WELCOME
Elizabeth Barone
Author of:
Rad-Reader: Why this storyline?
Elizabeth: I know became a single
dad, literally doing a 360 with his life in order to care for his infant child.
I have several single mom friends, and I think society is pretty good about
cheering them on, but we so rarely celebrate single dads. Watching my friend
make so many sacrifices and even ultimately pursue his dreams because of his child got me thinking.
I had this college student with a little girl suddenly yammering in my head,
and I just had to know how that guy made it work.
Rad-Reader: How did Max’s mom and dad expect him on such
short notice to have him be able to do a 360 and puff care for himself and
their grandchild Chloe? Especially when
they carried him all that time?
Elizabeth: Max’s mom tells him
flat out that she’s in her sixties and she’s done with the family thing. She
wants to pursue her own path, rather than do for everyone else. She also senses
that Chloe isn’t seeing Max as a father figure, so in her own way is trying to
help.
Rad-Reader: They seem to want to do the whole tough love
with him but they did it in a way that caused damage to the family as a
whole. What were they thinking?
Elizabeth: Their hearts are in the
right place, but their tact is totally questionable. As baby boomers, they see
things a lot differently than people in Max’s generation do. "Get married
and have a family" was sort of that generation’s M.O.—even if neither side
of that marriage unit is totally in love. Max has to juggle his family’s
meddling with his own desires and, of course, Chloe’s best interest.
Rad-Reader: They displaced him from his home with their
grandchild but never called to see if they were okay or if they were living in
a good neighborhood. Were they still
angry with him for getting his ex-pregnant and what it looked like on them? Or they wanted to make a man out of him?
Elizabeth: Again, it’s back to
that baby boomer tough love. His parents care about their son and
granddaughter, of course, but are busy running a law firm and starting a
completely new business. It’s up to Max to figure it out the way they did when
they were starting off.
Rad-Reader: When Riley mentioned the ad what was she
thinking? Thought she was the
responsible one?
Elizabeth: Riley and Max have a
humor-driven kind of friendship. Since she was just joking, she’s totally
horrified when Max takes her joke seriously. She begs him to reconsider.
Rad-Reader: As the story progressed we see Riley become
more forward with her feelings or is it just flirting? Max does it too. Did she have an interest in Max and he in her
at any point?
Elizabeth: Unfortunately for
Riley, Max has never had romantic feelings for her. She’s always had a crush on
him and hoped that he’d eventually notice her, though.
Rad-Reader: By the end of the book Riley and Max are not
as close and she is very bold and sexually forward at one point in the story
about being with him even. Why the
drastic change in her? Max didn’t even
like it about her. Was she competing
with Savannah in her own way for Max’s attention?
Elizabeth: Just like Max, Riley is
growing up too, and going through her own metamorphosis. She’s just trying on
another set of wings, so to speak. She and Max have always had a joking
friendship, and she uses that as sort of a defense mechanism for her true
feelings. Max, of course, is totally oblivious.
Rad-Reader: When he met Savannah the tattoos threw him
but he never asks her about them. Why?
Elizabeth: One theme I really
wanted to tackle with this novel was people’s assumptions about appearances. We
all like to think we aren’t judgmental, but subconsciously we are. We have to
train ourselves to do better. For a few years, I worked at a jewelry counter in
a department store. I love tattoos and am always getting more, so I displayed
mine loud and proud while at work. It was always jarring to me, how even people
my age would eye me openly with mistrust and even disgust. It just goes to show;
our society has a long way to go.
Max doesn’t hate the tattoos, per se, but they are skulls and he doesn’t understand them—until later, when he asks her about them and she explains.
Rad-Reader: Savannah never comes right out and says where
she got or gets all that extra cash she had in that drawer she had. Where did it come from? From the art or her parents?
Elizabeth: Savannah explains what
her relationship with her parents is like; she makes all of her money from
commissioning paintings.
Rad-Reader: Will she start working with her art more or
will it be too hard while Chloe is around?
Elizabeth: That question is
answered in a spinoff series, the South of Forever series! It’s now available
at http://elizabethbarone.net/south-of-forever/
Rad-Reader: Why is Savannah so secret about things? The morning after…Christmas morning she was
acting odd why? She was avoiding him and
not making eye contact?
Elizabeth: Max is your typical
guy; he’s a little oblivious to things that I as a woman would feel hurt about.
Since it’s Christmas and the day before he’d mentioned going to see his family,
she’d sort of hoped he would invite her along. Men!
Max: Ryan Guzman
Savannah: Victoria Justice
Riley: Genesis Rodriguez
Nicole: Imogen Poots
http://celebmafia.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/imogen-poots-nylon-magazine-january-2014-guy-lowndes-photoshoot_3.jpg
Elizabeth:
Riley:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/241716704979166656/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/241716704979166656/
Nicole: Emily Osment
Rad-Reader: What song out now best describes your book?
"It Was Always You" - Maroon 5
Elizabeth:
https://open.spotify.com/user/1246069173/playlist/2IYI9QCU9NfijXJi0TPtCn
https://open.spotify.com/user/1246069173/playlist/2IYI9QCU9NfijXJi0TPtCn
I think the song that most captures The Nanny with the Skull Tattoos:
"Warm Water" - Banks
Rad-Reader: When did you know writing was what you wanted
to do?
Elizabeth: Ever since I was
little, I knew I wanted to write. But I always kind of figured it was out of
reach, something I’d have to do on weekends for fun. I didn’t think it was
something I could actually make a career out of. Then I got sick with
autoimmune arthritis and couldn’t work a "normal" job. It was almost
as if the universe was shoving me—hard—toward this path.
Rad-Reader: How long did it take you to get your first
book published?
Elizabeth: Occasionally, when I
was still working a nine to five type job, I’d submit a story somewhere. One of
my blog friends and writing buddies was self-publishing and doing pretty well
with it. She was always writing about her experiments and it was so fascinating
to me. In 2011, I decided to self-publish a story that had been previously
published in a literary magazine, and that was it. I was hooked.
In the meantime, I’d
submitted another novel to a contest. The prize was a publishing contract I
didn’t expect to win, but it ended up being a quarterfinalist, which was pretty
cool. I decided screw it, and self-published it in late 2012.
In the meantime, I’d
submitted another novel to a contest. The prize was a publishing contract I
didn’t expect to win, but it ended up being a quarterfinalist, which was pretty
cool. I decided screw it, and self-published it in late 2012.
I continued self-publishing and, in 2015, got picked up by a small press. They closed their doors this spring, so I’m back in the indie author game now. In a lot of ways, it’s felt like coming home.
Rad-Reader: What is your next project? When will it be coming out?
Elizabeth: Right now third book in
the South of Forever series is in editing. I’m planning on releasing it this
summer. I’ve also started a new series. My production schedule is growing by
the minute. It’s amazing because not too long ago I was in a pretty bad episode
of depression (I have PTSD), and couldn’t write anything. Now I can’t shut my
muse up. ;)
The best way to keep up with what I’m working on is to sign up for my newsletter. Click here: http://eepurl.com/iUQp1
Rad-Reader: Where can our readers buy your books?
Elizabeth: My books are available
on Amazon, iBooks, Kobo, and all other major retailers. Readers can also borrow
my books through Overdrive; you just have to ask your library to add them to
their catalog.
Rad-Reader: Where can they find you on the Web?
Author Website: http://elizabethbarone.net
Blog: http://thecrazychronicles.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/elizabethbarone
Facebook: http://facebook.com/elizabethbaronebooks
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/elizabethbarone
YouTube: http://youtube.com/elizabethbarone
Amazon: http://amazon.com/author/elizabethbarone
Elizabeth,
Thanks for being with us. Your
book causes us to think that is for sure I know it caused my hubby and I to
talk. We have grown children and we have
been on the other side of this where you know you have to allow your children
to grow up but you don’t want to see them fall.
Yet, tough love is sometimes the only way to make it work for the long
term. You can see results for them and
you. So thank you so much.
Coming from a Hispanic family I laughed a
lot when she would go off in Spanish and him just cracking up. But I could also relate to him for getting
angry for being questioned for not speaking the language that was his
grandparents. My mother got punched at
school for speaking Spanish and then when she got home got in trouble for speaking
English so she speaks Spanglish.
I didn’t even know that she spoke Spanglish until I was a Sophomore in
high school and this guy I liked told me. I was like yeah right. Then when I listened I couldn’t even believe
it. I was able to follow along and never
noticed. She never wanted to teach us
Spanish since we were in America and English was the mother tongue. Therefore, no confusion. Yeah, no but who knew. Pros and cons for both sides. Now my daughter who is 15 is taking it and is
a whiz at it and loves it. God I hope
she can continue in that vein and becomes so well versed in it that it is
second nature to her. So, yes your book
had a lot going on so to say it was just a love story it was not. So thanks again for answering some of my
FANGIRL questions and for being here. Come
by and visit again anytime. You are now
a 1 Rad-Reader Misfit!
Char J
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