible, and emotionally impactful, I would recommend Chasing Sevens. I did my best to write a realistically flawed yet lovable and rootable main character and a supportive cast with well-flushed out stories and motives.

A local author friend has a group that gets together every so often to write, as well as to share ideas and inspiration! It has been a huge inspiration and motivation to me.

I’ll write down plot ideas anywhere inspiration strikes – phone notes, notepads, restaurant napkins…. if it’s a good idea, I’ve gotta keep it!

Anywhere and everywhere that inspiration strikes – at home and at the library mostly!

I would like to cameo as one of Tobi’s coffee shop customers! It would be fun to meet him, and you know, it’s totally a perk that the gig includes caffeine! 😉

‘May you find your own streak of luck.’

A big thank you to Liberty Lane for sharing her writing life with us and for a wonderful interview.