Author of the Week Cameron D. Garriepy-Interview and Review

>>>>>Author of the Week<<<<<

Hey Guys/Gals, I hope everyone has had a good week.  This week we have a different line up with the feature.  Due to some unexpected craziness in my life, I didn't get my review up yesterday.  So today, Saturday February 16th, we are going to double up with an Interview and Review.  You're going to get a treat with getting to see a small glimpse into Author Cameron D. Garriepy's life followed up by my review of her book Buck's Landing.

So here she is, Author Cameron D. Garriepy!  Enjoy :)

 

BN: What inspired you to write your first book?

CG:  There are two different answers to that question. My first manuscript was inspired by one of things I didn't do with my culinary training. I wanted to open a bed and breakfast in Vermont. My life took a different direction when I married someone whose career ties him to the area we're in now, so that book (which is in it's 3rd--and final?--rewrite) was inspired by a small inn in Vermont. My first book, Parallel Jump, a sort of steampunk-inspired light sci-fi novella for middle-grade readers, was inspired by the young man for whom I wrote it. I published it in time for his Bar Mitzvah and gave him one of the first proof copies as a gift.

 

BN:  Do you have a specific writing style?

CG:  I like think my writing is character-driven, but I am a sucker for imagery. I would describe myself as romance-meets-literary fiction.

 

BN:  Describe a typical writing session or your typical writing area?

CG:  I'm a work from home freelancer with a five-year-old, so my writing sessions are whenever I can squeeze them in. My writing desk is a section of butcher block in the corner of the kitchen. I keep a big monitor and a keyboard there to plug into my Macbook, but I'm just as likely to be working from the sofa or the dinging room table--anywhere my kiddo is.

 

BN:  What are your current projects?

CG:  Along with four other indie authors, I've just released a collection of short stories about love, called Metaphysical Gravity (http://www.amazon.com/Metaphysical-Gravity-ebook/dp/B00BFJBJNW/). In addition to that, I'm working on the rewrite I mentioned before, and I'm about halfway through the first draft of the New England Seacoast Romance follow-up to Buck's Landing. This one is set in Portland, Maine, and there is a common secondary character.

 

BN:  What genre is your latest book?  Is this the same genre you typically write?

CG:  Oops, I guess I answered this question early. I consider myself a romance writer, though I do delve into other genres for fun.

 

BN:  How did you come up with the title?

CG:  Buck's Landing is inspired by a similar business (with a similar name) that actually exists on Ocean Boulevard in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire. I wrote half the first draft on vacation there with my husband's family this past summer. Sofia and Silas and the remained mini-golf business materialized in my imagination fully formed. It was one of the most fun manuscripts I've ever completed. 

The fictional Buck's Landing property is central to the story in many ways, as a location and as a symbol of what Sofia has to overcome to find her happiness.

 

 

BN:  Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

 

CG:  That love isn't always glamorous; that love is worth opening yourself up and facing your demons.

 

 

BN:  Which of your characters is your favourite and why?

 

CG:  It's a tie between Silas's cat, Houdini, and Sofia's long-lost best friend, Judy. There's a freedom in writing supporting characters; they can be a little more over the top.

 

 

BN:  Which of your characters is most/most unlike you?

 

CG:  The female character at the center of my first, incomplete novel is very like me. Outwardly friendly, inwardly shy, a little insecure, but good at faking it 'til she makes it. Nan questions her own decisions and motivations relentlessly. 

 

 

BN:  Where can readers buy your books?

 

CG:  Links to all of my titles at various retailers can all be found on the Bookstore Page of my site. (http://camerondgarriepy.com/ebooks-for-purchase/)

 

 

BN:  Where can readers find out more about you and follow more of your work?

 

CG:  I blog, mostly fiction and personal stuff, on my website (http://camerondgarriepy.com), and I write for Write on Edge (http://writeonedge.com) about the craft and experience of writing. I'm also on twitter (http://twitter.com/camerongarriepy), Facebook (http://facebook.com/camerondgarriepy), and G+ (https://plus.google.com/u/0/105674169456864558373/). 

 

 

BN:  Do you have any general advice for other writers?

 

CG:  Just write. Snippets of conversations in your head, who chapters, blog posts. Especially when you're in the first rush of a story. I fall victim to my inner critic too quickly and lose steam instead of pushing through to the end before I go back to rewrite--so I need to take my own advice as well. Just keep writing.

 

 

My Review of Buck's Landing

 

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am mostly a paranormal/fantasy reader.  But here lately, I've been venturing out of my box, reading some wonderful stories in different genres, and meeting some great authors along the way.  Buck's Landing is another one of those books that I've gotten the pleasure of reading outside my paranormal box. 

 

Buck's Landing is a romance novel that is HOT!  If you are into Romance stories, Buck's Landing is the story for you.  Garriepy has a wonderful writing style with so much depth and description you get captured into the story.  The characters are well described, enjoyable, and fun.  Not only do you fall for the book, but once you're done, a trip to the beach seems like a must. 

 

Synopsis:

 

Sofia Buck escaped Hampton Beach, New Hampshire, ten years ago with no intention of returning, but her father’s untimely death forces her to come back for the summer to deal with Buck’s Landing, the family business he left behind. Sofia has one goal, to keep the business running until it’s sold. What she doesn’t count on is falling in love.

Silas Wilde walked away from an unsatisfying legal career in Manhattan. Relying on instinct and serendipity, he finds himself running a seaside market and gift shop on Hampton Beach’s Ocean Boulevard. He’s content in his new life and livelihood, until a chance encounter with his new next-door neighbor awakens him to the one thing he’s missing. Her.

Threatened by Sofia and Silas's very different dreams, can their love survive the summer's end?

Buck's Landing is Cameron D. Garriepy's debut romance, and the first in the New England Seacoast Romance series; an homage not only to Ms. Garriepy's New England roots, but to the romance authors whose work she grew up devouring

 

This truly is an amazing Romance Novel!!