Romance Reviews Today Blog
Can you tell us a little about your favorite scene in the story?
One of the most powerful scenes in the story is when Marie who secretly blames her late father-in-law Clayton for costing her a second child and has been holding all the pint up emotions inside of her for so long, unleashes her wrath. She takes a framed picture of him and destroys it, smashing the glass and stomping on the photo, readers feel her pain. After the destruction a great relief encompasses her, it's like she gets a good feeling destroying something of her father-in-law, in a way she's paying him back for all the misery he caused her.
When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
It wasn't until my teen years when I became interested in writing. I took creative writing classes in high school and then in college, one of the reasons I loved writing is because it was relaxing. I'm the type of person who easily gets stressed and writing helped me relieve my tension. By the time I graduated high school I realized I wanted to be a writer. At first I was gonna go into the journalism field and be a reporter, then I decided I wanted to write books for a living. After I graduated from Old Dominion University in 2008 I began writing my first book Going Home Again which was released by Romance Divine in February 2010.
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The Embraced: Scribal Love
What is this book about? And what genre is this book in?
It’s mostly a romance book with a soap opera appeal and the first in the series. The book revolves around three families; The Greens, The Braxtons, and The Reynolds. They experience love, heartache, and drama in their everyday lives. Towards the end of the book an accident happens which affects all the families.
Who is/are the main characters? And why did you choose them?
There are many characters in the book, but a few of them are more frontrunners than others. Charlotte is the matriarch of the Green family who vowed never to date again after the death of her husband, but changes her mind when Detective Jim Bryant comes to her rescue.
Scott Green and his sister Alicia front the rock band The Dark Souls. It’s always been Scott’s dream to became a big time musician and just as it looks like his ambitions are about to come true, tragedy strikes.
Andrew Braxton is a ruthless and powerful publishing tycoon who controls his family with an iron fist. Wife Elizabeth is fed up with his behavior and contemplates divorce. Son Wayne is looking to break away from the family business, yet Andrew’s plan to keep his son could end up spelling consequences for others.
Laura Reynolds and her daughter move home after a messy divorce. Once Laura’s happy in her new life, her ex unexpectedly shows up threatening to expose her secret.
Read more:
Coffee Time Romance
Have you always had the writing bug, and when did you really start making it a full-time commitment?
I became interested in writing when I was about sixteen, it was a very difficult time for me, my parents were going through a divorce and I used writing to create my own little fantasy world and escape from all my problems. I took creative writing in classes in high school and college, I enjoyed it so much that I decided this is something I'd want to do for the rest of my life and in December 2008 I wrote Going Home Again and the rest as they say is history.
Has romance always been your first inclination in writing, and do you plan to keep with this genre, or branch out into something completely different?
The only books I read growing were about ghosts, monsters, and the paranormal; wasn't much of a romance reader, but I did watch a lot of soap operas which helped me get a sense of romance and drama. When I decided to make writing my career I thought about going into romance because it's one of the most popular book genres, so I read Harlequin novels to get inspiration. After the first book I was hooked and settled on romance as the genre to write. As for how long I plan to keep with the genre that's a hard question to answer, for the moment my focus is on romance, but down the road who knows, I may decide to write horror, science fiction, or a children's book, just have to wait and see.
There is so much excitement wrapped up in publishing your first novel. How did this step make you feel, and do you think that feeling will ever change?
As any writer will tell you, getting published is hard; you write query letters, send them to numerous companies, and patiently wait. For me that's the toughest part, I was constantly checking my email a dozen times a day waiting for a response. I got a few rejection letters and it's a blow to your self-esteem, there were times when I thought my book wasn't good enough and maybe I should just call it quits. Then I got the acceptance letter and contract from Romance Divine, there was no greater feeling in the world, I spent the last few months pouring my heart and soul into this book and now to have it published was a dream come true.
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The Embraced: Scribal Love
So where do you hail? Where are you from?
I'm a Virginia girl, I come from a small town called Ringgold, with nothing much to do.
What inspired you to write this book?
The idea just popped into my head one day. I wanted to write a story about a woman who returns home to be with her family and reunite with her high-school sweetheart, so I began formulating the story in my head and pretty soon I was on the computer typing away.
Do you have a specific writing style?
I like to be creative and imaginitive with my work, write new plots and twists that readers will enjoy. But at the same time my work's also simple because I don't get too descriptive. I've read stories where writers are too overly descriptive with the settings or characters and to me as a reader it can slow down the story.
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