Loving some 'Downton Abbey,' 'Walking Dead' and 'Dawson's Creek'
Today's featured authors:Juliette Cross, author of Soulfire; Gemma Brocato, author of Exposed to Passion; and Rebecca Serle, author of Famous in Love. They're talking favorite TV shows and novel inspirations.
Juliette Cross, author of Soulfire
Three of my favorite TV shows:
In addition to my reading obsession, I'm equally addicted to my favorite television shows. Like my taste in books, my TV-viewing interests might be construed as eclectic. I call it well-rounded. Here are my top three:
• Downton Abbey holds all of the beauty in setting, costumes and design that I love, sweeping me away to a picturesque bygone era where afternoon tea and dinner evening dress is as necessary as breath in the lungs. If you live "upstairs" anyway. The dry British humor and controlled, repressed cast of characters keep me mesmerized, anxious to find out what will happen next. (I'm Team Bates, by the way.)
• The Office appeals to my inner nerd and zany sense of humor. I'm so in love with beet-farming, Battlestar Galactica-watching Dwight that I bought a bobble-head of him for my husband one Christmas. He still has it on his desk. Jim and Pam's love story is one of the sweetest ever, melting my heart into mush when Jim finally asks her on a proper date. (Cutest television moment in history.) Above all, I simply adore fun-loving people who love to laugh and enjoy life, like the cast of The Office seem to do so well.
• The Walking Dead feeds my darker cravings. But along with the violence and mayhem, there is a riveting, compelling storyline. While I definitely enjoy a good zombie beheading as much as the next person, what really draws me is the deep devotion Rick's group shows for one another. Amidst heartrending loss, unfathomable adversity and constant fear, they remain loyal and true, determined to fight another day. Now who doesn't want to watch a show like that?
Thank you, Paste BN's HEA, for having me here today. It's been a pleasure.
Here's the blurb for Soulfire (Nightwing No. 1):
In a world divided by prejudice and hatred, only love can bridge the chasm.
Tensions are rising in the Gladium Province. The boundary between humans and Morgons has begun to blur. While the human aristocracy strives to maintain distance between their daughters and the dragon-hybrid race, fate has other plans.
As the daughter of the corporate king, Jessen Cade is duty-bound to honor her arranged marriage to a man she detests. Feeling trapped by family duty and a loveless future, she longs for more, straying to the Morgon side of the city.
Lucius Nightwing is the eldest son of the powerful Morgon clan, and the greatest enemy of Jessen's father. When a bar-room brawl thrusts Jessen into his arms, his dragon roars to the surface, craving to sate his carnal hunger in the brown-eyed beauty. The beast in Lucius recognizes her as his own, even if the man refuses to admit the truth.
Find out more at www.juliettecross.com.
Gemma Brocato, author of Exposed to Passion
Three of my favorite TV shows:
Thanks so much for inviting me to the HEA blog. I'm excited to be here and reveal my guilty TV-viewing pleasures.
Confession time: I watch entirely too much television. Not proud of it, but it is a fact. I make it a point to not have the set on during the day because it would be easy to plop down with a cup of tea and avoid writing or cleaning. But that resolve disappears after dinner, when there are a couple of shows I make a point to watch.
• I'll start with the entire Real Housewives franchise. Those ladies and their partners are true train wrecks but so entertaining. I love to watch because the housewives are extremely witty. Some of the cast mates have provided great one-liners I modify and use in my writing. A friend suggested I live tweet while watching, but I'm almost afraid to do that. I'd hate to miss any of the action.
• My next favorite is The Big Bang Theory. Honestly, nerds are going to rule the world, and I want to know how to behave once they take over. This is one of those creative shows where the writing talent finds a way to constantly evolve and re-invent the stories.
• And finally, I love Top Chef. Truthfully, any food show does it for me. I got hooked on cooking competitions in London when I watched Ready, Steady, Cook. Love watching the personalities on Top Chef, and learning how to make yummy food is a bonus.
Here's the blurb about Exposed to Passion:
They walked through the shadows individually. Will they emerge into the light together?
Leading a vagabond life as a curator for a traveling photography exhibit translates to a lot of bad days for Rikki Salerno. But her trouble doubles when a careless high school student shoves her into a marsh. Being rescued by teacher Sam Kerrigan should have made things better, but Rikki's inability to confess her true identity casts a shadow over their budding affair.
When Sam refuses an overly aggressive parent's marriage proposal, she's determined to ruin him. Not only does she doctor photos to make it look like Sam's behaved inappropriately in front of students, she hacks the foundation website to reveal Rikki's true identity. Faster than the blink of a shutter, Rikki's focus changes from pursuing her full-color future to the black and white necessity of clearing Sam's name.
Find out more at www.gemmabrocato.com.
Rebecca Serle, author of Famous in Love
Three things that helped inspire Famous in Love:
• Famous in Love is about a girl who gets plucked from obscurity to star in the next major feature-film franchise based on a book — and the love triangle she gets involved in on (and off) screen. The mania surrounding Robsten definitely played a role in the way Paige's relationship with Rainer develops, but I'd have to say that the actual inspiration for this book started a long time ago — on a creek far away. Dawson's, to be exact. Katie Holmes and Joshua Jackson fell for each other long before their characters Joey and Pacey did, but I loved watching that fantasy come to life on the small screen. I felt like I was being let into a secret world — one filled with first on-set kisses, secret trailer love confessions, etc. Writing this book was wish fulfillment 15 years in the making.
• Coffee. I can't over-emphasize how necessary coffee is to my process. Writers looking for divine intervention, the muse, etc.: Have you tried coffee? Really, I think writer's block is just a lack of caffeine.
• My hometown. I grew up on Maui, which is where Famous in Love takes place. It was very fun getting to explore the island as an outsider — where would Paige go? What would she love? When I go back to visit now (I live in NYC) I have my Hawaii and her Hawaii. They are the same, but different. For instance, there is a windsurfing lookout at Ho'okipa beach where she shares a very romantic moment. I never spent time there, but now when I'm on Maui I go. It makes me feel closer to her somehow.
Here's the blurb about Famous in Love:
When 17-year-old Paige Townsen gets plucked from obscurity to star in the movie adaptation of a blockbuster book series, her life changes practically overnight. Within a month, Paige has traded the quiet streets of her hometown for a bustling movie set on the shores of Maui, and she is spending quality time with her costar Rainer Devon, one of People's Sexiest Men Alive. But when troubled star Jordan Wilder lands the role of the other point in the movie's famous love triangle, Paige's crazy new life begins to resemble her character's.
In this coming-of-age romance inspired by the kind of celeb hookups that get clever nicknames and a million page views, Paige must figure out who she is — and who she wants — while the whole world watches.
Find out more at rebeccaserle.com.