Rogue's Angels Present: The Convenient Wedding by Susie Warren

Please welcome Susie Warren author of The Convenient Wedding

Susie will be awarding $50 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

Don't forget to use the rafflecopter code below to leave a comment for a chance to win.

The Convenient Wedding

by Susie Warren

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INTERVIEW:

1. What or who inspired you to start writing?

I absolutely love to read. At some point (when I was a kid), I thought - I can write something.  As I grew up, I realized there is a tremendous amount to learn about the craft of writing. But that didn’t discourage me. I remember thinking if this is what other writers have to go through, I can do it. I enjoy immersing myself in another world and having the freedom to decide how the story will unfold.

2. What elements are necessary components for this genre?

Beyond having a happily ever after ending, I think the most important element is the emotional journey of the characters.  Readers want to experience and relate to different emotions. I read something that helped me recently with this. It’s the concept that emotions can be thought of as energy moving throughout the story. Understanding the movement has helped me to keep the threads of the story connected.

3. How did you come up with your idea for your novel?

Often my story ideas begin with a visual image. It could be while traveling and looking at a different landscape or seeing an interesting photograph of a city. After considering who would live and work in that landscape, I think about the characters and the possible challenges they could face. With The Convenient Wedding, I purchased a coffee table book with images of loft style apartments in New York and Connecticut. I thought about who would be drawn to living in a loft apartment.  I imagined an architect would convert an old warehouse into loft apartments and when he wanted a new challenge then he would get into a last minute election for Congress. The challenge was coming up with the woman that would inspire him to let down his defenses and begin to trust.

4. What expertise did you bring to your writing?

I’ve worked for years in a small independent school as the financial person. It’s quite a challenge keeping the school on a solid financial footing. I handle all of the business tasks but at heart I’m a writer. In terms of my day job, I write reports, emails, promotional pieces but I’m not sure the skills I bring to my day job translate into writing fiction. I do attend writing conferences, am part of a critique group and read books on the craft of writing.

5. What would you want your readers to know about you that might not be in your bio?

I grew up in large Irish family with five dynamic brothers. So in many ways, men are not a mystery to me. When I had my children, I worried that I would have only boys but I ended up with two daughters and one son. I always tell my girls that they are extraordinarily lucky to have each other and my son always pipes in with, “You were lucky. I want five brothers.” I realize now, I was lucky!

6. As far as your writing goes, what are your future plans?

I’m finishing up a series this summer and plan to launch a completely new idea for a series in the fall. I haven’t let myself work on the outline yet as I need to finish my sixth book (the 3^rd novel in The Bolles Dynasty).

7. If you could be one of the characters from this book, who would it be and why?

I’m not sure that I would want to be. As a writer, I throw huge issues and problems at my characters. They have so much to learn and ragged edges that need growth.

8. Can you give us a sneak peek into this book?

I enjoyed writing The Convenient Wedding. The basic premise explores how the characters achieve their goals while being throw into a marriage of convenience. Being stuck together in the political spotlight requires them to begin to rely on each other. Here is a short excerpt:

Later that evening, they left the hotel by limousine. Climbing out of the car, Anderson held her upper arm firmly and said in a low voice, “Just follow my lead tonight. Remember we are very much in love. And I adore you.”

Lucia turned and looked into his eyes, “I’m not sure that we are doing the right thing. This could backfire on us.” She became conscious of people watching them. They were dressed in formal attire and standing close to one another on the sidewalk, bystanders were slowing down and looking at them.

“You look beautiful, bella.” he murmured. “And I worship the ground that you walk on.” He put his hand behind her head and claimed her mouth in a show of passion. Anger flashed through her body and she bit down on his lower lip. He let go of her and stepped back. She could see a flash of indignation in his sharp gaze.

“I’m not your puppet. And I’ll not be ordered around.” Lucia contradicted him.

She could see a few reporters hanging around the entrance to the hotel, less than fifty feet from them.

Anderson planted his feet wide and stood before her. “I didn’t suggest you were. But we are in this together and you have reasons of your own not to allow our association to dissolve into tabloid fodder. Don’t push me too far or I’ll walk away without a backward glance.”

Her eyes clashed with his until he broke the standoff and escorted her into the hotel.

9. Do you belong to a critique group? If so how does this help or hinder your writing?

I belong to a critique group for women fiction writers. The challenge is that it is not focused on romance writing but it is very helpful in terms of critiquing other elements of storytelling. The downside is that it is an investment of time but the upside is that I’ve gained enormous insight into my writing. For example, I often show and tell (instead of show not tell) and the group finally got me to the place of understanding that I should trust the reader and not feel like I have to ‘tell’ everything.

10. When did you first decide to submit your work? Please tell us what or who encouraged you to take this big step?

I had sent off a manuscript to a publisher and waited for months, only to receive a rejection.

I met another writer ten years ago at a writing conference, Christina Tetreault, and she encouraged and supported me in making the leap of faith to self-publish. At this point, she had figured out the process on her own and was quite successful. I would have continued sending it out and waiting. The process of self-publishing has been many things – scary, exhilarating, overwhelming, positive and affirming. I’m very grateful to her for knowing when to encourage and when to offer support.

11. What is the best and worst advice you ever received? (Regarding writing or publishing)

I haven’t received bad advice that I’m aware of anyway. In general, romance writers are savvy, encouraging and rather friendly.  I’ve been to many conferences and workshops where advice is shared openly. The best advice I‘ve received is to keep writing and putting out the best book possible and not to worry about small setbacks or criticisms along the way. I plan on having a very long writing career and understand that it is about each book and each reader.

12. Do you outline your books or just start writing?

I outline and sketch out the plot before sitting down to write. When I just wrote, I didn’t finish novels. I would always have a new idea and would make huge changes to the storyline and then it would necessitate more changes.  The cycle was endless.

13. How do you maintain your creativity?

I’m not sure. I always have new story ideas and not quite enough time to write them. While working on a project, I’ll put new ideas in a file until I finish the novel I’m working on. I also think going to conferences to listen to new ideas is helpful. Writers need to keep growing and challenging themselves.

14. Who is your favorite character in the book? Can you tell us why?

My favorite character is the heroine, Lucia Montgomery.  She has to struggle to figure out how to survive a political marriage as she becomes emotionally involved with the hero. During the novel, she is challenged to remain loyal to Anderson while having to deal with the daily realities of the campaign. In the end, she has to decide if her commitment to Anderson is worth risking her heart and soul or if she should walk away once the election is over. 

15. Are your plotting bunnies angels or demons?

I like plotting so I’ll say angels.

BLURB:

The Convenient Wedding

A reluctant socialite is pulled into a scandal and must choose between her families’ reputation and her future happiness.

Lucia Montgomery is from an old and powerful political family in Connecticut and desperately wants to shed her reputation as a superficial socialite. Against her family’s wishes, she seeks a position working for a fiercely contested political campaign and the dark horse in the race, Anderson Adams. She is thrown into the middle of a scandal of her own making when she is tricked into going to his hotel room. Anderson persuades her to play along with a pretend engagement then an actual wedding to save her reputation and his campaign. The media falls in love with the charismatic couple and they must figure out how to reconcile their public image with their private life.

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EXCERPT:

Lucia Montgomery knew failure was a likely outcome of the evening’s celebration. Looking around at the glittering social elite clamoring for her grandfather’s attention, she wanted to make her escape. But instead she held her ground. Taking a sip of chilled champagne, she waited for the evening to unfold. She smiled openly at anyone who approached her and exchanged pleasantries waiting for her moment.

Anderson Adams was scheduled to appear this evening and she was waiting to make a pitch to the recently nominated candidate. Tonight was all about getting the party elite behind the last minute candidate, he was largely seen as the underdog in the race. She was hoping her public relations experience and skills would grant her access to this campaign. Her grandfather had mentioned that he would use his influence in the party to insist on an interview but she wanted to make her own way. The fact that her grandfather was the past governor of the state was enough pressure without him calling in favors.

Her grandfather’s mansion was showcased beautifully this evening; the unseasonably warm late April evening in Hartford allowed the numerous sets of doors to be left open to the landscaped back yard. Candles and lanterns illuminated the gardens and allowed for an easy flow of guests from inside the formally decorated spaces to the vast terraces and lawns.

Lucia watched her aunt dance with an older gentleman and took another sip of champagne. She would need to limit herself to the one glass of the chilled indulgence. It was critical that she had her wits about her when she approached the recently chosen candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives. He held the key to her launching a public relations firm on the east coast. If she could convince him to hire her then his tightly contested election bid would catapult her ahead of countless firms and talented individuals. She needed to escape her life in California and all the recent humiliation surrounding her broken engagement. A job with Anderson Adams would allow her to land on her feet and not have to explain her complete professional and personal melt down.

She walked out into the garden and reminded herself not to think about past mistakes. It would destroy her confidence and prevent her from positively pitching her ideas to Anderson Adams. Her family was well-connected politically and she had the poise and skills to run an effective public relations campaign. She knew how to make things happen and control the communication in such a way that she could help a candidate get elected. The challenge of helping with a campaign for the House of Representatives filled her with enthusiasm and direction.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Susie Warren writes contemporary romance. Besides being an avid reader, she spends much of her free time crafting intense and complex stories about falling in love. When she is not writing, Susie works as an administrator in a small, independent school while caring for three teenagers and keeping tabs on her inventor husband. With the launching of her first book, The Forgotten Heiress, she has slowly begun to navigate the social media realm.

Susie loves to hear from readers and responds to each email and Facebook post. Please reach out to her via Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Susie-Warren/647556668647832 or Twitter @susiecwarren

For more information on her upcoming releases, new excerpts and other related postings, or to sign up for free promotions, please visit www.susiewarren.com

The Rosa Legacy Series

The first novel in The Rosa Legacy series, Ruthless Perfection, started with the idea of a traditional Italian mother who wanted her only daughter happily married. The mother, Carla Rosa Neri, along with her two sisters, Francesca and Marie, had emigrated from Italy as young girls and each went off to create a dynamic and successful family.

Each of the sisters had an only daughter and they made sure the girls spent time together. They attended the same boarding school in the northeast and visited each other’s homes in the summer.

Ruthless Perfection

Carla Rosa married into the Neri family with a long history in the Carrara marble industry. Her daughter, Isabel Neri, being a filmmaker and wanting to honor her grandfather’s legacy, approaches a reclusive billionaire, Marc Santoro, to ask permission to produce a documentary about the life of a quarry worker. Ruthless Perfection is the story of how they fall in love.

The Exiled Jeweler

Francesca Rosa married into the Berceto family with a long history in the jewelry making business. The Second novel in The Rosa Legacy series, The Exiled Jeweler, is about her daughter, Emelia, who went into seclusion after a scandal tore the family apart. Emelia is a talented jewelry designer who lived a sheltered life and was drawn into a passionate encounter with her family’s rival, Alexander Armati at a gala. Outside in the garden, photographs were taken on them and sold to the tabloid press. Her family was shocked and embarrassed and sent Emelia off to Florida. Four years later, she returns when her grandfather has a heart attack and her parents are deciding to sell the family business.

The Convenient Wedding

Marie Rosa married into the prominent Montgomery family, with a successful background in politics. Her only daughter, Lucia, is fascinated by politics and becomes a campaign aide. The opportunity to work on a senate campaign in Connecticut draws her into the middle of a scandal. Anderson Adams is a dark horse in the senate race yet convinces Lucia to play along with a strategy to save his campaign. The third novel in The Rosa Legacy series, The Convenient Wedding, is the story about how they reconcile their public image with their private life.

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Convenient-Wedding-contemporary-romance-Legacy-ebook/dp/B00SX7Z1HE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1429831954&sr=8-1&keywords=the+convenient+wedding

 

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE

Susie will be awarding $50 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour, and a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn host.

Please use this rafflecopter code on your post:

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f933/