The One That Got Away: Blog Tour + Giveaway

The One That Got Away: Blog Tour + Giveaway

Apr 4, 2015

I chatted with Bethany Chase on Twitter (and fell in love with her post about Gilbert Blythe) before I ever read her book. But when I saw the cover, my excitement went through the roof. Do you see the gorgeousness?! If you read my review earlier this week, you probably know that I quite enjoyed this debut! So, I'm even more excited to participate in the blog tour for The One That Got Away. 

First, here's a little background on the author:

A native of Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, Bethany Chase headed to Williams College for an English degree and somehow came out the other side an interior designer. When she’s not writing or designing, you can usually find her in a karaoke bar. She lives with her lovely husband and occasionally psychotic cat in Brooklyn, three flights up. This is her first novel.

I can't tell you how much I loved certain aspects of the storyline - Sarina's job, her relationship with her stepfather, the quirky Austin setting... It all combined to create an engaging read from a promising new author. If you didn't get a chance to read my thoughts on the book, here's a summary of what you'll find inside these pages!

The One That Got Away

Sarina Mahler thinks she has her life all nailed down: a growing architecture practice in Austin, Texas, and an any-day-now proposal from her loving boyfriend, Noah. She’s well on her way to having the family she’s hoped for since her mother’s death ten years ago. But with Noah on a temporary assignment abroad and retired Olympic swimmer — and former flame — Eamon Roy back in town asking her to renovate his new fixer-upper, Sarina’s life takes an unexpected turn. Eamon proves to be Sarina’s dream client, someone who instinctively trusts every one of her choices — and Sarina is reminded of all the reasons she was first drawn to him back in the day. Suddenly her carefully planned future with Noah seems a little less than perfect. And when tragedy strikes, Sarina is left reeling. With her world completely upended, she is forced to question what she truly wants in life — and in love.

Full of both humor and heartbreak, The One That Got Away is the story of one woman’s discovery that, sometimes, life is what happens when you leave the blueprints behind. 

Here are a few of my favorite things I learned about Bethany:

What got you interested in writing? 

I’ve never not been! My love for words has been one of the most consistent characteristics of my personality for my whole life, though it’s taken many different forms. (Poet, journal­‐writer, email‐writer, blogger, novelist.)

Tell us about the first book you didn’t finish.

It was a historical romance I started writing when I was fifteen years old and heavily in the thrall of the film version of The Last of the Mohicans, with Daniel Day Lewis. (Which means, specifically, I was in the thrall of Daniel Day Lewis.) So heavily enthralled was I that my novel consisted of a first-person account of a well-bred colonial English lady who for unclear reasons found herself trailing her muddy skirts through the Adirondack forest, accompanied by a ruggedly handsome and ambiguously Native American trapper wearing buckskin. Shockingly, I didn’t complete it.

Did you always want to be a writer? 

Nope. In fact for most of my life I avoided the idea, because I assumed it would be too hard and I’d never make enough money. I’ll let you guess which of those two assumptions has proven to be true. 

What were your favorite books growing up? 

The Anne of Green Gables and Emily of New Moon series were HUGE for me. I mean, they were books about smart, dreamy, romantic, highly verbal girls who wrote, loved beauty in all its forms, hovered at the fringes of social popularity and also really liked being alone. Emily and Anne were and always will be my spirit sisters. Also, I think my many rereads of James Herriot’s marvelous All Creatures Great and Small books legitimately helped form my sense of humor. Between Herriot and all of the Monty Python I watched growing up, I think I wound up with a fairly British sense of humor for an American.

Who’s your favorite book couple?

Anne and Gilbert. Obviously. In all seriousness, in terms of their mutual love, caring and respect for one another I think they are a model partnership for young girls to read about. Clearly it worked for me.

Win a copy of The One That Got Away!

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Q&A With Taylor Jenkins Reid + Giveaway

Q&A With Taylor Jenkins Reid + Giveaway

Jul 8, 2014

Y'all, I'm over-the-moon excited about what I get share today! Last week, I reviewed After I Do by Tayor Jenkins Reid. It's one of my new all-time favorite books, so you can imagine how much I freaked out when a publicist from Atria asked me if I'd be interested in a Q&A with Taylor. I think we all know that the answer to that question was: HELL YES. Except, you know, with less cussing and more exclamation points.

Before I continue, here's a little background from her website:

Taylor Jenkins Reid is from Acton, Massachusetts. She graduated from Emerson College in Boston in 2005. She worked in entertainment and education before becoming a writer.

Her debut, Forever, Interrupted, was called a "stunning first novel," by Publisher's Weekly. Kirkus Reviews called her second book, After I Do, "a must read."

She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Alex, and their dogs, Rabbit and Rex. 

Y'all, I don't think I can even begin to describe my epic levels of love for After I Do and Forever, Interrupted. Both books were so wonderful that Taylor has easily become an auto-buy author for me. I cannot wait to read more from her! Both books had such intriguing premises and well-developed characters, but I think my favorite part is just the way Taylor writes. There's a depth of emotion in these books -- it's what makes it so easy for me to connect the story and become invested in the characters.

After I Do just came out this past Tuesday, so there's no reason you shouldn't run out and buy yourself a copy. And although it's a standalone book, you should probably just go ahead and buy Forever, Interrupted while you're at it. You'll just want to read as much as you can from this talented author. And... I've also got something fabulous to go along with this Q&A: a giveaway! So, here's the summary for the book I can't stop fangirling over -- and which you have the chance to win:

From the author of Forever, Interrupted—hailed by Sarah Jio as "moving, gorgeous, and at times heart-wrenching"—comes a breathtaking new novel about modern marriage, the depth of family ties, and the year that one remarkable heroine spends exploring both.

When Lauren and Ryan’s marriage reaches the breaking point, they come up with an unconventional plan. They decide to take a year off in the hopes of finding a way to fall in love again. One year apart, and only one rule: they cannot contact each other. Aside from that, anything goes.

Lauren embarks on a journey of self-discovery, quickly finding that her friends and family have their own ideas about the meaning of marriage. These influences, as well as her own healing process and the challenges of living apart from Ryan, begin to change Lauren’s ideas about monogamy and marriage. She starts to question: When you can have romance without loyalty and commitment without marriage, when love and lust are no longer tied together, what do you value? What are you willing to fight for?

This is a love story about what happens when the love fades. It’s about staying in love, seizing love, forsaking love, and committing to love with everything you’ve got. And above all, After I Do is the story of a couple caught up in an old game—and searching for a new road to happily ever after. | Add on Goodreads

Hi Taylor! I adored Forever, Interrupted and After I Do so I'm thrilled to have you here today. If we were chatting together over coffee, what are three things I'd know about you by the time we were done?

What a great question! You'd notice that I talk incessantly, order insanely large sized iced teas, and fidget a lot.

I'm totally a research nerd, so I'm curious: I know After I Do primarily focuses on personal relationships, but did you do any research for the book? If so, how was it incorporated?

I did a lot of research about types of marriages and the way that human beings have structured their marriages over time. Not a lot of it made its way directly into the book, but it certainly influenced my opinion of marriage and what it means.

Note: After I'd already asked this question, I found this great article that Taylor wrote: "9 Things You May Not Know About Marriage." It was so cool to see some of what she learned while researching!

Your characters have been my favorite part of both of your books, and I get so invested in them together within just a few pages! Do you learn who your characters are in the process of writing or do you know who they are from the very beginning?

I am very much learning as I go. Characters' quirks tend to pop out at me as I'm writing and form who they are. Lauren's love of international foods developed over time and then I liked it for her character so I went back and made it consistent throughout the novel. It would be fun to know exactly who your characters are before you starting writing them, but I don't have that ability. I have to get to know them through trial and error.

You used a nonlinear narrative in Forever, Interrupted and then again in After I Do, which I absolutely loved. Why did you feel that structure worked best for both books?

I really set out to write After I Do as a linear book but I just can't seem to make myself write entirely linearly! It's so much more fun to jump around. I think it adds to the suspense and bittersweetness of a story.

It seems like most books focus on the "falling in love" part of the story. I really connected to After I Do because it showed the challenges of staying in love. What drew you to write about love from that angle?

I've always been drawn to heartbreak. And while I love stories of people falling in love, I think I'm drawn to telling stories that have a bit more catharsis. Everyone has had their heartbroken. It just seems like such meaty place to start a book.

Forever, Interrupted had your main character losing the person she loves suddenly, unwillingly and permanently. After I Do has a different kind of loss in that it's happened over time, by choice but not necessarily permanently. How was writing about loss similar in both books, and how was it different?

Both novels came about because of my own fear of loss. When I first got married, I was worried I would lose my husband. Then, after we had been married for a while, I started worrying that I could somehow mess up my marriage -- that I could inadvertently run it into the ground. So I think that while they are two different types of loss, like you said, they both focus on once being happy and having that happiness disappear. I think you really learn something about a character when you see what they will do to make peace with that.

What do you hope readers take away from After I Do? 

I really hope people read the last page of this book and come away from it having an appreciation for all of the different types of marriages and commitments that are possible between two people. I strongly believe that no two marriages are the same, that we have to make our own rules.

If I gave you money to go to the bookstore today, what is the one book you'd buy for someone else and the one book you'd buy for yourself? 

I would buy The Most of Nora Ephron for every single person on the planet. And for myself, I'd buy Rainbow Rowell's new book, Landline, which comes out soon.

Can you tell me anything about your next book? I want the scoop since I'll obviously be pre-ordering it! 

Yes! My new book is about a woman who hits a crossroads in her life and makes a seemingly small decision that catapults her life into two different directions -- you'll see what happens when she chooses one path versus another. It's about fate, chance, and soulmates.

Be sure to enter the giveaway for After I Do!

Giveaway hosted by So Obsessed With in partnership with Atria Books. Open to U.S. and Canada only.

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Q&A With Elisabeth Elo + Giveaway!

Q&A With Elisabeth Elo + Giveaway!

Jan 23, 2014

Yesterday I reviewed North of Boston by Elisabeth Elo, a literary thriller that had me turning pages late into the night. I've never read anything quite like it before! Elo took several different threads - survival story, murder mystery, the perfume industry, environmental ethics, marine life protection - and wove them into a larger tale that was engaging and exciting. So, I'm really excited to post this Q&A with Elo. Whether or not you've read the book, I think you'll be really intrigued by her answers. The line about her heroine, Pirio Kasparov, being "the kind of person who needed a big adventure to find herself" was what sold me on reading North of Boston in the first place. I'm also thrilled to be able to host a giveaway of one copy of North of Boston! Thanks to Penguin/Pamela Dorman Books for the opportunity.

First, here's a little background on Elo:

Elisabeth Elo grew up in Boston and went to Brown University. She worked as an editor, an advertising copywriter, a high-tech project manager, and a halfway house counselor before getting a PhD in American Literature at Brandeis University. Since then, she's taught writing in the Boston area. She lived next to the ocean for many years and now resides in Brookline, Massachusetts.

1. Where did the idea of North of Boston come from?

Some years ago, I ran across a book about ambergris (i.e. whale shit) – a substance that was once believed to have all kinds of magical, curative, and aphrodisiac properties, and is still used today as a fixative in some perfumes. The story of ambergris opens all kinds of windows into the human psyche – our fears and desires, our quests for beauty and adventure, and the lengths we will go to fulfill a dream, even when that dream is actually a delusion.

How a fascination with ambergris led to writing North of Boston involved many tiny steps that I could not possibly reconstruct. But the path went something like this: ambergris, ocean, sense of smell, marine mammals, boats, perfume, the floorplans of boats, northern lands, cold. In fact, the path was more like a maze, the kind where you often end up right back where you started. Eventually, I had a whole lot of paper on my office floor. (This was back in the days before apps like Evernote, when people still printed things out.) Looking at the stacks of paper, I occasionally wondered whether I might be just a bit crazy, but I had somehow managed to develop a trust in the creative process – which is to say, in myself – so I plodded along.

At the same time, in a sort of parallel universe, I was dealing with a difficult protagonist who had a clear, compelling voice. She had been on my mind for a long time, and there was a sense of urgency in bringing her to life. I knew that part of her story took place on a boat, and that it included near-drowning. Meanwhile, she was enmeshed in various relationships – with a friend, a godson, a father. Each posed a significant challenge. She also was dealing with her failure at the age of thirty to have found anything resembling love. She wanted to connect with people, but her aloof, independent personality got in her way. Yet she had a certain integrity. I knew she was the kind of person who needed a big adventure to find herself.

The research and preliminary drafts went along side-by-side for awhile, not connecting with each other very well. Eventually, I had about fifty pages of a novel, but every time I tried to get beyond that point, the whole thing fell apart. Finally, with relief and dismay, I abandoned the project. But Pirio didn’t go away. She seemed to be living right on my shoulder. So several years later, when things in my life opened up a bit, I took up her story once again.

I think writers often feel as if they’re in the dark, out on a limb, on thin ice – pick your cliché. We’ve got to be OK with being perpetually off-balance. I’ve come to realize that if I’m not feeling a bit anxious about whatever I’m working on and a bit unsure of my ability to do it, I’m probably not risking enough.

2. Why did you choose to write a thriller?

Because I love the strong protagonists. It’s ironic: people tend to think of thrillers and mysteries as being “plot-driven” instead of “character-driven.” But nothing could be further from the truth. In thrillers there tend to be a lot of secondary characters, settings, and plot points – the protagonist is the one who holds everything together and drives the action. She or he has to be tenacious, observant, and morally centered (with humanizing flaws thrown in) because a weak character could not ride the bucking plotline with any success. In the best thrillers the protagonist doesn’t simply follow the clues as they emerge; she bends the plot to her will. It’s her creative and powerful impact on the book’s events that makes the mystery come out right in the end.

I think the real contribution of the thriller (in addition to its entertainment value) is that it brings this kind of character to the forefront. In so doing, it encodes a crucial hope: That we can conquer our fears and face down the worst of what the world has to offer. That we can have an impact, make a difference. That is very strong, important stuff.

3. Why first-person?

In first-person narration, readers are in the protagonist’s mind the entire time: there’s no place else to be. They see what she sees, know what she knows, and think what she thinks. They are as limited as she is by her blind spots and foibles.

As an author, I find first-person narration constraining and dream about the wide open vistas of the omniscient third. But I also know that one of the great powers of the novel (as opposed to film, for example) lies in the way it can describe the inner workings of a mind. The first-person narration is the ultimate in this kind of psychological exploration. I think it comes closer than any other art form to portraying what it really feels like to be a human being. Because we are all, always, in first-person mode – able with diligence to change ourselves but never to escape ourselves. So while we may be quite different from the protagonist superficially, on the existential level, our experience is the same. We are trying to develop our strengths and talents and overcome our weaknesses and biases, while simultaneously trying to figure out which is which. Witnessing the struggles of a first-person narrator teaches us about our own.

4. Any plans for another book?

This summer I spent a few weeks in Yakutsk, a city of approximately 200,000 in the Sakha Republic of northeastern Siberia. It has a ballet, an opera, and a university. In the winter the average temperature is -40 degrees F. I traveled from Yakutsk to a small village called Cherkeh, on the other side of the Lena River, about a five-hour drive on deeply rutted, sparsely populated roads. The Siberian meadows are very green in summer, dotted with clear glassy lakes and tumbling streams, and the shaggy Sakha horses roam and graze where they will, without fences, and return to their homes of their own accord. The people in Siberia greeted me warmly and gave me a glimpse into their lives. My next novel will be set in Boston and this region. It will involve ballet dancers, political intrigue, and diamond mines. Stay tuned.

Be sure to enter the giveaway for North of Boston!

Giveaway hosted by So Obsessed With in partnership with The Penguin Group. Open to U.S. residents only.

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An Interview [Part Two!] With Liza Palmer

An Interview [Part Two!] With Liza Palmer

Sep 16, 2013

I finished reading Nowhere But Home back in the beginning of June, and I was just a bundle of love and happiness. It immediately moved to the top of Favorite Reads of 2013 list, but I didn't even know how to write about it. I quietly simmered on my feelings - my love just growing day by day. I finally reviewed it in August, and promptly told Cass that she HAD to read it, too. I barely knew Cass at that point, but I did know that she had a major crush on the South. I had a feeling this book would only fuel that fire! Thankfully, I was totally right in my recommendation. Cass LOVED it, and she's been pushing it everyone since then. 

After a few awesome Twitter conversations with author Liza Palmer, Cassie suggested we ask her to do an interview with us. And that brings us to this moment - one I'm SO excited to share with y'all! We've got tons of fun to share with today: Part One of the interview is over on Cassie's blog AND Liza was kind and generous enough to offer to do a giveaway of three SIGNED copies of Nowhere But Home. I MEAN, I'M JUST TAKING DEEP BREATHS OVER HERE. Y'all, I'm pleased as punch to be able to introduce you to this talented author! Enjoy finding out a little more about her, and make sure you enter to win a copy of Nowhere But Home. This Southern girl thinks it's high time you took a trip to Texas! P.S. - Follow Liza on Twitter! You'll love her!

If you weren't a writer, what do you think you'd be doing?

I'd like to think that I would have mustered the passion to be a chef or something wonderful, but the truth is writing saved me. It's always been the only thing for me. So, if I wasn't writing I'd be wiling away in some nowhere job (which is exactly where I was) watching my life just tick away.

(cue sad tuba)

We've been proclaiming our love for Nowhere But Home from the rooftops. 
What's the last book you read that inspired this reaction in you?

John Green's The Fault in Our Stars WRECKED ME. I took it on a plane with me to the Texas Book Festival. So, I'm SOBBING uncontrollably on the plane coming back and the flight attendant is handing me tissues and the businessman next to me on the plane is continually asking if I'm okay...

That book. Beautiful. I'm totally looking forward to the movie adaptation - it's a great team of people. The same guys who did Spectacular Now and I love that Shailene Woodley.

Say you just got big news - Nowhere But Home is going to be a movie! Can you DREAM CAST for us?

I think Taylor Schilling from Orange is the New Black would make an awesome Queenie. I also think Elizabeth Banks would do a great job - she was fantastic in People Like Us. Merry Carole has always been Christina Hendricks in my eyes - I wouldn't mind her being a red head.

I was totally thinking of Ian Somerhalder for Hudson, he just has that looooook that you know he's trouble (and now I have that Taylor Swift song stuck in my head).

Everett. You know he was a tough one. The eyes? The green eyes? Are Jensen Ackles.

And for awhile it was Chris Evans, but this particular picture. It was the bitten down fingernails and the chin up defensive thing that I loved. And that it's Chris Evans. I mean:

Then it kind of morphed into, as all things should, Tim Riggins (when Everett mentions he let his hair grow out? I mean... I had to, right?). And again with the greenish eyes...

[Hannah's Interjection: Thanks for making this blog a WHOLE LOT HOTTER! Swoon.]

What would you choose as the theme song for Nowhere But Home?

I did a whole blog post on this - you know how I love to make a playlist! I also made the Number One and this blog post has the pictures to prove it!

[Hannah's Interjection: The Number One is a famous meal from Nowhere But Home. So, check out the pictures and tell me you don't immediately want to read the book!]

Congrats! We got you a puppy. Now, what literary character is your new dog being named after and why?

Hilariously, I've already accidentally done this with my current dog. Fourteen years ago, I'm walking around a farmer's market here in LA and there's this little girl walking around with two puppies on her shoulders. I couldn't resist and took the Little Girlie Puppy off her hands. I'm walking away with my friend and say, "I think I'm going to name her after a poet." My friend says, "Poet is a great name."

So my dog is named Poet because I didn't have the heart to correct a friend that I no longer even remember.

I mean...

Tell us five things to expect from your upcoming novel, Heroine!

1) Romance Novel Cover Models

2) The steamiest couple I've ever written

3) A bit of commentary on being marginalized because you're a woman who speaks for and makes products predominately for women.

4) Be ready to fall for Mr. Lincoln Mallory - I know I did.

5) Great multi-generational female characters and the complicated relationships that come with that.

[Hannah's Interjection: WOW! I was already dying to read Heroine - just based on this announcement - but now I'm even more excited for this book to be released!

LIGHTNING ROUND!

Dogs or Cats? DOGS. SO DOGS.

Sweet or Sour? SWEET.

Cucumbers or Pickles? PICKLES

Sushi or Steak? SUSHI!

Radio or iPod? IPOD!

Thank you SO much, Liza! I'm so glad I found Nowhere But Home - and I'm so excited to help introduce more people to your incredible characters!

Don't forget to enter to win a copy of this AMAZING book!
P.S. Betty loved it, Lauren loved it, and Asheley loved it. I mean, come on y'all.

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