Interview with Samantha Young: Bestselling Author and all around Awesome Lady!

Welcome to one of today's great authors...

Samantha Young!

 
Welcome to the Brunette Librarian's Blog, Samantha! I have been a fan since before On Dublin Street. I remember e-mailing you and squealing about how amazing the characters and the romance was. Thank you so much for stopping by and answering a few of my questions.

Thank you! And thanks so much for having me on the blog 
I absolutely loved Jo and Cam. This book seemed a touch darker than On Dublin Street. What or who were your inspiration for Jo and Cam?

I guess I was inspired by the challenge of writing a character that appeared as one thing to others but was really so much more underneath it all. I’m very lucky to be surrounded by quietly strong and loyal women in my life and Jo really tries to capture their best qualities. Moreover, family is such an important element to the On Dublin Street series, and Jo’s story was really a continuation of that theme. As for Cam he was partly inspired by Jo and also by Braden—I wanted Cam to be a very different hero from Braden but still be somewhat of an alpha male.

What do you have planned next?

I’ve got a secret project I’ve been working on and more on that will be announced soon! And at the moment I’m working on book three in the On Dublin Street series—Nate and Olivia from Down London Road’s story.

Who are your favorite authors? Do you have a favorite genre?

I have favourite genres—urban fantasy, paranormal romance, dystopian, contemporary, fantasy. I absolutely love Patrick Ness, Laini Taylor, Tiffany Snow, Richelle Mead, Stacia Kane, Suzanne Collins, Veronica Roth, Colleen Hoover, Tracey Garvis-Graves, Rachel Caine, Chloe Neill, Maria V. Snyder… the list goes on!
A question every librarian wants to know...what are you reading now?

I’m reading Connected by Kim Karr at the moment and really enjoying it. It’s quite an emotional book and has amazing chemistry between the two main protoganists.

So I've worked in a library for ten years. One of my favorite things to do is to turn people on to new authors. I can't tell you how many times I've put your books into people’s hands. Do you have any words or stories about libraries?

The third book in the On Dublin Street series is about Olivia who is a librarian at the University of Edinburgh. I was given a tour of the library by one of the head librarian’s there and was told some very funny stories that will definitely be making their way into the book!

Thank you so very much Samantha. I absolutely love your stories and can't wait to see what you write next. Congratulations on your success, you deserve it!!

Thank you so much!

New York Times bestselling author Samantha Young is a 27 year old book addict who graduated from the University of Edinburgh. She lives in Scotland. Visit her online at:

samanthayoungbooks.com
Twitter.com/SYoungSFAuthor
www.Facebook.com/OnDublinStreet
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4167378.Samantha_Young

Waiting for Wednesday- "Entwined with You" By: Sylvia Day

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly book meme where we let everyone know what books we are eagerly anticipating the release.

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine

Entwined with You

By: Sylvia Day

From the moment I first met Gideon Cross, I recognized something in him that I needed. Something I couldn’t resist. I saw the dangerous and damaged soul inside–so much like my own. I was drawn to it. I needed him as surely as I needed my heart to beat.

No one knows how much he risked for me. How much I’d been threatened, or just how dark and desperate the shadow of our pasts would become.

Entwined by our secrets, we tried to defy the odds. We made our own rules and surrendered completely to the exquisite power of possession…

Publication Date: June 4, 2013

"Looking for Me" By: Beth Hoffman Review

Looking for Me
By: Beth Hoffman

Synopsis

Teddi Overman found her life’s passion for furniture in a broken-down chair left on the side of the road in rural Kentucky. She learns to turn other people’s castoffs into beautifully restored antiques, and opens her own graciously-appointed shop in Charleston. Breathing new life into these discarded objects gives Teddi purpose, but has never alleviated the haunting uncertainty she’s felt in the years since her brother Josh’s mysterious disappearance. When signs emerge that Josh might still be alive, Teddi is drawn home to find him. It’s a journey that could help her come to terms with her shattered family—and to find herself at last.

My Thoughts
     Looking for Me is without a doubt one of my favorite books of the year. Nothing I have read this year has even come close to the heart of this story that absolutely blew me away. Heartfelt, sincere and at times gut wrenching, Looking For Me is that one book this year that you’ll read and not be able to get out of your head.
     First off let me say, if you haven’t read Beth Hoffman’s Looking for CeeCee Honeycutt, stop reading this and go find it. Right now, I’ll wait. While reading her newest novel, I could find reminiscent phrasing from CeeCee and you could tell they were from the same author, although each book has a distinct feel to it.
     Looking for Me tells the story of Teddi, her family, a little furniture store, and life as it goes on. Years before Teddi’s brother had disappeared, never to be heard from again. Her family held out hope he would come home but as the years pass, his return seems futile. As time passes, both of Teddi’s parents pass away and she is left with the pieces of a family that had once been so close.
     This is just a brief overview of this magnificent story. I easily read the book in a morning and couldn’t put it down. I loved the views of family Hoffman showed and could easily fall into her master storytelling. I think one of the main things that sticks with me, even days after reading this fabulous novel is the sense of love that simply emanated from this story. I’m going to be completely honest here and say I did cry twice, but laughed out loud three times. A gorgeously written, funny, heart twisting story that will stay with you, Looking for Me is simply beautiful. Brava Ms. Hoffman, Brava!

Book Details

Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books

Date of Publication: May 28, 2013

ISBN: 978-0670025831

# of Pages: 368

Sinful Sirens Blog Hop!

Welcome to the Brunette Librarian's blog! :)

I've been crazy busy so lets make it quick and easy. Subscribe to my blog through e-mail, google connect or anyway you can...tell me which way in a comment, give me your e-mail and your entered! 

I'm giving away a $10 giftcard from Amazon or B&N, your choice.

Be sure to click here for the other blogs participating :)

Waiting on Wednesday - "Once Upon a Tower" By: Eloisa James

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly book meme where we let everyone know what books we are eagerly anticipating the release of.

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine

Once Upon a Tower

By: Eloisa James

Once upon a time…

A duke fell in love 

Gowan Stoughton of Craigievar, Duke of Kinross, values order and self-control above all else. So when he meets a lady as serene as she is beautiful, he promptly asks for her hand in marriage.

With a lady 

Edie—whose passionate temperament is the opposite of serene—had such a high fever at her own debut ball that she didn’t notice anyone, not even the notoriously elusive Duke of Kinross. When her father accepts his offer… she panics.

And when their marriage night isn’t all it could be, she pretends.

In a tower. 

But Edie’s inability to hide her feelings makes pretending impossible, and when their marriage implodes, she retreats to a tower—locking Gowan out.

Now Gowan faces his greatest challenge. Neither commands nor reason work with his spirited young bride. How can he convince her to give him the keys to the tower…

When she already has the keys to his heart?

Proposed Publication Date: May 28, 2013

Waiting on Wednesday - "Down London Road" By: Samantha Young

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly book meme where we let everyone know what books we are eagerly anticipating the release.

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine

Down London Road

By: Samantha Young

It has always been up to Johanna to care for her family, particularly her younger brother, Cole. With an absent father and a useless mother, she’s been making decisions based on what’s best for Cole for as long as she can remember. She even determines what men to date by how much they can provide for her brother and her, not on whatever sparks may—or may not—fly.

But with Cameron MacCabe, the attraction is undeniable. The sexy new bartender at work gives her butterflies every time she looks at him. And for once, Jo is tempted to put her needs first. Cam is just as obsessed with getting to know Jo, but her walls are too solid to let him get close enough to even try.

Then Cam moves into the flat below Jo’s, and their blistering connection becomes impossible to ignore. Especially since Cam is determined to uncover all of Jo’s secrets …even if it means taking apart her defenses piece by piece.

Publication Date: May 7, 2013