"Richard, we had a baby."
31st
December 1999. Seventeen-year-old Brit, Hanna Vincent, meets New
Yorker, Richard Larsen; a Columbia student and step-son of scion Leon
Maxwell. Divided by wealth, distance and a common language, an
unconventional friendship grows between the two.
From London to
New York, from 1999 to 2012, Fix You follows the story of quirky,
music-loving Hanna and handsome, driven Richard as they fall in love and
are torn apart. Their tempestuous relationship leads to an explosive
revelation that threatens to destroy them both.
Emotional and touching, this is a story of second chances. Is their shattered love beyond repair?
I am very excited to be a part of this blog tour for Carrie Elk's new book Fix You. I was given the ARC for this amazing story and devoured every word! I posted the review to Goodreads and Amazon of course, but here it is again:
This
book is amazing! I tried to come up with words to describe it but it
comes in waves. In parts you feel beautifully broken. In others, you're
twisted perfection. Carrie Elks knows how to write characters that crawl
into your heart and make you literally go through their journey. Fix
You is a tale of breaking love and making love. It's not often a writer
hits on the realities of the world and mingles it with fiction. Bravo! I
highly recommend!
To buy your own copy of this book simply click this link > Buy Fix You on Amazon
I was able to "sit down" with the talented Carrie Elks for an interview and I must say it was a lot of fun. So let's begin...
*** INTERVIEW***
1.
This is an exciting time for you. Fix You is a highly anticipated book
in many circles, and the fan base is growing. How do you prepare for a
book launch like this?
When
you’re self-publishing, at this stage it’s all about getting the book
to market. This involves proof-reading and formatting both the paperback
and e-book, as well working on marketing the book. I’m very lucky that
I’ve got a lot of great people surrounding me who are a real help. I
really couldn’t do this without them, and they make my life a very happy
place.
What
this doesn’t leave me with is much time to really think or worry about
things, and that’s good. I’m a worrier by nature, so taking my mind off
any anxieties is key.
2. Your characters in this book are all relatable in their own right. What character do you relate to most, and why?
I
can probably relate to both Richard and Hanna, but in different ways.
Richard is predominantly a good man—he does what is expected of him even
if it means having to stifle his own dreams. I think I can be a bit
like that, too. Hanna is more of a free spirit, and despite her mistakes
I think I’d like to be a little more like her. To sweat the small
things a little bit less and just throw myself into the moment. I guess
somewhere between the two of them would be perfect!
3. What or who inspires you to write?
Books.
Every time I read a good one, it inspires me to go and do my best on my
own work. I read a lot—probably 2 or 3 books a week on average—and when
I’m not reading I’m usually writing. There’s also those moments of “what
if” that I think inspire most writers. “What if the restaurant ceiling
fell down?” or “What if there was a girl who walked into an office and
told a man they’d had a baby?” Those are the things that send me running
for the laptop!
4.
Like a painting on the artist can truly interpret the piece. So can
you, in your own words tell us what the moral of your story Fix You is?
Fix
You is all about second chances. We all make mistakes in life—some big,
some small—but the key is to pick yourself up, dust yourself down and
try to make amends. That’s what happens in Fix You—we follow Hanna’s
journey of self-discovery, and find that in the end the only person who
can fix her is herself.
5. Has being a writer always been your dream? Yes, no, why?
I’ve
been a writer since the day I picked up my first pencil. From about the
age of 8 I was writing short stories and trying to write novels. In my
teens I had so many failed attempts that I ended up burning a stack of
manuscripts and later regretting it. Now I write most days, even if for a
short while, and it makes me very happy.
6. If you could give your younger self any advice, what would it be?
Have
you tried giving advice to teenagers? I probably wouldn’t have listened
anyway! Seriously, I have very few regrets. And those things I did that I
now see as wrong hopefully shaped me to be a better person in the long
run. So I probably wouldn’t change a thing.
Plus
I’m a believer in the butterfly effect. If I changed one small thing in
my past, who knows where I’d be today? That thought scares me.
7. Do you have any future projects in the works? Can you tell us about them?
I’ve
got two finished manuscripts that need to be edited into novels, plus a
third that I’m currently halfway through. For me, the writing is the
fun bit. The editing is hard work, but SO worth it in the end.
All
being well, I hope to get at least two of them published this year, and
the third early in 2015. One is a New Adult romance, the second is a
Contemporary romance and the third is historical. I’m enjoying
stretching my wings and trying different things.
8.
Fix You is by far one of the most emotional books I have read in a long
time... As a writer myself I get immersed in my characters emotions.
Sometimes it takes its toll... Do you ever have to deal with that?
If no, how do you avoid it?
If yes, how do you decompress?
Yes,
I definitely get caught up in the emotions of the characters. One of
the best things I ever did was a one-year course on counseling. During
the course they taught me to be empathetic, but also to realize the
difference between my emotions and those of my client. That training
definitely comes in useful for writing, because it enables me to get out
of the zone when the emotions run too high.
FAST FIRE QUESTIONS:
1. Coffee or Tea? Coffee
2. Chocolate or Vanilla? Chocolate
3. Books or Movies? Books
4. Day or Night? Day
5. Wine or Beer? Wine
6. Winter or Summer? Summer
7. Soup or Salad? Salad
8. Exercise or No exercise? Exercise
9. Favorite color? Red
10. Sports or no sports? Sports
Now, before the giveaway I have a few other goodies for you! A little something to wet your appetite... I give you an excerpt from this amazing book... Enjoy
EXCERPT
Prologue
May 12th 2012
Richard had filled out nicely since she had
last seen him. The thin cotton of his shirt clung to his biceps, skimming his
taut abdomen as it tucked into his dress pants. His hips were still lean and
tight, and she closed her eyes as she tried not to remember how they had felt
between her thighs, as he had moved inside her, breathing softly in her ear, as
she had moaned and whimpered and—
She shook her head. She wasn't
standing in his large, oak-panelled office just to take a trip down memory
lane, as pleasant as that might be. She had flown here, over three thousand
miles, to tell him what he deserved to know.
Inappropriate laughter bubbled
up in her throat as she considered the ridiculous melodrama of the situation.
Her 17-year-old self would be rolling her eyes, wondering how this 29-year-old
woman had managed to turn a seemingly promising life into a soap opera.
She glanced up at his face,
looking at his lips, which had turned down into a deep scowl. His eyes had
narrowed beneath his brows, and his straight, patrician, nose was slightly
crinkled in response to her presence.
The contempt he felt toward her
was radiating from him.
Hanna tried to keep her
breathing steady, reminding herself that although she was in his office,
on the penthouse floor of his building, this was her show.
She was in control.
If he viewed her with contempt
now, God only knew how he would feel once he'd heard what she had to say. He
had been an integral part of her life for so long—as a friend, a confidante,
even a lover—but never before did he have the power to break her.
"As nice as it is to see
you," he drawled, the tone of his voice making it patently clear that her being
in his office was anything but nice, "I have a meeting in five minutes.
Exactly what is it that you want?"
He had no idea, but this was it.
Time to open her mouth and tell him what he needed to hear. Her arms suddenly
felt heavy, and her fingers trembled; a physical manifestation of her
nervousness. Her laughter was replaced by something more unsettling, as she
tried to take in a deep breath and form the words that she had travelled all
this way to say.
Her tongue darted out to moisten
her lips. She watched his gaze move down to her mouth, staring at it with dark
eyes, as her teeth drew in her bottom lip.
"Richard." Her voice
was surprisingly strong. She could do this. She could tell him the truth, and
then get the hell out of here.
Back on a plane.
Back home.
Back to him.
"Richard, we had a
baby."
About the Author:
Carrie Elks lives near London, England and writes contemporary
romance with a dash of intrigue. At the age of twenty-one she left college with
a political science degree, a healthy overdraft and a soon-to-be husband. She
loves to travel and meet new people, and has lived in the USA and Switzerland
as well as the UK.
An avid social networker, she tries to limit her Facebook and Twitter time to
stolen moments between writing chapters. When she isn’t reading or writing, she
can usually be found baking, drinking wine or working out how to combine the
two.
To find, follow and keep up with all her work and happenings, here are the links to her Facebook, Twitter and Goodread's accounts:
You truly are missing out if you don't make this book a part of your reads. Now... on to the giveaway!!!
***GIVEAWAY***
a Rafflecopter giveaway
