Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Please welcome my new blog guest, ROBYN NEELEY!

'Sup, folks? My blog post is super late today, and I'm publicly apologizing to my amazing guest! In related news, my laptop is nearing the end of its life. Let's see if it cooperates long enough to complete this post! 

My guest today is the very sweet Robyn Neeley, author of DESTINATION WEDDING. This comically sweet story made its debut only eight days ago, and it's an absolute gem! I'll be reviewing it soon, but I'll give you a clue: I pulled it from my TBR list at 11:30 on a random weekend, and looked up two hours later in an absolute daze with a finished e-book in front of me. It's a rarity, with my schedule, for something like that to happen - but you win, Robyn! ;) 

She and I played a little 'Q&A' of course, and the results made me giggle furiously and smile delightedly! Here's what Robyn had to say on the top of her brand new release and what's next for her: 


1. Tell me about your debut novel's setting - what inspired you to place the characters in Hawaii?

I wanted a tropical "destination wedding" setting and love Hawaii! I thought it would be the perfect place for Kate to plan the A-List wedding of her life in three weeks! Okay... I also wrote the first draft while watching Season 1 and 2 of LOST. That might have had a little to do with the location, too.:) At one point all my characters were named Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Shannon and Sayid. Only Jack and Kate made the final cut!

2. If DESTINATION WEDDING were to be turned into a movie tomorrow, who would you cast to play your lead characters (Luke/Drew, Lauren, Miles & Kate)?

Kate - Rachel McAdams (A tiny bit of me thinks Lea Michelle from Glee would be a great Kate.)

Luke/Drew - Armie Hammer (Fellow Crimson Author Lola Karns suggested him and she nailed it! Let's all take a moment to google him. Wow, right?!)

Lauren - Maggie Grace (Would be an amazing Lauren!)

Miles - Rex Lee (I pictured Rex often during Miles' funnier moments with Kate. That actor cracks me up!)

3. When did you decide that you wanted to be a writer?

I started writing two years ago for something fun to do on my commute into DC each day. One I started entering contests and getting feedback on my first book (a holiday romance), I knew I had bitten by the writers bug.

4. How much of your own life tends to show up in your writing?

Too much! In DESTINATION WEDDING I knew I wanted to open the scene on a plane because I'm terrified to fly. My rituals. I always sit in the back; I never ever order a beverage (ever - the one day I do, I'm convinced I'm doomed); I say a little prayer before boarding and always, always, always thank the pilot and/or flight attendants.

This opening scene was my opportunity to face my fears through my heroine and now I use her coping mechanism.  (It didn't really work:) Just yesterday on a flight from New Orleans to DC, I caught myself looking up at the Fasten Seatbelt sign and chanting what Kate does in the book. The guy next to me probably thought I was a lunatic.

For the record, I did not sit next to anyone who remotely looked like the guy (my hero!) who Kate gets to sit next to. 

5. What's next for you? Are you interested in writing more for the Romance genre, or were you planning on delving into something different?

Oooh I've got three things coming up in 2013 and 2014. My holiday romantic comedy, CHRISTMAS DINNER, comes out in November. I'm currently working on a super cute story that involves some magical batter (yep, casting a spell in this one) and a town full of bachelors! I'm also working on a continuity series with four other Crimson Romance authors called THE EMERALD SPRINGS LEGACY. The first book in the series comes out in February 2014 with mine releasing in June.

Kids, you can find Robyn everywhere; simply click the links right here to stop in and say hello - you can even tell her I sent you! Robyn is available on Twitter, Facebook, Amazon Author Central, Goodreads and on her own website, RobynNeeley.com.

Also, be sure to check out DESTINATION WEDDING, a book that I'm personally guaranteeing you'll be talking to by the time you hit Chapter Two! It's available all over, courtesy of Crimson Romance: iTunes, Google Books, Amazon, Kobo and more. Here's the lowdown:

Wedding planner Kate Ashby’s fear of flying is eased by a sexy stranger and one slow lip lock that rockets her into another orbit.CEO Luke Cannon has just traded seats with his identical twin. Little did he know that an innocent kiss while pretending he was his brother would soon create havoc.

What happens in the air doesn’t stay up there. Once on tropical land, Kate believes that the handsome stranger who gave her the best kiss of her life is now her new client, Drew Cannon, fiancĂ© to the beautiful and wealthy Lauren Kincaid. 

While Kate struggles with the intense feelings she thinks she has for Drew, Luke discovers Kate’s been hired to plan his brother’s destination wedding. He also realizes the initial sparks they shared 30,000 feet up are now mistakenly aimed at Drew.Can Luke get Kate to realize that the feelings she has are for him? He’s got forty-eight hours in paradise to try.

See more at: http://www.crimsonromance.com/new-release-romance-ebook/destination-wedding/#sthash.EoJ2nH1i.dpuf

Thanks for visiting, Robyn! I'm excited about your new work - be sure to stop through here during your next blog tour/celebration! And thanks to you, reader buds, for sticking around and showing love! I'll be posting again soon, somewhere between finishing another chapter and preparing for Punk Island (this Saturday, btw! Aack!). Until next time, keep it fun!

xo,
S. 

PS: Google the term "Hottie McCoffeehouse". It made me squee; Rachel, suffice it to say, is thrilled. ;)

4 comments:

  1. Hawaii! *sigh* Destination Wedding sounds great. I did google Armie Hammer - I had no idea it was one guy playing twins in that movie. Very good choice for your fictional twins too Robyn! :-) Good luck with the book, and with all your other projects! :-)

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  2. Agreed! She did a great job casting her book's movie - Rex Lee had me in stitches when I re-read some of Miles' lines with him in mind. Great stuff, Robyn! :)

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  3. I am now an Armie Hammer fan! I think he's playing Tonto in the Lone Ranger with Johnny Depp. (I could be making that up:) Thanks for having me Samantha!! (Luke and Kate thank you, too!)

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  4. You're not that far off, Robyn - Armie is actually the Lone Ranger! Johnny Depp, funnily enough, is Tonto. (hahah) Thanks for hanging out with me, feel free to come back anytime! :)

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