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A
chance encounter with a celebrity, an impromptu video, and a shiny new espresso
machine. It all added up to a juicy tale for 24-year-old Rachael Allen to share
with friends. But when her best friend posts the video online, bizarre threats,
home break-ins, and deadly gifts from an obsessed fan follow close
behind. Mick Sullivan, the star in her video, offers to help and in the
process, Rachael discovers that despite his reputation as a player of Olympian
caliber, he’s down-to-earth—and emotionally damaged. He has secrets; some he’s
shared only with his pseudo best friend. Others he's shared with no one. But
there's one secret he’s hidden from himself, washed away by too many
beers. Despite wildly divergent life paths, their shared southern
upbringing (and a passion for good music) creates a common thread that draws
them together. As the threats escalate, and their relationship deepens, Rachael
struggles to accept Mick’s past—and his present. And she is forced to confront
her own obsessive love to ultimately decide if being with Mick Sullivan is worth
the collateral damage.
YOU'LL BE THINKING OF ME is the story of Rachael's serendipitous encounter with a
celebrity, her brush with obsessive love, and the bittersweet gift left behind
by the very person fixated on destroying her life.
Tell us a little bit
about yourself, and how you started writing.
I see authors all the time, who say they’ve always written
stories, starting when they were kids. That wasn’t really me. I actually make
my living writing, but it’s writing of a different sort—mostly scientific stuff
about health and nutrition. The fiction bug didn’t bite until about 6 or 7
years ago. My debut novel, “You’ll Be Thinking of Me” came out about a year and
a half ago and I’m working on two others. I hope to have complete draft of one
by the summer and then I’ll pick up where I left off with the second one. Now I
can’t see me not writing stories.
What are some things you
enjoy when not writing?
Movies and music. I always have music running in the background.
Popular and alternative when I’m walking or writing stories, classical when I’m
working on my day job, which requires an excess of concentration. I love
movies, good and bad, studying all the different approaches to storytelling.
I’ll watch almost anything except slasher movies. And, of course, I read. You
can’t be a writer, if you’re not a reader.
Where do you get your
ideas?
Everywhere. Reading stuff on the internet, newspaper articles,
YouTube videos, overheard conversations, talking to strangers. I’ve gotten some
really good stuff from my kids, both of whom are in their twenties now—the age
many of my characters tend to be. And, my own life, of course. Just listen and
take notes. Always take notes. There’s a line I’ve seen countless time “The
biggest lie I tell myself is that I’ll remember that.” I nod vigorously each
time I read it.
Is there a particular
author or book that influenced or inspired your writing or decision to write?
There are several writers that I love to read, but I’m not sure
they inspired me to write. I never really thought I could do it. My need to
write sort of bubbled up of it’s own accord and, of course, with huge
encouragement from a long-time friend. Wouldn’t be doing this if it weren’t for
all my awesome women friends.
Can you tell us about
your challenges in getting your first book published?
Does any author not have challenges getting published? I spent
about 5 years give or take, writing, editing, taking pages to critique group,
revising. I began querying and didn’t get much interest. That’s when I
submitted it to a developmental editor, and there was more editing, moving
things around, deleting scenes. And I wrote maybe 100 different versions of the
query letter (I’m not exaggerating) until I finally felt like it was where it
should be, Then, I began querying. I got several requests for partials and
fulls, some positive feedback and one near miss. I decided to submit to small
publishers that accept manuscripts directly. It didn’t take long. And as soon
as I signed a contract with my current publisher, I received an email from
another publisher, expressing interest. The book came out as an ebook first and
a paperback about 9 months later. The audiobook rights are mine, so I worked
with acx.com to get the audiobook produced. The whole process was faster than
going through an agent and one of the big five publishers, but slower than
self-publishing.
If you had to do it all over, is there any aspect of your novel or getting it published
that you’d change?
It was all a part of the learning curve. I actually like the story
in my novel very much. Unless I could somehow begin where I am now in terms of
knowing about writing, storytelling and the querying process, I can’t really
think of anything I would do differently.
How do you market your
work?
I’ve done a bit of everything, except live events. Facebook ads,
Twitter, guest blog posts, magazine ads, contests, giveaways, posting on other
Facebook groups, online book launch party. I’m thinking of diving into
Instagram next.
What are you working on
now?
I’m currently working on a paranormal romance, which is anchored
in reality, as much as these things can be. No underworld lords, werewolves or
demons. And I’m about 30,000 words into a women’s fiction WIP—a family drama,
which I’m really excited about.
Is anything in your book
based on real life experiences?
“You’ll Be Thinking of Me” is about a chance encounter with a
celebrity and a celebrity stalker that turns lives upside down. I’ve never met
a celebrity, much less had a relationship with one. Never even been on a movie
set. Never had an alcoholic in my family. I did, however, live in Brooklyn for
years (where my main character lives) and I was born in Louisiana (where my
characters are from). There are things that characters say that come from my
life, but there’s not a thread of truth in the story itself. After reading the
book, a friend of mine asked, “Are you leading some sort of secret life I don’t
know about?” I took that as a compliment.
Do you have a favorite
chapter or scene?
That’s a tough one, but I think it’s the introduction of the
celebrity’s mother. Her character is an amalgam of people I knew growing up in
Louisiana. I’ve had readers tell me how much they liked her character. I have a
soft spot for her.
Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?
It’s been said so many times, but never give up. Writing a first
draft is actually a small part of the whole process. You have to really,
really, really want to do this. It can be frustrating, soul destroying,
tedious. You can only get to the good parts if you’re willing to deal with the
hard parts. I’ve seen too many people give up when they realize how much
dedication, perseverance and hard work it really takes.
What are the downfalls of your writing career? The best parts?
For me, it’s time. I work full time and it’s hard to find the time
to write, when my brain isn’t drained from my day job. I’d have to say the best
part is the absolutely amazing group of writers, who offer advice, council,
sympathy, congratulations. I can’t think of any other profession where it truly
feels like “we’re all in this together.”
Is there anything you’d like to say to your readers and fans?
This is not just for me, but for any author whose work you
enjoy—write a review, recommend it to a friend, ask the library to order it,
suggest it for your book club. It’s the only way to spread the word and give
the author the opportunity to keep writing the next story.
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