Best Part of Writing a Companion Series:
- Never having to
fully let go of a character you loved writing.
You can interlace all the characters throughout the novels
along the way, so essentially you never really have to let them go. Their
personality still builds with the others and you can keep improving on their
H.E.A. you left them with.
- If there is a sexy
book boyfriend you’ve created and fallen in love with you can add him in here
and there to keep him alive in your heart.
This is what I truly meant with my first answer…once you
meet Cameron Green in Control You you’ll understand.
- The town and all the little places the
characters visit become more real.
Maybe I should reword this one and say that it makes you wish the places were real. I would love
to visit Shooters, the main bar in Norhurst, just because so many things have
happened between those walls. Paige’s Closet in Control You would be the best
place to shop for clothes too!
- The more stories in
the companion series you write, the closer the friends within them seem to
become. They also begin to feel like your friends and family too.
This is true. You get used to them being in your head and
they feel like friends. By the way, I’m not as insane as that comment just made
me sound…this is what we call “writer problems”.
The Coldcreek Series is actually my first attempt at a
companion series. The majority of my novels are either continuation series’ or
standalones. I’ve had a blast trying this out, though. While I won’t state
whether I’ll be writing any more companion series in the future, I can tell you
that there will be a total of FOUR novels in this particular companion series—Break
You, Control You, and then two others that will release later this year.
Three Pieces of Advice Authors Always Seem To Give:
There are three main things authors always seem to repeat
when asked to give advice to aspiring authors. Here are my take on each:
1) Write every day.
I believe it was Steven King who first said this, or at
least I’m pretty sure that’s where I heard it first anyway. While I do believe
this is helpful, I haven’t actually implemented this “rule” to the fullest. My
process for writing seems to be shifting lately. I used to write Mon-Fri and
then take a break on the weekends for family time and such, but with my last
novel (the fourth in the Coldcreek series) I wrote for two weeks straight and
knocked it out quick-like. 5,000 words each day. That meant getting up at 5:30
am on Saturday and Sunday for two weeks in order to get that 5k in before my
family woke up and our day together began.
2) Write what you know.
I have never truly followed this rule. While I do write
about some things that I know, I
don’t write only what I know. They
would be pretty boring books if that were the case. Research is often the best
part of my writing process. I learn while I write basically. Sometimes it’s
garbage stuff, like how many times a day men think about sex. Which is either every
six seconds, fifteen minutes, or nineteen times a day depending on which study
you read. Other times it’s more informative and important stuff, like what
ingredients you need to make a perfect margarita.
3) Read.
This is one I will agree with one hundred percent. Reading
is one way you can remain sharp in your genre. You get to see what’s been
overdone lately and what hasn’t. I find myself really focusing on the emotions
the author creates when I read. I dissect. I like to know what specific words
or sentences made me burst into tears or laugh out loud and why. Writing is a
craft and learning how to write well is never-ending. Reading will keep you on
your toes.
Excerpt One:
Once outside, I pulled a cigarette from my pack and lit it.
Inhaling the rich taste of nicotine and menthol into my lungs, I felt myself
calm. Closing my eyes, I thought of the night I gained the scar on my right wrist.
It had been a year ago.
“I’m such a fuck up.” My voice had cracked when the words came out.
“So change…”
Eva’s words echoed through my mind. I had changed. I’d taken
her advice and checked into rehab. No one knew besides her and Scott; I’d kept
it a secret. I’d even kept my failed attempt at suicide a secret. I’d been
sober now for a year, and had been slowly working my way back to becoming
someone my parents would have been proud of. Hearing Scott say those words to
me today had meant more than he would ever know.
Taking a drag off my cigarette, I smiled.
After pulling out my cell, I dialed the one person I needed
to be with tonight. She answered on the third ring.
“You know you shouldn’t call me at five o’clock unless
you’re going to take me out to eat,” Eva muttered as a greeting when she
answered.
I chuckled. “That’s exactly why I was calling. So, what’s
your answer?”
“I get to pick the place and you can pay the bill.” I could
hear the playful smirk in her voice as she spoke. We both knew she’d be paying
for her portion of the meal. Eva never let me buy her anything, but it was fun
to joke about it anyway. When I’d paid her rent for the year, she hadn’t even
known until she attempted to make a payment a little late one month.
“Sounds fine by me.” I put my cigarette out and dug in my
pocket for my keys. “I’ll be there in fifteen.”
“I’ll be waiting,” Eva said in a singsong voice before she
hung up.
I grinned like a fool as I slid into my car. She was going
to be so fucking surprised at dinner tonight when I pulled out the bracelet I’d
bought her. Hell, I might walk away from dinner with a black eye after she beat
the shit out of me for buying her something. Tonight was a celebration of when
she’d saved my life though. Eva didn’t know it, but I was about to pamper her
ass for the night whether she wanted it or not. She deserved it.
Excerpt Two:
I folded the skinny jeans in my hands and chuckled. “How do
you fit in these? Don’t your legs feel like they’re lacking circulation when
you wear them?”
Eva shot me a go-to-hell look. “Are you calling me fat?”
Placing the jeans on top of the other pairs I’d managed to
fold, I laughed. “You know that’s not what I meant.”
She grinned. “Yeah, I know, but you walked right into that
one. And, no, they don’t cut off my circulation. They’re stretchy.”
“Stretchy, right, and that makes them seem to fit better?
Some women need to realize that just because an article of clothing is made of
stretchy material it doesn’t necessarily make them look good in it.” I picked
the jeans back up and held them out to her. “Here, go try these on and let me
make sure you don’t fall into that category.”
She smacked me across the chest. “Shut up. You know if
anyone should be giving someone hell, it should be me giving you hell. I mean,
you’re folding laundry on a Thursday night with me. Since when did you become
so domesticated?” She grinned.
I pursed my lips together; she was right. It was Thursday
night and I had nothing better to do besides stay at her place and help fold
her freaking laundry. What the hell was the world coming to?
“Yeah, well, I could be asking you the same thing,
sweetheart.”
“Don’t call me sweetheart. You know how much I hate your
little pet names,” she grumbled. “And you know why I’m home. The loser I chose
this time was just that, a loser. What’s your excuse?” She arched an eyebrow at
me.
“I’m a recovering addict; becoming a homebody is logically
my next step. If I don’t cut myself off from fun, I might relapse.” I was
kidding, slightly. The last week or so had been tough, and thoughts of using to
escape the mental anguish I’d found myself in had been tempting.
“Not funny.” Eva frowned.
“I wasn’t trying to be.”
Control You by Jennifer Snyder
Publication date: March 4th 2014
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult
Publication date: March 4th 2014
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult
Synopsis:
Kind hearted and naive, Paige Jacobs wants what every girl craves…to be loved. She uses this need to make excuses when her current boyfriend goes from being a tad jealous and slightly overprotective to stalker-ish. She isn’t that girl and Craig isn’t one of those guys. Things are fine. Perfectly fine. Until the moment a dark-haired, tattooed hottie with a snarky mouth walks into her life and tells her she deserves better.
Confident and boldly spoken, Cameron Green has always been the guy bad girls can’t get enough of and all the good girls want to tame. He’s lived a lavish lifestyle filled with drugs, women, and alcohol up until his destructive path finally caught up with him. Now Cameron isn’t sure what to do with himself or how to dampen the longing for something more festering inside of him since coming out of his drug-induced haze. But when he meets a doe-eyed girl who gets past his walls like no other, everything about him clicks into place.
Together the two learn there are emotions that hold within them all the power to control you…
Confident and boldly spoken, Cameron Green has always been the guy bad girls can’t get enough of and all the good girls want to tame. He’s lived a lavish lifestyle filled with drugs, women, and alcohol up until his destructive path finally caught up with him. Now Cameron isn’t sure what to do with himself or how to dampen the longing for something more festering inside of him since coming out of his drug-induced haze. But when he meets a doe-eyed girl who gets past his walls like no other, everything about him clicks into place.
Together the two learn there are emotions that hold within them all the power to control you…
Purchase:
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Jennifer Snyder lives in North Carolina were she spends most of her time writing new adult and young adult fiction, reading, and struggling to stay on top of housework. She is a tea lover with an obsession for Post-it notes and smooth writing pens. Jenniferlives with her husband and two children, who endure listening to songs that spur inspiration on repeat and tolerate her love for all paranormal, teenage-targeted TV shows.
Find out more about her latest novel by visiting her blog:
http://jennifersnydersblog.
Other ways to connect with Jennifer:
Email: Jennifersnyder04(at)gmail(dot)
Facebook: https://www.
Twitter: http://twitter.com/
Find out more about her latest novel by visiting her blog:
http://jennifersnydersblog.
Other ways to connect with Jennifer:
Email: Jennifersnyder04(at)gmail(dot)
Facebook: https://www.
Twitter: http://twitter.com/
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Nice excerpt
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