A warm welcome to author Shell Taylor stopping by Love Bytes today to talk about new release “Reclaiming Hope”, book 3 in the Home for Hope series.
Welcome Shell 🙂
TITLE: Reclaiming Hope
SERIES: Home for Hope #3
AUTHOR: Shell Taylor
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
COVER ARTIST: L.C. Chase
LENGTH: 210 Pages
RELEASE DATE: October 14, 2016
BLURB: Sequel to Resurrecting Hope
Home for Hope: Book Three
Four years ago, Kollin Haverty’s best friend, Riley Meadows, dropped off the face of the earth. When he shows up out of the blue, armed with a flimsy excuse for disappearing and having nearly completed his transition from female to male, Kollin wants to pick up where they left off. But Riley’s unwillingness to be honest with Kollin prevents him from fully trusting Riley again. Despite Riley’s insecurities and Kollin’s abandonment issues, they quickly discover there’s something more than friendship between them.
When a ghost from Riley’s past unexpectedly appears with haunting memories in tow, Kollin’s anger about being lied to outweighs his desire to be the understanding boyfriend Riley needs. As Riley’s web of strategically withheld secrets begins to unravel, he must find the courage to pursue his own peace before he can move forward with Kollin, and Kollin must decide what’s more important—supporting his best friend or protecting himself.
Hi, everyone! Massive thanks to Love Bytes for having me today to share a little about my inspiration for Reclaiming Hope.
One of the ways I’m able to get into my characters’ heads when I write is to play the same songs over and over. I choose the songs either because of a single lyric in it, the melody, the title, or the general idea of it so I thought I’d share some of those with you today!
The Words by Christina Perri – I think this was the first one on this list. If anyone follows me on Facebook or Twitter, you already know I’m a huge OUAT fan and even bigger Captain Swan fan. And Christina Perri may be the biggest CS/Colin O’Donoghue fan of all. Really, this entire song spoke to me for Riley’s and Kollin’s story, but my favorite lyric that applies to how both of them feel, though I related it a little more toward Kollin, is:
“And all of the steps that led me to you
And all of the hell I had you walk through
But I wouldn’t trade a day for the chance to say
My love, I’m in love with you”
Welcome to My Life by Simple Plan – This is so very clearly Riley in the first part of the song and is pretty self-explanatory if you’ve read the book.
“No you don’t know what it’s like
When nothing feels alright
You don’t know what it’s like to be like me
To be hurt, to feel lost
To be left out in the dark
To be kicked when you’re down
To feel like you’ve been pushed around
To be on the edge of breaking down
And no one there to save you
No you don’t know what it’s like
Welcome to my life”
I Don’t Want to Be by Gavin Degraw – Every time I hear this, I’m pulled right back to One Tree Hill. In addition to loving that show, I also very much have always loved this song. Some of these lyrics are where Kollin is in his life during this book and a place where Riley wants to be. If you read the first two books, you know all of the shizzle Kollin went through and how miraculous it is he emerged from his situation as whole as he is. And I really admire that because, sure, Kollin had amazing support after his parents abandoned him but the choice of who he would be after that was really up to him. And I just believe with all my heart that the world needs more Kollins. Riley reaches this point by the end of the book, I think, but I imagine he will continue to struggle from time to time.
“I don’t want to be
Anything other than what I’ve been trying to be lately
All I have to do is think of me and I have a peace of mind
I’m tired of looking ’round rooms
Wondering what I’ve got to do
Or who I’m supposed to be”
Good Enough by The Empire Cast featuring Jussie Smollett – Gah. This one. I loved Season 1 of Empire and then life got me and I never kept up with S2 or now S3. I plan to get back to it one day, though. I highly recommend to anyone who hasn’t seen it and has time to get sucked in. The show is all about the Lyon family and who the father will choose to take over his Hip-Hop agency, Empire Entertainment, so there’s a lot of great music in the show and when one of the characters sang this to his dad, one of the lyrics really screamed Riley at me.
“Look at me
See it doesn’t matter what you think, I’m still a man
Look at me
Open up your eyes, can’t you see that I’m good enough”
Fix You by Coldplay – I’m realizing how depressing my playlist is right about now! This is just an amazing song. And I felt Kollin never wanted anything more than to help ‘fix’ Riley. Even if he didn’t really know what was wrong. These lyrics spoke to me from this song.
“And high up above or down below
When you’re too in love to let it go
But if you never try you’ll never know
Just what you’re worth”
Til Kingdom Come by Coldplay – I think I added this one because it happened to play after Fix You and I just love it. But sometimes that’s how life works. These particular lyrics are again from Kollin’s pov.
“For you, I’d wait ’til kingdom come.
Until my day, my day is done.”
Fight Song by Rachel Platten – Yay! A happy one again. This whole song is beautiful. There are tough moments in it, which really captures Riley but it ends with a promise to fight, which I also think is true for Riley. Even when things weren’t so good for Riley, he never really stopped fighting. He just had to do it alone. Really, the entire song is perfect for this story but if I have to choose, these lyrics would be my favorites:
“Starting right now I’ll be strong (I’ll be strong)
I’ll play my fight song
And I don’t really care if nobody else believes
‘Cause I’ve still got a lot of fight left in me”
Conqueror by Empire Cast featuring Estelle and Jussie Smollett – Told ya I loved Empire. All of their music is phenomenal (at least from Season 1!) This is another empowering song for Riley but also touches Kollin’s past. The entire song is perfect but these are my favorite words:
“We all make mistakes,
You might fall on your face,
But I am a conqueror! (oh ooh)”
Stay by Hurts – This was actually in my playlist for Resurrecting Hope as well. I just love it. And I really wanted to write a scene that included these specific lyrics in both books and ended up not doing it in either. Maybe one day. I’ll just keep adding it to all of my playlists!
“We say goodbye in the pouring rain
And I break down as you walk away.
Stay, stay.”
And finally Photograph by Ed Sheeran – I just like this song but what made me want it for Kollin’s and Riley’s story was one line in particular. I loved the idea that love can heal your soul, and I really believe when we’re able to love in love’s purest form that it can heal. Hence why I’m a romance writer, I suppose!
“Loving can heal, loving can mend your soul”
That’s it! I had a few more but these were the ones that really spoke to me about the book. If you made it this far in the post, thank you! I hope you enjoyed this insight. It was fun for me to go back through these songs.
Thanks so much for stopping by today. Don’t forget to enter to win the giveaway for a chance to win an Amazon gift card or a book from my backlist. Or… if you’d rather, I also have an audio copy of Redeeming Hope (Home for Hope book 1) to give away!
BUY LINKS:
Adam rolled his eyes to mimic her and then turned his attention toward Kollin. “Look who the cat dragged in.”
For some reason, Kollin’s heart fluttered. Waves of nervousness raced through his body as he tried to figure out why Adam thought he should know the stranger. He’d never told either of his parents about meeting the guy at the bookstore, and even if he had, Adam couldn’t have known he was the same person.
The man studied the ground, seemingly reluctant to look at Kollin, but Kollin knew he couldn’t identify him even if they were staring directly at one another.
Fortunately Adam saved him from further embarrassment. “I didn’t recognize Riley until he threatened to own me in Ping-Pong.”
Kollin sucked in a huge gulp of air. The nervous flutters, which had been nothing more than a curious enigma, ceased, and he suddenly felt as if a boulder had settled in the pit of his stomach.
He hadn’t spoken to Riley Meadows in over four years. When Kollin’s parents kicked him out, Riley had been the one who kept Kollin sane. He tethered him to reality when all he’d wanted was to escape inside himself. They’d kept in touch when Riley first went to college and somehow became even closer—until Riley seemingly dropped off the face of the earth. Phone calls, e-mails, texts… all unanswered. Kollin eventually took the hint and gave up.
Now Riley was back?
Shell Taylor is a full-time mother of three exuberant and loving kiddos and one fur baby, a tiny but fierce Yorkie-poo named Rocco. As a Christian who practices love, grace, and humility, she tries her best to instill these same virtues in her rowdy kids. She is a huge fan of Marvel comics and will never stop loving Harry Potter (Hufflepuff pride, baby!) When Shell isn’t writing, she can be found binge watching Netflix or volunteering at her church and childrens’ school. Shell considers herself blessed to have married a strong, supportive man who works hard to allow her to continue to follow her dreams.
:: Facebook :: Twitter :: Blog ::
You can also email Shell at – shell4jmu@gmail.com
1st Winner’s Prize: $20 Amazon GC
2nd Winner’s Prize: E-copy of Redeeming Hope/Resurrecting Hope
October 14: Diverse Reader
October 17: Hearts on Fire
October 18: Rick R. Reed
October 19: Drops of Ink
October 20: Bending The Bookshelf
October 21: Author Dean Frech
October 24: Love Bytes Reviews
October 25: Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words
October 26: Because Two Men Are Better Than One
October 27: MM Good Book Reviews
October 28: Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents
October 31: Bonkers about Books
November 1: My Fiction Nook
November 2: Wicked Faeries Tales & Reviews
November 3: Making It Happen Blog
November 4: BFD Book Blog
November 7: Bayou Book Junkie
November 8: Molly Lolly: Reader, Reviewer, Lover of Words
November 9: Prism Book Alliance
I have not read any of this series yet, but they are on my wishlist. This one sounds so good; I want to know what happens next. Thank you for the chance!
I have not read any of the books from this series yet but I’m intrigued by what secrets Riley is so unwilling to divulge! Congrats on the tour and thank you for offering the Giveaway!
Very cool and diverse playilst!
vitajex(at)aol(Dot)com
great interview
jmarinich33@aol.com
Not read this series yet but really like the sound of it. I’m sure The Center for HOPE is going to be opening it’s doors to some amazing characters with lots of angst and interesting plotlines, on the way to HEA. Added them all to be TBR! Congrats on the new release.
Congrats and great looking cover. One of the things that intrigues me is the transgender story. I volunteer tutor GED student at the Center on Halsted in Chi., and we’ve had a couple of trans students, and I’m wanting to learn more about their lives.