BOOK INFORMATION
TITLE – Just Realized
SERIES (& book #) – Ward Sisters, #6
AUTHOR – Lucy Gage
GENRE – Contemporary Romance/Romantic Fiction
PUBLICATION DATE – January 11, 2016
LENGTH (Pages/# Words) – 416 pages
PUBLISHER – Patricia Korbet
COVER ARTIST – PK Designs Editing and Graphics
BOOK SYNOPSIS
She appears to be the irrepressibly happy girl. Nina Jacobs has had some rough patches in life, and men have always disappointed her. The day Owen Nichols drops into her world, the last thing she expects to happen is happily ever after.
He gravitates toward the role of knight in shining armor for damsels in distress. Sergeant Owen Nichols has a bad habit of being the rebound guy. When he meets Nina Jacobs, he recognizes the moment where preparation meets opportunity.
Some life lessons have to be earned the hard way. Owen is determined to prove worthy of Nina's trust, and they form an unshakable bond of friendship that she can't believe—and he dares not presume—is more. Can Owen find the courage to leap before she rediscovers her heart with someone else? Or will Nina realize that she already has everything she needs with the man who has become her best friend?
BUY & TBR LINKS
EXCERPT
This time, he dove in with her still on his shoulder—instead of dumping her—and she was ready for it. When they surfaced, she was laughing and he was, too. He swooped her into an embrace, leaning his face inches from hers. She tried to pull away and he said, “Don't. Not yet.” “Why?” “Because your ex is watching. I'm going to kiss you. Make him jealous.” “What if I don't want to kiss you?” “Do you want to make him jealous?” he asked, his lips a hair from hers. “Yes,” she breathed.
AUTHORS PLAYLIST
AUTHOR BIO
Lucy Gage started her writing career under another name, but the same vivid imagination and love of books still fuels her daily life. When she's not writing, you can find her spending time with her family in her home state of Maine, experiencing a life that helps shape her writing.
She loves to hear from fans, and appreciates that they asked about her writing while she took this last year to focus on other parts of her life. Look for her website in 2016. Ward Sisters Series Book #7, Think of Me, will arrive in 2016. Book 1 in the Vega Brothers Series—a Ward Sisters spinoff—launches later in the year.
Interview:
When and why did you begin writing? I have always written to put my emotions to words. I started writing formally in college, but I've been composing stories in my head for most of my life.
When did you first consider yourself a writer? I worked daily on a fanfiction in the fall of 2012, and at that helped me see that writing was a fundamental part of who I am. I was probably a writer long before that, but in that moment, I understood it to be true.
What inspired you to write your first book? I had a dream several years ago about and ordinary girl meeting a famous actor, and the two of them falling in love. The story had several false starts, but at its core, the tale is still the same one that became Back to December (Ward Sisters, #1).
Do you have a specific writing style? I'm a pantser, and my writing style is very organic.
How did you come up with the title? My titles often come from musical inspiration. This particular one came from listening to Colbie Caillat's Realized. Between the song and the video for it, there are themes similar to Just Realized. It was a good fit. Not every working title becomes the final one, but in this case, it did.
Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp? I think the tagline, “Loving someone is easy. Trusting them with your heart is the hard part,” is a pretty accurate depiction of the book's concept. In some ways, it can apply to ourselves (as it does for Nina and Owen); once we learn to trust our instincts, we can truly love. But only if we love ourselves first. Sometimes, that takes forgiveness.
How much of the book is realistic? I strive for as much realism as I can in my stories, as long as it doesn't dramatically impact the narrative in a negative way. I can almost always meet my goal to have 90-100% of the story realistic, and I think this story meets that pretty easily.
Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life? Every book I write has elements of me in it, and many of my characters attended college at my Alma mater. All of those bits reflect my college experiences and those of my friends, for sure. Are they real? Well, I'm not telling. But they certainly could have been. As for the rest, some things have real-world counterparts, but this book was not actually written about any one person or situation. My books really don't reflect life in that way (but they could).
What books have most influenced your life most? There are far too many to name them all. The written word is such an integral part of who I am. Certainly, there are books which have helped shape me as a writer, but that's always evolving.
If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor? Laurie Breton has always been my mentor. I can never repay her enough for what she has done for me. There are too many labels for who she is to me, but mentor is the simplest.
Interview:
Where are you from? Maine
Tell us your latest news? I released Just Realized on
Janury 11, 2016. I'm working on my next couple books right now. A spinoff
series is planned, called Vega Brothers. The first book in that Steal Your
Heart, will come first, and then Ward Sisters, #7, Think of Me, will
be next on the list.
When and why did you begin writing? I have always written to put my emotions to words. I started writing formally in college, but I've been composing stories in my head for most of my life.
When did you first consider yourself a writer? I worked daily on a fanfiction in the fall of 2012, and at that helped me see that writing was a fundamental part of who I am. I was probably a writer long before that, but in that moment, I understood it to be true.
What inspired you to write your first book? I had a dream several years ago about and ordinary girl meeting a famous actor, and the two of them falling in love. The story had several false starts, but at its core, the tale is still the same one that became Back to December (Ward Sisters, #1).
Do you have a specific writing style? I'm a pantser, and my writing style is very organic.
How did you come up with the title? My titles often come from musical inspiration. This particular one came from listening to Colbie Caillat's Realized. Between the song and the video for it, there are themes similar to Just Realized. It was a good fit. Not every working title becomes the final one, but in this case, it did.
Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp? I think the tagline, “Loving someone is easy. Trusting them with your heart is the hard part,” is a pretty accurate depiction of the book's concept. In some ways, it can apply to ourselves (as it does for Nina and Owen); once we learn to trust our instincts, we can truly love. But only if we love ourselves first. Sometimes, that takes forgiveness.
How much of the book is realistic? I strive for as much realism as I can in my stories, as long as it doesn't dramatically impact the narrative in a negative way. I can almost always meet my goal to have 90-100% of the story realistic, and I think this story meets that pretty easily.
Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life? Every book I write has elements of me in it, and many of my characters attended college at my Alma mater. All of those bits reflect my college experiences and those of my friends, for sure. Are they real? Well, I'm not telling. But they certainly could have been. As for the rest, some things have real-world counterparts, but this book was not actually written about any one person or situation. My books really don't reflect life in that way (but they could).
What books have most influenced your life most? There are far too many to name them all. The written word is such an integral part of who I am. Certainly, there are books which have helped shape me as a writer, but that's always evolving.
If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor? Laurie Breton has always been my mentor. I can never repay her enough for what she has done for me. There are too many labels for who she is to me, but mentor is the simplest.
What would you like my readers to know? I never tire of hearing
that someone enjoys my work. It's why I do what I do, to share my stories with
others. When people love them, especially if I made them cry, laugh, smile,
want to pull their hair out, or smack one of my characters, then I am doing my
job well.
AUTHOR FOLLOW LINKS
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