Today we meet Louise Make. Louise’s book “Five Star Seduction” was published by Sapphire books and was released in August. It’s now available at CNA Stores.

We are lucky today as Louise has agreed to give away an autographed copy of “Five Star Seduction”.
To win a copy, leave a comment for Louise telling her :
What your most profound lesson Love, in all her glorious forms, has taught you? If you could pass on only one piece of advice you’ve learnt on your love journey thus far, what would you teach everyone?
Interview with Louise Make
1. Where were you born?
Louise was born in the incomparably exquisite Cape Town.
2. What and who inspires you?
Creativity, spiritual connection, compassion and laughter.
In my world, I draw these from my family, my favourite writers, food and décor shows, meditation, good wine and nature.
If you dare me to name names, I will!
Eckhart Tolle, Oprah, Winnie the Pooh, Paulo Coelho, Tata Madiba, the Buddha, Dr Seuss, Thami Ngubeni, Mattie Stepanek and SpongeBob SquarePants.
That’s not my whole list, not by a long shot; it’s just my top 10.
3. Your pet hates?
The minor stuff: littering, the number of times the same shows/movies are repeated on tv, bad service and people standing too close to me in queues.
The doozies: arrogance, prejudice, intolerance, cruelty to animals and money either being horded or wasted while millions starve.
4. You cannot live without…
Words.
Written, spoken or sung.
I love the magic that happens when a profound
message is shared. Words, combined in the right way, become spells that can
make us rise, ache, believe, laugh, cry and fall in love.
5. Your writing philosophy?
Let it come to
you. Open your eyes to life and love, take in what happens around you and learn from it all. Then remember to open up your soul and allow all the possibilities brewing within to take shape. Whenever possible, let the words come to you.
6. Where did the idea for the book come from?
First, let me make the premise of Langa and Lazola’s relationship clear: they simply cannot resist each other. From the first moment
they lay eyes on each other, they are drawn in by the attraction and love that immediately rises to consume them.
And now, my idea’s origin, funny story.
The idea for the opening chapter and the characters’ love came from comments a couple of my friends made years ago. One friend pointed out that it’s no wonder soapie characters are constantly kissing, they’re always crossing the ‘personal space’ line. She compared standing really close to someone and looking into their eyes to standing at the edge of a pool and staring into the water. After a few seconds, the blueness becomes mesmerising and it feels like you’re being sucked in.
Another friend described locking eyes with a complete stranger in a supermarket. He said for a moment he found himself walking towards her, purely out of instinct. But then he ‘came to his senses’ and managed to look away (and walk away) before doing anything that might’ve embarrassed him.
I loved those little tidbits so much that I never forgot them. And when I needed a concept for my story, I decided to use them in the opening chapter.
What happens if your pull to a perfect stranger is too strong to resist?
I put Langa and Lazola at the edge of a love pool.
7. How did you hear about the acceptance of the manuscript and what was your reaction?
After sending my manuscript in at the end of 2010, I received notes on changes that I needed to make. It was such a gut-twisting time because I didn’t know how close I was to what Sapphire Press was looking for.
And then my offer to publish came.
On Valentine’s Day, nogal. Now, if that’s not the ultimate green flag to become a romance author, I don’t know what is!
And then, to top it off, my contract arrived on my birthday, a few weeks later.
Gotta love Sapphire Press for their impeccable timing.
I went out and had cake – lots of it!#
8. Tell us about the book.
Langalethu Cima is 28, independent and focused on taking over the world of marketing. Lazola Rhadebe is gorgeous, brutally direct, and the owner of a new luxury hotel. They meet when Langa torpedoes her way into leading Rhadebe Omni-Chic Hotel’s marketing campaign. Soon she has far more of Lazola’s attention than she’d bargained on getting and is overwhelmed by her feelings for him.
Langa isn’t particularly good at pampering herself, nor does she have time for love – this is what she tells herself when Lazola sets about introducing her to a world of luxury and passion. It’s her excuse for resisting his charm. Lazola Rhadebe, however, is a determined man, set on teaching her to think with her heart for once.
9. For me editing would be an annoying process, take us through Sapphire’s editing process and tell us how the book changed from your vision to theirs.
I was more fascinated than annoyed by the process of watching my story take on a more cohesive feel through Sapphire’s direction. The bulk of comments I received lay around making Langa’s work as realistic
as possible. She’s a bit of a workaholic, so large chunks of the story revolve around those responsibilities and her office life – Sapphire wanted to be sure that I did all I could to create a world readers would believe in.
Then there was one other issue I was asked to work on, and this one was actually my favourite crit (yes, there was criticism I liked,
hahaha): Langa’s character.
One of the points in the Sapphire brief had brought up that these books are similar to Mills & Boon. When I was taking my first shot at writing I wasn’t too sure how similar to make my heroine to the
Mills & Boon heroines; and whether I needed to keep the ‘old school’
traditional Mills & Boon or more modern versions in mind. In the end, I
played it safe and went ‘old school damsel’ with Langa. Then I got comments that she needed to be stronger. I realised that Sapphire truly was interested in having well-rounded role models as heroines. I was even told not to make Langa too perfect – I was ecstatic!
10. Advice for aspiring writers?
Just keep on doing it.
If you’re anything like me, you’ll have days when you suspect you’re hopeless at writing; or your inspiration might be blocked; or you’ll find yourself distracted by an army of irrelevancies. That’s fine – so long as you never stop writing. If you feel in your core that writing is your calling, putting all your passion into it will help it bear fruit. If it can’t be your job right now, make it your hobby – whatever you do, make room for expressing yourself through your art.
And, on the days when all is fantastic and you’re at your writing peak, remember to give thanks. Moments like those feed the soul; and faithfully giving thanks for them protects you against ever taking them for granted.
11. What is your next project?
I’m currently working on two more Sapphire romances. I started out planning one, but quickly saw that I had far too much going on – my poor heroine was bordering on a rather hectic case of Multiple Personality Disorder for a moment – so I split her and the synopsis in two. It was the best move ever! And now I find myself battling MPD while working my way through two thrilling new love stories.
I love celebrating love, though, so this journey’s wonderful.
Louise Uncovered
I was born in Cape Town an incredibly short thirty years ago. I lived there most of my life – bar a few years in the Karoo – and am now in a nine-year whirlwind romance with Johannesburg, City of Golden Delights.
My dad got me hooked on reading when I was tiny (he bought me my first novel when I was about eight) by making me tell him all about each book I read. After high school, my mom encouraged me to follow my heart, so I studied Theatre and Performance at UCT before moving up to Jozi. I spent a few years trying to hold down secure jobs. A couple years in Sales and Marketing were a big no-no for me. So I plunged into theatre instead and loved it.
Once my first son was born, however, I needed something more stable, a job that wouldn’t need me to travel as much. By chance, I ended up spending a few years in the production departments of two magazine publishing companies – and then my second son popped up. I use the word ‘pop’ loosely, but you get my drift.
Up until the birth of my first son, I hadn’t been very happy with myself, to tell the truth. I knew I needed something but couldn’t quite define it and was too caught up in the crazy rat race to have the courage to pursue my inner needs. And then I read ‘Eat Pray Love’ and ‘A New Earth’. Talk about Divine intervention!
‘Eat Pray Love’ taught me that it’s okay to take time to define what would fulfil me and to go after it like all my happiness depends on it – because it does. ‘A New Earth’ taught me that we are all made of the same stuff and that stuff thrives on love – because it is love. I learned to let go of any
moment that isn’t now. I let go of all expectations, and any voices that speak against consciously loving every heartbeat of living.
This opportunity with Sapphire Press found me at a time when I was veritably bursting with my own potential. I’ve learnt how to open up – and pouring the love I experience on a daily basis into stories to share with a nation of fellow love-celebrators, is a job more perfect than any I could’ve dreamt up.
And my dreams are pretty wild, so that’s saying a lot.