Interview With Sweet Temptation Author Wendy Higgins :D

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)

Release Blitz: Sweet Temptation By: Wendy Higgins

AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! It's finally here!!!!! Sweet Temptation is finally here!!!!!

And BTW this book is amazing, it is by far my favorite in the series, and I think it's not only because we get a little of every book inside this one but that Seeing them from Kai's POV adds such a different view of how things happen. Plus seeing inside that boys head was a ton of fun. I loved seeing how different he was really feeling inside vs. what he would show Anna. And we get a bunch of new stuff in this book, so that was pretty cool as well.

And For anyone in the McDonough GA area, there will be signed copies of the books at the Books-A-Million. I'll be getting the bookplates and bookmarks put in them once the store is open. But I'm not the only one doing this either. Lot's of sweeties around the country are, so be sure to pop over to Wendy's Website or FB page for updates throughout the day on which stores have signed copies in them :D

***

I am so excited that SWEET TEMPTATION by Wendy Higgins releases today and that I get to share the news, along with an awesome giveaway!

If you haven’t yet heard about this wonderful series by Wendy Higgins, be sure to check out all the details below.

This blitz also includes a giveaway for a a paperback of the book with a signed bookplate and bookmarks! US only. So if you’d like a chance to win, enter in the Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post.

About The Book:

Title: SWEET TEMPTATION

Author: Wendy Higgins

Pub. Date: September 8, 2015

Publisher: HarperTeen

Pages: 485

Format: Paperback, eBook, audiobook

Find it: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Goodreads

Bad boy Kaidan Rowe has never wanted for anything—money, popularity, musical talent…hot girls—but seducing them is part of his duty as a Nephilim, slave to the demon Dukes. As the son of the Duke of Lust, Kaidan has learned his father’s ways, becoming a master of passion, a manipulator of chemistry. Disobeying his father would mean certain death. Thankfully for Kaidan, he’s good at his job. And he enjoys it.

Until he meets Anna Whitt—sweet, smart, feisty, and inexplicably good—the one girl seemingly immune to his charms. The daughter of a guardian angel and a fallen one, she has a certain power over him, one that makes him wish for more than he could ever deserve.

Determined to save all the Neph from their dark lives as the influencers of sin, Anna joins forces with Kaidan to overcome the demons’ oppressive ways. In the light of her affections, Kaidan must undergo his toughest test of all, a battle of the heart.

Sensual and swoon worthy, this companion volume to the acclaimed Sweet Evil series from New York Times bestselling author Wendy Higgins, told from the perspective of the irresistibly sexy and mysterious Kaidan Rowe, gives readers revealing insights into his struggle, his intense connection to Anna, and most of all, the true emotions that drive him.

Author Note:

Sweet Temptation will encompass the entire trilogy in a condensed version, beginning with Kai's life before he met Anna, and taking readers through the epilogue of Sweet Reckoning. Sweet Temptation is a companion novel, not meant to be a stand alone story. It will definitely be a richer experience for those who have read the original trilogy.

Go HERE to read an excerpt fro SWEET TEMPTATION!

Also check out Wendy's PINTEREST board for KAI!

About Wendy Higgins:

Wendy Higgins is the USA Today and NYT bestselling author of the Sweet Evil series from HarperTeen 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. Writing Young Adult (YA) stories gives her the opportunity to delve into the ambiguities of those pivotal, daunting, and exciting years before adulthood.

Connect with the author:

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | GOODREADS | PINTEREST | TUMBLR | INSTAGRAM

Giveaway Details:

1 Paperback of SWEET TEMPTATION and a signed bookplate and bookmarks. US Only.

Ends on September 18th at Midnight EST!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sweet Temptation (Sweet Evil #4) By: Wendy Higgins

I am so so honored to be able to do a review for this amazing book. This is one of my absolute favorite series, and by one of my favorite authors. I want to send a huge thank you to Stephanie at Harper Collins for being so wonderful to me. She not only got this lovely book to me, but has been working with me a ton on all the little questions and problems I have had. You rock woman :D

Embrace the Unexpected

Bad boy Kaidan Rowe has never wanted for anything—money, popularity, musical talent . . . hot girls—but seducing them is part of his duty as a Nephilim, slave to the demon Dukes. As the son of the Duke of Lust, Kaidan has learned his father's ways, becoming a master of passion, a manipulator of chemistry. Disobeying his father would mean certain death. Thankfully for Kaidan, he's good at his job. And he enjoys it.

Until he meets Anna Whitt—smart, feisty, and inexplicably good—the one girl seemingly immune to his charms. The daughter of a guardian angel and a fallen one, she makes him wish for more than he could ever deserve.

Determined to save all the Neph from their dark lives, Anna joins forces with Kaidan to overcome the Dukes' oppressive ways. In the light of her affections, Kaidan must undergo his toughest test of all, a battle of the heart.

Sensual and swoonworthy, this companion volume to the Sweet Evil series, told from the perspective of the mysterious Kaidan Rowe, gives readers revealing insights into the true emotions that drive him.

So I'm sure you can tell from that intro that I really really love this series. And Sweet Temptation was no exception to my love. In fact I think this may be my favorite one of all of them.

Getting this series from Kai's perspective was interesting to say the least. If you follow this series you know what is going to happen, and yet, Wendy managed to give us some new scenes of not only Kai when he was away from Anna but also a more in depth look at things that happened when they were together.

This book was so much fun to read because it is so much the opposite from the ones Anna narrates. Where she is sweet and innocent, Kai is wild and well no other way to put it but sex on a stick hehe. And that made for a very interesting look at the world Wendy created. We also lost that sense of newness that Anna experiences by being dropped into the Neph world so suddenly. Kai has been raised in it and knows the rules from day one. He knows what's at stake if he does not work or if he defies his father. And I really think that makes the battle Kai faces within himself more understood.

From the start of Sweet Evil we knew Kaidan Rowe was the arrogant lustful rock star. But one of the things that I found so interesting and probably my new favorite side of Kai was how insecure and worried for Anna he was. I mean we know he cares about her after a few important things that happened in books one and two, and well book three too. But after reading this book we see why he put up so many road blocks and tried not to show his feelings towards her. And to tell you the truth, I think I fell for him even more because of those reasons. It makes him such a complex character.

Lets talk Anna for a moment. I love her. She is by far one of my favorite book heroins. But I think that is because if I could relate to any book character it would be her. Well her and Katy from JLA's Lux series hehe. But really I feel like I was just as naive and innocent as Anna was going through high school. I mean I had a ton of  band and drama friends so I was use to all the lewd terrible bad jokes don't get me wrong. But I was so naive when it came to other things. And I was ok with that. I liked the way I was, and when it came time to change that I was ready to fight however I needed to. Now I wasn't fighting demons out to destroy me or anything (That would have been a way better story. Obviously since it is a story lol) but I fought my own sort of battles dealing with a crazy divorced family, a pile of duel enrollment classes, going off to college, losing/gaining friends, meeting new people, not getting in trouble, living on my own... The list goes on and on. And why those seem like fairly normal things I can tell you a few of them were pretty hard to deal with. But characters like Anna remind me to always have strength, and to stand up for your beliefs and what you think is right. Sounds like a cliche add for one of those be your self campaigns, but I think it's something that people always tend to forget. We all want to fit in, and if Anna can stand her ground against icky demons out to kill her, than I sure as heck can stand my ground on the things that make me myself.

I also want to get in something about supporting characters here. Because everyone's favorite Neph's including Kope, Marna, Ginger, and Blake are back. And while they all had their own relationships with Anna we see them a bit differently in this book. And that's because we see them as the life long friends of someone instead of new acquaintances and love interests.
Oh oh! side note for a minute. Yeah Kope and Kai... That was so much better in this book. But I love a good guy tiff so that could be why haha.
Ok back on track now, seeing all the Neph from Kai's POV gave them a bit more depth as well. He knows a lot more about them all and understands why they act the way they do more than Anna could understand sometimes. Plus I love his relationship with the twins and Blake. Blake especially was fun because he is a lot more open with Kai, and well they are what you could call Kai's bestie. If big strong Neph men have such a thing lol

And what would a  book about a guy in a rock band be if we didn't talk a little about said band? 
While we know Anna and Kaidan met at a Lascivious concert we never got to see much about the other band members before. Now we get a pretty decent look at them. And they are pretty much what you would expect. Lot's of partying, groupies yada yada. While they weren't really my main focus in this story they were still super fun to finally get to see more of.

The last thing character wise I want to talk about was Kaidan's relationship with both Patti and Belial. Patti in general to everyone was the self appointed mother figure. Something none of the Nephs had. I love how supportive but yet stern she could be. That and she always showed so much love towards them all. She didn't care what sin they were burdened with from the daddy demons. She just saw that they needed the love and care she could provide and gave it to them. That in particular touched Kai I think. Especially after living under the thumb of the slightly disturbed, and very nasty lust demon Pharzuph. 
Now Belial's relationship with Kai is very different than Patti's. Belial never really approved of Kai, but I mean can you really blame him? I'm pretty sure if I know the son of the demon of lust was interested in my daughter I would be pretty pissed too. But what I found so interesting is that over time Belial really does begin to trust Kai. Not just because Anna loves him, but because he sees the good in Kai. And sees how he would truly do whatever he had to do to keep Anna safe. Including staying away from her, or standing up for her even if it meant his own life was on the line.

So I have waited till close to the end here to really get into this because I know I am going to get kinda ranty. Not even the bad kind either. More the oh-em-gee kinda rant lol
We need to seriously talk demons. I mean this story would go no where without some grade-A spooks and that is just what Wendy gave us. After the other three books we got a pretty good idea just how despicable and terrible the whole lot of them are. But I have to say, Really getting a look into Lusty Daddy Rowe was quite an interesting experience. I mean talk about creep. That guy had some seriously bad things going on. And through him we saw some of his twisted relationships with the other dukes and man they are seriously a messed up bunch. I think my skin crawled a few times even. Then we get more of that Marissa lady, and oh God what I wouldn't have given to reach into this book and yak that woman's hair out. I swear I'm not a violent person either hehe.
But the badies in the book are something that I always thought Wendy did a great job of writing. She gives them just enough eww factor to give the heebie-jeebies, but just enough personality so you really get a sense of the nastiness and can truly feel the hate for them. Coming from my writing experience. The bad guys are the hardest to write. It's easy creating a character people will love, but the ones people hate... that can be difficult. And Wendy pulls it off amazingly.

So if you really need me to spell it out... I loved this book. It is simply amazing, and I think really gives a good closing to this series. Well that is unless there is plans on a few novellas about the Neph couples other than Kaidan and Anna. If those are in the works, than bring it on lol. But if they aren't I stand by my previous statement. We know the whole story now. What happened to each of our favorites when they weren't together. I always wondered what devious things went through Kaidan Rowe's head at a given minute, and while a good amount of what did didn't surprise me in the least. There were many things that did. And I have to say I loved that. He is so multi-dimensional, and it makes me fall just a bit more in love with him than before. Not that there was much more room to do that :D

Ya'll are probably going to say that I've already talked about this, but I want to give this topic it's own little spotlight and not just a few mentions. And that is because this is my favorite part of this book and Kaidan. I loved that Kai was so dang insecure about himself. That he really truly believed he was never good enough for Anna. I'm sure I'm getting strange looks for saying that too, but let me explain. All throughout the Sweet Evil series we saw Kai as this cocky guy. But knew it mostly an act, because he really did care for Anna and was just protecting her. But now we get a front row seat to those feelings. We see just how much he felt he wasn't worthy of the goodness that was Anna, and to me that shows more of how you are worthy of someone like that. Because he was so worried about how his relationship with Anna will effect her pureness and goodliness he really shows his love in a way not many people are willing to do. You will see this a lot in part three of this book. He actually made me get a little emotional there a few times, because I knew he deserved to be able to love someone and have them love him in return. I think it's good to see everyone's favorite bad boy rock star have a sweet and a bit unsure side. It allows you to see he is more than what he appears and is a truly deep character. I love that Wendy was able to do this giving us this book. It's just a great thing seeing how the characters develop and change throughout a story.

Oh and one more thing to add real quick. A full book of nothing but that sexy British accent? Yeah that was perfect. For the past week I have literally been trying to walk around using slang from the book. I didn't even realize I was doing it until I went to curse and used something from the book instead. (I live with small children and try not to curse in general. I'm always using words to replace the bad ones like Firetruck, that sort of thing. And now I find myself replacing them with this slang) Oh and let me tell you. I have a terrible British accent when I try so it just doesn't sound the same :(
But it does get me some laughs. Apparently I am pretty funny now with my "new lingo"

But can I just say if any hot Brits want to volunteer, I will seriously take you up on the offer to just read to me. That is the hottest thing ever. And Kai if you by chance are real, that invite goes out to you too bhahaha

I give Sweet Temptation: *****5 Stars*****