Sunday, March 27, 2016

Perfect Sense by Amanda Cowen Interview & Excerpt


Perfect Sense
Perfect Series
Book One
Amanda Cowen

Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Amanda Cowen Books

Date of Publication: March 22, 2016

Number of pages: 277
Word Count: 79,000

Cover Artist: Sarah Hansen - Okaycreations

Book Description:

He’s gorgeous.

He’s reckless.

And he’s every woman’s dirty fantasy in the state of California.., except one… Quinn Ashby.

Recent graduate of Penn and top of her class, Quinn is whip smart, ambitious and interning as the new marketing coordinator for the Bexley Bruisers American Hockey League team. The last thing she needs is to waste her time on guys…especially one as lethal to her focus as Cash Brooks.

But once the bad boy hockey star tempts her into his world, threatening her professional future, she’s forced to decide whether to let him into her heart…or to leave him behind forever.

  
Excerpt:

I round the corner into the secluded hall leading to the washrooms, and my heart stops. Cash on the ice, sweaty and dressed in hockey equipment, was sexy, but the Cash sitting feet away, wearing an expensive modern-fit, pastel brown suit, is insanely hot. I eye the two women perched on either side of him on the red velvet chaise. To his right, a long-haired blonde with extensions rests a possessive hand on his chest. To his left, a woman with jet black hair toys with her side ponytail while running the fingers of her other hand through his wavy honey-colored hair.

About the Author:

Amanda Cowen can be found eating cupcakes, singing off-key, or watching a good RomCom when she isn't trapped on her computer writing stories. She is an "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" fanatic, a hater of roller-coasters and a country music junkie. She lives in Thunder Bay, ON where the summers are short and the winters are long.

Her next Contemporary Romance/New Adult Fiction novel PERFECT SENSE (The Perfect Series #1) will be available March 22, 2016.

Amanda would love to hear from her readers. Contact her via her website,
become a fan on Facebook, follow her on Instagram, or on Goodreads.

Interview

Where are you from?
Thunder Bay, ON

Tell us your latest news?
I’m a unicorn! Just kidding. I’ve got nothing. I’m a mom with two little boys, I live a hectic, yet boring life.

When and why did you begin writing?
I started writing when I was in the fourth grade. I couldn’t get the stories swirling around in my brain down on paper fast enough! I continued to write into my teen years, but stopped for a while when I was in University. But I always came back to writing. Then after a family friend passed away suddenly (she was only 30 years old with two kids), I realized life was too damn short not to be doing what you love… and I love writing. So I dug deep and I started taking my writing seriously. I pumped out three YA novels in one year, but wasn’t satisfied with any other them. Then inspiration struck and I finally wrote Between Friends and published it in 2013. I’ve had such a lag between that book and Perfect Sense, mainly because life happens and I’m not a writer full time, even though I’d like to be. But I’m very happy with how Perfect Sense turned out, and I hope all my readers will enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it! I will never stop writing, I will always be an author and you can expect to see much more from me in the future! 

When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I always have. It’s just always been in me to write! But I didn’t start taking my writing seriously until five years ago.

What inspired you to write your first book?
My first book and my first self-published book are two different things! Haha. So I will share what inspired me to write my first self-published book BETWEEN FRIENDS. When my real life male best friend told me he was engaged, it made me wonder what it would have been like if we had ever crossed that line from friends to lovers. So I sat down and pumped out BETWEEN FRIENDS in six months. I based all of the characters off of my real life group of friends and the rest is history!

Do you have a specific writing style?
Yes, first person. I can’t write or read a book any other way.

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
If anyone takes anything away from PERFECT SENSE, it’s that love isn’t always easy when you love someone with an addiction. Addiction is a disease. And people tend to stereo type addicts negatively as unemployed, victims of bad upbringings, high school drop outs and prostitutes. People think they take drugs in dark, dirty alleyways, rob innocent people, or go on binges and engage in high risk behaviors. But in reality the majority of addicts are just like everyone else, and many are professional athletes, people in power, celebrities, or someone you know. Addiction does not discriminate between rich and poor, young or old. And hopefully, Cash and Quinn’s story portrays that.

How much of the book is realistic?
It’s 100% fictional. Neither of the characters or events are based on real life people or events. But Cash and Quinn’s story is as realistic as a fictional story could get. There is no supernatural aspect or fantasy and will never be in my writing.

Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
Yes, Cash and Quinn’s story was inspired by my husband (who is also a hockey player). We were sitting around one night and I was telling him I wanted to write an angsty love story. I was working on another novel but I felt like it just wasn’t coming together the way I wanted. I told him I needed to challenge myself and write something different than my comfort zone and previous novel Between Friends (which is more of a romantic comedy and sweet love story). So he said that I should write a story about a hockey player, and told me about Theo Fleurry, a Canadian hockey player who suffered with an addiction. I immediately Googled Theo Fleurry and his story. He had an autobiography published in 2009 called Playing with Fire. And as I read his story, it started to inspire me to write and create Cash and Quinn’s story.

What books have most influenced your life most?
As a kid, The Baby Sitters Club was my absolute favorite! In my teens and early twenties, anything by Emily Giffin. And now, I like to read ROMANCE EVERYTHING!!!

If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
Emily Giffin

What book are you reading now?
Me and my girlfriend Angela are book clubbing Step Brother Dearest by Penelope Ward.  

What are your current projects?
Perfect Love (Perfect Series #2), the second book to Cash and Quinn’s story will be released later this year. I don’t want to give too much away, because that means I would give away the ending of Perfect Sense. So I’ll just say it will be worth the wait!
I’m working on three other novels, TAINTED (a love triangle romance) and FROM A TO Z (a friends to lovers romance), both anticipated to be released 2017. Also, WINGMAN (a second friends to lovers romance), anticipated to release 2018. I have a lot on the go! I wish I could just write full time and pump out all the characters and stories swirling around in my head J

What would you like my readers to know?
I’m a hopeless romantic. I like cupcakes. And I’m a Netflix binger. 



Instagram - @authoramandacowen


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