Interview with Kelly Rimmer, Author of Before I Let You Go + Giveaway (US only)

I'd like to welcome Kelly Rimmer to the blog today to celebrate the exciting release of Before I Let You Go from Graydon House, a Harlequin imprint!

Welcome to Books à la Mode, Robyn! Let's get this interview started.

Will you please share a brief introduction with us?

Kelly Rimmer is the USA Today bestselling women’s fiction author of five novels. Her latest novel, Before I Let You Go, will be released in April 2018.

Kelly lives in rural Australia with her family and fantastically naughty dogs, Sully and Basil. Her novels have been translated into more than 20 languages.

It's amazing to get to feature you today! Readers, here's a bit about the book, which will hit shelves next week:

The 2:00 a.m. call is the first time Lexie Vidler has heard her sister’s voice in years. Annie is a drug addict, a thief, a liar—and in trouble, again. Lexie has always bailed Annie out, given her money, a place to sleep, sent her to every kind of rehab. But this time, she’s not just strung out—she’s pregnant and in premature labor. If she goes to the hospital, she’ll lose custody of her baby—maybe even go to prison. But the alternative is unthinkable.

As the weeks unfold, Lexie finds herself caring for her fragile newborn niece while her carefully ordered life is collapsing around her. She’s in danger of losing her job, and her fiancé only has so much patience for Annie’s drama. In court-ordered rehab, Annie attempts to halt her downward spiral by confronting long-buried secrets from the sisters’ childhoods, ghosts that Lexie doesn’t want to face. But will the journey heal Annie, or lead her down a darker path?

Both candid and compassionate, Before I Let You Go explores a hotly divisive topic and asks how far the ties of family love can be stretched before they finally break.

Buy the book from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository | Books-a-Million | iTunes | Kobo | Google Play | Publisher

The opioid crisis in the United States was recently declared a national public health emergency, and yet you started work on this book nearly two years ago. What inspired you to write about an addicted mother and the struggles she faces within the relentlessly harsh legal system? What kind of research did you conduct to write so accurately about the current politics of addiction and recovery for this often unmentioned population of women?

Addiction is an issue close to my heart, so I have been watching the crisis evolve for some time. The situation has been at “crisis levels for almost a decade, and I’m relieved that it’s at least beginning to get some national attention—although there’s a very long way to go yet before it’s effectively addressed.

I spent almost a year interviewing, reading, and researching to gain an understanding of the science around addiction and the legal issues involved in the book. I also, of course, spent time researching the complex issues for those who leave fundamentalist religious sects like the one the sisters are trapped within as children.

The novel really showcases how blurry the line between right and wrong is when dealing with addiction, and yet so often, women who are pregnant and addicted are dealt with harshly and in ways that negatively impact them, their babies, their families, and their communities for generations. The legal impact feels especially drastic in the book’s scenes when Annie delivers the baby and almost immediately loses all legal rights as a parent. Is this situation a common reality for women like Annie?

Laws around drug use in pregnancy are set at the state level, and each state handles the matter differently—but there are countless real-life cases like Annie’s across the nation, where women have lost their children or served prison time. It’s actually impossible to know how many women have had their parental rights removed like this because cases like Annie’s are often handled in the juvenile courts—which means case records aren’t publicly available.

At its core, Before I Let You Go is a powerful story of two sisters—Lexie and Annie—and the bond between them and the bond they both have with Annie’s baby, Daisy. How did you write about this relationship in such a real, moving way?

There are few relationships in life as profound as those between siblings—it’s a uniquely enduring relationship. Who else sees into the corners of our lives, right from early childhood? I wanted to try to capture the way those sibling relationships can stretch and bend under great tension…but it’s just so hard to break them, despite the fact that these are also the people we might fight with sometimes! In the case of Lexie’s special relationship with Daisy, I actually thought of her easy willingness to care for Daisy as an extension of her endless love for her sister, in a roundabout way. Of course, Lexie cares deeply for her niece, but her bond with Annie is so deep and so wide that she’d do anything for her and her child—even going so far as to step into her role as “mom” when the circumstances demand it.

You write in your author’s note about a favorite uncle who suffered from addiction and how that has influenced you. Even though this book is a work of fiction and not autobiographical, was your uncle an inspiration for this book?

It was the loss of my uncle that sparked my interest in issues around addiction in the first place. He was one of the voices of my childhood, always cheering me on and encouraging me to believe I could do anything. When it comes to my writing career, sometimes I can’t quite believe the things I’ve managed to achieve, but I’m also fairly confident that if my uncle were still alive he’d be quite smug about it—I can easily imagine telling me, “Well, I knew you could do it!”

But there’s also no sugar-coating it: my uncle’s behavior could also be immensely destructive, and this deeply affected both his own life and the lives of those who loved him, and the damage lives on long after his death for some of our family members. This is the nature of addiction—it is ugly and brutal, and there are no simple solutions because real lives are changed forever. Once beautiful, vibrant people get caught in its grip. That’s why I dedicated the book to my uncle, and although the story in no way reflects his story, that’s how he inspired it.

You’ve written several bestselling, acclaimed novels. Was the process and experience of writing Before I Let You Go different than your experience with past books?

The nature of the stories I write is that my writing process becomes deeply personal—but that was certainly true in a more intense way with this book. I think I lived and breathed Annie and Lexie’s story for six months and then “woke up” and realized my real life was actually still happening outside of my office!

What’s next for you?

I’ve finished the first draft of my 2019 novel—I’m so excited for the next one! I can’t say too much just yet, as it’s still in the very early stages of development, but I think readers who enjoy Before I Let You Go will love it, too.

Very exciting! Where can you be found on the web?

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

It was a pleasure to be able to get to know you better today, Kelly! Thank you again for dropping by, and best of luck with future endeavors!

Giveaway!

Books à la Mode is giving away one print copy of Before I Let You Go—woohoo! To enter, all you have to do is tell me:

Are you addicted to anything, or do you know anyone who is?

Please make your comment MEANINGFUL. Comments solely consisting of stock responses or irrelevant fluff like "Thanks for the giveaway!" will not be considered for entry. Kelly and I really want to hear your thoughts! :)

Me, no (other than internet or shopping addiction LOL). Sadly I think sugar addiction and alcohol/nicotine addiction are very rampant in my social circle. They may not seem as fatal as hard drugs, but can have health risks associated with them that society doesn't take as seriously.

Don't forget the entry eligibility terms and conditions!

Sponsored wholly by the tour publicist—a huge thank you to the lovely folks over at Little Bird Publicity!
Giveaway ends April 11th at 11.59 PM (your time).

Open to continental US residents only—sorry, everyone else! Please check my sidebar for a list of currently running giveaways that are open worldwide. There are plenty to choose from!
Void where prohibited.

Winners have 48 hours to claim their prize once they are chosen, or else their winnings will be forfeited.
Although I do randomly select winners, I am in no way responsible for prizes, nor for shipping and handling.
As a reminder, you do not have to follow my blog to enter, though it is always very much appreciated ❤

Good luck!

Top 5 Shamelessly Fun Ways I Researched for The Italian Party by Christina Lynch + Giveaway (US/Can)

The Italian Party
Christina Lynch
from St. Martin's Press (MacMillan)

Newly married, Scottie and Michael are seduced by Tuscany's famous beauty. But the secrets they are keeping from each other force them beneath the splendid surface to a more complex view of ltaly, America and each other.

When Scottie’s Italian teacher—a teenager with secrets of his own—disappears, her search for him leads her to discover other, darker truths about herself, her husband and her country. Michael’s dedication to saving the world from communism crumbles as he begins to see that he is a pawn in a much different game. Driven apart by lies, Michael and Scottie must find their way through a maze of history, memory, hate and love to a new kind of complicated truth.

Half glamorous fun, half an examination of America's role in the world, and filled with sun-dappled pasta lunches, Prosecco, charming spies and horse racing, The Italian Party is a smart pleasure.

Buy the book from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository | Books-a-Million | iTunes | Kobo | Google Play | Publisher

Interview with Tessa Arlen, Author of Death of an Unsung Hero + Giveaway (US/Can)

I'd like to welcome Tessa Arlen to the blog today to celebrate the exciting release of Death of an Unsung Hero, the newest installment of the Lady Montfort Mysteries from Minotaur Books, a MacMillan imprint!

Welcome to Books à la Mode, Tessa! Let's get this interview started.

Will you please share a brief introduction with us?

Tessa Arlen, the daughter of a British diplomat, was brought-up and educated in the beautiful Chiltern Hills of England, when she was not visiting her parents oversees in Asia, India and Europe. Her books are set in the pastoral beauty of her native England among its flint-stone villages, softly rolling hills, and airy beech woods.

Greatest influences on Tessa's writing are hands down Kenneth Grahame and Richard Adams for their wonderful descriptions of the beauties of the English countryside, and E.F. Benson and Nancy Mitford whose characters are so quintessentially eccentric and wickedly funny.

Her pleasures in life are simple: cooking and enjoying good food with family and friends, long walks with short-legged dogs and planning her next garden project. She lives in Santa Fe.

It's amazing to get to feature you today! Readers, here's a bit about the book, which just hit shelves this week:

In 1916, the world is at war and the energetic Lady Montfort has persuaded her husband to offer his family’s dower house to the War Office as an auxiliary hospital for officers recovering from shell-shock with their redoubtable housekeeper Mrs. Jackson contributing to the war effort as the hospital’s quartermaster.

Despite the hospital’s success, the farming community of Haversham, led by the Montfort’s neighbor Sir Winchell Meacham, does not approve of a country-house hospital for men they consider to be cowards. When Captain Sir Evelyn Bray, one of the patients, is found lying face down in the vegetable garden with his head bashed in, both Lady Montfort and Mrs. Jackson have every reason to fear that the War Office will close their hospital. Once again the two women unite their diverse talents to discover who would have reason to murder a war hero suffering from amnesia.

Brimming with intrigue, Tessa Arlen's Death of an Unsung Hero brings more secrets and more charming descriptions of the English countryside to the wonderful Lady Montfort series.

Buy the book from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository | Books-a-Million | iTunes | Kobo | Google Play | Publisher

What inspired you to begin writing mysteries? Was the Lady Montfort Mysteries a series you always wanted to write?

Ever since I read Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes when I was fourteen I wanted to write mysteries. I particularly enjoyed the Golden Age mystery writers: Dorothy L. Sayers Agatha Christie, Josephine Tey, Ngaio Marsh and Margery Allingham often referred to as the Queens of Crime who wrote detective fiction between the wars. And it wasn’t until I started to write mystery that I discovered that they considered their whodunits as a game for both author and reader: the elements of the mystery must be clearly presented but in such a way as to arouse curiosity, to entice the reader to try and guess the outcome and if they were as clever as the author, to guess it before the denouement.

I also wanted to write about the great country houses of England with their enormous and gorgeous gardens in the 1910s, where life for the privileged few was idyllic thanks to their servants, their money and the rigidity of the class system. The "have-nots" of course had a much grimmer time of it. My two amateur sleuths in the Lady Montfort series are from opposite ends of the class system and struggle with issues in context with their time and place in history. Clementine Elizabeth Talbot the Countess of Montfort is from of one of the oldest families in England and her housekeeper, Edith Jackson, was raised in a parish orphanage. Together these two remarkable women step lightly across the great class divide of Edwardian Britain to unite their considerable talents in clandestine inquiries that take them into all walks of life in the new 20th century when even the status quo was on the cusp of great change.

You have wonderful leading ladies in Lady Montfort and her no-nonsense housekeeper, Mrs. Jackson. Are there any supporting characters that came easily to you in the writing process?

I am particularly fond of my villains: I think Teddy Mallory in Death of a Dishonorable Gentleman is a perfect example of an Edwardian rotten apple and I had great fun writing him. I write a short biography for my murderers: their physical appearance, idiosyncrasies, their likes and dislikes. I really enjoy enhancing the more positive aspects of their characters to camouflage their evil side, and then revealing little glimpses of their particular flaws.

But writing Clementine’s children came really easily to me, because I have three of my own –now grown-up, who gave me tons of fodder. In Death of an Unsung Hero, my favorite supporting character is Lady Montfort’s daughter Althea, who has skillfully avoided marriage to a "man of substance and background with a bank account to match" and has managed to engineer all sorts of opportunities for world travel. In the first three books she is a distant figure always off on another jaunt, but now that Britain is at war she is marooned on the family estate and is trying her best to run the local chapter of the Women’s Land Army or the Land Girls as they were called. The WLA was an organization tasked with providing farmers with labor—terribly important to an island cut off by the German U-boat blockade from importing food from America and Canada. Althea has to deal with farmers who don’t like the idea of city girls, or girls at all, working on their land. At the same time she is causing her mother all sorts of headaches as she is particularly independent in spirit and often irritated by the petty convention that young women of that time had to put up with. Althea was great fun to write she is bright, generous and sunny tempered but determined always to have a say in her world, to be effective and to contribute in a meaningful way. Althea could in fact be any one of my three daughters! There are some great scenes between her and her mother on the business of chaperones, and some lively moments with her and her brother when they decide to help their mother and Mrs. Jackson with some sleuthing. I found myself sympathizing with poor Clementine as she tried to deal with her independent daughter and her son, Harry, temporarily invalided out of the war, both of whom would rather be anywhere than on their father’s country estate.

Blog babes, click "Read more" to find out the research that went into writing Death of an Unsung Hero, and what time period Tessa looks forward to writing about next. We're also hosting a giveaway for a finished copy of the book, so you don't want to miss that either!

From Aspiring to Published Novelist: Top 5 Lessons I Learned by Clarissa Goenawan, Author of Rainbirds + Giveaway (US only)

Rainbirds
Clarissa Goenawan
from Soho Press

Set in an imagined town outside Tokyo, Clarissa Goenawan’s dark, spellbinding literary debut follows a young man’s path to self-discovery in the wake of his sister’s murder.

Ren Ishida has nearly completed his graduate degree at Keio University when he receives news of his sister’s violent death. Keiko was stabbed one rainy night on her way home, and there are no leads. Ren heads to Akakawa to conclude his sister’s affairs, failing to understand why she chose to abandon the family and Tokyo for this desolate place years ago.

But then Ren is offered Keiko’s newly vacant teaching position at a prestigious local cram school and her bizarre former arrangement of free lodging at a wealthy politician’s mansion in exchange for reading to the man’s ailing wife. He accepts both, abandoning Tokyo and his crumbling relationship there in order to better understand his sister’s life and what took place the night of her death.

As Ren comes to know the eccentric local figures, from the enigmatic politician who’s boarding him to his fellow teachers and a rebellious, captivating young female student, he delves into his shared childhood with Keiko and what followed. Haunted in his dreams by a young girl who is desperately trying to tell him something, Ren realizes that Keiko Ishida kept many secrets, even from him.

Buy the book from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository | Books-a-Million | iTunes | Kobo | Google Play | Publisher

Top 10 Behind-the-Scenes Peeks at Quietus by Vivian Schilling + Giveaway (US only)

Quietus
Vivian Schilling
from Hannover House

On a stormy winter night a small plane bound for Boston goes down in the treacherous White Mountains of New Hampshire. Noted interior designer Kylie O’Rourke and her husband, Jack, are among the survivors. But it is just the beginning of the nightmare for Kylie. Through a haze of morphine, she awakens in the hospital to confused and harrowing memories of the crash. Though trapped within the wreckage, she recalls wandering the icy mountainside and speaking to one of the other passengers, only to find that he had died on impact. As the bizarre aftermath becomes sharper in her mind, it appears more ominous, along with the unshakeable feeling that she and the other survivors had somehow cheated death.

Reassured by her doctor that her disturbing memories had been induced by her sedation, Kylie returns to her life in Boston, but the aftermath of the tragedy proves unbearable. As her husband slips away from her into his own world of survivor‘s guilt and deceit, Kylie is seized by a growing paranoia that someone is stalking her every move. In her nightmares, the predator is a specter crossing over from the mountaintop to reclaim her. An old man eyes her in the subway, while a dark figure stalks her through Beacon Hill. Then a sudden and freakish tragedy sends Kylie's world toppling. While those around her fear she is losing her mind, she finds herself caught up in a chain of events she cannot escape.

In this deeply thought-provoking and chilling novel, Schilling questions the very nature of survival and death. She paints bold and unforgettable characters, while resurrecting disturbing and powerful apocrypha that has been all but buried under contemporary religious doctrine. With spellbinding intrigue, Quietus takes the reader to the brink of reason, to the edge where spiritual and physical meet, building with frenetic momentum to its shocking and haunting climax.

Buy the book from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository | Books-a-Million | Publisher

Interview with Tom Malmquist, Author of In Every Moment We Are Still Alive + Giveaway (US only)

I'd like to welcome Tom Malmquist to the blog today to celebrate the exciting release of In Every Moment We Are Still Alive from Melville House!

Welcome to Books à la Mode, Tom! Let's get this interview started.

Will you please share a brief introduction with us?

Tom Malmquist is a poet and sportswriter. He has written two highly acclaimed poetry collections. In Every Moment We Are Still Alive is his first novel. He lives in Sweden.

It's amazing to get to feature you today! Readers, here's a bit about the book, which hit shelves earlier this month:

When Tom’s heavily pregnant girlfriend Karin is rushed to the hospital, doctors are able to save the baby. But they are helpless to save Karin from what turns out to be acute Leukemia. And in a cruel, fleeting moment Tom gains a daughter but loses his soul mate.

In Every Moment We Are Still Alive is the story of the year that changes everything, as Tom must reconcile the fury and pain of loss with the overwhelming responsibility of raising his daughter, Livia, alone.

By turns tragic and redemptive, meditative and breathless, achingly poignant and darkly funny, this autobiographical novel has been described as "hypnotic," "impossible to resist" and "one of the most powerful books about grief ever written."

Buy the book from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository | Books-a-Million | iTunes | Kobo | Google Play | Publisher

What was the inspiration for the plot of your book?

The book is completely inspired by my life, or at least my perspective of my life. Everything in the book is true in how I experienced it. But if you asked my mother, her perspective would be different. That’s why I call this fiction.

I wanted to create a piece of art. I wanted to write a book that was good in its own right. The details in it are aesthetic choices I made while writing. Psychologically speaking, the details were important to me at the hospital and when I came home from the hospital; they became like linchpins, the things that kept me together, incorporated them into the book. But all the details were also representations of life and its diversity—they became the opposite of death, death as in complete emptiness.

Was there a section of your book that was particularly difficult to write?  

Every time I broke down when faced with a scene, I knew it was right. In that way the book was easy to write. But to constantly break down was physically taxing. I sweated, even had muscle cramps in my stomach. But while I was writing I was keeping Karin and my father alive. The hardest part was probably to hand over the manuscript to my publisher. It was like losing Karin and my father all over. The parts at the end of the book, where I write to Karin, were tough. It isn’t til then that my feelings and what I am thinking are expressed. It was my private goodbye to Karin.

The book is raw and direct, not describing emotions at all. What do you hope a reader will discover within the narrative that otherwise might have been masked by being obvious about the your internal struggle?

Each part of the book represents one of the five senses. For example, in the first part that takes place at the hospital, I’m carrying comfort blankets between Karin and Livia. At that time they were a thousand or so meters away from each other at the same hospital. Livia in an incubator; Karin hooked up to the life-support machines. The blanket with Livia’s scent was put next to Karin, and vice versa. It was my way of sustaining the contact between mother and daughter. So that they’d be able to breathe each other’s scent.

The important part here, literary-wise, aesthetics-wise, is that the five senses represent the body. In my sorrow Karin’s body was what no longer existed. It was cremated. I could never hug her again or experience her with my five senses at all. I hope a reader can understand the how much of my pain came from being deprived of the sensory experience of her.

How has your life changed since your book was published?

I don’t know. But I have changed. I lost my partner of ten years, became a father for the first time, lost my father, and wrote a book about it. And now I’m talking about it in various stages. Of course it has changed me.

I think the book helped me to see what had happened. It made it easier. I could accept my new life as a widower and father to Livia.

Tell us about your current work in progress.

It’s a book about a murder in my hometown of Huddinge. It’s going to be a true crime novel, but with a poet’s touch. I don’t want to say anything more than that now; I might promise something I can’t keep.

Where can you be found on the web?

Goodreads | Follow the tour!

It was a pleasure to be able to get to know you better today, Tom! Thank you again for dropping by, and best of luck with future endeavors!

Giveaway!

Books à la Mode is giving away one print copy of In Every Moment We Are Still Alive—woohoo! To enter, all you have to do is tell  me in the comments below:

What is an event in your life that another person would see very differently from how you did?

Please make your comment MEANINGFUL. Comments solely consisting of stock responses or irrelevant fluff like "Thanks for the giveaway!" will not be considered for entry. Tom and I really want to hear your thoughts! :)

Don't forget the entry eligibility terms and conditions!

Sponsored wholly by the tour publicist and publisher—a huge thank you to the lovely folks over at TLC Book Tours and Melville House!
Giveaway ends March 11th at 11.59 PM (your time).

Open to US residents only. Sorry, everyone else! Please check my sidebar on the right for a list of currently running giveaways that are open worldwide—there are plenty to choose from!
Void where prohibited.

Winners have 48 hours to claim their prize once they are chosen, or else their winnings will be forfeited.
Although I do randomly select winners, I am in no way responsible for prizes, nor for shipping and handling.
As a reminder, you do not have to follow my blog to enter, though it is always very much appreciated ❤

Good luck!

4 Reasons We’re Still in Love with Fairy Tales by Kristy Cambron, Author of The Lost Castle + Giveaway (US only)

The Lost Castle (The Lost Castle #1)
Kristy Cambron
from Thomas Nelson // HarperCollins

Broken-down walls and crumbling stones seemed to possess a secret language all their own.

What stories would they tell, if she finally listened?

Ellie Carver arrives at her grandmother’s bedside expecting to find her silently slipping away. Instead, the beloved woman begins speaking. Of a secret past and castle ruins forgotten by time. Of a hidden chapel that served as a rendezvous for the French Resistance in World War II. Of lost love and deep regret...

Each piece that unlocks the story seems to unlock part of Ellie too—where she came from and who she is becoming. But her grandmother is quickly disappearing into the shadows of Alzheimer’s and Ellie must act fast if she wants to uncover the truth of her family’s history. Drawn by the mystery surrounding The Sleeping Beauty—a castle so named for Charles Perrault’s beloved fairy tale—Ellie embarks on a journey to France’s Loire Valley in hopes that she can unearth its secrets before time silences them forever.

Bridging the past to the present in three time periods—the French Revolution, World War II, and present day—The Lost Castle is a story of loves won and lost, of battles waged in the hearts of men, and of an enchanted castle that stood witness to it all, inspiring a legacy of faith through the generations.

Buy the book from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository | Books-a-Million | iTunes | Kobo | Google Play | Publisher

Interview with Marissa Stapley, Author of Things to Do When It's Raining + Giveaway (US/Can)

I'd like to welcome Marissa Stapley to the blog today to celebrate the exciting release of Things to Do When It's Raining from Graydon House, a Harlequin imprint!

Welcome to Books à la Mode, Marissa! Let's get this interview started.

Will you please share a brief introduction with us?

Marissa Stapley is the author of The Globe and Mail bestselling and critically acclaimed novel Mating for Life—"intriguing and heartbreaking" (Publisher's Weekly); "absorbing and entertaining" (Maclean's magazine)—and most recently, Things to Do When It's Raining, ​which author Lauren Fox calls "a gorgeously written page-turner", author Jennifer Robson calls "one of the best books I have read in a very long time" and author Karma Brown calls "a deeply moving story about family, love and loss".

Things to Do When It's Raining was released by Rowohlt in Germany and by Simon & Schuster in Canada and Graydon House (Harlequin) in the US on February 6, 2018.

Marissa also writes Shelf Love, a monthly commercial fiction review column for The Globe and Mail and reports on books and culture for the Toronto Star. She lives in Toronto with her family.

It's amazing to get to feature you today! Readers, here's a bit about the book, which hit shelves yesterday:

When secrets tear love apart, can the truth mend it?

Mae Summers has it all: a loving fiancé, Peter, a job at the flourishing company he owns and a beautiful New York City apartment. But Mae’s life shatters when she wakes up one morning to discover Peter gone—leaving only a cryptic note behind him—and the company in shambles, its investments founded on lies.

There’s only one place for Mae to go: home to Alexandria Bay, the small tourist town in upstate New York where she was raised by her grandparents in the inn they own. And not all is right in Alex Bay, either: Mae finds her grandmother struggling with dementia, separated from Mae’s grandfather thanks to a terrible secret she never meant to reveal.

She also finds Gabe, her childhood best friend who became the love of her young life—now a handsome if brooding adult, working through a private trauma that still haunts him.

A lifetime of secrets stands in the way of Mae and her family’s happiness. Home may be where the heart is, but sometimes it takes equal parts love, forgiveness and will to mend that heart.

Buy the book from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository | Books-a-Million | iTunes | Kobo | Google Play | Publisher

What has your journey been like to becoming a published author?

There’s a sign in my office with a Winston Churchill quote: Never,never, never give up. That’s the best summation for my publishing journey I can think of. I had many false starts and a many moments when I felt like packing in my dreams. But becoming an author is something I have wanted since childhood. I’ve never been anything but a writer—so I just kept on working at it, every single day. I’m often asked for advice on becoming published and I think people are surprised by my answers sometimes. It looks easy when you’ve reached your goal. But overnight success is rare. The most successful people I know are the ones who have worked the hardest and are still working hard.

How did you come up with the idea for Things to Do When It's Raining?  

My grandmother died while I was writing Mating for Life and I would say my single most regret in life is that I wasn’t able to be by her side in those final moments. We were extremely close, and I was still grieving when my first novel released and the time came for me to start working on my second book. I couldn’t stop thinking about my regret, and about some of the things that had come to light after she died. So I started to write, and this story about family secrets and regret began to take shape. I saw Chris Cleave speak a few years ago about his wonderful novel Everyone Brave is Forgiven. He said that his grandparents had inspired the story, but that as it began to take shape, the story became about something else entirely. They were just the seeds for the story. This is very much how fiction works. Inspiration is found in our lives or even the people we know or have known—but when we start writing, the characters become real. At least they should become real. For me, it took some time for it to happen. I didn’t want to let go of my grandmother. When I did, the story took shape. And I still felt her with me.

Would you mind sharing, in the spirit of Valentine's Day, a true love story from your own life?

A few years ago, while my family was away at the cottage in the summer, our house was broken into. My husband and I had decided—foolishly!—to leave our wedding rings at home because we didn’t want to lose them while swimming in the lake. The rings were gone, of course, and I was devastated. We had new rings made—I was able to use my grandmother’s diamond in my engagement ring, which gave it emotional significance—and then my husband put them away and asked me to wait. One morning, we got in the car and he wouldn’t tell me where we were going. We drove to my hometown, to a spot I had mentioned a few times as considering especially romantic: the bridge where the proposal scene between Anne and Gilbert was filmed in the original Anne of Green Gables television series. Even though we had been married almost a decade, my husband got down on one knee and proposed again. The bridge was very old and almost falling down so we didn’t linger! But it was very, very unexpected and sweet. And there’s more! After that, we headed back to Toronto, to one more bridge. If you haven’t read Mating for Life, I won’t give too much away, but there’s a bridge scene at the end—and that bridge has significance in our lives as well. I don’t often borrow from my own life, but I did for that scene, and my husband noticed. He had our wedding rings in his pocket, and we exchanged them on that bridge. We headed off to our favorite hotel spa for lunch and massages, and then home where our families were waiting for a special dinner. My stepfather is a minister and my husband had arranged for him to recreate part of the wedding ceremony he had performed years before. When the rings were stolen, I thought there would be no way we would have rings that could be as special. I was wrong.

Swoon! What are you favorite things to do when it’s raining?

There’s nothing I love more on a rainy day then covering myself in blankets and reading for hours. Even better if I can read something that’s purely for pleasure and not for review (I review books for The Globe and Mail) or novel research—although there’s always something delicious about reading a book under a blanket and telling myself it’s for work. Best job in the world!

Where can you be found on the web?

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads | Follow the tour!

It was a pleasure to be able to get to know you better today, Marissa! Thank you again for dropping by, and best of luck with future endeavors!

Giveaway!

Books à la Mode is giving away one print copy of Things to Do When It's Raining as part of the 2018 Valentine's Day tour for Harlequin—woohoo! To enter, all you have to do is tell  me in the comments below:

What's your favorite thing to do when raining?

Please make your comment MEANINGFUL. Comments solely consisting of stock responses or irrelevant fluff like "Thanks for the giveaway!" will not be considered for entry. Marissa and I really want to hear your thoughts! :)

I put on a fuzzy robe, plushy slippers, and stay burrowed under the covers for as long as I can. There's something so comforting about the cold and wet outside in contrast to the comfort and warmth of your own home.

Don't forget the entry eligibility terms and conditions!

Sponsored wholly by the tour publicist and publisher—a huge thank you to the lovely folks over at TLC Book Tours and Graydon House!
Giveaway ends February 26th at 11.59 PM (your time).

Open to US and Canada residents only. Sorry, everyone else! Please check my sidebar on the right for a list of currently running giveaways that are open worldwide—there are plenty to choose from!
Void where prohibited.

Winners have 48 hours to claim their prize once they are chosen, or else their winnings will be forfeited.
Although I do randomly select winners, I am in no way responsible for prizes, nor for shipping and handling.
As a reminder, you do not have to follow my blog to enter, though it is always very much appreciated ❤

Good luck!

Interview with Rebecca Drake, Author of Just Between Us + Giveaway (US/Can)

I'd like to welcome Rebecca Drake to the blog today to celebrate the exciting release of Just Between Us from St. Martin's Press, a MacMillan imprint!

Welcome to Books à la Mode, Rebecca! Let's get this interview started.

Will you please share a brief introduction with us?

Rebecca Drake is the author of the novels Don't Be Afraid, The Next Killing, The Dead Place, which was an IMBA bestseller, and Only Ever You, as well as the short story "Loaded," which was featured in Pittsburgh Noir. Just Between Us is her latest novel.

A former journalist and native New Yorker, Rebecca currently lives in Pittsburgh, PA, with her husband and two children.

It's amazing to get to feature you today! Readers, here's a bit about the book, which just hit shelves last month:

Four suburban mothers conspire to cover up a deadly crime in Just Between Us, a heart-stopping novel of suspense by Rebecca Drake.

Alison, Julie, Sarah, Heather. Four friends living the suburban ideal. Their jobs are steady, their kids are healthy. They’re as beautiful as their houses. But each of them has a dirty little secret, and hidden behind the veneer of their perfect lives is a crime and a mystery that will consume them all.

Everything starts to unravel when Alison spots a nasty bruise on Heather’s wrist. She shares her suspicions with Julie and Sarah, compelling all three to investigate what looks like an increasingly violent marriage. As mysterious injuries and erratic behavior mount, Heather can no longer deny the abuse, but she refuses to leave her husband. Desperate to save her, Alison and the others dread the phone call telling them that she’s been killed. But when that call finally comes, it’s not Heather who’s dead. In a moment they’ll come to regret, the women must decide what lengths they’ll go to in order to help a friend.

Just Between Us is a thrilling glimpse into the underbelly of suburbia, where not all neighbors can be trusted, and even the closest friends keep dangerous secrets. You never really know what goes on in another person’s mind, or in their marriage.

Buy the book from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository | Books-a-Million | iTunes | Kobo | Google Play | Publisher

As a huge fan of first lines, I’d love to hear the first line of Just Between Us. Could you give us a brief commentary on it?

I love first lines, too! Here’s the opening line of Just Between Us:

Funerals for murder victims are distinguished from other services by the curiosity seekers.

I’ve always been intrigued by the fact that as a society we’re drawn to immerse ourselves in public tragedies. People seem to feel a need to find a connection, however tenuous, with crimes or other calamitous events, and I’ve always found that somewhat macabre and fascinating.

Tell us about your road to publication, such as how you first queried, unexpected challenges, and things you picked up along the way.

My road to publication was long and varied, but I think that’s true for lots of writers. I knew from an early age that I wanted to be a novelist, but it took me many years to realize that dream. I started writing fiction seriously when my children were small and I had a couple of manuscripts in the drawer before having the good fortune to meet and be mentored by author Nancy Martin. She critiqued my then latest effort—it was a hard critique, but very valuable. It took me six months to rewrite that novel and I got my first agent after that.

Of course, like most writers, I had dreams of instant success, but that novel didn’t sell and it wasn’t until three proposals later that I landed a contract with an editor who liked my writing. I published three novels, and then I had a slow period, where I was living between the United States and Qatar, in the Persian Gulf, and there were numerous health crises with family members and friends. I kept writing, albeit more slowly, and ultimately I finished another book and found a new agent, who sold it to St. Martin’s Press. That book was Only Ever You, a standalone psychological thriller that came out in 2016. Just Between Us is my latest psychological thriller.

I’ve learned that it’s important to be persistent, to be brave, to advocate for yourself, and to learn as much as you can about the business, while staying focused on craft. Ultimately, the only thing writers can control is their craft.

Are the characters from your book based off anyone you know in real life? How much else of your actual life gets written into your fiction?

Yes and no. Writers pull from their lives all the time, but usually not the way that non-writers imagine. When I was writing my very first crime novel (which ended up in a drawer), I based a character on a really mean boss I’d had, killing him off in different ways through multiple revisions until I finally realized that I kept rewriting the scene because it was cathartic, not because it was important for the novel.

Since then, I’ve never based a character on a specific person. However, I’m often inspired by my real life and will incorporate the personality traits of people I know, or their ways of acting or speaking, in my work. For instance, Just Between Us explores friendship and loyalty, and I drew on my own friendships, particularly the way my female friends talk with and about each other, when creating the characters and their bond with one another.

Out of all the fantastic books out there, what makes Just Between Us stand out from the rest?

I don’t like to toot my own horn, but since you’re asking me to, I’ll repeat what early readers and reviewers have said, which is that Just Between Us is a fast-paced story with lots of plot twists and great characters that asks some really compelling questions: How far would you go to help a friend? And, how much can we ever know about another person’s marriage?

Blog babes, click "Read more" to find out Rebecca's best personal and professional advice. We're also hosting a giveaway for a finished copy of Just Between Us, so you don't want to miss that either!

Top 10 Behind-the-Scenes Peeks at The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor + Giveaway (US only)

The Chalk Man
C.J. Tudor
from Crown Publishing (Penguin Random House)

A riveting and relentlessly compelling psychological suspense debut that weaves a mystery about a childhood game gone dangerously awry, and will keep readers guessing right up to the shocking ending

In 1986, Eddie and his friends are just kids on the verge of adolescence. They spend their days biking around their sleepy English village and looking for any taste of excitement they can get. The chalk men are their secret code: little chalk stick figures they leave for one another as messages only they can understand. But then a mysterious chalk man leads them right to a dismembered body, and nothing is ever the same.

In 2016, Eddie is fully grown, and thinks he’s put his past behind him. But then he gets a letter in the mail, containing a single chalk stick figure. When it turns out that his friends got the same message, they think it could be a prank... until one of them turns up dead.

That’s when Eddie realizes that saving himself means finally figuring out what really happened all those years ago.

Expertly alternating between flashbacks and the present day, The Chalk Man is the very best kind of suspense novel, one where every character is wonderfully fleshed out and compelling, where every mystery has a satisfying payoff, and where the twists will shock even the savviest reader.

Buy the book from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository | Books-a-Million | iTunes | Kobo | Google Play | Publisher