The time it was all bookish mail -- 4

It's time for another episode of Look What I Got in the Mail!

Do we all know my undying love and devotion for Tamara Ireland Stone? Yes, I drove up to San Francisco for the Time Between Us launch party. Annnnd since then, I've been simultaneously pushing Time Between Us on every single person I know and fangirling all over Tamara as much as I could without getting a restraining order.

Flash forward a bit.  Tamara had a giveaway for an Italian copy with a super hot cover.  That super hot cover had a shirtless version of my boyfriend, Bennett.  So, it goes without saying that I entered the contest.  Alas, I didn't win. 

A week or so after the giveaway was over, Tamara DM'd me and asked for my mailing address, that she had a present for me.  I had no idea what it was. When I got this, my head almost exploded...

Perhaps you've seen Elizabeth Richards talking about her love of owls.  I sent her a package of owl post-it notes.  Then I found some owl bookmarks.  Before I sent the bookmarks, I asked Elizabeth if I could include my copy of Phoenix to have signed.  And she's so amazing, she agreed! Check out my owl!!

It's unfortunate that I haven't met Elizabeth yet, but Penguin better will send her to SoCal eventually.

After reading Spies & Prejudice, I emailed Talia Vance and asked for an interview. After flailing about like a lunatic, of course. Not only did Talia take the time to answer my fangirling questions, she donated a giveaway copy for the giveaway. AND a personalized copy for me! 

I will have to meet her eventually because I need to get it in writing that Tanner is mine.  Never fear, I have a saved tweet.  Don't be thinking that he's up for grabs, he is most definitely not.

You might remember that I tried seeing Gennifer Albin at Festival of Books this year, but it didn't happen due to a scheduling mishap.  I was absolutely bummed out that we had already left the parking structure when Gennifer tweeted me back and said she'd be happy to meet up somewhere. 

Thankfully, Gennifer was joining part of the Pitch Dark Days tour and Jenn was going to one of the stops.  She offered to take my books with her, so I sent them off.

 

When I saw that Neil Gaiman was touring, I tried to get tickets to see him.  Unfortunately, I heard about it too late and tickets were already sold out.  Thankfully, the awesome staff at Changing Hands bookstore had a mail order option.  I am beyond thrilled to add Neil to my collection.

Who is a spoiled brat?!? It's meeeeeeee!!

What books have you gotten lately?

The time it was a homage

Perhaps you didn't know that I am a huge fan of Pride & Prejudice. It is my all time favorite, go-to, slump breaking book.  And of course, I am a firm believer that Mr. Darcy is one of the original swoony boys.  I mean...

Colin Firth's Mr. Darcy FTMFW

Imagine my delight when I saw there was going to be another P+P retelling, I was thrilled.  Mostly because I think I've read every other one that's out there. [Seriously.  It's like a sickness.] But, Spies & Prejudice wasn't just a retelling. It is entirely unique and I was beyond excited for it.  Especially when I was able to read it early. [Thank you, NetGalley.]

Of course, I absolutely fell in love with it. And Tanner. Annnnnd, of course I stalked asked Talia if she had the time to do an interview... But, before we get to her answers, let's check out Spies, yes?


Fields’ Rule #1: Don’t fall for the enemy.

Berry Fields is not looking for a boyfriend. She’s busy trailing cheaters and liars in her job as a private investigator, collecting evidence of the affairs she’s sure all men commit. And thanks to a pepper spray incident during an eighth grade game of spin the bottle, the guys at her school are not exactly lining up to date her, either.

So when arrogant—and gorgeous—Tanner Halston rolls into town and calls her “nothing amazing,” it’s no loss for Berry. She’ll forget him in no time. She’s more concerned with the questions surfacing about her mother’s death.

But why does Tanner seem to pop up everywhere in her investigation, always getting in her way? Is he trying to stop her from discovering the truth, or protecting her from an unknown threat? And why can’t Berry remember to hate him when he looks into her eyes?

With a playful nod to Jane Austen, Spies and Prejudice will captivate readers as love and espionage collide.

Sounds amazing, yes?

1. Where did the idea for Spies & Prejudice come from?

I was driving home from work one day, thinking about the summer I spent working my own father’s private investigation firm.  Not much happened that summer, but I started to play the “what if?” game and imagining things that could have happened if, you know, my marks were actually doing anything interesting.  By the time I got home from work, I had the idea for a book about a teenage private investigator who stumbles onto a clue to her mother’s disappearance and decides to investigate it on her own.  Once I had Berry’s character in place, I knew it would take a strong guy to break through the walls around her heart and her natural suspicion- someone like a modern day Mr. Darcy.  With the Darcy connection, it seemed natural to weave elements of Pride and Prejudice into the story.

2.  I love Berry, it's a lot of fun being inside of her head. How did she develop as a character? 
 
Berry was a blast to write!  I figured a teenage girl who spent her free time spying on cheating boyfriends and husbands would be independent, tough and a little jaded.  From there, Berry started talking in my head almost immediately.  She’s the first character that ever developed so quickly.  At times, I felt like a reporter, just writing down Berry’s words.  A friend of mine read the early version of the manuscript, and said, “no offense, Talia, but you’re not this funny.”  My response to her (mostly true) statement?  “I know, but Berry is.”   
 
3.  Let's talk Tanner. [thank you for letting me have him, swoon] He's a very Darcy-esque character, but not an exact replica.  Would you ever consider writing something from his POV?
 
Tanner was a little harder to figure out.  In early versions of the story, he had more of an edge to him, but he needed to soften a bit before Berry could really start to connect with him.  Tanner kept a lot of secrets hidden, and it took me a while to find (and exploit) his weaknesses.  I probably will write some scenes from his point of view for my website, but I haven’t yet…

4. To me, the nods to P+P were obvious because it's my favorite book. However, I think they were subtle [except the direct mention of Pemberley] if the reader wasn't as familiar with it. Was that intentional?

 
Definitely.  I like to think of Spies and Prejudice as more of a homage than a retelling.  Pride and Prejudice is one of my favorite books, but it was important that Berry and Tanner have their own story.  I tried to incorporate some of my favorite characters and scenes from Pride and Prejudice without detracting from the modern story I wanted to tell.  The first draft actually had quite a few more characters and plot lines from Pride and Prejudice, but it weighed down the mystery and took away from Berry and Tanner’s romance.  I hope that fans of Pride and Prejudice will be able to pick up on the overlapping scenes, plot points and characters inspired by the original story, overt, subtle or slightly twisted.

5. Describe Spies & Prejudice in 5 words, without using the words pride or prejudice. 

 
Careful what you look for.

Speed [ish] round:

 
1.  What's your go to guilty pleasure thing to eat? 

Burritos.  Too many carbs, but I can’t resist.

2.  What are you reading right now?

The Boyfriend App by Katie Sise.  It’s romantic and fun!
 
3.  Who are your favorite swoony boys?

Perry from Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi; Thomas Wyatt from Tarnish by Katherine Longshore; Archer Cross from the Hex Hall series by Rachel Hawkins; and Kaleb Ballerd from the Hourglass series by Myra McEntire.  Wow.  I wrote those down in like ten seconds.  Obsess much?

4. Are there any authors that you fangirl over?

See all the authors mentioned above.  Also, I think I would freak out if met Stephen King.  That man gave me nightmares in high school and college, but in the best possible way.

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Huge thanks to Talia for taking the time [and giving me Tanner!!].

Find her on her website or on Twitter. And go add all of her books on GoodReads!

Now. To celebrate the book birthday of Spies & Prejudice, I've got a signed hardcover copy up for grabs that Talia so graciously donated.

Rules for the giveaway are listed under the "terms and conditions" on the Rafflecopter widget.

**Good Luck!!**

a Rafflecopter giveaway