 ALL I EVER WANTED: An Abbott Springs Anthology by Marilyn Brant, Caisey Quinn, Rhonda Helms, and Lexi Ryan  PURCHASE THE BOOK | ALL I EVER WANTED An Abbott Springs Anthology Authors: Marilyn Brant, Caisey Quinn, Rhonda Helms, and Lexi Ryan Publication Date: January 13, 2014 DESCRIPTION: ALL I EVER WANTED, a new adult winter anthology |
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Marilyn Brant Marilyn Brant is a USA Today bestselling and award-winning author of eight novels to date, writing in the genres of contemporary women's fiction, romantic comedy, and new adult/mystery. Recently, the Illinois Association of Teachers of English selected her as their 2013 Author of the Year. As a former teacher, library staff member, freelance magazine writer, and national book reviewer, Marilyn has spent much of her life lost in literature. Her books have been featured by the Doubleday Book Club, Book-of-the-Month Club, Literary Guild, BOMC2, and Rhapsody Book Club, and they've won awards such as the Romance Writers of America's Golden Heart, the Booksellers' Best, and the Aspen Gold Reader's Choice. She lives in the Chicago suburbs with her family, reads a lot of Jane Austen, and loves chocolate, old movies, and road trips with music blaring and the windows rolled down. Please visit her online at www.marilynbrant.com or find her on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/marilyn.brant and Twitter @marilynbrant Rhonda Helms Rhonda Helms started writing novels several years ago and loves teen and New Adult romance. She has a Master's degree in English and a Bachelor's degree in Creative Writing. She also freelance edits (visit rhondaedits.com to learn more about her services). When she isn't writing, she likes to do amateur photography, dig her toes into the sand, read for hours at a time, and eat way too much cheese. Rhonda lives in Northeast Ohio with her family, dog, and a very loud cat. Visit her at rhondahelmsbooks.com for details about her and her books. You can also find her on twitter @rhelmsbooks or Facebook at facebook.com/rhondahelmsbooks. | Caisey Quinn Caisey Quinn lives in a suburb outside of Birmingham, Alabama with her husband, daughter, and other assorted animals. She wears cowgirl boots most of the time, even to church. She is the bestselling author of the Kylie Ryans series and writes New and Young Adult books about country girls finding love in unexpected places. She can be found online at www.caiseyquinnwrites.com or on Twitter as @CaiseyQuinn where she spends entirely too much time chatting with readers, writers, and anyone who’s willing. Lexi Ryan A New York Times and USA Today bestselling romance author, Lexi Ryan considers herself the luckiest chick she knows. Her books have been described as intense, emotional, and wickedly sexy. When not writing, she enjoys watching football, perfecting her chocolate martini, and reading her way to the title of Biggest Romance Fangirl Evah. A former college professor, her biggest fears include faculty meetings and large stacks of ungraded freshman composition papers. She now writes full-time from her home in Indiana, where she lives with her husband and two children and their neurotic dog. You can visit Lexi at her website www.lexiryan.com or find her on Twitter @writerlexiryan or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/lexiryanauthor. |
INTERVIEWS
ALL I EVER WANTED is a winter anthology, complete with sledding races, spiked hot cocoa, and ice skating. Are you a winter lover?
Marilyn: I grew up in Wisconsin and now live in Illinois, so I’ve had to make peace with shoveling snow and scraping ice away every winter, LOL, but I can’t say I love the cold temps. I am very, very fond of hot cocoa (both spiked and unspiked), however, and I’ve always enjoyed ice skating and watching the Winter Olympics when they’re on.
Caisey: I love winter clothes, but the actual cold part, not so much!
Rhonda: For the most part, yes! But usually when I’m inside, sitting by a deliciously roaring fire. lol. I hate being super cold, but I do enjoy making snowmen, sled racing, and ice skating. I also like taking outdoor pictures.
Lexi: Maybe I’d say yes if it were a sweltering Indiana summer out my door right now, but instead it’s twelve inches of snow and negative windchills and I’m feeling like I really, really don’t like winter. But I sure don’t mind writing about it.
This anthology is really unique in that all the stories are connected and scenes from one story might appear in another. What was your favorite part about working on this anthology?
Marilyn: I loved the experience of getting to see a scene told in multiple viewpoints by our differing main characters. And it was fascinating to work so closely on a writing project with three authors whose stories I admire so much.
Caisey: Getting to see the many differences and similarities in each of our writing processes.
Rhonda: There was a community created by working so closely together that I’ve never experienced before. It really made me connected to my story and to the others. We were all vested in each other’s novellas, which I loved.
Lexi: We spent a weekend in Louisville to really nail down some of the continuity issues on the anthology. We worked a lot, but we also laughed more than I think I’ve ever laughed in my life. We writers spend an awful lot of time in solitude. It was wonderful to laugh with people who “get” the business like you do.
What was the most difficult part about putting it together?
Rhonda: Oh, all those nitpicky touches, the back-and-forth exchanges of scenes, then going over and over and over it all to make sure we didn’t mess up the timeline. FUN. lol
Marilyn: Yeah, Rhonda nailed it. There were a lot of details!
Caisey: What Rhonda said!
Lexi: To echo what Rhonda said...When we were in Louisville, we sat down at about 10am to start nailing down some of the details. We went page by page through each of our stories. “Oh, here your character says this.” “No, he wouldn’t change it quite like that. Change it to this.” “What’s Maya wearing that night?” “How would Kennedy be acting at the opening address?” Yes! Tons of details! But it was worth it to create what I think is a really unique product.
Obviously, a love of new adult romance brought you four together for this anthology. Name two of your favorite NA reads.
Marilyn: Aside from Lexi’s, Caisey’s, and Rhonda’s stories, which are awesome, I’ve also really enjoyed The Edge of Never by J.A. Redmerski and Violet Duke’s Resisting the Bad Boy.
Caisey: Oh gosh. There are so many good ones it’s hard to pick just two! My two faves of 2013 were probably Escaping Me by Elizabeth Lee and Break It Up by E.M. Tippetts.
Rhonda: Well, I love all of my fellow anthology authors’ works, lol. Seriously, they’re brilliant--make sure to check them out. But if we go beyond those, I also adored EASY by Tammara Webber and TANGLED by Emma Chase. So good!
Lexi: Oh, yes, I echo what everyone else said. Read them first! Obviously we enjoy each other’s work and that’s why we decided to do this together. After them, definitely EASY by Tammara Webber and ONE WEEK GIRLFRIEND (well, the whole series) by Monica Murphy.
EXCERPTS
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