Author Spotlight: Holley Trent

Photo Credit: Julie Sturgeon

Hey Folks!

Happy Monday. Well, I would be happier if it wasn’t snowing… IN FREAKING APRIL. Argh! Mother Nature is playing a cruel April Fools Joke. She’s savage. 

Anyway, this week’s feature spotlights a lady I’ve known for some time online. I think I may have first crossed paths with Holley back in 2013. Becoming a romance author wasn’t even on my radar. I read one of Holley’s stories based on a rec from a mutual friend, and it was the first romance I read featuring a cowboy. LOL, she popped my cowboy cherry. 

If you’re in the mood for a story featuring a rugged cowboy, give Teaching the Cowboy some love. And with that… keep reading to learn a little bit about the lovely Holley Trent!

I always find author interviews kind of boring. We only get to see one side of an author, the polite side. If you had an evil doppelganger, what detail would they enjoy revealing about you to the public that people would find surprising and possibly questionable?

For the most part, what you see is what you get with me. “Holley Trent” isn’t a costume I drape around myself. It’s just a pen name I use mostly so the folks back at home don’t keep me in their prayer lists for heathenry.

If my doppelganger wanted to be a real shit, though, she could tweet links to some newspaper articles about scams a certain ancestor of mine pulled back in the 1930s.

I know you’re married now, but what’s the strangest date you’ve ever been on? Don’t worry, I won’t tell Mr. Trent. It’ll be our little secret.

Not gonna lie, I’ve been married for fifteen years and I’ve successfully blocked out most of my awkward dating trials—I’ve got enough other random memories from my college years to keep me up at nights.

But there was this one time. I agreed to go out with a friend of a friend (should have known better). I assumed nothing would come of it, mostly because of religious differences (meaning I’m not, he was).

It was supposed to be a casual dinner. I don’t even remember what I was wearing. Nothing special, probably. We were going to Applebee’s. (Not even Red Lobster would have salvaged this.)

Dude showed up in full Brian McKnight kit—hair waved and laid, leather pants, shit-kicker Q-dog boots, cashmere-ish sweater.

I was like… “’kay.”

I tried to keep things light, you know—keeping the conversation on platonic things and dropping the occasional hint that we weren’t going to be a “thing.” There was no sizzle there at all.

Fast-forward a bit. I’d been trying to curve the dude for weeks and point-blank told him it wasn’t going to happen. I’m the kind of lady families like his tend to pray a lot for. Also, he didn’t really get my sense of humor, though he tried to play that off. That shit’s tedious. I’m not changing my personality for any dude.

He had the huevos to remind me that he bought me dinner (at Applebee’s).

I think I laughed and blocked him on IM. He wouldn’t take no for an answer. Years later, he finds me on Facebook (under my married name) and sends me a friend request.

…the fuck out of here, dude. At that point, I was wondering if I should PayPal him $15 for the meal just so he’d get the hint.

With the recent closure of Crimson Romance, as a CR author, what advice would you give authors who suddenly find themselves without a publishing house? How does someone navigate next steps? In no way am I assuming that you have all the answers, but are there words of wisdom you want other authors to know in case they find themselves in a similar predicament?

I’m a realist. I always tell people to diversify and to have multiple streams of income if they can. Hope for the best, but plan for the worst, you know? Technologies are innovating. The publishing industry is never going to stop being in flux, and that’s why I’ve been hybrid since 2013.

The blow probably wasn’t as devastating to me because I’d been through the song and dance before with the closing of Musa way back when. Digital first just isn’t as robust a business model as it used to be.

I think the best advice I can give anyone who finds themselves suddenly out on a limb is to not make any rash decisions. Taking a few days to think and sort out the ramifications of one path versus another will absolutely save you time and tears in the long run. Money, too.

Look for information about what you think you want to do next, but make sure you’re getting balanced information. Don’t just look for the angle you want to hear. Nothing about this business is easy, except procrastinating.

That’s easy as shit.

If animals could talk, which animal do you think would be the rudest?

This a trick question? Because there’s no way the answer isn’t “cats.”

If you had your own nationally syndicated advice column, what would the title be?

“Well, you asked.”

What’s the last book you read that you couldn’t put down?

Ms. Bev’s Forbidden.

If someone asked to be your apprentice and learn all that you know, what would you teach them?

Lesson one: pay your freelance editors and artists super fast if you like them because you’re going to need them to do some shit for you again. Also because they need to eat.

Lesson two: foam earplugs are plentiful and cheap, and can rescue you from distraction. (And as much as I hate paying the “pink tax” on things, the pink ones really do fit smaller ears better.)

Lesson three: write whatever you can be genuine about. Marketability is a concern, obviously, and that’s something to sort out in the brainstorming stage. This is a commercial business. None of us are trying to starve for our art. #mercenary #KidsToFeed

Lesson four: keep in mind that the industry is small. Reputations matter and memories are long. There’s a difference between forthright and toxic.

Finish this sentence: All romance writers should have ________.

A few peers in their corner who recognize their talent but aren’t going to blow smoke up their asses.

If you could get drunk with any superhero, who would you get drunk with and what liquor would you choose to consume?

Me and Deadpool (is he a hero? Whatever. Don’t @ me.) would have a nice night with a bottle of Mezcal.

If you were transported 150 years into the past without any clothing or anything else, how would you prove that you were from the future? 

Okay, so that puts me at 1868.

Well.

Do I at least get a penis? Because maybe that way, I could find 2-3 people with power who are actually willing to investigate my claims.

**Bonus Question**

Ever tried BDSM? If not, would you?

*insert polishing nails emoji here* 💅

Bio:

Holley Trent is a Carolina girl gone west. Raised in rural eastern North Carolina, she currently resides on the Colorado Front range with her family. She’s a best-selling and award-winning author who’s written dozens of diverse paranormal, contemporary, and erotic romances. When she’s not writing, she’s probably waiting for bread to rise or pondering if she really needs to get HOA approval for mulch.

Find her online at her website holleytrent.com, on Twitter at @holleytrent, or at Instagram at @holleysees.

Books:

Activate your one-click finger and pre-order Holley’s Paranormal Romance, The Coyote’s Cowboy releasing on April 16th!