January 2023

NATASHA: Hi  Sian! Thank you for the interview. Can you tell our readers about yourself and how long have you been a writer?

SIAN: Hi Natasha, my name is Siân Ceinwen (pronounced Sharn Kinewen because Welsh names are like that!) and I live in Western Australia with my husband and two sons. I’ve been writing stories my whole life. Probably from the time I was eight and wrote my first Labyrinth fanfic (I really wanted Jareth and Sarah to end up together!).

I started writing The Album in 2011, then finally published it on March 14th 2020. Since then, I’ve written five more books and published four of them (Harrison’s Wedding doesn’t come out until June).

NATASHA:  When it comes to writing, do you have a certain routine or writing process that allows the ideas to flow better?

SIAN: Not really. I write anywhere and everywhere that I can. Sometimes I write on my phone, sometimes I write on my computer, sometimes I write on my laptop. I have a friend who often hangs out in Google Docs with me, getting that very instant feedback will often help if I’m stuck on something.

I second guess myself a lot when I’m writing. I’ll frequently think I’m writing The Worst Book Ever™ when I’m writing, but I’ve learned to just keep writing because I always read it back later and love it.

NATASHA: Can you tell our readers about your latest book? And how did you come up with the title?

SIAN: Gabriel’s Album is the companion book to The Album, which is Ariana’s POV. I came up with that title because the book tells the story of their relationship through an album where each chapter correlates to a song on the album and an event within their relationship.

I write from a single POV and when I wrote The Wedding, people really wanted Harrison’s POV of the book. Like…a lot. So, I decided to write a companion series from the guys’ POV. It’s been a lot of fun exploring the other side of the story, that’s for sure. Except for Harrison’s book…that one took a lot out of me.

NATASHA: Do you prefer writing in silence or to music?

SIAN: To music, 100%! I make a playlist for each book and listen to that exclusively when I’m writing it.

NATASHA: Does this story have a soundtrack? A playlist that inspired you while writing it?

SIAN: The inspiration behind The Album was the song “Gives You Hell” by The All-American Rejects. Also, when Maroon Five came out with Songs About Jane, I used to joke that, “Whoever Jane was, she really did a number on someone!”. I just really loved the idea of this regular girl who dated a rock star, but dumped him and went back to her everyday life and he wrote a whole album about her. How do you move on from that? How do you go back to reality and see or hear your ex all the time? Why do you even dump a rock star?

But of course, there’s a HEA. 😉

NATASHA: Are you like any of the characters that you write about or perhaps the characters are inspired by people that you know in real life?

SIAN: Gah! So, Ariana is absolutely the heroine that is most like me. She’s very much like the way I was when I was her age. Basically, a neurotic mess who needed therapy to get better lol. She’s very frustrating but I try to write characters who are real and have real emotions. All I can say is that she does get better…and I like to think that I have, too!

The other character who was directly based on people I know was Lita, Sebastian’s heroine in book three. She’s a video game programmer and very analytical, based on my husband and a very close friend both of whom I love dearly. They actually read the book and helped me to ensure the portrayal was accurate and true to their character (so, the things Lita did and said felt like the way they would do and say things), which I appreciated.

Other than that, I joke that if I like you, your name will probably end up in one of my books. The only person who I’ve asked for permission was my friend Cal when I wanted to name Heather’s bodyguard after him in The Wedding because he has an awesome name. I wanted to use his full name rather than just a first or last name, so I figured I should probably ask permission for that!

NATASHA: Besides writing, what do you enjoy doing on your spare time to relax?

SIAN: Hang out with my boys or binge watch Netflix shows!

NATASHA: Can you share with our readers any future projects that you are working on?

SIAN: Yup! I’m currently writing The Stalker which is the final book in the Cruise Control series. Then, I’ll be starting on Sebastian’s Baby, which is Sebastian’s POV of The Baby.

I just finished Harrison’s Wedding, which will be coming out on June 6th 2021 (all the books are released on the band member’s birthday), but we don’t talk about that book. The Wedding is the worst of the girls’ books, and Harrison’s Wedding is the worst of all the books (of all time…and I’m only half-joking!).

NATASHA: How can our readers learn more about you and your books?

SIAN: You can find all of my links here: https://linktr.ee/sianceinwen.

I’m mostly active on Facebook and Instagram, and I share sneak peeks of what I’m writing as I write it in my Facebook reader group for people who like to torment themselves by reading the good bits first (but I share the screenshots in the comments so people don’t see spoilers if they don’t want to!).