We sat down with the darling Colleen Oakes, author of the acclaimed Queen of Hearts and Elly in Bloom series. Here’s what she had to say about the inspiration for her newest novel, Elly in Love, her favorite coffee shop, and marine biology!

  1. What was your biggest inspiration while writing the Elly series? I was inspired by many things: the flowers that I designed, the wedding industry that is both insane and insanely beautiful, the wonderful city of St. Louis…but far and away I would say my inspiration comes in the form of my the incredible women who I call friends. If you combined all my friends and a cream puff, it would be Elly.
  1. Which character in Elly in Love is most like you? That would be Elly for sure. I have very little in common with an infamous movie star, or a gorgeous and headstrong teenager, though Snarky Teenager has a little of my bite. My heart matches Elly’s, beat for unsteady beat.
  1. What do you think is Elly’s best trait? I think Elly, while not always http://www.honeytraveler.com/buy-topamax/ being patient or practical, and never graceful, has the traits that I admire most in people. She’s creative, she’s kind and she’s funny, even when she is unsure of herself. She definitely gets a lesson in unconditional love in this book, and for her, it’s much needed.
  1. Where is your favorite place to write? I love both my home office and Caribou Coffee. I’m a Bou. If you haven’t tried their Sparkling Peach Black Tea, you haven’t lived.
  1. What would your readers be surprised to know about you? Probably that while I loved being a floral designer, that I actually sold my company a few years ago to pursue writing full-time. It’s still running under the new ownership and doing awesome.   I love checking up on it every once in a while.
  1. What did you want to be when you grew up? A marine biologist. I would still like to be that, but only if the job involves swimming with dolphins and playing with manatees and never doing science or math or touching gross things.