"Sometimes I’ll complain about things and then I’ll be like, my gosh, I feel so weird complaining because there are so many people who wish they could complain, or so many people who wish their mothers or sisters were here to complain, and they’re no longer here…then you sit back and you’re just like, 'Man, we’re so lucky.'" — Claire Contreras

"I feel like sometimes we pussyfoot around real things–we walk on eggshells–and when we do that, it’s not productive because we’re not having conversations around truth. We’re having conversations around only those things that we feel comfortable bringing out.

Some of my books are not necessarily 'interracial,' but all of my books have diversity. That is a part of my mission as a writer—to reflect culture as I see it actually." - Kennedy Ryan

"I’m always looking for intersections in the things in my life that matter." - Kennedy Ryan

"I love getting lost in a world that is in my head, and being able to let other people see it. There’s always something real in my books, and I like that that affects people. It’s not something you set out to do, but when you get that letter or that email and it just kind of hits you in the gut that, 'hey, someone gets it'—I guess that, more than anything, is the inspiration." - K Bromberg

"That feeling of falling in love—that breathless, can't eat, can't sleep feeling—that's what inspires me." - Emily Snow

"I’ve always loved fairytales, and that’s what [romance novels] are—they’re fairytales for grownups.." - Kristen Proby

"Any business that you run from home, there’s always going to be something else that you can be doing. So you really have to establish those boundaries so that you don’t go crazy.."

"You begin to embrace the tough times because they made you who you are, and they made you the writer that you are. It’s hard sometimes to be grateful for the hard times. But they definitely came in handy, I guess."

"I don’t have to be the best. I know I’m not, I know I have tons to learn, but I also know that I have talents and abilities, and I’m capable. And if I just put myself out there … there’s nothing to lose and everything to gain. That’s kind of been what I’ve done in my life - put myself out there and hope for the best - and so far, it’s been a good bargain. It’s been a good risk.."

"I always have to find that one thing, that special spark, that makes me fall in love with the characters. I suppose sometimes it’s hard to find that, and you have to just keep searching."

"I think someone who loves books and loves reading loves really almost any story, as long as it's told in an interesting fashion."

"I need a good block of time. I can’t sit down with only an hour. It takes me an hour or two just to get into the swing. And then I will write–I will write, write, write, rewrite, over and over. And then I’ll read my words. I have to read my words to kind of find my pace and find where I am every morning before I start writing again."

"I've always been a writer. I've always been—in my heart and soul—it's always been the essence of who I am. But the actual act of becoming an author ... it was just a whim, really. I just took a chance on it..."

"I write my best books when I’m sad about something—and it doesn’t have to be about something in my life, it can be for someone else—but when that pot gets stirred with all those negative emotions, the words kind of boil over."

"I write my best books when I’m sad about something—and it doesn’t have to be about something in my life, it can be for someone else—but when that pot gets stirred with all those negative emotions, the words kind of boil over."