Hello! I'm LJ Rae. I write contemporary steamy romance, with dark romance as a main sub genre, but recently branched out to chicklit/Rom Com genres. However, even my darker stories are laced with humor to break up some of the heavier themes and elements. I like writing strong, independent yet flawed and relatable characters who make you laugh, maybe cry and sometimes yell at them. And happy endings are a must---there's a enough sadness and pain in the world.
I've always loved reading from an early age. It was and still is a form of escape for me and I enjoy getting lost in different worlds or places with larger than life characters. I didn't start writing until later into adulthood. Dealing with postpartum, I found that writing became a form of catharsis and it has been and is very rewarding personally and in a lot of ways been life changing and saving.
Wattpad has been a great platform to develop my creativity and meet and engage with so many amazing writers from around the world.
When I'm not writing to keep my sanity, I'm a stay-at-home mom with a flexible, work from home job as an auditor. LJ Rae is my pen name. It's an acronym of my kids' names. I'm also a dog mom, to an energetic Pompsky and a wife to a video-game loving husband, living out my own opposites-attracts romance on the west side of the Rocky Mountains.
Favorite Shows: One Tree Hill, Gilmore Girls, Criminal Minds, Law and Order SVU, Chicago Fire/PD, FBI, The Rookie, Breaking Bad, Good Girls, Modern Family, Outlander, Stranger Things, G.O.T., Shadow Hunters, The Witcher (and yes, I'm upset about Henry Cavill leaving the show), Yellowstone.
Favorite Movies: Princess Bride, Last of the Mohicans, Some Kind of Wonderful, Rudy, Remember The Titans, Instant Family, Pride & Prejudice (2005 version is top tier, but I like the older series with Colin Firth too), Guardian's of the Galaxy , Crazy Stupid Love
Music: The power of music is amazing. Music is a huge part of my life and inspires a lot of my writing. Something is always playing in the background at home and I LOVE doing carpool karaoke (I'm not a singer by any means, but we have a judgement free zone rule in the car haha). There's too many fav songs to list, but a few fav bands/artist include: Queen, Kiss, Journey, Abba, Creedance Clearwater Revival, The Beatles, Elvis Priestly, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Foo Fighters, ACDC, Aerosmith, Backstreet Boys, Nsync, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Adele, Pink, Alan Walker, The Killers, The Ramones, Imagine Dragons, Faouzia, Shakira, Maluma, Becky G, Cardi B, Selena Gomez, Selena Quintanilla-Perez. And plenty others I can't think of right now. Did I mention I love music?
Other random things: I love ice cream, I'm true crime obsessed (yes, my husband sleeps with one eye open LOL), I'm an Aries and a Hufflepuff.
I'm so excited to work alongside a hardworking mentee who shares a passion for writing and story-telling. If your story stands out to me, it's because I see your writing abilities already shining through with potential for growth.
I will give honest feedback or critique with first impression of the story and work together to enhance an already amazing story to the next level.
My hope for this particular mentoring session is to help polish a strong hook, opening scene, and streamline exposition vs dialogue to have a gripping and engaging first chapter and highlight characters quirks or personalities readers can relate to and root for right out of the gate.
Due to the time constraint there may not be a lot of focus on line editing but rather the overall large picture of the story and the developmental arcs of both the character and plot.
I love witty, natural banter and can help point out stiff dialogue. But I'm not great at fixing grammar, or checking if commas are in the right places.
While I am a pantser (sometimes plantser), I tend to write character driven stories but am knowledgeable in making sure the story hits certain beats for plot structure.
I prefer to communicate via Wattpad comments/Discord Dm's, or email and I mainly work through Google docs or Word.
Things to keep in mind:
✦ Please be upfront and transparent with the type of feedback you are looking for upfront. This is a collaborative process but there should be an expectation of constructive criticism to be given. If you are looking for someone to only point out the 'good' things I may not be the right mentor for you.
✦ Your time is valuable to me, but I expect the same respect in return.
If you have questions or want to chat, drop me a comment or you can dm me on Discord♡