by: Samie Sands
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: October 24, 2017
Publisher: Limitless Publishing
Amazon | Paperback | Goodreads
“Will you marry me?”
Four words I’ve waited my whole life to hear. Four words I was sure would change my life forever…and they did. Just not in the way I expected.
Finding out my extremely gorgeous rock star boyfriend was about to propose had the complete opposite effect I thought it would. Rather than catapult me into a future I’ve always wanted, it plunged me back to a past I tried to forget.
Now I can’t get him out of my head. I can’t help but wonder what could have been, how our lives would have ended up if he didn’t leave me behind, a shattered mess.
All these memories are dangerous. They’re bringing my past back to ruin my future. And worst of all, they’re taking me right back to him, my childhood sweetheart, my first love…my biggest regret.
Thank you so much for having me, it’s awesome to be here at your fantastic blog! I’m so pleased to be featured.
You’re welcome. What can you tell me about your latest book, Lottie Loves?
Lottie Loves is all about looking back at the past through rose-tinted glasses, almost to the expense of losing what you have now. There’s something very romantic about the first person we fell for, and I think Lottie’s journey might be one that we can all relate to in some way. It’s easy to look back when the present isn’t perfect!
Lottie has dreamed of getting engaged and planning every detail of her wedding. What about you? Did you make plans? If so, how did those plans turn out?
I don’t know that I did to be honest, and since I ended up eloping and getting married in Vegas that’s probably a good thing. All the effort and expense that’s thrown into a wedding just wasn’t for me. When people do it well though, it’s incredible!
I should warn you, the questions are about to get tough. Lottie seems to have fooled herself into thinking she’s moved on from her past relationship. But the thought of getting engaged to a man she says she loves frightens her. What did you find to be the most complex and compelling things about her?
Lottie thinks that she has a straightforward life…until the idea of being engaged crops up! Then she freaks out and remembers all the things that she’s tried her hardest to forget, for reasons that become clearer as the book goes on. Joe is her first love, the boy she always thought she would marry but unexpected life events got in the way of that…and Danny is the man that she’s in love with now, but even that romance has its complexities. When all of this unravels it quickly becomes obvious that nothing has been simple, and her journey is all about how she deals with that.
If Lottie was real, people would say that Joe was 5 years ago and she should be over him and leave the past in the past. That she should focus on the here and now with Danny and their future together. What would you say to them?
I should warn you, the questions are about to get tough. Lottie seems to have fooled herself into thinking she’s moved on from her past relationship. But the thought of getting engaged to a man she says she loves frightens her. What did you find to be the most complex and compelling things about her?
Lottie thinks that she has a straightforward life…until the idea of being engaged crops up! Then she freaks out and remembers all the things that she’s tried her hardest to forget, for reasons that become clearer as the book goes on. Joe is her first love, the boy she always thought she would marry but unexpected life events got in the way of that…and Danny is the man that she’s in love with now, but even that romance has its complexities. When all of this unravels it quickly becomes obvious that nothing has been simple, and her journey is all about how she deals with that.
If Lottie was real, people would say that Joe was 5 years ago and she should be over him and leave the past in the past. That she should focus on the here and now with Danny and their future together. What would you say to them?
I would say that’s easier said than done! It’s rational to put the past behind you, but emotions don’t always follow what’s the right thing to do. There are reasons that Lottie can’t let go of Joe with ease, and there are also reasons why she currently can’t consider moving forward with Danny which link to his crazy rock n roll lifestyle. Nothing in Lottie’s life is simple!
What do you want or hope readers take away from this story?
I hope readers enjoy Lottie’s journey as she juggles the past and the present while she tries to work out where she needs to be. She always thought that her life would go one way which it hasn’t, and she needs to work out which path is actually the right one for her. It might well be something that readers can relate to in some way…
Samie, thank you so much for your time.
Thank you so much for having me, and thanks to your readers too. I hope you all enjoy the book!
Samie Sands is the author of the AM13 Outbreak series, published by Limitless Publishing. She's also had short stories included in Amazon best selling anthologies and work featured on Wattpad. Lottie Loves is her first book in the contemporary romance genre.
What do you want or hope readers take away from this story?
I hope readers enjoy Lottie’s journey as she juggles the past and the present while she tries to work out where she needs to be. She always thought that her life would go one way which it hasn’t, and she needs to work out which path is actually the right one for her. It might well be something that readers can relate to in some way…
Samie, thank you so much for your time.
Thank you so much for having me, and thanks to your readers too. I hope you all enjoy the book!
“What am I going to do, Lotts?” he asked me, giving me a look of sheer helplessness. “How am I going to come back from this?”
“Well, I’ll help you,” I gasped at him seriously, growing increasingly excited about the prospect of spending even more time with Joe. Things were much better anyway, and I wanted to take that one step further. I figured if I could start tutoring Joe, I could drag him away from the idiotic ‘popular crowd,’ and we could go back to being the us we were when we were younger, the us I loved so much. “I’ll go over everything with you, I have extensive notes from all the classes, maybe I could get you back up to where you should be…”
I trailed off because he was giving me a strange look, one that had my heart thundering loudly in my chest. As his eyes shone with an emotion I didn’t quite recognise, I gulped down the massive ball of emotion that had lodged itself firmly in my throat. My ears buzzed, and my eyes swam. I had the intense sense that something monumental was about to happen…I just wasn’t quite sure what it was.
“You’re always there for me,” he murmured thoughtfully, his gaze falling to my lips. My blood boiled inside of me as I shifted uncomfortably where I sat. I felt scrutinised, weird, and I didn’t know what the hell to do. “No matter what, you’re always there.”
Then before I could even think, before I could grasp what the hell was happening, his lips had smashed against mine, and his hands were tangling themselves up in my hair. My instinctive reaction was to pull back, to find out what the hell was going on with Joe, but then the realisation screamed in my brain that Joe was kissing me, and that it might be the only shot I ever got.
My heart raced so quickly I feared it might burst from my chest, a fiery spark lit within me, and although it wasn’t quite what I’d been picturing in my mind—it was far too desperate and needy for that—I felt alive, tingly, and I knew this was proof that we were meant to be. I knew we’d finally overstepped that mark, we’d crossed the line and there would be no coming back from that, but I was excited. I felt this was how things had meant to be all along.
As we finally pulled apart, and we gazed into one another’s eyes, I thought I could see some shock there, almost as if he hadn’t quite expected to do that. I didn’t mind that though, I was certain I looked the same. In that way, it was really the perfect moment—in my mind, at least. It was spontaneous, unexpected, and incredibly excited.
“I…” I started to speak, to ask him the millions of questions floating through my mind, but before I could get anything out, we heard Joe’s mum calling him home. Usually this wouldn’t mean too much, we would hang out for a little while longer, but this time he jumped up rapidly with a regretful look in his eyes, and he raced away.
It’s just because he needs to think things through, I tried to reassure myself, as I trudged slowly and sadly to my own home. He just needs to sort out his own feelings.
Out of an intense desire to recall this situation fully, now that I’d started thinking about it, and wanting to be armed with as much knowledge as possible, I raced back to my diary, and I flicked through the pages until I found the relevant one.
26th May 2007
I just kissed Joe.
I don’t even know how to describe it, it was utterly the best moment of my life. All of my dreams couldn’t even begin to imagine how good it was going to be. I can’t even believe that I’m writing this…after all the heartache, all the wondering, it’s finally happened and now we can actually be together.
This is the best thing ever!
“Well, I’ll help you,” I gasped at him seriously, growing increasingly excited about the prospect of spending even more time with Joe. Things were much better anyway, and I wanted to take that one step further. I figured if I could start tutoring Joe, I could drag him away from the idiotic ‘popular crowd,’ and we could go back to being the us we were when we were younger, the us I loved so much. “I’ll go over everything with you, I have extensive notes from all the classes, maybe I could get you back up to where you should be…”
I trailed off because he was giving me a strange look, one that had my heart thundering loudly in my chest. As his eyes shone with an emotion I didn’t quite recognise, I gulped down the massive ball of emotion that had lodged itself firmly in my throat. My ears buzzed, and my eyes swam. I had the intense sense that something monumental was about to happen…I just wasn’t quite sure what it was.
“You’re always there for me,” he murmured thoughtfully, his gaze falling to my lips. My blood boiled inside of me as I shifted uncomfortably where I sat. I felt scrutinised, weird, and I didn’t know what the hell to do. “No matter what, you’re always there.”
Then before I could even think, before I could grasp what the hell was happening, his lips had smashed against mine, and his hands were tangling themselves up in my hair. My instinctive reaction was to pull back, to find out what the hell was going on with Joe, but then the realisation screamed in my brain that Joe was kissing me, and that it might be the only shot I ever got.
My heart raced so quickly I feared it might burst from my chest, a fiery spark lit within me, and although it wasn’t quite what I’d been picturing in my mind—it was far too desperate and needy for that—I felt alive, tingly, and I knew this was proof that we were meant to be. I knew we’d finally overstepped that mark, we’d crossed the line and there would be no coming back from that, but I was excited. I felt this was how things had meant to be all along.
As we finally pulled apart, and we gazed into one another’s eyes, I thought I could see some shock there, almost as if he hadn’t quite expected to do that. I didn’t mind that though, I was certain I looked the same. In that way, it was really the perfect moment—in my mind, at least. It was spontaneous, unexpected, and incredibly excited.
“I…” I started to speak, to ask him the millions of questions floating through my mind, but before I could get anything out, we heard Joe’s mum calling him home. Usually this wouldn’t mean too much, we would hang out for a little while longer, but this time he jumped up rapidly with a regretful look in his eyes, and he raced away.
It’s just because he needs to think things through, I tried to reassure myself, as I trudged slowly and sadly to my own home. He just needs to sort out his own feelings.
Out of an intense desire to recall this situation fully, now that I’d started thinking about it, and wanting to be armed with as much knowledge as possible, I raced back to my diary, and I flicked through the pages until I found the relevant one.
26th May 2007
I just kissed Joe.
I don’t even know how to describe it, it was utterly the best moment of my life. All of my dreams couldn’t even begin to imagine how good it was going to be. I can’t even believe that I’m writing this…after all the heartache, all the wondering, it’s finally happened and now we can actually be together.
This is the best thing ever!
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congrats on the tour and thanks for the chance to win :)
ReplyDeleteHi Lisa. Thanks for stopping by and checking out Samie's book.
DeleteThanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome.
DeleteGreat interview, I enjoyed reading it!
ReplyDeleteHi Victoria. Thank you for stopping by. I'm glad you enjoyed the interview.
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ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the interview, and for featuring me on your amazing blog! Good luck to everyone who has entered the competition
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome. Thank you for doing the interview.
DeleteI do love this cover & the book sounds great as well!! Thank you for the chance!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by Amy.
DeleteI enjoyed the interview & excerpt. I'm ready to read more.
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