LAURA DREWRY - INTERVIEW : AUTHOR OF "HOW FOREVER FEELS

Laura Drewry

Is Here

Today!

Welcome

The Author of:

Maya McKay’s heart is as big as Jack Rhodes’s shoulders are broad. Their chemistry is out of control, but it could never work between them because Jack is more than just best friends with her cheating ex-husband—they’re like brothers. Maya, the sensitive, practical florist, has given up on love and is ready to settle for like. But now that Jack’s around again, he’s stirring up old feelings—and turning Maya’s fantasies into irresistible reality.

Jack blew his chance with Maya years ago when he stepped aside for his best friend, Will, and he’s still kicking himself about it. Maya was promised forever once before, and she got burned. But when Jack realizes that second chances aren’t going to fall out of the sky, he seizes the moment—and the woman he’s always loved—to show her how forever truly feels. 

Hi Char – thank you so much for inviting me here today! J

Thanks so much for being here and answering my Fangirl questions. J

Rad-Reader:  How did you come up with this storyline?

Laura:  Well, honestly there was a lot of back and forth over how Maya’s book was going to go. All through the first three books in the series, Maya had been struggling, first to try and save her marriage, then through the divorce, and then to rebuild her life afterward, so she was having some trouble with her self-confidence and her ability to trust. I knew Will had to have some kind of part in her story because he was the reason she was having issues. When I put that together with the theme of ‘friends first,’ I knew her hero would have to be someone she was already friends with, and I also knew that it had to be someone who Will wouldn’t be happy about.

Enter Jack; Will’s best friend and best man.

Rad-Reader:  Jack seemed like most of the book he liked being the one being needed by Will’s family.  Was that a fair statement?

Laura:  Yes, I think that’s a fair statement. Jack had never been needed or wanted by anyone before so the more he could do for Will’s family, the more they seemed to need him, which made him feel better and gave him that feeling of being needed.

Rad-Reader:  When he had given Will the one thing he loved the most and he basically abused it.  Why then did he pay to repair the home Maya destroyed?  What he told Will about town gossips should have been enough to stop Will from pressing charges.  But he paid for almost all the repairs too.  Why?

Rad-Reader:  When he had given Will the one thing he loved the most and he basically abused it.  Why then did he pay to repair the home Maya destroyed?  What he told Will about town gossips should have been enough to stop Will from pressing charges.  But he paid for almost all the repairs too.  Why?

Laura:  Because when it came to the Carsons, that’s what Jack did. When there was work to be done at any of the Carson’s homes, Jack was always the first one there to help, and always happy to help pay. And honestly, I think he enjoyed seeing the damage Maya did. J

Rad-Reader:  What was it that made Jack not out Will at the rehearsal dinner if he loved Maya so much?

Laura:  Jack loved Maya, yes, but the Carsons were the only family he’d ever had and Jack wasn’t ready to risk losing them, which is exactly what would have happened if he’d outed Will. Worse, he was pretty sure he’d lose Maya, too.

Rad-Reader:  Why wouldn’t he answer Maya’s emails?

Laura:  It all came down to his skewed version of the loyalty he thought he owed to the Carsons, and by staying in touch with Maya in any way, it would seem like he was taking her side. He was, of course, on her side the whole time, but he just didn’t have the confidence in his own self to stand up against the Carsons. Not yet, anyway.

Rad-Reader:  Why did he allow himself to be the one to come and oversee the opening of the part of the business if he felt it would be a bad move on his part?

Laura:  By the time the company asked him to take over, two years had passed, and even though he and Will hadn’t actually “had it out” over the whole Maya thing, Jack had finally found something inside himself where he started believing that his life didn’t have to start and stop with the Carsons. He certainly didn’t go into this thinking he and Maya would ever be anything more than friends, but he did finally realize that he shouldn’t have to give up anything or anyone simply because Will was a dickhead.

Rad-Reader:  Will and Stella act like everyone should be okay with their relationship.  But Will keeps referring to Maya as his wife.  Why?

Laura:  Will Carson is an egocentric narcissist who may not have wanted to marry Maya in the first place, but who still considered her to be like a possession. Yes, they divorced, and yes, it was his fault, but in his mind she was still his and always would be, even after he married Stella.

Stella did feel horrible for what she and Will did to Maya, but because Stella believed she and Will belonged together, she just rather expected people to get on-board with it. Will, on the other hand, didn’t give a flying fig what anyone thought about his relationship with Stella. 

Rad-Reader:  Griffen Carr wanted a baby but not a relationship.  Not a spark Maya said even passed between them just friendship.  Was attracted to women, or just leery of them in general, and not just found that right one to have it all with?

Laura:  As an actor, Griffin Carr lives in a world of make believe where everything seems bigger and bolder than it really is. It’s not that he’s leery of women in particular, he’s simply a little leery of people in general because in his experience, most people want something from him. Maya didn’t. On paper, having a child with her made perfect sense to him. Had it actually come to pass, however. . . .I think it might have been a little more complicated than he would anticipated. J

Rad-Reader:  The reveal Genie gives is a blow to Jack.  I can’t believe she asked him to wait to tell Will until after the wedding.  Why?  Was she afraid he would be mad at Jack or at her?

Laura:  A little of both. She was certain he’d be furious with Jack but mostly she was worried Will would do what he’d always done when he and Jack were kids and revert back to his “I don’t want this anymore but I’m sure as hell not going to let you have it, either” mentality. If he did that, he would not only lose Jack, he’d most likely lose Stella, too, and Genie was desperate to have Will settle down.

Rad-Reader:  What song out there now reminds you of your book?

Rad-Reader: Jana Kramer - Last Song (Goodbye to Will)

Jana Kramer -     Circles (The Start with Jack)

Laura: Goodbye to Will: "Kiss This"  Aaron Tippen

To start with Jack.  "How Forever Feels"  Kenney Chesney

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

Maya:  Miranda Lambert
http://hollowverse.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/miranda-lambert-640x360.jpg

Jack: Charlie Hunnam
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPX5yvE_PN1YaFtcwAsr90GG0RPAK77A1tEFqxZJRR0y7LS0UwooA0u55Es2Fp_9_ZhlosYwmzNZjrxNI6nwMS7r1eJkw0JNnPKpm21GinB-jKgyG_VPezI2l648ydeZhKS3r3CzhyhcI/s1600/Charlie+Hunnam+2.png

Will:  Brant Daugherty
http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMTYzMzcwMDU0NV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwOTE3MTY2MTE@._V1_UX214_CR0,0,214,317_AL_.jpg

Laura:   LOL – excellent choices, especially Charlie Hannam! (named my puppy Jax – LOL) Here are the pictures I used as inspiration for the characters, mostly because of either their facial expressions or body language in these particular photos.

Maya:  From what I understand, Reese Witherspoon isn’t very tall, and she always seems to have a fresh and easy look to her. In my mind, Maya was just like that, petite and pretty, and someone whose strength you might underestimate.
http://cdn03.cdn.justjared.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/reese-spain/reese-witherspoon-spain-04.jpg

Jack:  I always picture Jack as a big, warm hearted, loveable, kinda goofy guy, but at the same time, a guy who’s always felt a little alone, so the second I saw this picture of Channing Tatum I knew I had my Jack.
http://media1.popsugar-assets.com/files/2012/06/23/4/192/1922283/f220bbef8ba1041a_MM-CB-03981/i/Channing-Tatum-Magic-Mike.jpg

Will:  Now don’t get me wrong, I’m sure Henry Cavill is a perfectly nice, stand-up kind of guy, but this picture of him. . .it’s Will. He has that look on his face that looks to me like he’s thinking “it’s all about me, so why are you still talking?”

http://i.huffpost.com/gadgets/slideshows/302639/slide_302639_2562741_original.jpg

Rad-Reader:  What is your favorite genre to read?

Laura:  Honestly, I’ll read pretty much anything from YA to romance to horror. I gravitate more towards romance, though, because I want to know that these characters I’ve spent 300-400 pages getting to know, characters that I’ve taken into my heart, who’ve made me laugh and cry (and sometimes curse), will somehow get a happily ever after. 

Rad-Reader:  How hard was it to get someone to read your first book and publish it?

Laura:  Foof. That’s actually a tricky question because my first book was never published - and nor should it EVER be published. I still can’t believe I had the brass to send it out to editors (yes, it really really was that bad! LOL)

The first book of mine that was actually published was my historical western, HERE COMES THE BRIDE, back in 2005. I’d shopped it around to editors and agents for a while, with nothing to show for it but a stack of rejections. I stared looking into one of the new independent publishers of the time (it was a whole new thing back then) but that didn’t work out, and then I entered it in a writing contest that one of the RWA chapters had sponsored. As luck would have it, one of the final round judges was Hilary Sares who was with Kensington at the time. The book didn’t win, but came in second behind the fabulous Teresa Bodwell’s LOVING MERCY which Hilary had just recently bought. A short while later when Hilary was looking for another historical western, she thought of me and that’s where it all started. J

Rad-Reader:  What is your next project?  When will it be coming out?

Laura:  I’m working on a new series, Fishing For Trouble. The first book, OFF THE HOOK, is scheduled for release on April 16^th and I’m working on the next book, LURED IN, right now. The backdrop for this series is a family run fishing lodge on the west coast of BC, and each book tells the story of one of the O’Donnell brothers.

Rad-Reader:  Where can our readers find your books?

Laura:   

My books are available at all e-book retailers:

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1OaCafz

NOOK:               http://bit.ly/1V3pqHN

KOBO:                http://bit.ly/1JdVYhq

iBooks:    http://apple.co/1SsMrpv

Google Play:    http://bit.ly/1ZxxMIZ

Where can our readers find you?  (Website?)

Laura: I love to hear from readers, so if you’re on any of these social media sites, please stop by. J

Website: www.lauradrewry.com

Facebook:        https://www.facebook.com/LauraDrewryAuthor

Twitter:   https://twitter.com/lauradrewry

Instagram:       https://www.instagram.com/lauraleedrewry/

Pinterest:         https://www.pinterest.com/ldrewry/

Thanks again, Char, for inviting me – this was a lot of fun!  J

Cheers!

Laura

Laura

I can’t begin to tell you how lucky we are as a blog to have generous authors like yourself that take their time away from their writing to answer our questions.  Being the Fangirl that I am I usually have a lot. J  You too are now a part of our

Rad-Reader Misfits and we are so pleased to have.  Come back and visit again and say Hi!

Thanks again,

Char