The Last One
By: Tawdra Kandle
Publication date: September 28, 2014
Genre: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance
Blurb:
Meghan Hawthorne is restless. The last year has been a roller coaster: her widowed mother just married a long-time family friend. Her younger brother unexpectedly became a father and a husband. Everyone’s life is changing. . .except for hers. As she begins her final summer of college, Meghan’s looking for excitement and maybe a little romance. Nothing serious; this girl just wants to have fun.
But the only man for Meghan turns out to be the last one she expects.
Sam Reynolds doesn’t need excitement, and he doesn’t want romance. Fun is out of the question. He’s been the steady, responsible one since his parents were killed, and serious is his way of life.
When Sam rescues Meghan alongside a dark Georgia backroad, she falls hard for his deep brown eyes and slow drawl. But making him see her as more than just a party girl won’t be easy. Sam’s tempted by the fiery young artist, even as he realizes that giving into his feelings will mean radical change. . .maybe more than he can handle.
Nobody ever said love was simple.
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Author Interview
Q: THE LAST ONE is the first book in a new trilogy, but apparently Meghan is not a new character to your readers. Tell us where we met her first.
A: Meghan is the daughter of Jude Hawthorne, the main female character in THE POSSE. We got to know her a little in that book, but in THE LAST ONE, we hear her side of things. . .and find out what happened the summer after THE POSSE took place.
Q: Can a reader enjoy THE LAST ONE without having read THE POSSE?
A: Absolutely. Most of my ARC readers had not read THE POSSE. It’s definitely a stand-alone. And although some seeds for the next two books are planted in the first one, Sam and Meghan’s story is complete.
Q: Do you write out an outline for the entire novel before you write it?
A: I do not. I am primarily a pantser: I have a fairly vague idea of the direction a story will take, and I begin by jotting down those ideas, along with pertinent details like setting, names, ages, relationships. These are particularly important if the book is a sequel or has characters from a previous book. I lay down a timeline. And then I just write. At times, the story goes in a different direction, and I let it. When I force it, I find my characters fold their arms over their chests and stand, foot tapping, until I stop and listen to them again.
Q: How long does it take to write a book?
A: It depends, for me. I usually try to get in at least 5,000-10,000 words in the beginning, and then I keep a steady writing schedule until I draw near the end, at which point I usually write all the time for 3-5 days. My family does not enjoy those times. The whole process can take as long as two months or as short as 4-5 weeks.
Q: You write both contemporary and paranormal romance. How do you balance those two genres?
A: It is indeed a balancing act. I enjoy both genres, and I try to have seasons for each. For instance, I usually publish paranormal in the winter/early spring and late fall, and I stick to contemporary in late spring and summer. When I’m writing contemporary, I only read contemporary, and I enjoy the fact that my characters have to act within a certain set of boundaries (most of us call those ‘reality’). When I write paranormal, it’s freeing to knock those fences down. Sometimes I have to remind myself that it’s okay to kick them over.
Q. Which brings us to the last question. . .what’s your next project?
A: Paranormal! I’m kicking off my adult paramystery series, Recipe for Death. I’m super excited about this series. It started out as a quick also-ran book I began writing back in my critique group days. I always intended to go back and write the rest of it. . .and then last summer, I had to write a short for the anthology ETERNAL SUMMER. I decided to use Cathryn, who had appeared in The King Series and would be in The Serendipity Duet, as the main character. She needed a love interest, and lo and behold, he turned out to be Lucas, the hero from the book I’d always just called Jackie and Lucas. This is a lighter sort of paranormal, and as the genre suggests, it’s also a mystery. I think it’s a lot of fun. The first book is called DEATH FRICASSEE, and it should be out right around Halloween.
About the Author:
Tawdra Kandle writes romance, in just about all its forms. She loves unlikely pairings, strong women, sexy guys, hot love scenes and just enough conflict to make it interesting. Her books run from YA paranormal romance (THE KING SERIES), through NA paranormal and contemporary romance (THE SERENDIPITY DUET, PERFECT DISH DUO, THE ONE TRILOGY) to adult contemporary and paramystery romance (CRYSTAL COVE BOOKS and RECIPE FOR DEATH SERIES). She lives in central Florida with a husband, kids, sweet pup and too many cats. And yeah, she rocks purple hair.
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