Romance is in the Air Blog Hop, Featuring Easy by Tammara Weber

Romance is in the Air Giveaway Hop

Featuring Young Adult & Clean Adult Romance

February 8th to 14th 

Cohosted by Rachael Anderson

Thanks to both of these great bloggers for putting this on! I am so excited to feature Tammara Webber, the author of the terrific book, Easy, on my blog!

Goodreads Book Description: Rescued by a stranger.
Haunted by a secret
Sometimes, love isn’t easy…

He watched her, but never knew her. Until thanks to a chance encounter, he became her savior…

The attraction between them was undeniable. Yet the past he’d worked so hard to overcome, and the future she’d put so much faith in, threatened to tear them apart.

Only together could they fight the pain and guilt, face the truth—and find the unexpected power of love.

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

My Review: Easy Review

Author Blurb:

Tammara writes romantic Mature Young Adult / New Adult fiction.

EASY is her newest contemporary stand-alone novel. BETWEEN THE LINES is her contemporary series. Available from: Amazon, Amazon UK, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, iBookstore, IndieBound, and the Book Depository.

Reading was one of her first and earliest loves, and writing soon followed. Her first book was about a lost bear, but her lack of ability as an illustrator convinced her to abandon that effort and concentrate on passing 3rd grade. She wrote sad romantic poetry in high school and penned her first half-novel when she was 19, for which she did lots of research on Vikings (the marauders, not the football team). It was accidentally destroyed when she stuffed it into the shredder at work.

Addictions: coffee and Cherry Garcia frozen yogurt. Also baby carrots, but not with coffee or frozen yogurt, because that would be disgusting. She loves shopping for earrings, because they always fit - even if she occasionally forget to work out. She's a hopeful romantic who adores novels with happy endings, because there are enough sad endings in real life.

Author Interview

Thank you so much for joining us on my blog, Ensconced in YA, Tammara!

1. Can you tell us a little about how you got started as an author?

I’ve always written – poems, essays, short stories, plus a few “shelf” novels. I attempted to go the traditional publishing route when I wrote Between the Lines, but after several queries and pitching the manuscript at conferences, I decided to self-publish (May 2011). I’d come to the point where I just wanted to move on to the next writing project. I was tired of trying to “sell” my book to agents. In addition, digital publishing was really beginning to take off. My series gathered enough readers that by the time I got to Easy, there was no question as to how I’d publish it. Its success caught the eye of agents and publishers, so I was able to turn over distribution to them and hopefully reach a wider audience.

2. I really loved your characters. Did you have a favorite character that you loved to write? Did any of them surprise you?

I have to say that none of the characters in Easy gave me grief – their voices were surprisingly clear. I loved writing Lucas and Erin. Dr. Heller was one of my favorites as well. My husband is an adjunct finance professor, and I was working as an academic advisor for History undergrads when I began writing the book. Professors are people – some of them are more lenient and some are horribly strict. Jacqueline’s mother surprised me a little. Her response to her daughter’s secret told me that there were things in her past Jacqueline didn’t know.

3. I have to say, my favorite character was Erin. But I was curious how she and Jacqueline became friends in the first place. Did you have a backstory in your head about their friendship?

I wrote a bit of how they began – the fact that Jacqueline was horrified to get what appeared to be the exact opposite of what she’d requested in a roommate. I saw Erin as irrepressibly bubbly on the surface, though she’s got her own dark side. Jacqueline is a more serious, quiet person, but I imagine she responded to someone who was immediately friendly and accepting. Their friendship was grounded in mutual honesty and trust, which is why Erin was hurt when J doesn’t confide in her immediately.

4. Were you ever in a sorority? Did that experience help you write this book? What other research did you do for the book?

I didn’t have a typical college career. By Jacqueline’s age I was married and putting my husband through school, working at the university in a clerical position. I didn’t give up college for him – I simply didn’t want to go. It wasn’t until he was close to graduating that I began to take classes, but then we started a family and moved several times as he advanced in his career. Once the kids were all in school, I went back to school part-time and finished my degree in English. After graduating, I took a job on campus. Research for Easy was relegated to non-university things.

5. What was your favorite reaction from a fan about your book? What was the weirdest?

Readers often write and tell me their sexual assault stories – and/or they tell me that Easy helped them begin to realize that what happened to them wasn’t their fault. The issue of acquaintance rape was the reason I wrote Easy. These stories break my heart and sometimes I just sit reading my email and cry. But every time this book helps someone to acknowledge what happened, to call it what it is and to accept their own blamelessness, to tell someone – then I’ve done what I set out to do. Right behind that are the readers who write to tell me that Easy made them feel empowered, or that they signed up for self-defense classes. One girl signed herself and her younger sisters up. I was ecstatic to hear that.

Easy has garnered a few weird reactions – every book has them, to some extent. I’m a big fan of ignoring these – it’s the only emotionally healthy reaction for me.

6. What was your favorite YA read from the past year and who is a YA author you look up to and why?

I have a lot of favorite authors, so the answer to this sort of question is often dictated by what I last read. In 2012, I loved David Levithan’s Every Day and Melina Marchetta’s Froi of the Exiles. I also adore Colleen Hoover’s Hopeless, Slammed and Point of Retreat. She and I met online in April of 2012. We were surprised to find that we live relatively close to one another, so we talk often and meet for lunch every month or two. We’ve travelled together a couple of times when we’re going to the same author event. I love her personally, but also professionally. Her characters are wonderful and real and flawed, and her stories delve into painful possibilities, but they’re hopeful and romantic at the same time.

7. Can you tell us a little about what your characters have in store?

With Easy, I wanted to write a solid story of love and empowerment for romance readers, particularly those who’d survived a sexual assault at the hands of an acquaintance or friend. Buck is a clear bad guy, but Kennedy (Jacqueline’s ex) isn’t bad so much as he’s incredibly selfish. He breaks up with her instead of cheating – but fails to see that he’s crushing her heart in the process. He isn’t completely devoid of compassion, and he’s got many good qualities, but he was never a good boyfriend. Jacqueline doesn’t really see how taken for granted she was until she has a favorable comparison in Lucas.

8. And lastly, I loved how you portrayed a woman in a scary situation who then rose above and gained the capability to defend herself. Can you tell us a little about self-defense classes and how my readers might learn how to better protect themselves?

Many universities offer self-defense classes designed for women. They’re often free or at a very low cost. I took the class with my daughter, and all I can say is it was SO worth it.

Thank you so much for spending some time with us! I'm so glad we got to know you better. I hope you stop by again soon!

Thanks, Christina! I appreciate the invite!

Enter to win a signed copy of her great book!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Enter more great giveaways, this is a blog hop!