Author Interview with Denise Wheatley
- 42amy4
- Jan 13
- 3 min read
Denise N. Wheatley is a lover of happy endings and the art of storytelling. She’s written over 20 romance novels and has been featured in Woman’s World, BuzzFeed, and Publishers Weekly, among other notable publications. A native of the Windy City, she earned a BA in English from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Get to know more about Denise and her stories at www.denisenwheatley.com.
1. How did you become a writer?
I’ve always been passionate about books and storytelling. I wrote short stories and poems throughout elementary and high school, then majored in English in college. After graduation, I thought about what truly made me happy. It was writing. So I decided to pursue it seriously, and in 2004, my first novel, I Wish I Never Met You, was published by Simon & Schuster. Seeing that book in print was an unforgettable moment that confirmed I had found my calling, and I’ve been writing ever since.
2. Do you have a routine you follow when writing?
On days when I’m writing, I usually spend the mornings taking care of administrative work, managing my social media accounts, and updating my blog. That helps get me warmed up. During the afternoons and evenings, I try to write in 500 to 1,000 word increments, taking a break in between to rest my eyes, refresh my mind, and work on other things that need to get done. I strive to write 2,000 to 2,500 words a day. But if I don’t reach that goal, I don’t beat myself up. As long as I’m getting words in, I’m happy.
3. Could you share some of your challenges as a writer?
Editing is definitely one of the more challenging aspects of being a writer. I love the actual process of writing because it’s fun, liberating, and lets me be as creative as I want. But once the story is finished and it’s time to go back and revise, that’s when the real work begins. I edit slowly as I try to be as thorough as possible and catch every grammatical error, plot hole, inconsistency, etc. That can be tough, especially when deadlines are looming.
4. Tell me about your protagonist. What’s your favorite trait and/or weakness?
Chloe Grant is the protagonist in my romantic suspense novel, Preyed Upon. She’s a Chicago detective who returns to her small hometown after an attack, and ends up becoming a true crime podcaster. One thing I love about Chloe is her fearlessness. She follows her heart and goes after what she wants with a bold, unapologetic energy. Her courage is what drives the story. At the same time, she learns the hard way that bravery isn’t the same as infallibility. Chloe makes mistakes, steps back to reassess, then confidently forges a new path when the old one ends.
5. Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?
I would tell aspiring authors who are looking to write a book to just start. Start the book. Get the words down, and then keep going. Push all the fear and doubt out of your mind, believe you can do it, and stay the course. You’ll never know how far you can go until you finish the book and put it out into the world. But you just have to start.
6. What are your current/future projects?
I’m currently writing the last novel in A West Coast Crime Story series for Harlequin Intrigue, which is Book 9. After that, I’ll start working on a new romantic suspense series called Knox Family: Private Justice. It follows a group of siblings who run a high-stakes, referral-only private investigation agency that tackles chilling cases law enforcement cannot or will not solve.
I love chatting with readers on Instagram, but you can find me across several social media platforms, including:
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