December 2, 2013

Blog Tour: Left Drowning by Jessica Park – Interview and Giveaway

Welcome to our Tour Stop for

 Left Drowning by Jessica Park

presented by JenHalliganPR.com !

Be sure to enter the giveaway found at the end of the post!

What does it take to rise from life’s depths, swim against the current, and breathe?

Weighted down by the loss of her parents, Blythe McGuire struggles to keep her head above water as she trudges through her last year at Matthews College. Then a chance meeting sends Blythe crashing into something she doesn’t expect—an undeniable attraction to a dark-haired senior named Chris Shepherd, whose past may be even more complicated than her own. As their relationship deepens, Chris pulls Blythe out of the stupor she’s been in since the night a fire took half her family. She begins to heal, and even, haltingly, to love this guy who helps her find new paths to pleasure and self-discovery. But as Blythe moves into calmer waters, she realizes Chris is the one still strangled by his family’s traumatic history. As dark currents threaten to pull him under, Blythe may be the only person who can keep him from drowning.

*This book is intended for mature audiences due to strong language and sexual content.

Note: due to mature content recommended for Ages 17+

Left Drowning by Jessica Park
Publication Date:  July 16, 2013
Publisher:  Skyscape

Available for Purchase:
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 You can check out our review of this title HERE!

CxC:  Hi Jessica!  Thanks so much for taking the time and spending time with us here at Chapter by Chapter!

JP: I’m so happy to be here! Thank you for having me!

CxC:  Describe Left Drowning in 140 characters or less (like a Tweet)

JP: Epic romance, brutal heartache, pasts that wreck & warp, steamy & meaningful sex, connectedness that can save, & questions of destiny/fate.

CxC:  What was your inspiration in writing Left Drowning?  Was it in a dream? A thought while taking a walk?

JP: I would love to dream book plots. I’m so jealous of people who are all, “Oh, this totally fantabulous book idea came to me in a dream, and now I’m going to write a five-book series…” Ugh. I wish. I can actually write pretty quickly once I have a good outline, but I’m very slow to pull together an idea. Left Drowning was originally a paranormal, and you may be able to see some threads of that in the final book. I do a lot of thinking when I’m driving and listening to music, and a paranormal concept hit me. (I can’t tell you what, though, because I’m still going to write that book!). It took me months to expand on that idea, but something about it stopped working along the way. There was so much else to the story that the hook I loved so much actually became unnecessary.

CxC:  Tell us about the main character(s) in Left Drowning.

JP: When the book opens, Blythe is in her senior year of college, and she’s just a mess. Very depressed, functional but… not. She’s isolated and engulfed in grief. Chris comes into her life and she is immediately drawn to this very solid guy. He’s smart, level, stoic, and insightful, and its through their friendship, and later romance, that she learns to heal herself. But despite his seemingly stable exterior, Chris is more damaged and full of pain than Blythe had been. His siblings become Blythe’s surrogate family, most notably Chris’s brother Sabin. He’s a larger-than-life personality, a drama student with a penchant for partying and bringing wild theatrics and humour to everything he can. But he’s got the most incredible heart, and he quickly becomes Blythe’s closest friend.

CxC: Do you have a favorite quote or specific part in the book that you really love?

JP: “You are the great love of my life that I’m never going to have.” I had this quote before I had a fraction of the outline. It’s the reason that I wrote the book. I often work backwards, having a line or a scene that I write around, earning the right to use those lines/scenes.

CxC:  Was there a specific part in Left Drowning that you had an especially difficult time writing?  If so, why?

JP: There are some very intense chapters in Left Drowning, ones that were incredibly draining to write because they are so emotional and painful. But I love those. They are exhausting, but they are what I love to do most, and they come easily to me. The hard parts? The transitional scenes, the ones that are absolutely necessary but where there is less intensity. In my outline I had, “Blythe meets Sabin.” And that was it… I remember starting that chapter and wondering, Huh. I wonder how this is going to play out. It became a great scene and I ended up having fun with it, but it took forever to get it going. Or when characters are all sitting around together talking… I get caught up in stupid logistical issues, like who is sitting where and what the furniture looks like. And god forbid that character move and have to negotiate around the room! That stuff drives me crazy.

CxC:  What sort of projects do you have going on right now?  Any new books coming out?

JP: I’m finally buckling down on an outline, but… I can’t say for what. I’m scared.

CxC:  It was great having you on the blog today, Jessica!  We hope you’ll decide to stop by again someday, and we wish you much success in your writing future!!

JP: Thank you! I have to say, as I’ve said so many times, how grateful I am to have such amazing bloggers like you who give authors the chance to talk about our work. A few years ago when self-publishing was only just really starting out and no one would review self-pubbed books, it was people in the blogging community who took a chance and generously accepted review copies of Flat-Out Love. They were a powerful force in giving me a viable career, and I will never, never forget that. You guys have been my rock through this insane and wonderful journey, so endless thanks and love out to you!

Jessica is the author of New York Times bestselling FLAT-OUT LOVE, RELATIVELY FAMOUS, and the NA novel, LEFT DROWNING. She lives in New Hampshire where she spends an obscene amount time thinking about rocker boys and their guitars, complex caffeinated beverages, and tropical vacations. On the rare occasions that she is able to focus on other things, she writes.

Connect with the Author:  Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Be sure to check out the other blogs participating in this tour!

Dec 2nd – Chapter by Chapter

Dec 3rd – Cuzinlogic

Dec 4th – Same Book, Different Review

Dec 5th – Books Over Boys

Dec 6th – What She Reads

Dec 9th – A Southern Girl’s Bookshelf

Dec 10th – YaReads

Dec 11th – Rumpled Sheets Blog

Dec 12th – Booklovers LaceyCat

Dec 13th – Kimberlyfaye Reads

Complete the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win a

Signed copy of Left Drowning (US only)

***Any contestant that uses dummy or contest only accounts to enter will be disqualified.***

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