This August, we are putting the spotlight on -MilaSteele. Her book, Espresso Shot Through The Heart, was picked last June for both the Story of the Month and Humor Pride Month Spotlight Reading Lists. If you're a fan of enemies to lovers sapphic stories, you should check her out.

1.)  What made you start writing on Wattpad?

Funny story, I actually posted a few posts in a subreddit, 2horrorsentences, when I was active on Reddit. When I saw people voting on my stuff (the most likes I had was around 5,000), I decided to finally give Wattpad a 2nd try. I did open an account in 2022 when I was on Twitter posting stuff and people were like, you should write on Wattpad (that's actually when I heard about Wattpad for the first time no kidding). But I gave up on it right away because everything was so confusing. I'm glad I came back to Wattpad and found fellow writers with whom I've connected. Shout-out to kae-ruby. I've had an over decade-long gap in writing, so I also missed writing so much and I'm so glad the platform has allowed me to improve my writing greatly and brought back my passion for bringing stories to life and sharing them with people.

2.) Please tell us about yourself and your amazing story Espresso Shot Through The Heart.

I'm Mila, and I was born in good old Los Angeles, the City of De--Angels I mean!!

My mom raised me by herself after I was 3 years old and we moved around a lot, from San Francisco and New York to Missouri and Texas. We lived in Russia, my mother's homeland and birth country, for about 2 to 3 years, where I learned how to speak, read, and write fluent Russian to the point that when I came back to the States, I had to relearn English all over again haha. I have a dog, Viper, who's the cutest, chaotic little gremlin. I was a huge bookworm nerd who grew up reading mainly fantasy books (like Harry Potter and Percy Jackson, I was a huge fan of those) and strayed away from romance completely (after I was horrified by sneak-reading an erotica book at 11 years old and I swore off romance books forever) besides classics like Anna Karenina, Jane Eyre, and I was in love with Jack London books (White Fang omg) and Sherlock Holmes. And now look at me, only writing romance books, mostly steamy ones, and no fantasy LOL. Funny how growing up works, huh?

Espresso Shot Through the Heart is a light, romantic comedy revolving around two of my favorite tropes, grumpyxsunshine and enemies-to-lovers. The story is based in Los Angeles, my hometown. I love the beach and nature, and so I try to include as much of the vibes in my stories as I can. Mira is basically little me: sweet, always believing in the best of people, and just a little spoiled beam of sunshine running around haha. Natalie represents current me: grumpy, distrustful, questioning people's motives, doesn't do physical affection. Both main characters have parts of myself, and that's why I love them so much because they represent both my flaws and the best parts of me. I wanted those two sides of me to have the best happy ending that they deserve and learn that love comes in any form, whether it's in a demirose girl who doesn't think she's into girls, or in a bisexual, tough, grumpy, and confident girl AKA me (cross the confident part).

3.) What challenges did you face when writing Espresso Shot Through The Heart or with writing humor in general?

I think one of them was keeping things humorous throughout the story and writing scenes that actually make me laugh and hope that it will make others laugh. Another challenge was dual POV and keeping the characters' voices unique and consistent, as well as keeping the dynamic between Natalie and Mira and organically changing their views/actions toward each other. 

4.) What was your inspiration for writing this amazing story?

Oh God, it was definitely the song 'Espresso' by Sabrina Carpenter. The song had just come out at the time, and I would listen to it on repeat. Her singing about a confident woman whose "give a f-word are on vacation", plus has everyone wrapped around her finger and addicted to like espresso, spoke to me and the more I listened, the more I wanted to write about such a woman. Plus of course living in Los Angeles and I've always loved dancing as well. And that's how Espresso Shot Through the Heart was born. It was the perfect opportunity for me to write my first romantic comedy.

5.) What do you think makes romance and LGBTQIAP+ work so well with comedy?

There are so many funny situations that you can create between two people who have chemistry but have yet to admit it. Especially enemies-to-lovers and grumpyxsunshine when one constantly tells dirty jokes and the other is just confused all the time or thinks they mean something completely different. There's a lot of room for humorous banter, physical comedy, and the chance to show just how awkward it can be for two people to get to know one another. For example, a guy can be super awkward and accidentally spills his drink all over a woman, and in the event he tries to fix it, he not only makes the stain worse but also manages to trip the woman and send the tablecloth from the nearby table to tumble to the ground right on top of them. Or two sworn enemies insult each other back and forth. There can also definitely be some funny situations that occur mainly in a lgbtq+ environment, such as out of the closet jokes and others, but you have to make sure you don't cross a certain line.

6.) Are there any particular challenges you face when switching genres and ensuring there's still lots of humor no matter which genre you write? 

Well, it is a challenge to still have humor in a gruesome setting such as during a zombie apocalypse or a high-stake action romance. I just write characters who have a high sense of humor and make any situation into something hilarious. Maybe a zombie starts running mindlessly in circles then trips and starts dancing/tumbling to the street or the main character uses jokes to cope with the current hardship. Maybe we have a sassy century-old vampire trying to figure out how a 20-something year old girl talks and uses technology. Honestly you can turn a lot of situations into comedy if that's your goal.

7.) What's the funniest and biggest misconception people have about your main character?

Hm, I think it would be that Natalie seeming like a total mean girl. I mean, she snaps at poor Mira and continues to bring up the accident over and over throughout several chapters until Mira cries. Also that she's a manipulator and that everyone is at fault except her, someone who is full of themselves and doesn't learn from her mistakes. And I do completely understand that introductory perception of her, and I'm always glad to see people rooting for her toward the end after they learn what she has been through. Not that it's an excuse for her to act the way she does, but with the help of Mira, she undergoes a huge character development.

8.) What's one item on your writing desk that you can't live without?

My laptop, otherwise how am I going to write? (Just kidding haha) I actually don't really write on a desk.

9.) Share your favorite songs to listen to while writing.

Oh God, I'm a very versatile music listener, and yes even while writing, so it would be a very long list of favorite songs ranging from pop like Britney Spears, Ariana Grande, Tate McRae, K-Pop, Alt, rock, hip-hop, and r&b. A few favorites that continue being on repeat for Espresso Shot Through The Heart in particular would include 'girl so confusing' by Charli XCX and Lorde, 'Trip' by Rehma, Take Me To Mars by Xenia, Not My Fault by Renée Rapp, I got it bad by Addison Rae, Birds of a feather by Billie Eilish, Right Here by Chase Atlantic, Break the Ice by Britney Spears, and I can go on haha. 

10.)  Do you have a joke or funny scene that you're particularly proud of writing?

There's honestly quite a few from Espresso, but this is one of them from Chapter 1!

A clatter ensues from the front, together with a small "whoops". I glance in the direction in time to watch a girl who looks like a member of Blackpink bend down to straighten up the potted plant which she had knocked over. Blinking, I observe as she freaking pats the plant like it's a puppy and says "sorry little guy" in a baby tone.

What makes it worse... It's a fake, plastic plant.

11.) How can you create chemistry between your characters, even if they are same genders?

I'm bisexual, so it's easier for me to put myself in my characters' point of views. I know what it's like to find a woman attractive, so I can imagine how it feels when you become mesmerized by how a woman moves and talks, how every small thing she does just make you smile or feel happy (there's just something so, so special about her that you can hardly breathe whether she's near you or away from you).

It's honestly pretty similar to straight people when a fictional man has chemisty with a woman! But it's also different LOL. And it's pretty similar as well with a grumpyxsunshine dynamic no matter the sexuality or gender. A grumpy woman is a grumpy woman much like a grumpy man, except she might be looked at as "bitchy" or "a mean girl" or "a drama queen" while more often than not a grumpy man is just, well, a brooding mysterious guy haha.

What always works also no matter the sexuality or gender are jokes, humor, sassiness, etc., Maybe it's not as noticeable in Espresso Shot Through the Heart because Mira is a pure beam of sunshine, but between my girls in Volleyed Into Love, the back and forth spats and debates and insults bring out the chemistry just the same way as it would between a man and a woman.
I'm a ✨️ rambler ✨️

12.) What story makes you laugh the most?

If the characters are sassy and have the wildest internal thoughts, that's definitely bound to make me laugh, especially if the stories also contain innuendos and physical comedy as well! Puns don't make me laugh (don't come at me), but they do make me smile sometimes if they're well done.

13.) Finally, what can readers expect from your upcoming works, and what are you most excited about in your future writing career?

I currently have a Paid Story up, Volleyed Into Love, which is a sapphic, rivals-to-lovers sports romantic comedy and also has a few Easter Eggs to Espresso Shot Through The Heart! That's probably the most excited I am about my writing career. As for upcoming works, I am planning book 2 and 3 for Espresso Shot Through The Heart, both of which actually may be straight romcoms instead of sapphic, and definitely more sapphic romance such as continuing part 2 for Bossed Into a Deal. I also hope to participate for the first time in OwlCrate next year, which will be my first step to writing outside of Wattpad.

 This is the log line for Volleyed Into Love!

 When Bryce Bardot finds out that her former-friend-turned-enemy is her roommate at an elite volleyball camp, the last thing she expects is for their rivalry to heat up outside of the court.