A warm welcome to author Vanessa North joining us today to talk about new release “Summer Stock”.

Don’t forget to check out the giveaway at the bottom!

Welcome Vanessa 🙂

Crusie and the Bard

“Study your Crusie.”

Over a breakfast table in Las Vegas at RT in 2016, Amelia Vaughn, Riptide’s Marketing Director, looked at me, shook her head slightly, and said, “Study your Crusie.”

I had just pitched Summer Stock, with its gigantic cast of characters, to her, and of course, she was talking about Jennifer Crusie, one of romance fiction’s veritable superstars, and an author I’ve read and re-read over the years.

But had I ever really studied Crusie?

I started re-reading some of Crusie’s rom-coms as I was researching the two plays that would be performed by Shakespeare by the Sea, and I found myself drawing parallels between Crusie and Shakespeare, making notes regarding story structure and characterization that were shared by Crusie and the Bard. I was studying Crusie, and researching Shakespeare, but it struck me down to my bones that what the two shared was more than witty turns of phrase or pitch perfect comedic timing. The two also shared a pattern of weaving multiple storylines together to heighten and release tension.

In the end, I understood exactly why Amelia had suggested I “study my Crusie.” I learned so much from my side-by-side comparisons of Shakespeare’s comedies and Crusie’s romcoms, I began incorporating a similar structure in my own work. The romance still takes center stage, but the side characters and sub plots round out the story.

Inspiration can strike in many ways, but craft growth can always be found by truly studying the greats.

About Summer Stock

Tabloid scandals have driven TV star Ryan Hertzog to North Carolina’s Outer Banks, where he’s hiding out doing summer stock at his cousin’s seaside theater. When a hookup with local handyman Trey Donovan results in Ryan being photographed butt naked, he vows to keep his pants on and his hands off Trey.  How was he supposed to know Trey would turn out to be the summer stock set builder?

Trey isn’t looking for a relationship; he’s still recovering from the emotional fallout of an abusive marriage. But Ryan’s laughter draws him in again and again, and he’s not about to say no to fooling around.

As the summer heats up, the paparazzi catch Ryan in increasingly compromising situations. Ryan might be too much drama for a summer fling—and Trey might be just an intermission from Ryan’s Hollywood life. But if they take their cues from Shakespeare, all’s well that ends well.

Now available from:

Riptide Publishing

Amazon

About Vanessa North

Author of over a dozen novels, novellas, and short stories, Vanessa North delights in giving happy-ever-afters to characters who don’t think they deserve them. Relentless curiosity led her to take up knitting and run a few marathons “just to see if she could.” She started writing for the same reason. Her very patient husband pretends not to notice when her hobbies take over the house. Living and writing in Northwest Georgia, she finds her attempts to keep a quiet home are frequently thwarted by twin boy-children and a very, very large dog.

Connect with Vanessa:

• Website: vanessanorth.com
• Facebook profile page: facebook.com/AuthorVanessaNorth
• Twitter: @byVanessaNorth
• Goodreads: goodreads.com/VanessaNorth

To celebrate the release of Summer Stock, one lucky winner will receive a Summer Stock swag bag! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on May 20, 2017. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!