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Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Release Day Celebration: Laura Moore's Believe in Me!

As some of you surely remember, when the jpeg first arrived, I shared with you all the image of the hunky man -- with abs to rival Ryan Reynolds -- on the cover of Laura Moore's 2nd book in her Rosewood Trilogy... But the day has finally come when the whole novel is out!! YAY!

In celebration, I have Laura visiting today to talk about Believe in Me, and she's offered to give away 2 copies of this great book (which has been chosen as a featured alternate for both the Doubleday and Rhapsody Book Clubs!) to commenters on this post.

Welcome, Laura!!

Q: Can you tell us the premise of your new novel?
A: Believe in Me is the second book in my Rosewood Trilogy and tells the story of Jordan, the eldest Radcliffe sister. The book begins with Jordan struggling to save her marriage after discovering that her husband, Richard, was unfaithful while she was pregnant with their third child (she learned of his infidelity in Remember Me, the first book in the Rosewood Trilogy).

Unfortunately her efforts are in vain — I don’t want to say more for fear of spoiling the plot — and a devastated Jordan returns to her family home, Rosewood, with her three young children, where she attempts to rebuild her life. It’s not an easy task, as anyone who remotely connected with divorce knows. Slowly, Jordan creates a life for her children at Rosewood. She also creates a mask of calm serenity for herself that effectively hides the heartache she still suffers.

Determined to be productive, Jordan revitalizes the career as an interior designer that she’d set aside when she became pregnant with Kate, her first child. She hangs out her shingle, offering her services to the residents of Warburg, her hometown. At the house of her first potential client, she meets Owen Gage, an architect and designer, who specializes in restoring historical homes.

Naturally Jordan, who loves architecture and old homes, has heard of Owen. And if he were a stooped, seventy year-old fogey, she’d probably like him just fine. But Owen Gage happens to be handsome, urbane, and charming…exactly what Jordan most dislikes in a man these days. Unfortunately she feels an undeniable attraction for Owen. Given the fragile state of her heart, she does her best to ignore it.

Yet when Owen, who himself is wary of any romantic involvement, offers her an interior decorating job that she badly wants, she accepts the commission even though it will entail working alongside him every day. Very soon Jordan is forced to recognize that Owen may be the one man who can heal her broken heart — if she has the courage to open it to love again.

Q: What's one scene from this story you loved writing and why?
A: That’s tough. I enjoyed writing so many of the scenes in Believe in Me. I guess if I had to pick only one it would have to be the scene where Jordan has just discovered that Owen Gage has apparently not only stolen her commission for a guest cottage that she’d been hoping to decorate but he’s also ripped off her ideas. Ideas that are so good, one of her acquaintances wants to hire him, too. Like her marriage, Jordan sees her dream of establishing herself as an interior designer threatened by yet another handsome and carelessly selfish man. Jordan, always so mild and proper, erupts. On the receiving end of her anger, Owen has no idea what’s hit him.

I especially loved writing the aftermath of their encounter. Still furious, Jordan stalks down one of Warburg’s pretty streets, when a bouquet in a florist window catches her eye. It’s a wedding bouquet. Her anger evaporates as quickly as it exploded, as her mind is flooded with memories of her own wedding bouquet. With this poignant memory, Jordan finds herself wondering if she’ll ever have a man in her life again, if she’ll ever receive a truly magnificent bouquet from a lover or husband again. It’s one of those moments of heart-wrenching insecurity a woman recovering from a broken marriage suffers.

Q: Do you have a favorite kind of food? Anything you really won't eat?
A: Got chocolate? It’s really the one food I cannot resist. Luckily I also like vegetables and fruits and good-for-you-proteins, so at least there’s some balance in my diet — except, that is, when I’m nearing the deadline for a book. Then it’s chocolate all the way.

There are only a few things I won’t eat: I can’t stand liver. Or brains. Or tripe (I believe that’s the glorified term for intestines). I’m really not crazy about sea urchins, either. In my family there are some seriously adventurous eaters, so I’ve been offered these ‘delicacies’ far more often than you might suppose. (LOL, Laura! Sea urchins?! Oh, no...)

Q: Who was the first person you told when you got The Call announcing you'd sold your first novel?
A: My husband. He was great about encouraging me to write in the first place, which was pretty generous considering that we were raising two small children at the time and so his encouragement translated into an awful lot of extra work for him. Unfazed, he bought me my first laptop as a birthday present so that I could transfer what I’d scribbled in the back of a notebook into a kind of formatted manuscript (I knew nothing about formatting and industry standards back then). That story ended up being Ride a Dark Horse, the first novel I published. My husband’s support continues unabated. He does whatever he can to help with my writing and my career and is there to bolster my spirits when my insecurities and doubts are in full force. I don’t know what I’d do without him.

Q: What's one piece of writing advice you've found valuable on your journey to publication?
A: The one I remind myself of repeatedly comes from Nora Roberts: You can’t fix a blank page. It’s simple and true. These days I say it a lot, even more than the other Nora Roberts’ gem about keeping your butt in the chair. The problem with the internet era is that my butt may very well be in the chair for hours but if instead of using them to fill that blank page, I’m wasting them surfing the net, then that novel isn’t getting written.

Q: What's a personality trait you love about one of the characters in your novel and why?
A: I really like Jordan Radcliffe’s quiet inner strength. Having always seen herself as kind of a pushover, especially when compared to her two dynamo sisters, Margot and Jade, Jordan’s never suspected she has such resilience. I also admire her for the lengths she’ll go to keep her children as happy and untroubled as possible while they adjust to the troubling fact that their mom and dad no longer live in the same house.

Q: What do you think readers might be surprised to know about you?
A: I cry at movies; I cry reading books; I even cry at TV commercials. It’s pretty pathetic. And it’s probably why I feel compelled to write happy endings for my heroines and heroes (although even happy endings make me cry).

Q: What’s next for you? Is there a new book in the pipeline?
A: I’m wrapping up Trouble Me, Jade Radcliffe’s story and the last book in my Rosewood Trilogy. It’s wild, but because I’ve been writing about her for so long, I almost feel as if Jade is part of my family. She’s gone from a troubled and unhappy teen to a young woman who’s pretty much gotten her act together. Now a college grad, she’s determined to shake the wild reputation she earned as a teen and take her place alongside her sisters training horses at Rosewood Farm and teaching at the local elementary school. Jade plans to be a model citizen, a real paragon. The only hitch in her plan is that on her way home a terrible lightning storm forces her to spend the night in a hotel near Norfolk, Virginia. And when she meets a handsome stranger in a bar she learns that the summer lightning storm raging outside is nothing compared to the electricity that sizzles when they touch. Though Jade thinks she’s just indulging in a final one night stand before assuming an ultra respectable persona, it turns out that her handsome stranger is not such a stranger after all...Trouble Me will be released in January 2012.

Thanks so much for being here today, Laura, and HUGE congrats on this book and the reissue of Remember Me, too! I had the privilege of reading both novels early and they are SO good!! Two commenters will be randomly drawn to win a copy of Believe in Me hot off the presses, and their names will be posted on Monday. Good luck!!

38 comments:

Tonya Kappes said...

Hi, Laura. Thank you for letting us into your life today. I love to hear about authors and their road to "the call." Congrats on your second book and I look forward to reading all of them. I know if you cry at movies, etc...there will be a lot of GREAT emotion in the books. I love emotions.

Virginia C said...

Hello, Laura & Marilyn! Thank you for a wonderful interview! Laura, your "Rosewood Trilogy" sounds terrific! I have to say, Jordan sounds like someone with whom I would enjoy being friends. As a matter of fact, she has many qualities similar to a very dear friend of mine who went through some of the same struggles. I like her already : ) After reading your interview, I would like to get know the three Radcliffe sisters and follow their story lines. Best wishes for much continued success!

gcwhiskas at aol dot com

Morgan Mandel said...

Even if I didn't know you were a great writer and a really nice person, Laura, I'd still be magnetized by that book cover! Wow!

Congratulations on your new release. Much success!!

Morgan Mandel
morgan@morganmandel.com
http://morganmandel.blogspot.com

Pamala Knight said...

Thank you Laura and Marilyn, for the excellent interview and insight into the Rosewood trilogy. That cover for Believe in Me is seriously yummy! I love stories where the subtle nuances of life are brought to the forefront, so Jordan's focus on that wedding bouquet will probably bring me to tears too.

Good luck on the release!

Edie Ramer said...

Great interview! Now I really want to read this book. It sounds like the kind of book I want to read.

Kat Ducan said...

Hi Laura, Congratulations on your new release! Jordan seems like the kind of person who believes strongly in herself. I always like to read about characters like that. Good luck with writing the final book of the trilogy!

Heather Marshall said...

Hi Laura and Marilyn! So glad to see this out. Remember Me was very special and I'm very much looking forward to this one. Congrats on the release and best of luck to you with book #3!

Marilyn Brant said...

Good morning, Tonya, Virginia, Morgan, Pamala, Edie, Kat and Heather!! Thanks so much to all of you for taking a little time to visit today ;).

I'm very excited for Laura having this latest book finally out...and I cannot wait to get my hands on Trouble Me!!

BarbW said...

Hi Laura...really enjoyed reading your answers to Marilyn's questions. Can't wait to read your book, but first I'm interested in getting caught up with the trilogy's first book! Best of luck to you.

Laura Moore said...

Hi, Tonya,
Thanks for the encouragement and I hope you enjoy the books. I loved your comment about my crying. Right now I'm ready to cry because my back hurts so much from shoveling! We just got some wet snow here in Providence, RI! It's the kind of weather where I'd like to cuddle up with a book and a cup of rich, hot chocolate! Maybe this afternoon...

Laura Moore said...

Hi Virginia,
Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
That's one of the neat things I discovered in writing this trilogy: I really got to like the sisters, not just individually but also as a family. And Jordan appeals to me for many of the reasons you expressed. I found her a really engaging character to write about. I'm so glad she ends up with a great guy who understands her (Sorry if I've spoiled the ending!)

Laura Moore said...

Dear Morgan,

Hi! So great to hear from you. Yeah, that cover is something (as is the re-release of Remember Me). If I'd known what the art department was going to do for me, I'd have entitled the series the 'Chest Trilogy'. I haven't seen what Trouble Me's cover looks like yet, but it's going to be tough to beat those abs!
Thanks for stopping by!

Laura Moore said...

Hi Pamela,

So good to hear from you! Yes, I believe I might have sniffed noisily while writing the Jordan/bouquet scene. I bet some of us can immediately retrieve an image of our wedding bouquet.

Thanks so much for stopping by and let me know how you liked that scene!

Laura Moore said...

Hi Edie,

Thanks so much for the kind words and I do hope you'll enjoy Believe in Me!
As you're one of Marilyn's loyal readers I know you have excellent taste!

Nancy J. Parra said...

Hi Laura and Marilyn,

This interview is great fun! Your covers are gorgeous. I've put you on my Amazon buy list.

Cheers~

Laura Moore said...

Hi, Kat!

So great to hear from a NECRWA member! And congratulations on your latest release. 58 Faces came out last week and looks fabulous!

Laura Moore said...

Hi Heather,

Great to hear from you! Margot, and her story in Remember Me, is a tough act to follow, but I hope you'll like
Jordan's, too!

Take care and thanks so much for stopping by and commenting!

Laurie P. said...

Believe in Me sounds like a wonderful book! I can't wait to read it. Loved hearing your words of advice. Thanks so much for an interesting and informative interview. :0)

Laura Moore said...

Hi Barb,

It's great to heave you stop by and comment. It's probably a good idea to read the books in order, but I think they can work as stand alones, too. In any case if you do get to them, please let me know what you think of the trilogy so far!

Laura Moore said...

Hi Marilyn,
I apologize, I should have written you first thanking you for letting me talk about Believe in Me but then I saw all these great comments and I kind of jumped right in.
So, thank you, my dear friend, for this great opportunity. I love visiting your blog, you always have such neat people dropping by!
I'm sure we'll talk more later!


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Laura Moore said...

Hi, Nancy!

So good to hear from you! I love the idea of being on your amazon buy list--such a compliment! It's something I need to hear more often!

Take care and I hope we'll see each other in NYC.

Pamela Cayne said...

Congrats, Laura, on your release! Your Rosewood Trilogy just gets better and better--kudos!

And thanks to Marilyn for having Laura back--great way to start the week!

Laura Moore said...

Hi Laurie,

Thanks for dropping by! I'm glad you liked that piece of advice; I really do invoke various wise sayings by Nora Roberts throughout my writing day. There's another one I like to think of, even if I know it's beyond me. She apparently told her two rambunctious little boys not to interrupt her writing hours unless 'there was blood.' That's how you get to write as many books as Nora has!

Laura Moore said...

Hi Pamela,

Thanks for the kind words about the trilogy! It's the first I've written, so I'm super nervous about how it will be received and whether it's a 'real' trilogy! Comments like yours make my day!
I'm so happy to be back at Marilyn's blog spot. It's such a cool place to hang out and no there's no other place I'd rather celebrate! So let's hear it for Brant Flakes and Marilyn's wonderful, warm personality!

Debra St. John said...

Hi Laura and Marilyn,

Congrats on your latest release, Laura! I remember the first time you walked into one of our C-N meetings. As soon as I read your first book, I was an instant fan. I can't wait to read this one!

Marilyn Brant said...

Laura, it's a *pleasure* to have to here!! No extra thanks are necessary ;). Looking forward to our next chat, too!

Barb, Nancy, Laurie, Pamela and Debra -- you ladies are wonderful!! Thank you so much for visiting today :-).

Laura Moore said...

Hi Debra!

Thanks, Deb! I remember that long ago day, too! It was my first RWA meeting and I had no idea what a great institution it is and how much I would learn from my fellow writers.

Take care and hope to see you soon!

oklanannie said...

Hi Laura and Marilyn,

This is a wonderful interview with great questions and answers. It's always fun to learn more about one of your favorite authors. Someone above mentioned Laura being a "great writer" and I second that statement and totally agree. Laura has an incredible gift for storytelling. I've read each of her books and enjoyed every one. Of course, she knows "In Your Eyes" is among my top-ranked all-time favorite books. Laura's stories are so skillfully written with great care to details and editing. I've got "Believe In Me" in my hands and ready to read this afternoon. I look forward to shedding a few tears with Jordan as she takes the steps toward healing and sharing some smiles, as well, as a new relationship begins.

Congratulations, Laura, and best wishes for a great release day!

Robin said...

Hi, Laura! Congrats on your latest release! I so enjoyed this interview (Marilyn, you're the best interviewee!) and seeing you back here at Brant Flakes. You've got me hooked with your trilogy. :) And I cry at everything too! Just this morning I got teary eyed over Regis's announcement that he's retiring.

Marilyn Brant said...

oklanannie~welcome! I'm so glad you stopped by for the party and to celebrate this great day with Laura ;). Wonderful to have her longtime fans here. And, by the way, I really enjoyed In Your Eyes, too!!

Robin~hug! You're a sweetie ;). And, ohhh, I'm another teary-eyed one when I see or hear something remotely sad or touching. I need to bring handfuls of Kleenex with me to the RITAs/GHs every year!

Laura Moore said...

Hi Oaklannie!

It's so great of you to drop by! It always warms my heart to hear someone say they liked In Your Eyes. As you know, it's one of my favorites!

This is a great site to come to, whether to read Marilyn's posts, to check out her fantastic novels or to meet her guest bloggers and get to know their work, so I hope you'll come by again!

Take care and stay in touch!

Laura Moore said...

Hi Robin,

It's so nice to hear someone else say they get weepy at stuff like Regis retiring or a Hallmark card (that happened to me last week! I'm so glad you liked Remember Me, I hope Believe in Me brings a few tears to your eyes!

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen Dale Harris said...

Happy Release Day! I can't wait to read "Believe in Me". I was thinking I need to brave the cold and venture out to a book store when I realized no need. Instead, I just downloaded the book to my Nook. Instant gratification, no snow boots or gloves required!

Laura Moore said...

Hi, Karen!

A brilliant idea if I may say. I haven't bought a Kindle, Nook or iPad yet, but days like this--snow, freezing rain, horrific driving and walking conditions--make me think I should make that investment. I hope you enjoy Believe in Me and that you'll let me know how you like it.

Look forward to hearing from you, Karen!

Vivienne Courtoise said...

Congrats on the new release. I have been a big fan of both of you since your first books! Love reading about what inspires fellow authors and what makes their characters tick! Hope some day to get the call myself! The trilogy sounds great! I love stories that connect because it adds depth to all the relationships. Good luck.

Marilyn Brant said...

Karen, what an awesome solution!! I'm so glad you thought of that...I'll have to add "can avoid driving in bad weather" to my long list of reasons to get an e-reader ;).

Vivienne, it's wonderful to see you here! Thanks so much for stopping by for the party!!

FYI to everyone: The two winning names will be selected early on Friday morning, so all commenters before then will be entered into the drawing. Good luck!

Laura Moore said...

Hi Vivienne!

I'm so glad you managed to drop by! Thanks for the kind words about the trilogy and I heartily agree with you about Marilyn's work. She is wonderful writer and I can't wait until A Summer in Europe hits the stores!

Take care, and thanks to you, Vivienne, and everyone who came to celebrate the release day for Believe in Me!

Mary G said...

Hi Marilyn & Laura
I'm so excited about this release. I picked mine up a day early as my bookstore had it in stock (made them get it out of the boxes in the back LOL). I've loved everything you've written. Looking forward to reading BIM.