Finding Beauty in the Thorns - Lauren Gross on the Gift of a Rose

In this episode, Kim sits down with indie author Lauren Gross to talk about her writing journey, from growing up as a lifelong storyteller to rewriting her debut novel The Gift of a Rose with deeper themes, richer character work, and a whole lot of heart.Lauren opens up about how romantic literature (yes, ACOTAR girlies, this one’s for you), community support, and her own found-family experiences shaped the series she’s building. She shares the difference between writing her first book intuitively vs. approaching later books with more structure, as well as her belief that writers should always create for themselves first.In this episode you’ll hear about:How ACOTAR sparked her love for romantasyRewriting The Gift of a Rose to add depthThe importance of found family and representation in her booksWhy community is everything for indie authorsEncouragement for writers scared to share their workWhat’s coming next in her expanding seriesA cozy, honest conversation about writing, self-expression, and building worlds that resonate.https://www.instagram.com/laurengrossauthor/