Interview with the author of When In Paris and International giveaway!

As usual, for my loyal followers, I'm opening up this giveaway a little early for you all. I really enjoyed reading this sexy novel about two college kids finding each other. I needed a fluff read after all those depressing dystopians I was reading!

Goodreads Book Description: College freshman Olivia Montgomery is thrilled at the chance to start over, escape the rumors that plagued her in high school. And she can finally put her juvenile crush, Zachary Pearson, where he belongs--in her past. Then her unrequited love strolls into her French class, shattering Olivia's newfound peace, and the feelings she'd thought buried for good come rushing back. Now she can't shake her unwanted attraction to the one guy who can twist her stomach into knots with just a smile...but has never given her the time of day.

Zach's good looks may have always gotten him his pick of girls, but it's the star quarterback's skill on the football field that gives him his pick of the Big Ten colleges. To escape the crushing demands of his win-at-all-costs father, Zach opts for a private university in upstate New York where...his present and past collide. And the one girl he's always wanted but can't have--and a class trip to Paris--turn out to be the ultimate game changer that has him breaking every one of his rules.

Recommended for readers +17 and up
New Adult - mature content (language & sex)

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

My Review: I was approached by the author to read her book in exchange for an honest review. Because I was lacking on lighthearted romance, especially with February around the corner, I said yes. I'm glad I did, because it was a fun read!

When in Paris by Beverley Kendall is about Olivia, a girl who is escaping her high school self as a freshman in college. She had a crush on the hottest guy at school, Zach, who never gave her the time of day. In alternating perspectives between Olivia and Zach, we see love and lust blossoming between the two of them when they realize they go to the same college and attend the same French class. Then their class goes to a trip to Paris, and everything Olivia thought she knew about love and Zach go out the window. Get ready for some steamy scenes!

This book was a lot of fun to read. The characters are great and likeable, and while they make some silly conclusions on very little data, that's typical of a romantic comedy. The side characters, Troy and April, are intriguing as well, and I was gratified to realize they are getting their own installment! Plus, that means I get to see more of Zach, who is super hot! The plot line is pretty predictable, but the characters are so engaging that I went along with it and was never bored. There are steamy scenes, but they aren't gratuitous.

Overall, a steamy, fun romantic comedy, that is a perfect read for Valentine's day!

Author Blurb:

Beverley discovered her love of books while growing up in, the then, small city of Barrie, Ontario Canada. With her love of books and romance, she always wished that everyone would find their happily ever after. Her writing wings will now not only encompass historical romances but new adult and contemporary romances as well.

As the mother of one too bright and mischievous young boy, Beverley now writes full-time and enjoys the process of self-publishing her novels. When she's not writing, mothering or reading, she's enjoying some of her favorite hobbies: knitting, crocheting and sewing.

Beverley has lived on two continents, in three countries, two provinces, and four states. She stopped her nomadic existence and settled in the southeast. All things artistic feed her creative passion, but none more than writing. Readers can visit her at: www.beverleykendall.com.

Author Interview

Can you tell us a little about your journey as a self-published writer?

My journey to become a self-published I think had more to do with running out of avenues for a book I absolutely adored and wanted to see published despite not being able to getting a publisher to buy it when my agent was shopping it.

It kind of went like this: I got a two-book deal with Kensington Publishing and my series was three books. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depends how you look at it) when Kensington was pressed to make a decision on my option book, An Heir of Deception, which was the third book in the series, they only had numbers on my first book (Sinful Surrender) and no sales numbers on the second book (A Taste of Desire), which had just been released about two days before. They turned it down. We had shopped it elsewhere and there were no takers.

Since I felt this was the strongest book in the series and the one closest to my heart, I was determined to see it published. At this point, an author and good friend, Lori Brighton, was already testing the self-publishing waters and found it quite agreeable. I was still very wary until I read a post Amanda Hockings posted about how much money she was earning with her YA paranormal series and that pretty much sold me on it.

I released An Heir of Deception late April of 2012 and was able to quit my day job and write full-time. It is the single best decision I ever made in regard to my writing career.

2. Characters are the meat of any story. Are your characters based on anyone you know? What do you think is the makeup of an interesting character?

Hmm, I do base bits and pieces of my characters on some characteristics of people I know and things I’ve experienced, but I don’t base a whole character on someone I know.  To me, an interesting character is flawed. And by that I don’t mean physically flawed but emotionally flawed. They have issues. I don’t write about really really heavy subject matters, so their issues won’t have anything to do with things like rape, incest or physical abuse. I deal more with self-esteem, relationship (both romantic and non-romantic), parental, peer pressure and issues like that. So I like characters who have to grow and learn coming from not such a dark place in their life. I like characters that are relatable in one aspect but also have lives that are way more interesting than the one I’ve led.

Who was the most fun character to write and why?

So far, the most fun character to write about was Rebecca who is the heroine in my current WIP Those Nights in Montreal. This is a novella in my current Language of Love series and Rebecca is fun because she’s constantly setting her mind to do one thing and ends up doing the opposite. She’s so completely torn about her feelings for her ex (the hero Scott) that she’s in a constant state of confusion. She resists when she shouldn’t and doesn’t resist when she should.

4. Have you been to Paris? What was your favorite part about it?

Sadly, I have not been to Paris but I plan on going very soon. This summer if I can get my writing to cooperate. I told my nine-year-old son that I’d be taking him there to live for a year. Think it would be nice to nail down the language and for him to learn a new one.

5. What has been the hardest and most rewarding parts of being a self-published author?

The hardest part is having to do everything yourself. Hiring a cover artist and an editor. Actually, that’s kind of the easy stuff, the hardest part is marketing and promoting it, formatting it and making sure everything that needs to be done for a successful book launch has been done. It’s truly exhausting.

The most rewarding part is getting to pick my own cover, having the last say so when it comes to the product that goes out the door and the financial reward of being able to keep a good portion of the sales price.

6. Can you tell us a little about the sequel and what you have planned for April and Troy without giving too much away?

Well since April and Troy have been intimate—as we learn in When in Paris…—things are a bit awkward and strained between them. Their story will take them to Milan in the Spring, where April’s modeling career will become a bone of contention between the two. You’ll also find out how difficult and easy it is for them to take that leap from friends to lovers.

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