She wrote Want as a way to deal with the epic culture shock she was suffering after moving from rural Ohio to the Deep South. I mean, why do you need fur coats in ninety-degree weather? I thought Jackie O. was the last lady to wear hats and gloves.

Stephanie Lawton

Do you prefer the people in your life to be simple or complex?

I like a good mix of both! I like people who are straighforward, but I also like people who have depth that I can figure out over time. Life would be boring and tedious if we didn’t have both kinds.

If that doesn’t get you interested in this brand new author, check her out at all these other places:

Have you ever had your heart broken?

I had my heart completely broken by one of my best guy friends in high school. I thought he was so funny, adorable and tragically broken and that I could fix him, but it kept me from seeing that really, he was just a self-centered jerk who made me feel like I wasn’t good enough. I hear he works at a pet store now. (Insert cliche about success and revenge.)

What scares you the most?

What scares me the most is that I’m never, ever satisfied with anything. It’s never enough. In some ways, this is a good thing. It’s made me push to get good grades, praise from bosses on my work ethic, etc. But it also means I’m constantly striving for something I’ll never attain.

Also, Southern cockroaches and spiders the size of your freaking HEAD. *shudders*

What is the most annoying thing that someone could do to you?

I was raised to be punctual (within reason) and to keep your word. The most annoying and disrespectful thing a personal can do to me is promise to be somewhere or do something, and then either be extremely late without calling or back out at the last minute with a lame excuse.

I also get irked at attention hogs. (I sound like a real meanie, huh?!)

What Would You Do Right Now If You Had A Million Bucks?

Ohhh, I’d buy a house on Dauphin Island in the Gulf of Mexico; I’d invest a bunch to use when my kids are ready to go to college; I’d donate to my alma mater’s University Scholars program; and I’d buy a really nice writing desk. Oh! And Lasik surgery!

Now, before we get to the last question, let’s look at Stephanie Lawton’s book …

Want by Stephanie Lawton

Julianne counts the days until she can pack her bags and leave her old-money, tradition-bound Southern town where appearance is everything and secrecy is a way of life. A piano virtuoso, she dreams of attending a prestigious music school in Boston. Failure is not an option, so she enlists the help of New England Conservatory graduate Isaac Laroche.

Julianne can’t understand why Isaac suddenly gave up Boston’s music scene to return to the South. He doesn’t know her life depends on escaping it before she inherits her mother’s madness. Isaac knows he must resist his attraction to a student ten years his junior, but loneliness and jealousy threaten his resolve.

Their indiscretion at a Mardi Gras ball—the pinnacle event for Mobile’s elite—forces their present wants and needs to collide with sins of the past.

Will Julianne accept the help she’s offered and get everything she ever wanted, or will she self-destruct and take Isaac down with her?

Favorite one-line review about the book

Want by Stephanie Lawton is a powerful masterpiece of a story exploring tough issues, sweet love, and high stakes; a whopper of a coming of age novel.

Favorite 6 sentences from the book

He stands behind the piano with his massive arms crossed again, feet wide apart in battle stance.

Scorching embarrassment creeps up my neck and into my ears. Part of it is fear, but part of it is shame, shame because … I kind of like it. The adrenaline tingle is almost pleasant.

What kind of sick freak does that make me?

As if my mind’s betrayal wasn’t enough, my body turns traitor, too, when a tear breaks free and slips down the side of my nose.

Buy it now …
Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads

But before you go, one last question …

If you were to be eaten by cannibal, how would you like to be prepared?

I have a little more, um, meat on my bones than I should, so I’d probably be really good sliced up like bacon and put on top of a cheeseburger.

Congratulations, Stephanie! Good luck with Want!

Have more questions for this author? Ask in the comments!