EVE CONNELL INTERVIEW & Review TODAY AUTHOR OF: "WHERE WE BELONG"

We would like to Welcome

Eve Connell

Author of:

One man diving into the past.

One woman emerging from the depths.

At the age of seventeen, Amelia Baide won silver at the Olympic Games and was the second-fastest woman in the pool. Then one tragic night she crashed into a lake and was dragged out without a pulse. Now twenty-four, she is still haunted by it and hasn’t swum again. Until this year’s anniversary of the accident. It is a day unlike any other and a strange turn of events finds Amelia back at a swimming pool.

Harry Jamieson had eyes for one girl, while women and the media had eyes for him. As a trainer of Olympic athletes, he was an in-demand man. Until one boozy morning after … But from bad luck to pure chance he runs into his old flame, Amelia, at a swimming pool no less. She doesn’t remember a thing from the night of the crash.

And Harry knows every single secret.

The pair joins forces—a comeback for Amelia and Harry’s ultimate coaching opportunity. But dodging waves is hard to do; and even the strongest swimmer may sink.

Where We Belong is a second-chance love story for young and old, for swimming enthusiasts and romantics at heart.

Interview:

 Rad-Reader:  How did you come up with this concept for the story?

Eve:  I LOVE swimming and I also love second chance romances, so I thought a lot about how to blend the two. It didn’t take long to come up with one part of the story; from there, I brainstormed it into a full-length novel.

Rad-Reader:  Were your characters modeled after people you’ve known or purely fictional?

Eve:  Fictional, on the whole. Harry and Amelia and the supporting characters aren’t copies of someone I know, but they do have bits of family, friends and acquaintances and myself. I write them from real people and the pieces come together as one whole jigsaw puzzle.

Rad-Reader:  Were you a swimmer or did you have to do research to know so much about the type of training needed for the sport?

Eve:  You got me! I used to be a swimmer in another life. Apart from scrubbing up on correct qualifying times and few other details it all came from that crazy head of mine.

Rad-Reader:  You left just enough question throughout the story to keep you off center about Harry and Amelia’s relationship.  Was that done on purpose or did it just evolve?

Eve:  It was done with purpose. I love thriller/action/horror films, though I don’t read those sorts of books usually. I guess that’s my brains way of entertaining with mystery and allure in fiction.

Rad-Reader:  Once Harry and Amelia meet up again so much was left unsaid that could have made both of their hurt hearts heal.  Why did you choose to not do that?  On top of getting back into the sport it is a lot.  Do you think it gave her more drive?

Eve:  I write fiction to escape, but I also write it as close as I can to a realistic life. So along that train of thought Harry and Amelia slowly find out things between each other, as I’d have expected them to as real people. I’m not sure I’ve ever met old friends/lovers who meet again after several years and say everything the moment they meet. In fact it’s hard enough telling secrets and insecurities to those we love and trust most. I felt that in order for them both to connect and open up; a deep level of trust had to slowly build first. And in slowly building trust and revealing secrets—you’re right; it drove Amelia harder and faster in her comeback when she then had more motivation than she would have otherwise.

Rad-Reader:  If you had to pick 3 word to describe this book what would they be?

Eve:  emotional, inspiring, romantic.

Rad-Reader:  What song if you were to pick one?  What would be your theme song you hear playing when you think of this book?

Rad-Reader:  Believe In Me-Michelle Barone

Eve:  I’m going to have to be really boring here and say I don’t have one! I listen to music people have probably never heard before when writing—always without lyrics. It meddles with my writing otherwise. So I haven’t ever thought of a song to represent Where We Belong!

Rad-Reader:  If your book was made into a movie who would you have play:

Amelia:   Merritt Patterson

  

Harry:  Chris Hemsworth

Kristopher:   Jai Courtney

Benny:  David James Elliott

Eve:

Amelia:  Emma Stone but with Auburn contact lenses.

Harry:  Henry Cavill

Kristopher:  Jason Lewis

Rad-Reader:  How would each of these characters describe each other using only 3 words?

Harry:  Sucker, Threat, & Loser

Kristopher:  Liar, Abuser, & Cheater

Eve:

Harry:  coward, deceptive, asshole

Kristopher:  womaniser, faker, conman

Rad-Reader:  What did you want us to come away with from this story of Amelia and Harry?

Eve:  I wrote a little dedication at the beginning of the book, which captures what I hoped readers would feel after reading. This is a story of hope.
It says this: 
For everyone who hasn’t succeeded. 
You will. 
You just haven’t finished your journey yet.

Rad-Reader:  How can our readers keep in touch with you and buy your books?

Eve:  Blog/W: http://www.eveconnellauthor.com

FB: https://www.facebook.com/EveConnellAuthor

Gr: https://www.goodreads.com/EveConnell

MAILING LIST: http://eepurl.com/9siR1

Tw: https://twitter.com/EveConnell

P: http://www.pinterest.com

Amazon page: http;//amazon.com/author/eveconnell

Rad-Reader:  What is your next book called?  What is it about?

Eve: 

This is a story of Hollywood meets regular girl, of old best friends to something more … BEYOND FAME is the first book in a swoony, emotional, sexy new serial from romantic women’s fiction author Eve Connell. 

—————

He's the Hollywood A-lister everyone knows. Women adore his dark chocolate eyes, toned physique, and Italian charm, but they don’t know the man behind the fame, Jonno Favero. When a movie role brings him to Melbourne, his star-studded life gets the slap of reality he never saw coming. 

Taylor Mendel despises her childhood best friend Jonno for breaking his promises to her and discarding her the moment he shot to fame. Twelve years later, it appears she’s built a happy life, however, she’s hiding a life-altering secret. And upon his return, Jonno shakes her world upside down.

He’d be wise to walk away.

But he can’t.

Because from the moment Jonno runs into twenty-four-year-old Taylor, he finally sees what he let go all those years ago—she’s the only girl he’s ever truly loved. 

Too bad he’s twelve years too late to claim her heart.

—————
[Roughly 135 pages.]
—————

This book is NOT meant to be read as a standalone. Jonno and Taylor's story follows in the second book, Beyond Trust.

Book One: Beyond Fame
Book Two: Beyond Trust
Book Three: Beyond Love

Amelia Blade has issues old and new.  The present issues are she is in a loveless relationship to a guy she is engaged to.  It seems they are together out of habit and comfort as in they know the good and bad of the relationship.  They don’t have to work at it and the comfort in they don’t have to go out and look for anyone else until they are ready or one fell in their lap.

     Yet, Amelia knew that something was missing considering that Kristopher Siddall, her fiancé, would rather be out with his friends than with her.  It was another anniversary with him and he was once again trying to push her buttons to get out of spending it with her.  Last year he had spent it with the BOYS, his POSSE, and the GUYS!  So, when after asking several times if he had gotten everything he needed out of the bathroom and was he finished in there and him saying he had.  He started pounding on the door the minute she was about to put her foot into the shower wanting his after shave Making her livid.  She tells him he will have to wait he pounds louder and harder.

     He basically acts like a two year old.  Yelling that it would only take her a minute and that she was being a baby for just not handing it out.  That finally made her break.  She threw on her clothes, threw open the door and told him he could have the whole damn thing bathroom and all.  She grabbed her keys and purse and left.  She drove until she ran out of gas.  She ends up walking back to a place about a mile back.

     When she gets to the area she is hot, sweaty, and thirsty.  She sees the swim arena and decides that it had been 6 years to long since she had been in a pool after her accident where she almost drowned and died.  Well she did die but we won’t get into that.  She runs into someone that she use to swim with and he greets her and offers her some swim gear.  She goes in and puts it on it takes her a few tries to finally get in but when she does it is heaven in a lot of ways and hell in others.

     Meanwhile, that same morning Harry Jamieson is once again waking up in an unfamiliar room.  Except this one looks like Barney exploded everywhere there were so many varying shades of purple.  The worst of it is he couldn’t remember the name of the chick he was in bed with.  He thought it was Vivienne or Vivienna or was it Vicky. He crawls out of her bed to use the restroom looks back in at her and says something about her being, a little crazy, purple Vivienna.  Then stopped himself when looking at her he noticed how young she was and how he hoped she was at least of age.

     I guess he not only finds out her age, her first and last name, but who her daddy is.  He also learns that just because someone looks like they’re asleep doesn’t mean that they really are.  Turns out her daddy is the leading sponsor that owns his contract for the ads, commercials, etc… that he does to make a living.  Now he calls to yell at Benny his agent.  Who wants to meet with him out of town where they can talk without any press or others to get in their business?  They happen to meet you guessed it at the same swim arena where Amelia takes her first swim.  

     See where they go from here…because now they have a past that needs to be dealt with and a future to look forward too if they can work it out.  She is now of age to make her own decisions.  That’s only if the truth of the past can truly be revealed and the actors in the nightmares of her past life can tell the truth about her accident before and after.  So far Harry is the only one wanting to reveal all yet Amelia is not ready and the other two have issues.

     This is an amazingly complex story with a great deal of issues that pose a great deal of thought about each character.  The thing I liked best is that the universe felt that Amelia and Harry had healed enough be bring them to the point of reconnecting them.  They were both stronger than they knew and ever were when they were when they were younger.  This is a must read.  I give this 5 stars.   Provided by Net Galley.  Follow us at: www. 1rad-readerreveiws.com