BLURB:
Those Who Survived Part One
Lainey is one of the few that survived
the virus that ravaged the human population. In order to remain safe, she stays
away from people, preferring to live on her own. Not trusting anyone. Until one
night she’s attacked and rescued by a stranger who insists that there’s still
good in the world.
Nolan has a fantastical story of a new
civilization in Canada, and urges her to go with him. Lainey doesn’t know if
she believes him or not, but the unknown is enough to scare her away. Yet day
after day he slowly breaks down her walls, opening her up to the possibility
that she might be strong enough to take a chance not only on him, but herself
as well.
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1.What was your inspiration behind this book?
I love writing about dystopian worlds because you can basically
create your own version of the future. And since I happen to like writing about
women who don’t know their own strength, this genre lets my imagination soar.
2. Do you ever find yourself
slipping away and becoming so immersed in your
story it affects how you relate to others?
Yes. I’m an introvert to
begin with, but when my brain is filled with how to write the next scene I can
go for days and forget to call my mom or put off grocery shopping until the
next day, and then the next day after that.
Before I know it, a week has gone by without shaving my legs. Gross.
3. Are you in any of your
books?
There’s a little bit of me in every book, I
think. Maybe it’s just a random thought
or a gesture, but something of me is in all my characters.
4. Are you a plotter or a pantser?
Total pantser, although in my mind I do have an idea of where the
story is headed. My characters always
surprise me when they make a one eighty from where I thought the story was
going. But as a writer you should always
listen to your characters, because they’re basically your muse talking to you.
5. What is
your favorite line, or scene, that you wrote in Come With Me?
I had a
difficult time coming up with a title for this story. I wanted something clever
but one line kept jumping from the page: Come with me. Nolan says it several
times to Lainey. I eventually reached a point where I realized that one phrase
meant everything.
6. If you could choose, which published
author would you like to brainstorm with and why?
Lisa Kleypas
because I love how she paces her novels and I’d love to pick her brain on how
she plots them out. Or Julia Quinn because she’s hilarious and I have a feeling
she likes wine like I do.
7. When you were little, did you ever think you'd be a
published author? What was your "dream" job as a child?
My dream job as a
child was being Indiana Jones. When that
didn’t pan out, I became responsible by going into the medical field. Being an author
was always in the world of fantasy. I grew up in the early Eighties in the
backwoods of Missouri, so no, I never thought in a million years I’d be a
published author. Thank holy heck for
modern technology! Ebook publishing
opened up doors to me, and to many talented authors, to make our dreams
possible.
8. What was the worst job you ever had while working towards
being a published author?
I worked one day as an assistant to a
urologist. I thought seeing penises all day long would be cool but come to find
out, there’s a big different between thirty year old penises and seventy year
old ones.
9. And last, do you have anything you would like to say to
your current readers or to those that haven't yet read your work(s)?
First, I’m a really
funny person but my humor is dry, bordering on sarcastic. I put a lot of that
in my stories, usually in the form of a sidekick or secondary character.
Second, I write stories because I want people to read them. I write for the love of writing. And I love feedback. Yes, I’m trying to make a living but nothing
makes me happier than to get an email from someone saying they liked something
I wrote (or if you didn’t like it, please nicely
tell me why it sucked). So drop me a
line anytime to say hi…you can find me on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram:
Name
5 pet peeves that simply drive you insane.
My 5 writing pet peeves…
1. My job. When I go to my day job I have to put my writer brain on hold
and sometimes that is so irritating, especially when I get an epiphany about
the plot.
2. Insomnia. You’d think staying up at night would be a great time to
write, but insomnia turns your brain to mush and renders it unable to string
coherent words together.
3. Social Media. Need I say more?
4. My muse. I’m hard at work
trying to write out a complicated and scene and she’s like “Wait! I’ve got this awesome idea for another
story!” Most of the time she wakes me up at three am. Bitch.
5. Character changes. Most of
the time I can envision the beginning and ending to a story, but every once in
a while the ending slips away, due to the direction of where the characters
take me. When that happens I struggle a
lot to maintain the plot. I’ve shelved
some great stories because of this.
“You’ve amassed quite a bit of provisions.”
“I scavenged the homes of people who left. I never went into the
ones where the dead were.”
“Because the houses had become tombs?”
She sat down on the couch. “For a while, when the wind would blow a
certain way, I would catch a whiff of the dead. It made me want to throw-up. I
think the remaining people made an exodus out of here because of the smell.”
He sat down next to her. “Why didn’t you go with them?”
“Didn’t really have anywhere to go,” she replied with a shrug. “I’ve
thought about leaving for a long time but always wondered where would I go? What
would I face out there? Without a solid plan, it just seemed too risky.”
“And you don’t take risks,” he concluded.
“No, I don’t.”
“I was a risk.” He tapped his chest. “Bringing a stranger into your
sanctuary was a huge risk.”
“You had a dozen times you could’ve hurt me,” she said, taking a
deep breath. “Something tells me I can trust you and my instincts are rarely
wrong. You can help me put the fence up so I’ll be protected, and then you can
continue on your journey.”
“There’s another option you know.”
She cocked her head. “What’s that?”
“You can come with me.”
This was the second time he’d mentioned that, and like the last
time, she shook her head. “I’m not cut out for that type of unknown. Besides, I
don’t know you.”
“You know me more than you think you do. Come on, name three things
you know about me.”
“I don’t-”
“I bet you could quote
just about every English lit novel ever written,” he said, interrupting her.
“You don’t trust that easily, but when you do, your devotion is complete.” He
folded his arms across his chest. “And your least favorite color is red because
it reminds you of blood.”
She blinked, completely taken aback. “How could you possibly know
all that?”
He shrugged. “Observation. Come on, say three things about me now.”
“You…used to be in the navy. And you’re from Arizona.”
He nodded. “And?”
“I, uh, don’t know your least favorite color. Or your favorite.”
“I like green and hate purple,” he said. “But you got two out of
three. That’s a start.”
She admired his confidence but didn’t hold out much hope he’d be
around long enough for her to learn anything else about him. All the while,
ignoring a little voice that had been gaining volume in her head, pushing her
to do that very thing. To run. Escape. Yet fear held her back.
“You’re wrong,
you know,” he murmured. “The person who would bike ride all the way
from Malibu to Sherman Oaks is completely
up for an unknown adventure.”
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Bio:
I began
reading my mom’s Harlequin Presents in the fifth grade, and from the first
story I knew I wanted to write romance novels. I like writing about the very
ordinary girl thrust into extraordinary circumstances, so my heroines will
probably never be lawyers, doctors or corporate highrollers. I try to write characters who aren't cookie
cutters and push myself to write complicated situations that I have no idea how
to resolve, forcing me to think outside the box. I love writing characters who are real, complex
and full of flaws, heroes and heroines who find redemption through love. You
can find me on the web at:
