YA romance
Date Published: 06-20-2023
Publisher: Creative James Media
Does Love Always Win is a sapphic coming of age young adult novel that explores coming out and understanding one's sexual orientation.
Sam "Shorty" Daniels has a plan for her senior year, but her romantic life being a hot mess was not part of the agenda. Shorty quickly discovers she's not attracted to her newest boyfriend and fellow marching band member Zack, despite her many hours of daydreaming of what it would be like to date him. Their previous flirting had been so intense that those feelings have to come back again, right?
When Shorty's asked to show the snarky new girl around high school, Shorty's instantly intrigued by Kristy's wit, and they bond over their love of writing. They quickly become inseparable, and Shorty has a breakthrough moment realizing why none of her other relationships worked out.
Just as Shorty is about to break up with Zack, her bitter ex-boyfriend Bryan threatens to out her to the entire school and Shorty's conservative parents. Will Shorty be able to overcome Bryan's ridiculous blackmail scheme and get her dream girl?
Interview with Diane Billas
How many books have you written and which is your favorite?
I have written three books so far. Does Love Always Win?, a young adult sapphic romance, was just published in June 2023. Superficial, a young adult superhero novel, will be published September 2024. My third book, One Minute at a Time, is an adult unpublished romcom. Does Love Always Win? is my favorite book I’ve written because I poured a lot of myself into the story. It really took me back to my own high school experience.
If you’re planning a sequel, can you share a tiny bit about your plans for it?
I don’t have any plans for a sequel to Does Love Always Win? right now, but I did write a short prequel story called Broken Dreams available to my newsletter subscribers. This features the love interest, Kristy, from Does Love Always Win? and delves into her heartbreaking backstory.
Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?
So far, all of my books stand alone and haven’t been connected to each other, but you never know what could happen in the future.
How did you come up with the title for your book?
I chose Does Love Always Win? as my title because of the saying Love Wins that has been used to commemorate the victory of marriage equality. I thought it was fitting for an LGBTQ+ centered book.
How long did it take you to write this book?
It’s been a long process for Does Love Always Win? but it only took me a year to write the actual story. I started writing it in April 2018 and sent it out to beta readers in June 2019. In January 2020 I begun the querying process and as the pandemic hit, I decided to take a beat and hired an editor to help me with some heavy developmental edits. I started re-querying again in 2021 and I signed my publishing contract with Creative James Media in March 2022.
What does the title mean?
The title Does Love Always Win? means that Shorty, the main character, needs to figure out if love is worth upheaving her entire life and all that she’s ever known.
What did you learn when writing the book?
Writing Does Love Always Win? actually helped me come to terms with my own sexuality. Right as the press release was going out about my publishing contract I came out to my family. If it wasn’t for Does Love Always Win? I don’t know if I would have ever felt the courage to tell my loved ones about myself.
What surprised you the most?
I was surprised how I became very invested in the characters I created. At one point the novel was 90,000 words and I had to cut at least 5,000 and it really hurt me to take away any part of their story. So instead of just deleting those parts, I have a folder of cut scenes. This made it seem less painful.
Have you ever killed off a character your readers loved?
I actually haven’t killed off a character yet in any of the stories I have written. Maybe someday, but none of the books I’ve developed have gone down that path.
What do you do to get inside your character’s heads?
I close my eyes and really try and think of what the character would do in a certain situation. I also think about people that I’ve met with similar personalities and use that experience to write how they would act and what they would say.
About the Author
Diane Billas lives in Philadelphia with her husband and son. When she’s not writing she can be found reading multiple books at once, performing the French horn and piano, or dreaming of the next country she’s going to visit. Diane can be found at dianebillas.com, on Twitter, TikTok, and Facebook @dianebillas, and on Instagram @dianebillaswrites.
Diane Billas is the author of the YA contemporary romance LGBTQ+ novel DOES LOVE ALWAYS WIN? releasing June 2023 and the YA superhero LGBTQ+ novel SUPERFICIAL releasing September 2024.
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