Q&A with Author Aubree Pynn

Hello Frolic Babes! It’s no secret that Kindle Unlimited romance novellas have been getting me through this dumpster fire that is, 2020. I am here to introduce you to a new to me author, Aubreé Pynn who I discovered on KU. I recently devoured her Forbidden Lust series and she was gracious enough to take time out of her morning and writing session to chat with me.

Bree: Thank you, Aubree, for chatting with me today! I recently finished your Forbidden Lust series and am so excited to get you introduced to Frolic readers. Can you give us an elevator pitch of who you are and what readers can expect when they pick up an Aubree Pynn romance?

Aubreé: Aubreé Pynn is a brand of black romance. Cultivating love stories for the perfectly imperfect men and strong women who will stop at nothing to ensure their happiness. Love is always constant and anything under the APXCB umbrella will always provide layers of forever love.

Bree: I’m always fascinated by the romance origin story of romance readers and authors. Do you remember when you read your first romance and any of the early titles you read?

Aubreé I used to sneak and read Zane, Eric Dickey, Carl Webb when I was younger. Then I found the amazing underworld of fanfiction. I can’t remember the exact book but I can always recall the feeling of wanting to read about love and if I couldn’t get my hands on a book that conveyed that, I made up my own tales of love.

Bree: On your website, it says you began writing (secretly) at ten years old and then began writing plays for your church. When did you transition into writing romance and was there anything in particular that inspired it? 

Aubreé: I always loved love. I always wanted to see the stories in my head. I think it was a mix of things, nothing in particular that prompted that. If there was a stack of paper and a pen, I would have it littered with words until I needed more paper to continue.

Bree: Let’s chat Forbidden Lust series because I have so many thoughts! This is a four-book series of novellas, and honestly the perfect example of why I think people should not sleep on novellas. You introduce us to three different couples; one who whose paths unexpectedly cross and they fall quickly, another who has been doing their thing, but the heroine has been running from love and the third with all sorts of family drama, secret relationships and arranged marriages. I loved every single character and every story had me hooked. How did the idea for this series come to you?

Aubree: Every so often, I want to write something hot and steamy. I asked my bestie, Skye, to give me a scenario where something steamy can pop off. She responded with a wedding setting, from there my mind did its thing and by the end of the day, I had all three books outlined. I wanted to leave it open-ended, but seeing the response to the three couples, I couldn’t. The last novella took very careful building to make sure that each couple had their time to come back to love.

Bree: The heroines in the series are Demi, Sonia and Mariah. Which one do you relate to the most and was there anything specific from each of their individual journeys that you wanted to resonate with readers?

Aubreé: I am a little bit of all three. I’m free like Demi, strong like Sonia and sensitive like Mariah. I like to think that the three of them lie in all of us. There’s something about all three that rest in the depths of us that we either know or on our way to discover.

Bree: I loved all three men in this series. I immediately fell for Greyson in book one and thought there was no way the next hero would win me over but then you introduce us to Mac who won me over with his patience. Then I get to book three and my heart hurt for Rahja who was Mr. Right, standing in the heroine’s face. Things happen in the first three books which lead us to book four where you have all three men go after the women. These stories served as a reminder that it’s never too late to be reminded that good guys are out there. As the writer, why is it important for your readers to see these confident, black men who are crazy in love with the black heroines in the story?

Aubreé: I am very intentional of how I portray my black men and women. Often, we get caught in the narrative that black men aren’t worth it and black women are too strong. We forget that there are traumas and customs we were exposed to that help create who we turned into. I’ve met my share of men who weren’t worth two rusty pennies and men who were good and knew how to be steadfast. Their work always over ruled that. Same with the women. There are beautiful stories of love and pain that people have.

Although these set of stories were meant to be hot and steamy, it wasn’t complete without reiterating that love will never fail when it’s true.

Let’s get into my rapid-fire questions:

Bree: Last book you couldn’t put down? 

Aubreé: Marry Me Twice -Monica Walters (read in like two hours.)

Bree: Last song you couldn’t get out of your head?

Aubreé: Red – Chris Brown

Bree: Go to comfort food?

Aubreé: Chips and queso

Bree: Movie you’ll never get tired of watching?

Aubreé: Love Jones

Bree: One essential item you need within arm’s reach while writing?

Aubreé: Coffee, tea or water.

Bree: 20 years from now, you’re writing your memoir, what’s the title?

Aubreé: Love is Consistent

Bree: Are you working on anything now that you’re able to talk about?

Aubreé: I’m working on a slew of projects because I’m crazy.

• A sports editor and a football player
• A series about a record label
• Single mother and an investor

Hopefully they’ll be out before 2020 ends.

My Kindle will be ready to one click away! Go keep up with Aubreé on Instagram @AubreePynn where she has this gorgeous feed of black romance covers so if you’re in the need for recommendations, between her backlist and the titles she recommends, she totally has us covered.