Hi, bookworms and welcome to my blog tour stop for Rachel Van Dyken's new book: ENTICE. This blog tour will run from May 14th to 21st so be sure to check out the rest of the participating blogs for more cool stuff!
In this tour stop, you'll find a link to MY REVIEW of the book, an excerpt, and an exclusive interview with the author, RACHEL VAN DYKEN. Enjoy!
In this tour stop, you'll find a link to MY REVIEW of the book, an excerpt, and an exclusive interview with the author, RACHEL VAN DYKEN. Enjoy!
  PURCHASE THE BOOK
SEE MY REVIEW of Rachel Van Dyken's ENTICE | ENTICEFrom #1 New York Times Bestselling author Rachel Van Dyken comes the third book in the bestselling Eagle Elite Series... |
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rachel Van Dyken
is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling author of regency and contemporary romances. When she's not writing you can find her drinking coffee at Starbucks and plotting her next book while watching The Bachelor.
She keeps her home in Idaho with her Husband and their snoring Boxer, Sir Winston Churchill. She loves to hear from readers! You can follow her writing journey at www.rachelvandykenauthor.com
is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling author of regency and contemporary romances. When she's not writing you can find her drinking coffee at Starbucks and plotting her next book while watching The Bachelor.
She keeps her home in Idaho with her Husband and their snoring Boxer, Sir Winston Churchill. She loves to hear from readers! You can follow her writing journey at www.rachelvandykenauthor.com
AUTHOR INTERVIEW
Between the Pages Book Blog: So, firstly, a few general questions. How did you get started in writing?
Rachel Van Dyken: I was really stressed out at my job as a school counselor so whenever I had time in between clients I'd write chapters and make myself feel better :)
What or who inspired you to become a writer?
Nobody really...I just LOVED to read and finally was like hmmmm I should try this.
What's the most difficult part of being a writer?
I think anyone will tell you its hard pouring your heart and soul into something and then seeing criticism but I try to look at the positive, not everyone will like what you do and when people do offer criticism it really just sharpens your pen and makes you better, but during weak moments its still hard ;)
Do you see yourself in any of the characters you write?
I find myself in all my characters...I don't put a lot of myself in them but I think its kind of like acting...people have styles of acting you know who they are and they have different tells...I think authors have the same thing, we have tells, we have voices, you can tell it's me writing b/c its me ;) In my head this made total sense btw :)
Why write NA?
I started reading NA and fell in love with the feel of the stories...it also put me in a place, as a reader, where I was re-living part of my college years and realizing that there was a HUGE gap--those stories weren't being told and they need to be.
Any advice to aspiring writers?
Keep writing. Because of the availability of self publishing a lot of people want to write, I think its awesome to follow your dream but don't just write one book and wait for it to hit New York Times. Keep writing, keep building your back list, talk to your readers, it's a job, and it's a privilege not a right. Don't expect fame and fortune because thats not why we do what we do. We do what we do because it's our passion and we love it...work hard and you'll succeed its as easy as that.
Let's talk about Eagle Elite. Where did you get inspiration for the Eagle Elite series?
My husband....an ex mafia guys was living around 30 miles from us and was arrested a while back...he'd been hiding out from the italian mob for something like twenty years? HE was super involved in the community and people loved him, they had NO idea he was a criminal. If you google Mafia Marsing Idaho you can read more of his story ;) It's what inspired Frank Alfero and the rest of the clan...I added in a dose of Romeo and Juliet and well, Elite was born!
Did you have to do a lot of research about the mafia world?
YES! You should see my reference book! I actually went to the mafia museum in Vegas and did as much research as I could then took it a step further and bought one of the best reference books to date on all the different families of the italian mafia. It's crazy interesting! I keep it next to my computer when I need to fact check.
What's the most difficult part of writing this series?
I think the most difficult thing is I feel like it's my baby! So when I see other mafia books I'm like NOOOOOOOO lol insert crying here...;) I want to keep my series as original as possible so when writing I know I at times stretch the fiction world a bit which, at times gives me bad reviews from people who don't think it's realistic, but I want to keep it different from everything else out there--thats my greatest challenge.
What can we expect from the series?
LOTS of violence, but for some reason, as a reader, you probably won't mind it that much...I know I hate anything violent yet writing it Im like oh yeah he would totally put this guys feet in cement then throw them into the lake, it just makes sense ;) There is a LOT of sensual tension, a lot of kissing, a lot of fighting inner demons...it really is like a romeo and juliet story meets the sopranos on steroids. I love it.
You have got to expect this one: Team Chase or Team Nixon?
NEITHER HAH...Im Team Tex and I think most readers will be too after Entice releases, in fact, Im guessing I'll have a lot of emails this next week asking about Tex and Mo...Tex isn't who people have been assuming he is---I love it.
A few fun questions... If you can be anywhere in the world right now, where would you be?
Somewhere warm! The beach. Because its windy where Im at...I despise the wind.
If you could un-invent one thing what would it be?
I would uninvent the chia pet commercials b/c the song STILL to this day gets stuck in my head. Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia!
Perfect vacation destination?
Scotland. I love it there. I think I'd like to live there six months out of the year...Ah pipe dream ;)
Favorite cereal?
Blueberry granola!
What do people do too much today?
TEXT!! I know Im guilty of this too but when you go out to dinner put the phone away people...engage in conversation...remember that? Conversation? Face to face? High fives? Yes?
