Today we’re featuring Toni Shiloh on the blog. Her response to the question about the person she’d like to switch places with made me laugh out loud.
Toni Shiloh’s Book & Writing Process
Table of Contents
Q: What is the title of your book and what is it about?
A: The Love Script. It’s a fake dating trope between a Hollywood celebrity and a hairstylist.
Publication date: August 1, 2023
Q: What genre is Book?
Christian Contemporary Romance
Q: What inspired you to write your book, and how did you come up with the idea for it?
A: I wanted something in the same realm of royals but since the USA doesn’t have that, I thought celebrities. The rest came from my brain following rabbit trails.
Q: What scene was the hardest one to write and why?
A: It was actually the ending. I must have rewritten it a few times before I was satisfied.
Q: What are some themes and tropes that are included in your book?
A: You’ll find reality vs perception, letting God defend you or devising your own plans, what it means to truly worship God, and more!
Q: Who is the ideal reader for this book?
A: Lovers of rom-com movies, romance books, and books with strong faith threads.
Q: What’s the one thing you want readers to take away from reading your book?
A: That God created you just the way He wanted you to be, and that is perfectly enough.
Q: Share a favorite quote or two from this book.
A: Oh man, I’m not sure I can share a quote, but most, if not all, of the text threads between Lamont and his two friends are my faves.
Q: Plotter or pantser? Share a bit of your writing process.
A: I’m definitely a pantser. I like to think of the setting and the characters. After that, I let the characters tell the story.
Q: What does a typical writing session for you look like?
A: In a first draft: me grinning, probably manically, and my fingers flying across a keyboard until I hit a rough spot.
Q: What was the most challenging aspect of writing and publishing? How did you (do you plan to) overcome it?
A: Probably the revisions. I always struggle to know how to make the story better. I’m so thankful for editors who help in that process.
Q: Why do you write?
A: In order to glorify God. Plus, I love it!
Writing Advice from Toni Shiloh
Q: What advice would you give to someone who’s just starting out?
A: Have fun with it! There are moments when writing is just plain hard, so cherish the joyous times.
Q: What’s the best piece of writing advice you ever received? How has it impacted your life?
A: To write even if you just have 5 minutes because 100 words are better than 0 (not a direct quote).
Q: What’s the worst piece of writing advice you ever received? Why do you think this was not good advice?
A: I don’t think I’ve gotten a really bad piece of advice. Because even if it didn’t fit me, it’ll fit another writer.
Q: If you could go back and change one thing in your author career, what would it be and why?
A: Nothing. I think I’m on the journey the way it was supposed to do.
Q: What is one writing resource that you couldn’t do without?
A: Any of the Writers Helping Writers books. Their thesauruses are always open when I do a first draft.
Just for Fun
Q: If you could have any superpower, what would it be? Why?
A: Healing because I would love to bring that relief to others.
Q: If you could have dinner with any fictional character, who would it be and why?
A: Hmm. Matt Jareau from My Stubborn Heart by Becca Wade because he’s the character I always think of when people ask about great books.
Q: If you were not a writer, what would you want to be and why?
A: Um, a librarian because I’d be surrounded by books.
Q: If you could switch lives with any person for a day, who would it be and why?
A: No one. That sounds scary, lol.
Q: What are you reading?
A: I just finished Hallee Bridgeman’s Honor’s Refuge.
Q: What’s the one question you wish I’d asked and how would you answer it?
A: Who’s your favorite sports team? DALLAS COWBOYS!! Football season is coming back!
Let’s Connect with Toni Shiloh
Q: What are you working on next?
A: I’m currently revising book 2 in the Love in the Spotlight series, A Run at Love.
About The Love Script
Hollywood hair stylist Nevaeh Richards loves making those in the spotlight shine but prefers the anonymity of staying behind her stylist chair, where no one notices her. But when a photo of Nevaeh and Hollywood heartthrob Lamont Booker goes viral for all the wrong reasons, her quiet life becomes the number-one trending topic.
Lamont Booker’s bold faith has gained him a platform, and the authenticity of his faith is well known . . . until the tabloids cause the world to question everything he claims to be. With his reputation on the line, he finds himself hearing out his agent’s push for a fake relationship–something he never thought he’d consider in a million years.
With their careers at risk, Nevaeh and Lamont have to convince the world that their scripted romance is more than just an act. But when fake seems to turn into something real, can Nevaeh trust her heart in a world where nothing is ever as it seems?
Toni Shiloh dazzles in this irresistible red-carpet romance with spotlight-stealing laughter, faith, and a happily ever after.
About Toni Shiloh
Toni Shiloh is a wife, mom, and an award-winning Christian contemporary romance author. She writes to bring God glory and to learn more about His goodness.
Her novel, In Search of a Prince, won the first ever, Christy Amplify award. Her novels, Grace Restored, was a 2019 Holt Medallion finalist, Risking Love a 2020 Selah Award finalist, The Truth About Fame a 2021 Holt Medallion finalist, and The Price of Dreams a 2021 Maggie Award finalist.
A member of the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and of the Virginia Chapter, Toni seeks to help readers find authors.
A native of Texas, she now lives in northern Virginia.
She loves connecting with readers and authors alike via social media. Learn more at http://tonishiloh.com.
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