Rae: Welcome to the café at Books I Love A Latte Lizzie C. Koz. Before we chat please grab a drink or treat from the barista. My beverage of choice this week is a Pumpkin Spiced Almond Milk Latte with a little Maple Cold Foam (thank you very much Trader Joe’s!) and a slice of chocolate chip pumpkin bread. What’s in your cuppa?
Lizzie: I’m drinking cold brew with oat milk!
Rae: I find that reading is best when I have a beverage and a few snacks as I’m usually in my cozy corner for a while. I’ve become a pro at reading while a baseball game is on or a playlist with music that enhances the book experience. What are your must have drinks and eats while researching or writing?
Lizzie: I almost always have my cold brew and a big jug of water. Occasionally in the evenings I’ll have an IPA, but depends if the toddler has been sleeping well the past few nights lol!
Rae: Do you listen to music while writing and if so, do you create playlists for each book you write? How do you select the songs to allow for maximum inspiration? I always listen to music while writing.
Music definitely inspires me, but I also use it to block out outside noise. Our house is very open concept, so there’s always a lot of distraction and noise (my toddler is always running around).
I create playlists for every book. It helps me get a feel for my characters and really dive into their emotions. I have a lot of large playlists that I’ll have on shuffled and certain songs will come on and I’ll be like YES this is X character. *Adds to playlist*. Or I’ll be like, you know, I think this character feels very like 2000s alt rock. Or this one would be a total Swiftie. So then I’ll throw on some of those playlists on shuffle and add songs that feel right from there.
Rae: When did you realize that you wanted to be a writer?
Lizzie: So, I should say up front, I am not one of those people who always dreamed of being a writer. I think when I was little I wanted to be a vet. And then when I realized I was really good at math, I pursued that. Though I was a huge reader from a very young age.
I would say December 2023 is when I knew. I had kind of lost touch with reading for a while when I got my degree and started my career. I dove back in, and it really hit me what I was missing. I would always read something and have ideas pop in my head about storylines or characters. So, I started learning some very basic things about writing and took some webinar classes. Then in November 2023 I did Nanorimo and wrote my first book. And everything kind of…clicked into place. The book wasn’t any good (lol) but I knew writing was what I should be doing. So, I just kept at it during 2024. Kept writing. Kept learning. Kept reading. And here we are!
Rae: How would you describe the books you write?
Lizzie: High heat, emotion heavy, with bursts of humor.
Rae: What is it within this genre that calls to you over all the others?
Lizzie: I started writing historical romance because that was the genre I knew best and enjoyed most. Since then, I’ve really expanded and diversified my reading. I plan to break out into other genres in the future. I love that with writing we have the opportunity to write different things. It helps keep us interested and the muse alive.
Rae: Regardless of the book I’m reading I always have a journal, sticky notes, and colored pens for notation. What writing tools do you need when starting a new project?
Lizzie: My earbuds, my phone, a notebook and pen, and my laptop.
Rae: What are your writing rituals?
Lizzie: I tend to start in my notebook where I just word vomit as I brainstorm and the story and the characters start coming to life. Then I move to my laptop (or phone if I can’t get into it at my computer). Sometimes a blank screen is daunting and adds pressure. So, I’ll do something mindless (like stack wood) and as things come to me, I’ll tap out some scenes on my phone and email them to myself.
Rae: When you start writing the first book in a new series do you plot out how many books there will be?
Lizzie: This is something that is kind of ever changing, so I’m not sure I have a good answer. My style of writing honestly can only be described as: Chaos. I don’t always write series in order. I write multiple series at the same time. I’ll write prequels last. I have excel spreadsheets and a One Note that documents my stories and characters and ages that helps keep me on track.
Rae: Are your books standalone reads with interconnected characters? If so, how do you maintain order making sure to keep the plot and character arcs from veering off-track? My books are definitely all standalone reads, but I try to make it so that there are little treats for readers who read the whole series (or whole world). I definitely weave all my books together, but write them in a way that if you read out of order or pick and choose certain ones you won’t be missing out on anything.
Rae: How extensive is your research before beginning a new story in a series?
Lizzie: Ooooh. I’m once again, chaos. It really depends on the story and how familiar I am with things already. Usually my research happens as I go, especially because I don’t plot too heavily and just let the characters lead me. Honestly, what tends to happen is, I’ll start writing a scene, realize I have no effing clue how whatever is happening occurred back then and then end up lost down a rabbit hole for days. But in Enemies with an Earl for example, I did a lot of research on valet’s and their duties, etc before I started writing because I needed that information before I could write anything about Sam.
Rae: Ruthless with a Rogue is scheduled to release on October 14th and I can’t wait to share my review with readers later this weekend. Without giving too much away…this is a spoiler free safe space 😉, can you give us a little taste of what we can expect?
Lizzie: I think you can expect it to be one of those stories where, as you’re reading it and you think you know where it’s going, it’s NOT going to go there. If my beta readers’ reactions are any indication, I definitely surprised them with some of the events that happened and how my characters acted in certain situations.
Rae: Was there any surprises with the character or plot arc that detoured from the path you thought they were on?
Lizzie: I essentially rewrote this entire story when I hit the revisions stage. So, there were A LOT of surprises. And my characters were very difficult and high-maintenance. But eventually we all got on the same page lol.
Rae: Were there any moments that you realized these characters were going to fight you for their happy ever after?
Lizzie: Pretty much the entire re-write of this book! They just didn’t want to tell me what they were going to do. Bit by bit I got new scenes (and usually not in order, they’d tell me what was going to happen at the end before they’d tell me what was going to happen in the middle). It was a mess. And stressful. But I’m so happy with how it came out. Sometimes it’s that much sweeter when you really have to fight for it.
Rae: Will you be publishing any novellas or short stories with a holiday theme this season?
Lizzie: Nothing specifically holiday based. And nothing historical romance.
Rae: Any new character art we can find in your shop?
Lizzie: You can expect some new character art though! It’s still in progress though.
1. What is your must-read book? Why? To Catch A Firefly by Emmy Sanders. It’s one of the most beautiful love stories I’ve ever read. I love that it champions neurodivergence and LGBTQ+ love with such care and heart.
2. If I visit your hometown, where are you taking me, and what’s the best place to grab a bite? My hometown is REALLY small lol. There are some great hiking trails, so we could do something like that. But otherwise, we’d probably venture to a neighboring town. Maybe go to the beach, or to a winery. I’d have us eat at Blue Cactus Grill. It’s this small, hole-in-the-wall place. But their wraps and sandwiches are SO good. And their homemade slaw and chips are to die for.
3. What is one thing readers would be surprised to know about you? I’m a math nerd/math major and love nothing more than creating intricate spreadsheets and analyzing data.
4. What is your guilty pleasure? Reading spicy romance LOL.
5. What are you afraid of? Oh goodness. EVERYTHING. I have horrible anxiety.
6. Tats or No Tats? If tats, how many and what did you choose for your first one? I don’t have any. YET. I’ll let you know what I choose when I get it 😉
7. Binge watcher or weekly viewer? Which show(s)? Binge. I binge everything. Books. TV shows.
8. Is there a book you have read that you would love to see made into a movie (besides yours😊)? I think I’d like to see Emily Rath’s Pucking Around series made into movies. They’re just really fun and a little crazy. I think they’d be really entertaining as a TV Show or Movie.
9. What is the one thing you cannot live without? That’s tough. I’m not sure there’s any item I’m that attached to. I guess I’d have to say my books lol. Like I could live without them, but it would REALLY suck.
10. What is the one career that gives you the shudders? I would say surgeon. I could not operate on people. It’s why I did NOT become a vet lol.
11. If I opened your handbag/bag/briefcase, what item would I be shocked to see? I honestly very rarely use my purse, and if we travel, I throw my laptop in my husband’s briefcase. Typically I just throw my wallet and phone in my son’s diaper bag lol. I live the toddler mom life.
12. What app on your phone/ipad gets the most use? Definitely social media, kindle app, and my music app.
Rae: Thank you so much for hanging out with me today and I can’t wait for everyone to read Ruthless with a Rogue. You can find Lizzie at: Instagram and Website
For those who wish to grab a copy before October 14th it is live on the author’s website! You can shop her most recent publication along with her backlist and other bookish goodies!
If you with to purchase any of Lizzie’s books they will be available on other platforms on 10-14-25.
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Thank you in advance for your continued support of my 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐫-𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐬, 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐬 & 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬.
