Five Questions to Sapphic Authors – Addison Conley

Five Questions To Addison M Conley
Update: Addison’s latest WLW book called The Promise is due to be released on 1 October 2024. I can’t wait to read it.
Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions, Addison!
What is your favourite lesfic book and why?
Letters Never Sent by Sandra Moran, published in 2013. A daughter goes home to settle her mother’s estate and discovers hidden letters that slowly reveal a love story. And you guessed it; the mother loved another woman. The story is told so beautifully in alternating timelines and with settings from rural Kansas to Chicago. I love romance stories that also include a subplot on family relations. Sandra and her book were an inspiration to me to become an author. She was a writer, an anthropology professor, and an incredibly kind person. In November 2015 at the young age of 46, she died from a rare cancer. My heart aches that we lost such a talented writer and great person.

From your novels who is your favourite character and why?My favorite character from my novels is Kate from Cabin Fever. I grew up in central Illinois with relatives from the Chicago area. Then I moved to Washington, D.C., in my mid-twenties. Later, I moved to ten and a half acres in West Virginia with its diverse wildlife and the ancient Smoky Mountains. Along with the beauty came a loneliness of such an abrupt change, but I adapted and now treasure my moments of solitude. I put Kate through a similar situation when she left Chicago for Idaho. Idaho is more rugged and challenging than my WV. Kate initially hides her insecurities with bravado, then grows in a way she never expected. I love to write multi-generation secondary characters into my stories, and Cabin Fever has a lot of loving people who become Kate’s chosen family. Of course, Riley’s the handsome butch that breaks through Kate’s defenses.

Cabin Fever has been incredibly popular. Would you consider a sequel based on the same characters and town? If not, why not?Without giving away too much, Kate and Riley would likely become secondary characters, and Amelia would become the main character in any sequel. Sadly, a lot is happening in the U.S., with some politicians making the LGBTQ+ community scapegoats. Idaho is one gorgeous state but has its share of problems. One Idaho state law carries a one year in jail or a $1,000 fine for anyone that provides books deemed to “harmful to minors,” aka any book with homosexual characters or a gay theme. Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez and Toni Morrison books have been recently banned. If we begin to grow in a positive direction again, then I’d consider a sequel.

I think we would all like to see a reversal of the book bans and the snatching of liberties that have been hard won, not just in the US, but in other countries too.
If you could spend a day with another popular author, whom would you choose, and why?


Unfair question because there are too many great authors to choose from! I like to pick a writer’s brain and ask what works for them on story structure or character development. I know you want names, ugh, so here are a few. From America, Haley Cass, I’d ask her which POV, first- or third-person, was easier to write. I’d like to hear Australian E.J. Noyes’ story about how she got into writing. British: I love all of my fellow Butterworth Book colleagues, and I have a few BB favorites but will not name them because that’s like asking to pick your favorite child.
What are you working on at the moment?My latest work-in-progress goes from sad to HEA. I’ve dived deep into the emotions of family connections with romance as a subplot. Two characters (aunt and niece) go through hell and back, then grow and eventually find their HEA partners. For some reason, my brain was screaming, “Write this story.” I enjoy sappy romances, but my favorite books are those with twists and turn where the characters have to fight for what they deserve. Let’s face it, life is not all roses, and not every LGBTQ+ person has had a smooth life. Many of us struggled in one way or another to achieve our happiness. So, I create challenges and obstacles for my characters to overcome.

That sounds really intriguing. I love family connections and challenges (which is why I wrote Warm Pearls and Paper Cranes). I can’t wait to read this.
And a bonus question:    6.
What drink best represents you and why?A frozen strawberry margarita. Like my books, it goes down cold, freezing your throat or brain, then the flavor pops deliciously on your tongue.