Blog Tour for Fix You by Carrie Elks *Interview and Giveaway*

"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 12^th 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:

Twitter: www.twitter.com/carrieelks

Facebook: www.facebook.com/carrieelksauthor

GoodReads link for the book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19236365-fix-you

 

 




You truly are missing out if you don't make this book a part of your reads. Now... on to the giveaway!!!

***GIVEAWAY***

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