We chat with author Mariana Zapata about All Rhodes Lead Here, which is a grumpy/sunshine, small town romance about finding love when you least expect it.
Hi, Mariana! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hi! Thank you so much for having me! I’ve been a romance author for over a decade. I’ve written thirteen books and been fortunate enough to have them translated into more than twenty languages. (I still can’t believe it.) I live in Colorado with my husband and our Great Dane.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
Honestly, I don’t remember ever not loving stories and writing. My mom has Robocop fanfiction and little stories about princesses being saved by a price that I “wrote” when I was very young and didn’t really know how to spell all that well, haha. In my teen years, I wrote so much boyband fanfiction, I even had my own Geocities website, if anyone remembers them. As a kid, I read every Goosebumps, Babysitters Club, Animorphs… just about anything I could find at my library that struck my interest, I read. It was awesome.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: Bunnicula
- The one that made you want to become an author: Twilight
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: The Nightingale
All Rhodes Lead Here is out January 30th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Love story in the mountains.
What can readers expect?
Readers can expect a romance that takes its time between our heroine, Aurora, who has a sweet personality and our hero, Rhodes, who does not, haha. There’s a focus on moving forward after the end of a long-term relationship, overcoming your fears, and really falling in love not just romantically, but with your life and the friendships you have, too.
Where did the inspiration for All Rhodes Lead Here come from?
I’ve wanted to write a romance based in the small town where I live for a long time, but it took a bit to find the right characters and story that I thought could really “use” the beautiful location since hiking and doing outdoor activities is such a huge part of living there. After that, the idea just kind of morphed into not just a love story, but one with—what I think—is a lot of growth that people have to go through after really trying times in their life. I think it’s a universal concept to be faced with a crappy situation that you might not want to be in, but you know you have to overcome, and I think Aurora does just that.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I loved writing Aurora, Rhodes, and his son, Amos. The dynamic between a bubbly personality and a shy teenage boy, and a grumpy dad figuring out how to relate with the same young man, was so fun to me. Writing families is one of my favorite things.
What do you love about writing within the romance genre?
I love the hope that the romance genre gives me. There are so many difficult things in life, but love in any form is the most beautiful, uplifting thing there is. It raises your spirits, it makes you smile, at least to me, it reminds me of what it really is that matters at the end of the day. My goal with every book is that I hope readers are happier at the end of them than they were at the beginning, that’s something that I really aim to give readers—just a little bit of the same joy I get when I read.
What’s next for you?
I have a book tour for the release of ALL RHODES LEAD HERE. It’s been a few years since the last time I’ve spent time with my readers, and I’m excited to get to spend some time with them.
With it being the new year, have you set any goals or resolutions for 2024?
My goals for 2024 are to finish my current work in progress, and start a new idea after that. Fingers crossed!
Lastly, are there any 2024 book releases that you’re looking forward to?
I’m really looking forward to reading Tessa Bailey’s Fangirl Down”
