Indie Support Sunday: Alise Monroe
- May 10
- 10 min read
It started with a writing exercise to get into the habit, then turned into a partnership and an interconnected series of romances that you’re going to want to read! I’ll be honest, I didn’t know Alise Monroe were a duo until I connected with them for this, but I do love discovering how writing duos work. The one thing we all have in common, at the very least, is how much we struggle with finding the balance between writing our books and marketing them!
While they’re currently working on the next book in the Ripple Effect series—fans of rivals to lovers listen up!—there are future plans to write a dark fantasy and maybe even a stalker MMC? Sign me up! Much like me, Alise Monroe have tropes they don’t care for, but taking on the challenge to write them? Always ready!
Whether you’re an aspiring author or one with a million books to your name, make sure you read their five pieces of advice!
Alise Monroe’s books are currently available in Kindle Unlimited.
BEING AN AUTHOR
Who or what inspired you to write?
We’ve always been big readers, though we had some chapters in life where reading fell to the wayside. But I think for a lot of people, immersing yourself in stories is the natural first step to wanting to write your own. We both had ideas for books we wanted to write (spoiler: neither of them ended up being the book we debuted with haha), but we both got stuck in the process of writing.
Monroe came to me one day and wanted to do a writing exercise where we each took a chapter to get in the habit of writing. Knowing someone was depending on each of us to finish really pushed us, and suddenly we had a book. This entire experience was very much a happy accident, but we wouldn’t change it for the world. So in short, all the storytellers who came before us inspired us. Escaping into their stories made us realize how much we wanted to tell our own.
What’s the best and worst part about being an indie author?
Omg, the best part is the readers! Getting messages about how a story resonated with them or just being told how much they enjoyed a story is the most amazing feeling. Our debut features an FMC who takes care of her mother who has MS. Soon after release, we had a reader reach out and thank us for showing that side of chronic illness. She takes care of a family member with MS and told us seeing an FMC who was also a caretaker touched her in a way other stories featuring chronic illness haven't. Hearing from people who understand our characters and the struggle they go through isn’t something we expected, but it truly connects us all in such an amazing way.
The worst is probably marketing. I think most indie authors will agree. It’s hard to constantly make content and engage on social media and not lose sight of the next story you want and need to write. We have to constantly push books while trying to get the next one out, and it gets very tiring. I still wouldn’t trade it for anything, but it’s the “worst” part for me.
Why did you choose to self-publish instead of going the traditional route?
We just wanted our story out in the world. Traditional publishing takes a long time. Authors who choose that route before they’ve ever published will sometimes be waiting years after their manuscript is finished before they see it out in the world. One day, we’d like to venture into the trad market and be hybrid, but we’re truly so happy being indie authors. We’re able to have final say on everything to do with our books, and I think we can interact with readers on a more intimate level since we depend on them to spread the word about our books.
When you’re not writing, what do you do to get the creative juices flowing?
Music is a HUGE component of our writing. It’s where we get a lot of our inspiration for scenes. Outside of that, Monroe is very crafty. She’s currently back in her cross stitch era (Heated Rivalry ones to be specific haha). I want to get into crocheting but just haven’t had the time. I, personally, will drown myself in music if I’m feeling stuck.
If you were to recommend books to me (in any genre), what would they be?
Oh my goodness, okay, this is hard. So I’d probably recommend The Next Life duet by Brit Benson (I’m a little obsessed and a huge fangirl), Drive/Reverse by Kate Stewart, and Exiled by Jessie Walker. Monroe would tell you to read To Catch a Firefly by Emmy Sanders and We Burn So Bright by TJ Klune.
What are your top 5 tips or pieces of advice for aspiring authors?
Just do it. Don’t worry about it being perfect, don’t be concerned with word count, or a fully fleshed out plot. Get into the habit of sitting down and writing before you worry about anything else.
Research everything involved in being an author. I think a lot of people come into this thinking it’s just writing books, which is so untrue. Writing is kind of the smallest part, which is wild.
Remember you don’t have to have it all to release a book. Does having an amazing cover help? Of course. But if you’re low on funds, you can make your own in Canva. Do readers love character art? Obviously, but if it isn’t in the budget, you don’t have to have it.
If you can choose one thing to invest in, make sure it’s editing. Using a professional editor can vastly improve more than just your grammar, it could improve the whole story, especially with developmental editing.
Have fun. Don’t put pressure on yourself. The second you do that (especially in the beginning), it could stunt your story. Don’t think about what readers want, just write what you want to write. If your heart isn’t fully in a story, readers can tell.
ROMANCE AS A GENRE
Why did you choose romance as the genre to write in? What is your favorite thing about the genre?
Oh, it was always going to be romance. I’ve always been a lover and loved love stories. I think it’s because I can relate to them in a much more realistic way. I like fantasy, but I can only relate to a fae woman who has a fated mate and needs to save the world so much haha.
My favorite thing is how almost every romance story has the same base—boy meets girl, they fall in love, they live happily ever after—and yet they’re all SO different.
If not romance/subgenres of romance, what genre would you like to write in?
We eventually plan to write a dark fantasy. I think it’ll be a challenge to see if we can create a huge fantasy world seamlessly.
What are your most and least favorite tropes?
Favorite is anything angsty—second chance, enemies to lovers, forced proximity. I love the tension those bring. Least favorite would be fake dating, again, because it doesn’t feel as realistic. It’s very rare for people to fake date in real life, so it’s harder for me to connect to those stories.
What are some tropes you want to write in the future?
Our next release is rivals to lovers, and we are SO excited! We also want to eventually write a stalker MMC! And funny enough, I want to write a fake dating story and an accidental pregnancy just to see if we can haha. I love the challenge of writing controversial tropes or tropes I don’t personally usually enjoy.
What are some topics (sensitive and otherwise) that you think should exist more in romance?
I think we’ve done a good job as an industry by tackling mental health in books, but we need more focus on men’s mental health. So many men grow up being told not to cry, never show emotion, be a “man,” and I think breaking down those walls in literature could bring more awareness to it and hopefully open the conversation about it.
If you write open door romance, why did you choose that and what inspires your sex scenes?
We write realistic, raw romance. It’s messy, it’s filled with characters who make mistakes, but it’s real. For us, romantic relationships don’t exist without intimacy. And while I realize intimacy can be shown without sex scenes, it would mean you’re still leaving a part of their story out. Every sex scene we write has a purpose. We aren’t writing spice for the sake of, we want to use it to further a relationship (or distance one) in the same way it happens in real life.
YOUR BOOKS
What inspired your published stories? How and when did you come up with these stories and plots?
We were actually reading an MM series when we started our debut. It’s an interconnected series, but in the first one, it set up a story for two characters who were once married and had since divorced. Problem is, it was planned as the last book in the series. So, when we decided to kind of mad-lib a story, we decided to use the same concept: second chance, lots of angst. In the end, almost nothing else is the same as that book, and ours is MF. But that’s where it started. Once we realized we had almost an entire book, we started chatting about the other characters and what their stories could be. Out of nowhere, we had a 4-book series planned. Soon after, we also had a spin-off planned. Now, we have so many ideas, we’ll be busy for years haha.
Ripple Effect came to us so effortlessly. It was honestly a really kismet feeling.
Now I hear a song and have to call Monroe to tell her some random idea, and vice versa haha.
Can you briefly tell me about your books?
Our books are small town romance. It’s an interconnected series of standalones. They take place in the fictional town of Indigo Hill, South Carolina. Our debut sets the scene for all of the stories. There’s a distillery in town where a lot of the story revolves around and takes place. All of them feature mental health struggles.
When I Come Back is a second chance, childhood friends to lovers romance about Thea and Carrington. It’s a story about how distance and time can never erase true love. We did make a controversial decision with this book by having the cheating trope. We know a lot of people don’t like it, but it made sense for this book. Thea and Cary were apart for eight years, they’ve of course tried to move on, so it only made sense for their attempts to be on page.
Fighting For You is the second installment and follows Cary’s brother, Brooks, and Thea’s mom’s nurse, Margot—both of which you meet in book one. He’s the bad boy who rides a motorcycle, and she’s the good girl virgin who has a darker past than anyone realizes. This one dives deep into feelings of worthlessness. Brooks very much thinks he isn’t deserving of love, and Margot wants nothing more than to show him how wrong he is.
And For Us is the most recent and third book. It follows Ripley, Thea’s best friend, and his mystery man: Seth. They met at a whiskey convention four years ago, hooked up, but didn’t exchange any information, including their real names, instead going by “East” and “West.” After a solid year of not being able to get the other out of their head, they exchange numbers at the next convention. This turns into a long distance infatuation and yearly one night stand, until it all implodes when they find out who the other actually is. This one is TRUE opposites attract. They could not be more different.
Do you already have a favorite character from the stories you’ve written?
Ripley. He’s so chaotic. He’s a gemini to his core, constantly stirring the pot, always throwing witty comebacks around, and never allows anyone to see how lonely he truly is.
If you were to cast your book for a movie/television show, who would you cast in the lead roles?
Oh gosh, we’re the worst with this! We never know who to say since neither of us watches TV haha.
How much of yourself do you put into these characters?
Unintentionally, so much. It’s hard not to sometimes. Specifically their insecurities and the way they view the world. Writing Thea was so cathartic because of my own anxiety and constant overthinking.
What is a story/stories that you really want to tell?
Real stories. And I don’t mean other peoples’ stories, but stories that feel so real, you forget you’re reading about fictional characters. We want to make people feel. You can be mad at the characters for the choices they make, but at the end of the day, we succeeded in pulling a visceral reaction out of you over a fictional character. I think that’s so powerful as an author. Our stories will also always be LGBTQIA+ inclusive. We want to showcase all kinds of relationship dynamics.
Is there one common element that readers can find in all your stories?
Flawed and imperfect characters. None of these people are perfect. They fuck up. They do stupid shit. They don’t communicate perfectly. They don’t make things easy for themselves. Humans aren’t perfect creatures, there’s no reason why our characters should be either.
What’s next on the bookshelf for you? Anything you can tell us about a future project?
We’re about to start writing book four in Ripple Effect! It’s tattoo artist rivals who hate each other. Their book will be very spicy and very chaotic haha. Our FMC, Calla, is bisexual and a single mom to a non-binary child, and our MMC, Hayes, is Margot’s (from book two) broody brother who has a secret soft side.
We also have half of part one of a duet written. That one will be a marriage in crisis hockey romance with lots of twists and turns. We made some of our alpha readers cry with just the prologue. After that? Who knows! We have tons of ideas.
When you write these stories, what are you hoping your readers will feel?
Grace and hope. We want to show flawed people, regardless of their mistakes, are worthy of love. We want you to walk away from our books knowing the characters made mistakes but still got a happily ever after. Mistakes shouldn’t define people. You shouldn’t feel unworthy of your own HEA because of something in your past. So, we hope people have grace with these characters and love them through their flaws and hope for themselves if they’ve ever felt undeserving of love.
AUTHOR’S CHOICE
Paperbacks, hardbacks, ebooks or audiobooks
Contemporary, fantasy, historical or romantic suspense
Single or Dual POV
Standalones, series or standalones in a series
Open door, ajar door or closed door romances
Music or silence when writing—Alise needs silence, Monroe needs music
Plotter, pantser or plantser
Water, tea, coffee or….wine?
Cold or warm weather—Monroe likes the cold, Alise likes warm weather
Write better in the morning, afternoon or night?—Monroe writes better in the morning, Alise prefers afternoon or night
Illustrated or photo cover?—Neither lol, discreet all the way!
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