Interview with Sarah:
• Sarah, Thanks for joining us on Smile Somebody Loves You! Tell us a little about how you got started writing and what are some of your goals this year?
I got started writing because I’ve always written and told stories. I simply made the decision to share my work recently. I never share my writing because I don’t like to do so. I write for myself and the last year has been up and down for me as far as whether I think it is worth it. However, getting my first “real” publishing contract, hitting the top 300 on Amazon, hitting #1 in a category (Backward Compatible) – all of these make me enjoy it. For me, writing is about telling a story, about creating people that readers relate to and feel like they know. So when I get a message from a reader saying that he or she does connect with the story, it means the world to me. Another highlight was having my favorite author, Courtney Summers, retweet my book. That felt pretty awesome. As I head into my second year of this, I have new goals and things I would like to change, but I suppose that’s one of the great things about this profession – you can do that. I didn’t intend to stay in romance only and Backward Compatible was a comedy YA even though it’s still a love story, so being able to write in a different genre was refreshing. It makes it easier to go back to the darkness and angst of Flowering, because I need to let Alana tell her story and let Jack and Lily finish theirs. I also need to get the second and third books that follow Bitter Fruits to my publisher.
• What inspired you to write your book?
I had written a short story about Derek and Lily and their first time called “Her Brother’s Best Friend.” It was just supposed to be a short erotic story. But it sold well, so I thought about writing more about the two of them. However, as I started writing Forget Me Not, the story would not work for me. Until I found Jack. And then the novel was over and there was just so much more to his story, so Lily of the Valley was born.
• How did you come up with the title?
Forget Me Not and Lily of the Valley are both flowers, and the series is called Flowering. The reason is that it is about love, sexuality, and growing up – sort of blossoming into the person you will be. Forget Me Not also addresses the idea of leaving your life behind and moving on. And Lily is the main female character, so hence Lily of the Valley.
• Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
People are complicated, as are relationships. The things we think we want sometimes turn out not to be what we want. In addition, the people we think we understand may surprise us. We can’t assume anything about love or each other. They are too complex.
• What books have most influenced your life most?
The Catcher in the Rye, because it was the first time I understood that other people felt like me and it also said it was okay to be different. And The Sun Also Rises, because there can be beauty in suffering.
• If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
Hemingway. I know he’s dead, but he knew how to write true.
• What are your current projects?
I am writing Scandal, a contemporary romance about a teacher and an actor who find each other after they are both ruined by rumors, and I am waiting to release Bitter Fruits, a New Adult paranormal/urban fantasy romance in December through the publisher. I am also working on Immortal Star, the second book in that series.
• What was the hardest part of writing your book?
Jack’s experiences and emotions are really closely tied to my own and it was hard to write some of his scenes.
Flowering (Forget Me Not, Lily of the Valley, and Star of Bethlehem)
Title: Forget Me Not
Author: Sarah Daltry
18+ New Adult romance
Blurb:
This isn’t a sweet and innocent coming of age story. If dirty talk, bedroom toys, and threesomes offend you… this is not your book. There are also no billionaires, strippers, or virgins. This is just the story of typical college kids trying to connect to each other.
“No one tells you when you start school just how homesick you will be, or how hard it will be to start life over with no direction and no friends or family. No one says that becoming your own person is terrifying.”
Lily had a crush on her brother’s best friend, Derek, for years – which led to their steamy night ten months ago in her bedroom. Now, she’s off to college and she and Derek are still going strong. However, when school starts, Lily realizes it’s hard to maintain a relationship, while also trying to live her own life. She and Derek find themselves falling apart and she has no idea where to turn.
Enter Jack. Everything about him is wrong for Lily and she knows it, but she can’t stop herself from being attracted to him. When things implode with Derek, it’s Jack who’s there to pick up the pieces – and to show Lily an entirely new set of experiences she didn’t know she was missing. Of course, Jack has his own problems and once Lily gets to know him better, she starts to wonder if she can handle all of Jack.
When Derek reappears on the scene, Lily is forced to decide between two guys and herself. Can she find herself without losing the people who matter in the process?
Buy Links:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DXM4YBI?force-full-site=1&ref_=aw_bottom_links
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Forget-Me-Not-ebook/dp/B00DXMIU2W/ref=sr_1_4_title_1_kin?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1374183663&sr=1-4
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/forget-me-not-sarah-daltry/1116049899?ean=2940148433125
Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/forget-me-not/id673673228?mt=11
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/336336
All Romance: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-forgetmenot-1240002-149.html
Paperback: https://www.createspace.com/4271499
Title: Lily of the Valley (Flowering, #1.5)
Author: Sarah Daltry
Blurb:
18+ New Adult romance
This isn’t a sweet and innocent coming of age story. If dirty talk, bedroom toys, and threesomes offend you… this is not your book. There are also no billionaires, strippers, or virgins. This is just the story of typical college kids trying to connect to each other.
“No one tells you about pain. They tell you that it hurts, that sometimes it’s consuming. What they don’t tell you is that it’s not the pain that can kill you. It’s the uncomfortable numbness that follows, the weakness in your body when you realize your lungs may stop taking in air and you just can’t exert enough energy to care. It’s the way taste and color and smell fade from the world and all you’re left with is a sepia print of misery. That’s when the shift starts – the movement from passive to active. I fall asleep, hoping that the morning will bring back the pain. At least the pain is a thing.”
Plagued by a dark past, Jack sees college as a way out. Desperate to escape the area where he grew up, the people who know his secrets, and his own family, he deals with his problems through alcohol and meaningless sex.
When he first sees Lily, she’s the epitome of everything he hates. Yet something about her makes Jack rethink everything he knows and assumes about other people. Now, with the help of his best friend and lover, Jack has to decide if he wants to pursue something that he knows will only end badly.
Can Lily be one of the few people who can see Jack for who he really is – or will his darkness be too much for her to handle?
Buy Links:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Lily-of-the-Valley-ebook/dp/B00F5MN7H6/ref=la_B00BVV0F5W_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1379262793&sr=1-3
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lily-of-the-Valley-ebook/dp/B00F5MN7H6/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1379264310&sr=1-9
Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/lily-valley-flowering-1.5/id681470530?mt=11
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/342349
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lily-of-the-valley-sarah-daltry/1116282455?ean=2940148601609&itm=1&usri=sarah+daltry
All Romance: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-lilyofthevalley-1260170-149.html
Paperback: https://www.createspace.com/4411185
Title: Star of Bethlehem (Flowering holiday novella)
Author: Sarah Daltry
Publisher: SDE Press
Blurb:
Jack isn’t a rock star. He’s not the leader of a MC. He isn’t a billionaire. Lily’s not the daughter of a mob boss, or a stripper, or a virgin with a BDSM fascination. They’re just regular college kids, who somehow found each other in the middle of all the crap and chaos of growing up.
“With you, Jack, it was the first time I ever felt real. It was the first time anyone looked at me and saw substance. It was the first time I wanted to make someone see me.”
Jack and Lily have navigated his past, her desire to move on from her family’s demands of her, his depression, and her loneliness. Now, on New Year’s Eve, they have an entire year laid out ahead of them. First, though, Jack needs to meet Lily’s family, to be welcomed into her life. It’s intimidating, but with a sweater that is way too hot and his grandmother’s ugly car, he arrives at Lily’s gleaming house on a hill, ready to open himself up completely to her.
Inside the perfect, sparkling house, Lily waits for the boy she has come to love. But Lily’s house and family are a lot like her – shiny and pretty on the outside, with a sad emptiness on the interior. Lily wants to give Jack the one thing he has always dreamed of – family and love – but can she keep him from seeing how hollow a lot of the picture perfect life he fantasizes about really is?
This is a novella length work that follows Forget Me Not and Lily of the Valley.
Buy Links:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Star-of-Bethlehem-Flowering-ebook/dp/B00G5JKYO2/
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Star-Bethlehem-Flowering-Sarah-Daltry-ebook/dp/B00G5JKYO2/
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/370716
Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/star-of-bethlehem/id731942386?mt=11
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/star-of-bethlehem-sarah-daltry/1117237949?ean=2940148398080
All Romance: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-starofbethlehem-1329604-149.html
Paperback: https://www.createspace.com/4496548
Title: Bitter Fruits (Eden’s Fall, #1)
Author: Sarah Daltry
Release Date: 12/1/2013
Publisher: Escape Publishing
Blurb:
For fans of dark urban fantasy comes a novel that questions why forbidden fruit is always the most tempting…
A vampire-themed masquerade party isn’t really her scene, but Nora is sick of frat parties and bars. When she meets Alec, the appeal suddenly becomes clear. It’s obvious that they’ve been struck by the same intense mutual attraction, but Alec keeps his distance. Intrigued despite herself, Nora pushes a little deeper — and discovers Alec’s unimaginable secret…
Nora is not afraid of following Alec into the darkness, but the choice is soon taken from her. Someone is hunting her — someone tied to the secret and desperate to see it play out. But when Nora finally meets her aggressor, she finds herself hopelessly drawn to him. She needs to make a choice between the two men, but can she save them both, knowing one is destined to die?
Praise for Bitter Fruits:
“This book is one of the best paranormals I’ve read, and I’ve read a lot. Five stars hands down! I am proud to pass it on to all of you. Buy this book, devour it and enjoy. ”
Buy Links:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Bitter-Fruits-ebook/dp/B00G2UXCNO/ref=la_B00BVV0F5W_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1382502537&sr=1-4
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bitter-Fruits-ebook/dp/B00G2UXCNO/ref=la_B00BVV0F5W_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1382503616&sr=1-5
Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/bitter-fruits/id734987331?mt=11
All Romance: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-bitterfruits-1351909-143.html
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bitter-fruits-sarah-daltry/1115597545?ean=9780857991089&isbn=9780857991089&itm=1&usri=9780857991089
Big W: http://ebooks.bigw.com.au/bitter-fruits-358212
Booktopia: http://www.booktopia.com.au/ebooks/bitter-fruits-sarah-daltry/prod9780857991089.html;jsessionid=D7C569C9C0CA3FE5FBC593D29AF6CD18?clickid=wkXxQrWNJyfA1eoThuzLPydTUkTxpLwZw08j2Q0&bk_source_id=32024&bk_source=DGM
eBooks.com: http://www.ebooks.com/1520820/bitter-fruits/daltry-sarah/
Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/bitter-fruits-3
JB HiFi: https://books.jbhifi.com.au/Book/367684
Title: Backward Compatible
Author: Sarah Daltry and Pete Clark
Genre: Geek Romance
Blurb:
Not too long ago,
in a town that,
depending on your current location,
is either not super far
or actually quite close…
It is a time of chaotic hormones.
Two nerdy gents
home for winter break
have discovered a female gamer
at a midnight release.
During the break,
the gamer trio manages
to reveal the game’s secret boss,
a hidden enemy
with enough power to destroy
anything in its path.
Pursued by other gamers
who want to be the first
to beat this boss,
George and Katie race to level up,
and, in so doing, restore decency
and sexual activity to their personal galaxy…
Buy Links:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Backward-Compatible-Geek-Love-Story-ebook/dp/B00H6WHM0G/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1386597036&sr=1-8
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Backward-Compatible-Geek-Love-Story-ebook/dp/B00H6WHM0G/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1386597063&sr=8-11&keywords=sarah+daltry
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/382792
Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/backward-compatible
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/backward-compatible-sarah-daltry/1117649953?ean=2940149060160
Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/backward-compatible-geek-love/id769135494?mt=11
All Romance: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-backwardcompatible-1351782-344.html
Paperback: https://www.createspace.com/4564332
About the Author:
Sarah Daltry writes about the regular people who populate our lives. She’s written works in various genres – romance, erotica, fantasy, horror. Genre isn’t as important as telling a story about people and how their lives unfold. Sarah tends to focus on YA/NA characters but she’s been known to shake it up. Most of her stories are about relationships – romantic, familial, friendly – because love and empathy are the foundation of life. It doesn’t matter if the story is set in contemporary NY, historical Britain, or a fantasy world in the future – human beings are most interesting in the ways they interact with others. This is the principle behind all of Sarah’s stories.
Sarah has spent most of her life in school, from her BA and MA in English and writing to teaching both at the high school and college level. She also loves studying art history and really anything because learning is fun.
When Sarah isn’t writing, she tends to waste a lot of time checking Facebook for pictures of cats, shooting virtual zombies, and simply staring out the window.
She has written several books, most notably Bitter Fruits, an urban fantasy in the Eden’s Fall series, and the Flowering series, including Forget Me Not, Lily of the Valley, and Star of Bethlehem.
Social Media Links:
Website: http://sarahdaltry.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SarahDaltryErotica
Flowering Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/FloweringbySarahDaltry
Eden’s Fall Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/BitterFruits
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SarahDaltry
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/sarahdaltry/boards/
Tumblr: http://www.tumblr.com/blog/sarahdaltry
Top More than Ten:
Author’s Favorite Books:
The Sun Also Rises – Ernest Hemingway
The Catcher in the Rye – JD Salinger
Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte
Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte
Dandelion Wine – Ray Bradbury
The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald
Clockwork Angel – Cassandra Clare
Lola and the Boy Next Door – Stephanie Perkins
Days of Blood and Starlight – Laini Taylor
Red Moon – MA Grant
Author’s Favorite Book Boyfriends:
Jake Barnes – The Sun Also Rises
Holden Caulfield – The Catcher in the Rye
Heathcliff – Wuthering Heights
Rochester – Jane Eyre
Will – Clockwork Angel
Etienne – Anna and the French Kiss
Hamlet – Hamlet
Ian – The Host
Bru – Summer Sisters
Samuel – The Lovely Bones
Author’s Favorite Video Games:
1. Borderlands 1 and 2
2. Fallout 3
3. Persona series
4. Silent Hill series
5. Final Fantasy series
6. Skyrim
7. Dragon Age series
8. Mass Effect series
9. Fable series
10. Bioshock series
11. Magic: The Gathering
12. Perfect Dark
13. Heavy Rain
14. LA Noire
15. Catherine
16. Zuma
Author’s Favorite Bad Boys:
1. Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights
2. Jake Barnes from The Sun Also Rises
3. Will from Infernal Devices
4. Lord Byron
5. The Scarecrow in Batman Begins
6. Lucifer from Supernatural
7. Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice
8. James Dean
9. Damon from Vampire Diaries
10. V from V for Vendetta
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