Before You Go blog tour: guest post & giveaway

By Laurie T - April 19, 2013

It's Friday and we're today's stop on the Before You Go blog tour presented by Book Nerd Tours. Before You Go is a contemporary New Adult book and we have a guest post by the author. There's also a giveaway. Welcome and thanks for checking out the tour.

Before You Go by Clare James

New Adult contemporary romance*Paperback/eBook, First, 202 pages

Published April 5th 2013 by CreateSpace (first published March 31st 2013)

Paralyzed by the past and terrified of the future, Tabitha Kelly is broken.

After a public sex scandal at her college, Tabby moves to a new city with a new school, convinced she can start over. But she soon realizes the changes are not enough. Tabby must take action to help her heal and move on from the past.

And though it sounds crazy, she believes a one-night stand is the best way to take back what’s hers. If she can choose where, when, and most importantly, who … maybe she can regain control.

First, she needs a willing participant.

She finds more than that when she meets Noah Adler.

Unfortunately, she can’t go through with it. And when she tries to forget about the plan—and the guy—it becomes impossible.

Noah quickly weaves his way into her new life and her heart. But as he comes dangerously close to discovering her secret, Tabby’s at risk of losing it all.

“What fiction most influenced your childhood, and what effect did those stories have on Before You Go?”

I guess they call childhood and adolescence the “formative years” for a reason. So much of who we become stems from that period in our lives. It certainly did for me, especially as a writer.

I was a fairly happy kid growing up, but I was also pretty deep and reflective. Maybe it’s because I’m a Pisces. But the stories that got me excited were those with struggle, conflict, and life-affirming moments. I related to the stories where the protagonist was a misunderstood outsider just trying to make it in the world. Books like: Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, To Kill a Mockingbird, Lord of the Flies, and The Outsiders really did it for me.

With all of those books, the voice is incredibly strong. The characters are quirky. The subject matter is heavy, but not depressing. And there’s a bit of grit to them. I think (and hope!) that’s what you’ll find in Before You Go.

The first thing you may notice in Before You Go is Tabby’s voice. She is hurting, but she’s a fighter. She’s sassy, but still soft and reflective. I don’t believe voice is something you can teach in writing. It’s one of those magical things that you can’t quite put a finger on. I think it comes from knowing your character intimately. I spent a lot of time with Tab in my head before I ever put pen to paper.

Creating quirky, interesting characters is something else I got from my early reading. People are so interesting, odd, and amazing and so fun to read about. Secondary characters are just as important to a good story as the protagonist.

I think you’ll also find that my book touches on heavy topics, yet it isn’t a depressing story. Rather than dwell on tragedy, I try to focus on the journey of getting past it. And aren’t those the most uplifting books?

Finally, something I didn’t necessarily get from my early reading: Romance. I like a slow-burn—a believable story of love, lust, and romance. I think you need all three. We’ve all read those books where the characters’ relationship doesn’t feel real. I’ve received great feedback on Noah and Tabby’s relationship because it isn’t an “insta-love” or one that’s part of a complex triangle. This is something I work on by using my own real life experiences and by taking what I’ve learned from reading fantastic romance and NA books.

The contemporary romance and New Adult genre is such an exciting place to be right now. There is some great reading to be had, and I’m so happy to be a part of it!

About the author:

Clare James

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Clare James spent her childhood writing, reading, and dancing. Not much has changed since then, except she can no longer get up on toe shoes like she once could. And don’t even ask her to go into the splits because she may never get back up.

A new adult and contemporary romance writer, Clare loves a happy ending. She lives in Minneapolis with her two leading men—her husband and young son. BEFORE YOU GO is her debut new adult novel.