Interview with Danielle Younge-Ullman, author of Lola Carlyle's 12-Step Romance

      Genre: 

Young-Adult Romance

      Release Date: 

    May 5, 2015

Amazon / Goodreads

*BOOK SUMMARY*

Lola Carlyle is lonely, out of sorts, and in for a boring summer. So when her best friend Sydney calls to rave about the fun she’s having at a luxurious Malibu rehab (it’s basically a spa!) and reveals that the love of Lola’s life, Wade Miller, is being admitted, Lola knows what she has to do. Never mind that her worst addiction is decaf cappuccino; Lola is going to rehab.

Lola fakes her way into Sunrise Rehab, only to discover she’s actually expected to be an addict. And get treatment. And she has insane roommates, and an irritatingly attractive intake advisor, Adam, who’s determined to thwart her at every turn. Worst of all is the strictly enforced NO ROMANCE rule.

Oh, and Sydney? Is gone.

Turns out Sunrise is more jail-like than spa-like, and it’s going to take more than Lola bargained for just to get through the program.


*AUTHOR INTERVIEW*

1. If you could in short introduce your new novel, LOLA CARLYLE'S 12 STEP ROMANCE -- what is is about and how did you come up with the concept?

LOLA CARLYLE'S 12 STEP ROMANCE is about a teenage girl who fakes her way into a luxurious Malibu rehab center. She has some noble and some no-so-noble reasons for doing this. She wants to “rescue” this boy she’s been in love with forever, and ideally finally get the chance to be with him. She’s also under the impression that the place is more of a spa—not serious rehab. But she gets there and nothing is what she thought it was going to be, and of course she’s in way over her head in every respect. 

2. FALLING UNDER was a truly emotional and gripping book. I'm still thinking about it. What were readers' reactions to it?

I’ve had so many wonderful emails, reviews, and positive responses to FALLING UNDER. Most people found it intense, but I think ultimately a hopeful, very human story. It does seem to stay with people. Some readers really hooked into to the emotion, still others to the journeys through Mara’s art and/or sex life, and some have found it very funny. And of course everyone has an opinion about the ending! I still receive emails from readers begging me to clarify the somewhat ambiguous ending, and when I meet with book clubs I often have them take a vote on what they believed about it. 

3. How is LOLA CARLYLE'S 12 STEP ROMANCE different from FALLING UNDER?

The biggest difference is that LOLA CARLYLE’S 12 STEP ROMANCE is a YA novel—ie it’s written for teens. The tone of this book is also very different from FALLING UNDER; I would say it has equal intensity as the story progresses, but the tone is lighter and funnier. Also the protagonists are very different. Mara from FALLING UNDER is anxious and full of self-doubt and also very self-aware. She’ll take action, but she’s always second-guessing, sometimes doing things in spite of herself, and it messes her up. Lola, on the other hand, works hard to ignore her deepest self. She is bold and confident and always taking action, usually without thinking about it too much beforehand. Lola thinks of herself as unstoppable, and this leads to all kinds of trouble, both good and bad. For her the challenge is to go inward, and to really stop and think about the consequences of her actions before she takes them. In fact, I would say that there is much that’s similar at the core of these two characters, but the way they see and behave in the world is completely opposite. 

4. You have worked as a screenwriter in the theatre, if I'm correct? How is writing screenplays different from writing novels?

I have written three stage plays. Theater is where I started out, so it made sense that the first writing I attempted was for the stage. Plays are fun and challenging because all you have is dialogue, and you have to pack everything into that. You have to be very clear, very efficient, and you have to make sure it flows naturally. Writing dialogue happens to be one of my favorite parts of writing, probably because I spent many years as an actor, which helps you develop an ear. The dialogue transfers well to novel writing, but with a novel you have to fill in a lot more. A play, on paper, is not actually the final product, whereas a novel is. You have to weave in/spell out so much more in a novel about emotion, about setting, about physicality and actions. 

5. Who are your favorite authors and biggest literary inspirations?

Ohh, juicy question. I read really widely—YA, adult, fantasy, literary, dystopian, contemporary… In YA I love A.S. King and Rainbow Rowell, and so many more. I just read and loved Book of Ivy by Amy Engel, Glory by Maureen McGowan, The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson. As a kid I was a freak for Judy Bloom books (even the ones I wasn’t supposed to be reading, ahem) and books like Go Ask Alice, and everything by Ursula LeGuin. I madly love the Harry Potter books, and just read The Magicians trilogy by Lev Grosman, which was amazing. Authors I go back to over and over are Jane Austen, the Brontes, Robertson Davies, John Irving, Miriam Toews. I also adored the Deborah Harkness trilogy, and The Passage by Justin Cronin. Of Human Bondage by Somerset Maugham… I’m going to forget one of my favorites and be kicking myself!

6. And - I have no more questions. Thank you once again, for agreeing to answer my questions and I wish you lots of luck with your future work. We’ll be eagerly waiting for your new book! 

Thanks to you, also! 

AUTHOR BIO:

Danielle Younge-Ullman is a novelist, playwright and freelance writer. She studied English and Theater at McGill University, then returned to her hometown of Toronto to work as professional actor for ten years. Danielle’s short story, Reconciliation, was published in MODERN MORSELS—a McGraw-Hill Anthology for young adults, her one-act play, 7 Acts of Intercourse, debuted at Toronto's SummerWorks Festival, and her adult novel, FALLING UNDER, was published by Penguin. Danielle lives in Toronto with her husband and two daughters. For more information visit www.danielleyoungeullman.com or her author page on Facebook.

xoxo,
Beatrix

Book Blitz: Q & A with S. Nelson, author of STOLEN FATE

Stolen Fate is now available! 

Amazon / Amazon UK / Barnes & Noble

Book Synopsis:

This isn’t your typical story about boy meets girl, they fall in love and live happily ever after.  No.  This is a story about deception and betrayal at its finest. This is a story about hatred and attraction, which does everything in its power to destroy two people.  

Essie Horton is a woman who has lived through unspeakable things during her short life, and when a prime opportunity presents itself, she dives right in, only concerned about herself and her objectives.

Drayden Warner is a man used to living the good life, bedding every beauty in sight, masking an empty existence, and hiding from a tragedy which happened years ago.  Little does he know, his life will change forever when he meets the one woman who will possibly destroy him for good.

*Add on Goodreads*

*INTERVIEW*

1. First of all, congratulations on your debut. Please introduce STOLEN FATE to new readers; what can we expect?

        Thank you so much.  It really is a dream come true.  Stolen Fate is a story about two people who are brought together through deception and greed.  The chemistry between the two main characters, Drayden Warner and Essie Horton, is intense and unforgettable.  The readers can expect a couple twists and turns throughout the book as well as some sections which will surely tug at your emotions.  It is definitely a page turner. :)

2. When did you begin writing and what's the best advice you got?

        I began writing about a year and a half ago.  The best advice I can give someone is to follow their passion, no matter what it may be.  Carve out time everyday to do what you love, even if it means you can only work at it for ten minutes.  It will be ten minutes of pure happiness. :)

3. What are some of your favorite books and authors? Let's share recs!

        Wow!  There are so many but let me give you a few.  Right now, I'm fully into Romance books.  For the darker reads, I love Pepper Winters (Tears of Tess Series  and the Indebted Series), Callie Hart (Blood and Roses Series) and Lili St. Germain (Seven Sons series).  For sexy romance, I love R.K. Lilley, J. Kenner, Sylvia Day and Skyla Madi Then for some dirty talking, sexy men, I love Victoria Ashely (Walk of Shame series). 

4. What can we expect from Sandra Nelson in the future?

        Hmmmm, that is a good question.  I'm going to have to say you can expect stories which are not the norm; stories with twists and characters who you will root for to find their happiness, no matter what road I put them on.  ;)   My second novel, Redemption will be released in mid to late February 2015.  Then I will be working on a trilogy, hopefully to be released during the summer. 

5. Thanks for answering my questions :) and I wish you losts of luck in the future!   

        Thank you so much and it was my pleasure.  :)

*Teasers*

***

***

AUTHOR BIO:

S. Nelson grew up with a love of reading and a very active imagination, never putting pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard until just one year ago. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two dogs. When she is not writing, she is an avid reader, and loves to travel as much as she can. Stolen Fate is her debut novel but she has many more stories in the works.

Connect with S. Nelson:  Facebook / Goodreads

xoxo,

Beatrix

THE KING Blog Tour + Interview with Tiffany Reisz

Buy links:

Amazon / Barnes & Noble

*Add on Goodreads*

**BOOK SYNOPSIS**

Cunning. Sex. Pure nerve. Only this potent threesome can raise him 

to his rightful place as ruler of Manhattan's kink kingdom. 

 Bouncing from bed to bed on the Upper East Side—handsomely paid in both bills and blackmail fodder—Kingsley Edge is brilliant, beautiful and utterly debauched. No carnal act or chemical compound can relieve his self-destructive apathy—only Søren, the one person he loves without limit or regret. A man he can never have, but in whose hands Kingsley is reborn to attain even greater heights of sin. He plans to open the ultimate BDSM club­: a dungeon playground for New York's A-list that'll change the scene forever.

*Follow the Tour*

**INTERVIEW**

1. The King is the sixth book in the Original Sinners series, we are all beyond excited to read about our favorite Frenchman. What pushed you towards telling King's story?

I knew it would be a hot fun dark sexy story. Anything involving Kingsley is hot, sexy, and dark. Funny too. That guy cracks me up!

 2. What was your writing experience with The King; how is it different from other books in the series?

THE KING is the only book in the series that doesn’t have a romance plot. This is more erotic suspense and erotic coming-of-age. People need friends as much as they need lovers so in this book Kingsley learns how to be friends with people—Sam and Søren.

3. What are your plans concerning writing something non-Sinners related; when can we expect a full novel not set in the Sinners world?

THE HEADMASTER just came out in October. It’s a Gothic romance about the length of a Harlequin Presents so that’s technically my first non-Sinners book. I just finished writing a book called THE ANGELS’ SHARE which is a tell of sex, forbidden love, revenge, and bourbon set in my home state of Kentucky. No idea when it’s coming out though because no one has bought it yet.

4. Your biggest literary inspirations?

Anne Rice, Jennifer Egan, C.S. Lewis.

 5. Out of all your books, which one was the easiest to write and which one the hardest?

THE SIREN was the hardest because it was the first. I had to create a universe from scratch. The easiest was probably THE ANGEL because I had the entire book already in my head when I started writing it in earnest so it felt like taking dictation sometimes. 

AUTHOR BIO:

 Tiffany Reisz lives with her fiancé (a reformed book reviewer) and two cats (one good, one evil). She graduated with a B.A. in English from Centre College in Danville, Kentucky and is making both her parents and her professors proud by writing BDSM erotica under her real name. She has five piercings, one tattoo, and has been arrested twice. When not under arrest, Tiffany enjoys Latin Dance, Latin Men, and Latin Verbs. She dropped out of a conservative southern seminary in order to pursue her dream of becoming a smut peddler. Johnny Depp’s aunt was her fourth grade teacher. Her first full-length novel THE SIREN was inspired by a desire to tie up actor Jason Isaacs (on paper). She hopes someday life will imitate art (in bed). If she couldn’t write, she would die.

Stalk the Mistress on: Twitter * Facebook * Website

**GIVEAWAY** 

 http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/3d7ff1a982/

xoxo,

Beatrix

AUTHOR INTERVIEW & GIVE-AWAY: Truth In Lies series by Katherine Owen (Part 2)

                       

~ My Review Of This Much Is True (Truth In Lies, #1)

~ Add This Much Is True (Truth In Lies, #1) on Goodreads!

Buy Links:

AMAZON / BARNES & NOBLE / BOOK DEPOSITORY

~ My Review Of The Truth About Air & Water (Truth In Lies, #2)

~ Add The Truth About Air & Water (Truth In lies, #2) on Goodreads!

Buy Links:

AMAZON / BARNES & NOBLE / KOBO

~ Check out the 1st part of the interview if you missed it-> Interview (Part 1)

***About The Author***

International best selling author of the New Adult Novel, This Much Is True and the most recently released second novel in the Truth In Lies series of The Truth About Air & Water.

Katherine Owen writes contemporary edgy fiction, which translates to: she writes love stories that are contemporary in setting and both edgy and dark. Some readers term her books emotional roller coasters. She is not sorry. Owen writes about trust, love, and fate and how relationships are often tested by all of these things in one way or another. Love, loss, starting over. Yes, that about covers it. 

Owen is partial to commas, dashes, and plot twists & turns and the ampersand sign. Apparently. With a degree in editorial journalism and English, she is aware of the grammatical rules. She chooses to break them. Sometimes. For her complete take on this, click here.

Connect with her on:

Blog / Twitter / Goodreads / Facebook

***INTERVIEW (Part 2)***

~ What inspired you to write Linc's & Tally's story?

KO: The idea of Tally came to me about three years ago during a writing assignment for one of The Writers Studio classes I took. In that assignment, she was an artist—promiscuous, bent on self-destruction—when she comes across a guy, who has everything going for him. Linc didn’t change too much from the initial beginnings, but obviously Tally did. I wanted to write about two characters that had been dealt their fair share of tragedy and show how it shaped their psyches and influenced what they did and ultimately what they wanted out of life.

I don’t think of these two as being co-dependent. I see them more as being whole and complete with the other. Enhanced. In reality, these two would be perfectly fine conducting entirely separate lives on their own—away from each other—because they put their all into their chosen careers of perfection. Tally with ballet. Linc with baseball. However, I hope what readers come away with is realizing that ballet and baseball are just a means to an end, part of the fulfillment, but the true dream they long for is being loved for who they are, despite being famous for ballet and baseball.

~ How would you introduce these books to someone who hasn't read them yet?

KO: I’m a writer of dark, angsty love stuff. (Angsty is not a word; c’est la vie.) If you’re going to read my work, you need to prepare properly with tissues, perhaps some wine nearby, Advil or something stronger and don’t start my work late at night because there is a point where you will not be able to stop reading.

~ Did you know from the start that this will be a series or was This Much Is True planned as standalone at first, not that we mind, but there was no cliffhanger in that book and that's why I thought I had read a standalone novel after reading This Much is True?

KO: No. I never intended to write a series with This Much Is True. I’m not a fan of series. How many series have you read where the books get better and better? They usually don’t. I read The Bronze Horseman and fell in love. I read The Winter Garden and stayed in love, but have yet to finish the series with that one because I just don’t see how she can top the first book. Series are tough, tough, tough. Readers demand more, but it is REALLY hard to make them happy. So, ultimately, as my husband recently counseled, you have to do it for yourself. Ask the question: what do you want to do next, KO? That’s where I am. Guess what that means?

I wrote This Much Is True long. I knew it was long. My one and only beta reader hated Tally. I had to pull myself out of a dark abyss and believe in the book enough to put it out there all by myself and take the heat for making it one long-ass book. I took inspiration from Paulina Simons for that. F*ck it, if you can’t handle the long book. I abhor cliff hangers and I just couldn’t figure out where to cut it that wouldn’t leave readers hanging. I wrote it, released it, and felt like it was done. Received high marks and lots of four and five stars and after a long-ass while, I dealt with the one-star drive by reviews quite admirably.

A writer friend told me that everyone was doing series, and that I should think about it. The drumbeat for more of Linc and Tally was quite evident in many of the glowing reviews I received, so I spent some time on a plausible storyline and began the arduous task of writing The Truth About Air & Water and attempting to top the accolades for This Much Is True. 

The pressure for doing so was intense. It never let up for me personally until late July when I finally felt like I had nailed the second storyline and saw the character arcs for myself in The Truth About Air & Water. Then, my Beta readers came back after reading it with nothing but raves for the book and I suddenly felt like I achieved the virtually impossible—I topped the first book. 

~ Who is your favorite secondary character from this series and why?

KO: From This Much Is True, that would be Nika Vostrikova. We don’t understand this Russian girl and what motivates her. Well, we can guess. But there’s a lot of back history to Nika that makes her the way she is and we haven’t yet discovered all of that. Hmm…just writing that gives me an idea. Yay!

From The Truth About Air & Water, it would have to be Sam Wilde. Literally, this guy gave me a hard time half the time when I was writing this second storyline because he was distracting me and Tally! There’s also a back history to him that needs to be explored. Hmm…again. 

~ My favorite secondary character is probably Linc’s manager- Kimberley. She is one smart, strong, calculating and at times ruthless woman. It was questionable at times if she is more of a villain or one of the good guys, another fact that makes her one of the most intriguing characters in the books. Is there a chance that maybe we could get a book with her as MC in the future too? 

KO: It’s most unlikely Kimberley will get her own storyline. She appears in several of my books: Seeing Julia, Not To Us, This Much Is True, and The Truth about Air & Water where she actually played a major role like she did in Seeing Julia. Her public relations gig and image protection/consideration makes her an intriguing character to write and she helps out so much with plot lines. You do know that I did public relations for several years, right? Interesting. I’m glad you like Kimberley.

~ Who is the character you loved to hate and why?

KO: I don’t really hate any of my characters. I will say there is a lot more to Davis Presley than we know (that Tally and even Linc knows) so there might be more story there as well. And as I said, there is more to Nika Vostrikova and even Rob Thorn. 

~ Which character was hardest to write about and why? 

KO: Sam Wilde was hardest to write in the sense that he kept trying to take over the story line and Tally. I had to rein him in a couple of times. I REALLY liked him and I had to center myself on Lincoln Presley and maintain my focus. 

~ Without spoiling anything, can you tell us which was the hardest scene and which was the most fun scene from this series to write about?

KO: The hardest scene to get just right which can also apply to just writing it was the scene with Davis Presley and Kimberley. There was a fine line between making Tally the victim and making Tally stand up for herself and even retreating which on the surface would be so unlike her. That scene was tough to write. I had to make it believable. A few readers don’t believe it which tells me they aren’t reading carefully enough because it’s right there why she makes the choice she makes in all her inner dialog. Truly? All her baggage weighs her down. I’ll leave it at that.

As for the most fun scene to write? I’m cheating; there are two scenes. I loved writing Cara’s birthday party scene. The exchange between Sam and Linc in the first part is very funny. Then the scene with Linc and Tally afterwards just takes off. Anyone who has read This Much Is True loves seeing these two characters converse with one another, but we are clearly at a whole different level by this time in the book. 

And yet, my absolute favorite scene to write had to be the scene at O’Riley’s. Tally is in rare form in that scene and she makes Linc pay in all kinds of ways. The subtext going on in the conversations with the secondary character Doug Hillman is brilliant and when she turns her laser focus onto Linc; well, watch out, Elvis. Tally’s Epic Plan in motion is one to behold. Loved writing that scene for The Truth About Air & Water. 

~ Now, you know I just have to ask you about that particular *scene on the graveyard* in This Much Is True, #1 which left me quite shocked and mouth hanging open? What inspired that scene and why was it important for the plot?

KO: I think you have to come at this from the perspective of where Tally was—resigned to her fate. She wants things to work out with Linc but now there are so many lies between them and the biggest one of all; and Rob knew all of Tally’s lies, most of them anyway. Yet, Rob was there, loving her in his own twisted way and maybe in Tally’s mind that all she had, all she deserved. This wasn’t about Holly at this point. This was about Tally being the survivor and basically accepting her fate. 

Circumstances had them at the cemetery—the one place she goes to be with her sister—and the one place Rob knows to go and find her (and Holly on some weird-ass level). Yeah. I really didn’t get too caught up in where they were but the fact that they were together should lead to readers understanding the why of it all. She’s lost. He’s the one who showed up to find her (and maybe himself.) Rob's deep; I’m not sure readers pick up on that. Perhaps there is more story there. Huh…

NOW. If you go to The Truth About Air & Water and reread what Tally says to Sam in chapters eighteen, nineteen and twenty, I think it becomes even clearer how this girl sees herself and where she fits into the world even some four years later. Or doesn’t. 

~ Raw, edgy & emotional stories are my favorite ones and Linc's & Tally's story is definitely one of those. As I said in my reviews- they are not your typical "perfect" romance couple and their story is far from a light read. Both of them have flaws and make some choices in life that some readers won't be comfortable with. 

I know I wasn't, but they did learn from their mistakes and tried to be better and that is what made them more real and relate-able in my eyes and that's one of the main reasons I loved their story. You are not the type of author afraid of taking risks and that's what I like and admire about you. Considering some heavy issues these books contain, was it difficult for you to write their story and what type of feedback from readers did you expect?

KO: Well thank you for recognizing I take risks and admiring that about me. And no, I don’t shy away from the heavy issues in my work. The thing is I love Tally. She is so different from me. She does things at seventeen that I would never have done. She is deep and flawed and perfect and real. I f*cking love this character. She considers herself the bad twin. The good twin in Holly is a constant presence in Tally’s life being good remains her ultimate goal. In The Truth About Air & Water, pay particular attention to the dialog exchange between Sam Wilde and Tally Landon in chapters nineteen through twenty. There is SO MUCH revealed about Tally and how she sees/views herself in these scenes. I’ll go so far to say that not all of this is resolved by the end of The Truth About Air & Water. Perhaps, we ARE just getting started.

I am not afraid of tough storylines. My goal in the last few novels has been to kill less people and strive for a different resolution than offing them. I took some heat for things that transpired in my third novel, When I See You. Now, I stand by that book as well as Not To Us, but I did challenge myself to come up with plot lines that don’t always lead to the elimination of characters. I’ve grown as a writer in this way, and I’ve mostly succeeded with that. (But sometimes people have to go. Just sayin’.) 

Bad stuff happens every day in real life. My growing fan base seems to appreciate that I take on realistic bad stuff and deal with it directly. I don’t just throw stuff in for the sake of extra drama. I think it through and decide if it works or not. I tried to make The Truth About Air & Water better—focused and tighter—on the issue at hand. There is a TON of stuff (300 pages worth) I left out. As I said before, Sam Wilde gave me a hard time for more than half the novel. I really really liked him. He was a distraction for me and for Tally. Linc demanded equal time. I had to sort that sh*t out. And I did. But it took some effort let me tell you. 

Then there is Linc. He’s spent the majority of his life making up to his dad for the loss of both his older brother Elliott, who was perfect, and his movie star mother for Davis. Linc has a lot to live up to, and Davis Presley expects this of his son. This becomes even more apparent in The Truth About Air & Water. Davis, Linc’s dad, has built his entire existence of what is left of his life around Linc making it to the major leagues in baseball, and he has seen Tally as a threat to this goal since day one. Baseball is all there is. For both of Linc and Davis. (Until Linc meets Tally.) Davis Presley’s life force in Linc’s life is one to be reckoned with. Tally is just beginning to figure this out in This Much Is True. It dominates in book 2. Dominates. 

As to the second part of your question: Considering some heavy issues these books contain, was it difficult for you to write their story and what type of feedback from readers did you expect? I’ve spent enough time on the first part of that one but in short, “No it’s not difficult to write a story dealing with heavy issues.” I must have a knack for that or something. 

As to the second part of the question? I don’t really go in worrying about the feedback from readers because I seemed to have garnered a growing fan base of readers who “get” me and in turn “get” my work. They already KNOW I color outside of the lines. I’ve had bloggers who read nothing, but smut praise my work. They’re practically suffocating because of the lack of sex scenes in my work, but they keep reading because they are still avid fans of mine. Most readers seem to know I write the dark, angsty love stuff. I’ve adopted that tag line just to keep them aware. I don’t write light fluff. Readers seem to accept that and still want to read my work. 

~ Are you a baseball fan or you're more like Tally and me who are pretty clueless about this sport?

KO: I’ve learned more about baseball than I ever thought I would. I needed a sport that had a long season and baseball fit that bill. I’m a football fan more than a baseball fan. I did extensive research on what happens in this 2nd story. I’m pretty confident with everything I did here.

~ Is Truth About Air & Water, #2 the last time we read about Linc & Tally or do you plan to "torture" them a little bit more *wink*?

KO: The book just came out in late August but there is already a new drumbeat from readers for more of these two. I’ve left it at this; if I can come up with a workable storyline, I will pursue it. But I don’t write fluff, and I put these two through their paces quite enough already but there are some secondary characters around who can make life difficult for these two, and I am considering where to take it. But alas, I don’t talk about my work-in-progress much more than that.

~ What would be your perfect casting for this series?

KO: There are some looks to Megan Fox that are good reminders of Tally. Both her eyes and her dark hair could easily be Tally’s. But casting Tally? That’s a tough one. As for Linc? Hmm…Lionel Clerc (male model) is fresh in my mind and there is much inspiration on my Pinterest page here as well as an avid fan of mine on Jamie Stokes’ Pinterest page. 

~ To what type of readers would you recommend your books?

KO: Readers who enjoy reading more of a dark romance with complex characters and appreciate twisty plot lines will enjoy my novels. I don’t write predictable storylines, and I don’t write to recipe. If you’re looking for light and fluffy, move along, my stuff is neither of those things. If you’re looking for sex scenes through the latter half of the book, you’ll be disappointed because although I like sex, I don’t think it should take up half the storyline. If you have an appreciation for a little literary flair and don’t mind the propensity for the f-word every so often or stories that will make you cry, read my work.

~ And last question- what are your plans for future; are you working on some new book/s that we should know about?

KO: There is probably going to be more of Linc and Tally in some form of a third book. I don’t do novellas. I don’t do serials. I have a WIP called Saving Valentines that I really need to get back to and two unnamed WIPs from my writing classes with The Writers Studios that both hold exciting promise. Writing. I am always writing or thinking about writing. UPDATE: I have committed to fans for a third book (yet to be named) in the Truth In Lies Series about Linc and Tally. Caution: I’m not a fast writer (or, is that fast thinker?) so it will be a little while.

~ Thank you again for sharing your thoughts with us today and for this amazing giveaway! We'll be eagerly waiting for your new work.

Best of luck,

Way Too Hot Books Team

KO: Thank you for taking a chance on my work and for reading my work and sharing your thoughts about all of it. I appreciate that so much!

***GIVEAWAY TIME***


The author is giving away a paperback version of both books in TIL series. Visit her FACEBOOK page to participate!

Good luck folks! <3

xoxo

AUTHOR INTERVIEW (Part 1): Katherine Owen, author of Truth In Lies series

                   

~ My Review Of This Much Is True (Truth In Lies, #1)

~ Add This Much Is True (Truth In Lies, #1) on Goodreads!

Buy Links:
AMAZON / BARNES & NOBLE / BOOK DEPOSITORY

~ My Review Of The Truth About Air & Water (Truth In Lies, #2)

~ Add The Truth About Air & Water (Truth In lies, #2) on Goodreads!

Buy Links:

AMAZON / BARNES & NOBLE / KOBO

***About The Author***

International best selling author of the New Adult Novel, This Much Is True and the most recently released second novel in the Truth In Lies series of The Truth About Air & Water.

Katherine Owen writes contemporary edgy fiction, which translates to: she writes love stories that are contemporary in setting and both edgy and dark. Some readers term her books emotional roller coasters. She is not sorry. Owen writes about trust, love, and fate and how relationships are often tested by all of these things in one way or another. Love, loss, starting over. Yes, that about covers it. 

Owen is partial to commas, dashes, and plot twists & turns and the ampersand sign. Apparently. With a degree in editorial journalism and English, she is aware of the grammatical rules. She chooses to break them. Sometimes. For her complete take on this, click here.

Connect with her on:

Blog / Twitter / Goodreads / Facebook

***INTERVIEW***

Everyone who knows me is more than aware of the fact that I'm a sucker for dark, edgy and emotional love stories. Truth In Lies series are one of my favorite ones when it comes to this genre, so we are delighted that we got a chance to interview the great mind behind the books- Katherine Owen. 

~ Thank you for being here with us today Katherine :). You told me that I shouldn't hold back when asking questions- I hope you won't regret it after this interview, lol. 

First question(s) will be an easy one and probably one of those you get asked daily: When did you know that you want to become a writer and what inspired you to choose that profession?

KO: I knew early on I wanted to be a writer. It was a dream of mine (out of reach; it seemed) for a long time. I won a poetry contest at fourteen and majored in editorial journalism in college with a minor in English and took enough psychology classes to major in that too. As it turns out, I went into high tech sales with money and stock options as a draw and did a fair share of public relations and marketing work as well. I had a very successful corporate career in high tech sales and public relations and then seized the dream for writing full-time five years ago.

I spent the first three years taking classes with The Writers Studio, (those assignments all wended their way into novels I’ve released) and wrote a few long manuscripts that will never see the light of day. I started out querying traditional publishing for an agent and came close with several after winning the Zola Award for the romance category with Pacific Northwest Writers Association in July of 2010. By then, I decided to self-publish and released my first two books, Seeing Julia and Not To Us in May of 2011.

~ How did your family and friends react when you told them that you want to write; were they supportive or did they try to talk you out of it?

KO: Overall, my family has been very supportive of my career as a writer. I walked away from a lucrative career in high tech sales, so we all miss the money, and I recognize the sacrifice they make for me to enjoy my career as a writer. I put all those skills I honed over the years in global account management and sales as well as public relations and marketing to work every day with this career as a writer.

~ What’s the best thing about being an author?

KO: For me, the best thing about being an author is that I’m doing something I love and am passionate about. I actually believe—as cliché and simple as that sounds—it’s the secret sauce to a happier life. It’s not easy, don’t misunderstand. Being a writer at eight is a lot easier than being a writer as an adult. As soon as you let the doubts and the naysayers past the front gate of your mind, they all take turns, and it gets complex and incredibly hard most of the time to write. 

You are your own worst critic, but those one-star reviews stay right there with you. It doesn’t matter how many five stars you get, if you let comparison have its way with you, there is always somebody who writes better, sells better, and reaps more rewards than you do. Still? Writing is truly living to me. And I feel lucky every day that I can do it.

~ Tell us something about your writing process; how long does it take you to write one book and where do you get your daily inspiration?

KO: It takes me about a year to write a book. The only exception to that process is Not To Us which I wrote start to finish in about six weeks. (That book is unique for several reasons but there are fans of my work who love that one the best. It is the outlier. The exception. From it, I take the encouragement for myself that I can get her done when the deadline fast approaches.) So I know I can go shorter, but the plotting and character development is what takes the most time. There is a ton of thinking that goes into writing a story. I don’t follow a pattern or normal trope for the storyline. All of that takes time to put together in my head. 

Writing—when it all comes together, and I finally figure out where it needs to go—comes rather easily when the story is complete in my mind but that’s usually about ten months into the book. For example, The Truth About Air & Water was half done in June of this year. It came together by the first part of August. I wrote the ending two days before it went to a few Beta readers; it was that fresh, but I knew I’d finally nailed as I saw the characters arcs so clearly by then. Yay for KO!

~ How do you deal with writer's block?

KO: For me, writer’s block has more to do with being stuck with the plotting of the story. This last round I really focused on writing tighter, avoiding too many tangents, staying away from drama and making things more subtle in the subtext. Focusing in on improving my structure with the story did tighten up the writing. I was only blocked when I was unsure as to where to take it. I was stuck for months on the initial plot line that would separate them. MONTHS. But once I put a structure into place; the story came together, for the most part, and I was able to write. Best thing I did for myself was view Dan Well’s seven-point story structure over and over. THIS is what helped me tighten the storyline and stay on a path.

~ What was your first book about?

KO: My debut novel is Seeing Julia, which is about a young widow who is saved from self-destruction by a charming stranger only to discover that her life is not what it appears to be at all. This is my first book where we get an early glimpse of Kimberley Powers. Aha…the place in Malibu in The Truth About Air & Water belongs to Julia Hamilton. See how that works?

~ Which book of yours are you most proud of?

KO: Two books are near and dear to my heart: This Much Is True and When I See You. This Much Is True is my breakout novel where I truly gained an audience (which, of course, invited the snarkiest of readers as well). When I See You is the just-about-guaranteed-to-make-you-cry kind of book in which I took a lot of risks and created two of my deepest characters in Jordan Holloway and Brock Wainwright. Tally is probably a younger version of Jordan on many levels; she just hasn’t quite achieved the experience that 27-year-old Jordan possesses nor reached that level of maturity yet.

Having said all of this, I stand by The Truth About Air & Water and feel like I actually reached the summit of the proverbial mountain called achievement with this book. I can look around and see the view and enjoy the vista from up here. I paid my dues with all the other books I’ve written, and I improved in the writing of this one. There are so many subtleties to this storyline. I encourage readers to read it again to pick up on all of them.

~ Who is the most favorite character you’ve written about and why?

KO: Tally Landon has to be the most complex character I’ve written. After two books, I’m not sure that me as the writer or readers completely get where she is coming from and why she is the way she is. It’s not just Holly’s death that affected her; there is more back history that probably needs to be explored. So, yes, Tally is the most complex. Runner-up would have to be Jordan Holloway from When I See You. In some ways, Jordan’s just a more mature version of Tally Landon. Huh. Interesting.

~ Do you have more fun writing villains or more “morally acceptable” characters?

KO: I have way too much fun writing villains. I wish I had more of a villain in The Truth About Air & Water but bringing back Nika Vostrikova for round two seemed too easy, so I went in a different direction. By far, my most memorable and fun-to-write villain was Savannah Bennett in Seeing Julia. Boom. SHE was fun to write. My sister read a draft and said she was too mean even for fiction, but I held to the notion that any woman can get like that when threatened so I kept her as mean as originally written.  Another great choice for fun was writing Carrie in Not To Us. The taker best friend. Carrie impossible to love but man she ran a good game on our heroine, Ellie.

~ Favorite book villain you love to hate?

KO: I don’t hate any of the villains I write about. They prove necessary to the plot, but also I don’t think anyone is intrinsically bad on purpose. I think circumstances and/or people make them that way. 

~ In your opinion, what are the pros & cons of your profession? Was there a time when you wanted to give up and do something else?

KO:  Pros: If you’re truly a writer, you cannot not write. It’s a calling. It’s not logical. It just is.

Cons: It’s also one of the hardest things I’ve ever done from the standpoint that you spend a lot of time with yourself and play host to self-doubt to say nothing of the critics of your work when you put it out into the world. You have to overcome all of that that plagues you all of the time it seems.

Cons: Some of the best writers of our time you will never read because it isn’t about writing the best work; it’s about who gets the visibility. In the traditional publishing arena, this is who curries favor and who they believe will be a best seller—commercial grade—if you will.

In the self-publishing arena, it is still all about visibility and who curries favor and who is commercial enough to make those top bloggers and top online retailer sites some cash. I’ll leave it at that.

THAT has been an eye-opener for me. To the point that I do want to give it all up some days because I can land a six-figure job tomorrow and deal with the machinations that exist in high tech sales a whole lot easier.

But alas, I love the writing too much and I intend to navigate the waters of publishing even if it is rough and unsavory and downright disappointing at times.

~ Favorite genre, book(s) and author(s)?

KO: I read a variety of genres. I am a huge fan of Gillian Flynn, Tarryn Fisher, Katja Millay, Tess Callahan, DC Bourone, and Jennifer Egan. The writing techniques of all of these writers influences what I do with my own work and the things I picked up in the classes at The Writers Studio adds to my repertoire.

~ Name one book you wish you had written and why.

KO: I loved The Time Traveler’s Wife. Audrey Niffenegger broke a lot of rules in that book. Jumping time. Handling multiple POVs so well. TTTW was fantasy mixed with romance mixed with literary. It’s a masterpiece; and I love it. I can only wish to write that well someday. I would also liked to have written Gone Girl for the same reasons listed above.

~ What the 2^nd best thing you like to do aside writing?

KO: I like to cook about twice a year, and my family is forever grateful for those two days which are mostly likely the 4^th of July and Thanksgiving and perhaps Christmas Eve dinner. Boom. I’m good on those two or three days, and I really do make a fantastic meal or two.

~ Favorite movie, actor and actress?

KO: I am a big fan of George Clooney because to me he is the entire package of wow. He is handsome and charming and seems like he’d be fun just to spend time with. I love George in anything, but especially loved him in Michael Clayton and Three Kings and all the Ocean movies and still miss him after he left ER.

I’m an intrigued fan of Angelina Jolie. I loved her character in Salt and Mr. and Mrs. Smith, of course. She is beautiful and seems like a very deep thinker.

I also love Jennifer Lawrence after seeing her in Silver Linings Playbook which I think was one of her finest roles. I’m a huge Meryl Streep fan in anything and the same applies to Diane Keaton. And last but not least, Anne Hathaway after seeing her amazing role as Maggie in Love and Other Drugs and One Day although I HATED that ending.

Favorite movies:  Love and Other Drugs, The Vow, Silver Linings Playbook, Something’s Gotta Give and The Family Stone.

~ Favorite music/ song you won’t ever get tired of hearing?

KO: Anything John Mayer sings is fine with me. Free Fallin’ and Your Body Is A Wonderland are all-time favorites.

~ Name three hot hunks you would take on a deserted island.

KO: Henry Cavill, George Clooney, Brad Pitt

~ The most annoying celebrity of nowadays?

KO: Kim Kardashian

~ Guilty pleasure/s ?

KO: Coffee, wine, vodka.

~ What’s the best advice you would give to young, inexperienced authors?

KO: If you truly love writing, in other words, you have the need to write, read a lot and write even more. Study books you love. Study books you didn’t. Embrace what works for your own style. I write in a first-person, present tense not as a gimmick, but because I am actually good at it. I find the third-person, past tense a lot harder to write. Study all of those. Master them. Go with what works for you and listen to your inner critic about what is working and what is not and just keep writing and reading.

TO BE CONTINUED...Stay tuned folks for the 2nd part of this interview where we talk about her Truth n Lies series, plus the awesome give-away!

XOXO