In Between The Pages: Interview

Hey ya'll!!!

I am so excited to get be a stop on this awesome tour.

And to get to share with you a Q&A with S.C. Stephens

Also there is a great giveaway going on at the bottom of this post so be sure to keep scrolling so you can get entered ;)

Oh and one more thing. If you want a peek at my review for Furious Rush there is a link to it below as well.

I LOVED Furious Rush, and I hope ya'll will get the book and check it out soon. It's a terrific read. And HOTT HOTT HOTT!!!!!!

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The first in an emotion-fueled, New Adult series from the #1 bestselling author of the Thoughtless novels!

Too fast, too furious—and way too hot to handle…

Mackenzie Cox has a lot to prove. Daughter of a racing legend, she is eager to show the world that she has inherited her father's talent in the male-dominated sport of professional motorcycle racing. The last thing Kenzie needs is to be antagonized by her rival team's newest rider, Hayden Hayes. Plucked from the world of illegal street racing, Hayden immediately gets under Kenzie's skin. His insinuations that Kenzie is a spoiled princess who was handed her career fuels her desire to win, and much to her surprise, Kenzie soon learns she performs better when she's racing against Hayden.

As Kenzie and Hayden push each other on the track, the electric energy between them off the track shifts into an intense—and strictly forbidden—attraction. The only rule between their two ultra-competitive teams is zero contact. Kenzie always does her best to play by the rules, but when her team slips into a financial crisis, she has no choice but to turn to Hayden for help. The tension simmers during their secret, late-night rendezvous, but Kenzie has too much to lose to give in to her desires. Especially when she begins to doubt that Hayden has completely left his street life behind...

BUY THE BOOK HERE

So why choose to write about motorcycle racers specifically?

I wanted a heart-of-gold bad boy who did something sexy for a living. Kellan already owned the rock star market, so I started looking around for other avenues for Hayden. My brother had just purchased a shiny, red street bike, and when I saw it, I couldn’t help but notice that the bike was super-sexy. I knew right then and there that bikes were going to be Hayden’s “thing.”

Would you ever write a sports romance about football, baseball, etc.?

I think professional football could be interesting. The dramas between the wives, the egos of the players, and of course, the forbidden romance with the cheerleader… Sounds like fun!

Was it challenging to write about something completely new after spending so much time with the characters in the Thoughtless series?

Yes and no. It was very freeing to be able to write new characters with no set-in-stone back stories, no previous timelines fixing them to a certain path. What I did find challenging however, was the endless possibilities. So many options can be overwhelming, and it took some time to narrow the scope into something more manageable.

What is one book you are dying to read but haven’t gotten the time to do so yet?

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. It’s literally sitting on my nightstand right now, but I haven’t had a chance to read it yet. I’ve only heard good things about this entire series, and I can’t wait to start it.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

S. C. Stephens is a #1 bestselling author who spends her every free moment creating stories that are packed with emotion and heavy on romance. In addition to writing, she enjoys spending lazy afternoons in the sun reading, listening to music, watching movies, and spending time with her friends and family. She and her two children reside in the Pacific Northwest.

Website**Facebook**Twitter**Goodreads

Be sure to pop on over and check out my review to Furious Rush too!!!!

I'm a total dork when I write those things so I'm sure you'll get a good laugh with my random thoughts haha

In Between The Pages: Furious Rush Review

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Hey ya'll, I'm so excited to get to share this super fun Friday post with you.

As I'm sure many of you know, I am a huge Wendy Higgins fan.

She is the author of the Amazing Sweet Evil series. The most recent and last installment in the series, Sweet Temptation just came out a few weeks ago and I have to say it is by far my favorite of the series.

I was given an ARC from the awesome people over at Harper Teen to review back in July and had nothing but good things to say about it.
I loved seeing the books from Kai's POV. There was so much more to the story from his view, and I loved all the extra parts Wendy added that we didn't get to see before. (FYI the ending is my absolute favorite part)

So to get the week started right on this rainy grey morning (at least that is how it is here in Georgia today) I have a fabulous interview that the amazing Wendy Higgins so graciously did with me.

Seriously ya'll she is the best. I got to meet her last year after Sweet Reckoning came out, and she is super sweet and fun to talk to.

Enjoy :D

About Wendy:

Wendy Higgins is the USA Today and NYT bestselling author of the Sweet Evil series from HarperTeen, the high fantasy duology The Great Hunt, and her independently published Irish fantasy, See Me. She is a former high school English teacher who now writes full time, and lives on the Eastern Shore of Virginia with her veterinarian husband, daughter, son, and doggie Rue.

Wendy earned a bachelor's in Creative Writing from George Mason University and a master's in Curriculum and Instruction from Radford University. She is represented by Jill Corcoran of the Jill Corcoran Literary Agency.

So my first question is pretty simple

What was your favorite part of writing Sweet Temptation, or really the whole Sweet Series in general? I know I absolutely love the books and could never just pick one of my favorite scenes and I’m just a reader. I’m so mean making you decide that, but I must know Hehe

~ I honestly loved writing Sweet Temptation, all of it, even though it was such a challenge. But having Kaidan live in my head for those two months was a true comfort. I was going through a rough transition—we’d just moved to a tiny town away from everyone we knew, and Kai kept me company. It was the most fun I’ve ever had writing a book. Kai makes me laugh and cry and feel everything.

My next question for you is just for some fun. I like to keep it interesting lol

Do you have an author you completely fan girl over? If so who? I can admit to it for not only you but Jen Armentrout, Cora Carmack, and Jay Crownover. Ya’ll are seriously some of my favorite authors and I’m sure if you really dug into my blog and FB pages I have many moments that would embarrass me if they happened in person instead of online.

~ I completely understand and I’m flattered you feel that way about me! I’d have to say I fangirl like crazy over Gena Showalter. She is a queen of the romance genre. She’s HUGE. But she has befriended me, offered advice, blurbed Sweet Temptation for me, and been super supportive. I’m still blown away every time she responds to me and I geek out when she calls me friend!

What was the hardest part of writing a book from another characters perspective? I write in my free time, just finishing an actual full over 50,000 word book (well I guess it isn’t a book yet lol) and I know it can be hard just getting something like that done from one POV. I can’t even imagine going back and trying to write it from a different one.

~ I pretty much had to read all 3 books again, consult them constantly, decide which scenes to show, which to summarize, and which to leave out altogether, which was HARD. But once I got all of that decided, imagining the scenes from his point of view were simple because I’d pretty much imagined his feelings throughout the original books when I wrote them. I always knew how he was feeling, even when Anna didn’t. ;)

Next question

Who has been your favorite character to write so far? (From any of your books) Who was the hardest to write as well?

~ Kaidan was both my favorite and the hardest. He’s very complex. He shows you one thing while he’s feeling the exact opposite.

Is there anything from the Sweet Series that you would go back and change if you could? Personally I love the whole thing and think it perfect as is. Just saying lol

~ Yes, actually, I wish the cast of characters was even more diverse. I really, really wish I’d made Ginger and Marna (the twins) from Latin America or Spain.

Here’s another fun one for you

Who is your favorite book boyfriend? As much as I love all the new guys in the recent books I read, my favorite is still Patch from Becca Fitzpatrick’s Hush Hush series. He was the first book guy and well first book in general I fell for, and that got me really into reading YA back when I was a little sophomore in high school.

~ I will always love Edward and I have no shame saying that. Also, I’m a Daemon Black girl for life.

I know you have a pretty extensive explanation on how you got published with Harper Collins on your website, but I have a question regarding the process

Once you got that email saying they wanted Sweet Evil what was it like moving forward from there? I always read about the process of getting to a publisher but never see much about what it’s like once you have one. I’m sure it has to be a whirlwind experience but so much fun.

~ When they offered on my first book it wasn’t actually Sweet Evil yet. It was a standalone book called Angel Prophecy (awful, cheesy title, I know). It was basically the Sweet trilogy but only focused on Anna and Kaidan. None of the other Neph were really in it. That’s the version of the story that I was “discovered” with. By the time the publisher made an offer I’d come up with a plan to turn my single story into a 3 part trilogy, and I had the first book of it written, which I called Sin Legacy. The editor read it, liked it, changed the title to Sweet Evil, and we signed contracts for it. Then they set the publication date for 18 months after that and we got started on editing/revising. I worked closely with my editor and fleshed out all the parts she requested, but ultimately I had the final say about details.

What scene in particular were you most excited about writing from Kai’s perspective in Sweet Temptation? I have to say my favorite I read was that whole ending chapter. I think I might have even gotten a bit misty eyed (I’m not a crier much either)

~ The first kiss scene was REALLY fun to write from his perspective. Also the (SPOILER) wedding night scene. And of course the final scene from Sweet Reckoning. That seriously makes me cry every single stinkin’ time. (I’m a huge crier though.)

What is the one thing you want people to take away from your books? I think the thing I see the most when reading these, especially from Kai’s POV is the notion of redemption, that no matter his past, he deserved it just as much as anyone else would.

~ Yes, redemption is a huge one, and second chances in general. I think my two favorite themes, though, are hope and choice. There is always a choice and only we as individuals can make those choices, no matter our past or our lineage or what the world tells us.

Ok, I’m at my last question for you, and don’t feel like you have to share anything from this if you don’t want to.

I know you have a new book coming out after Sweet Temptation *Cough cough The Great Hunt* and I was wondering if you would or could minded sharing something from it or about it. Anything you wanted really, I’m not picky hehe but as I said don’t feel like you have to. I’m just greedy and like getting inside info lol

~ I’m super nervous about The Great Hunt! It’s a high fantasy, made-up world and all. It’s just SO different for me. It’s told in 3^rd person point of view from several character vantage points. At the belly of the story is a dark mystery and tension on several levels, and yes there’s plenty of romance. I hope my readers will roll with it and be able to get lost in it like I did while writing it.

Bonus Round:

Jaws? Or Jurassic Park?

~ Definitely Jurassic Park!!!

Thanks again for doing this interview with me J

~ Thank you for having me! *hugs*

I hope that ya'll enjoyed this fun interview, and if you haven't had a chance to pick up any of Wendy's books I highly recommend you go grab the first in the series Sweet Evil. You will completely fall for Kaidan and Anna's story :D

(This was from last year when I got to meet Wendy that I was telling you about at the beginning. And please ignore the squinty eyes. When I'm super happy I tend to not open my eyes in photos. You should see all my high school graduation pics, it's ridiculous lol)