Today I am super happy to welcome to the blog author Beverley Kendall. Many of you know Beverley as the author of the Elusive Lords series or from the running The Season site, but did you know she has recently released a New Adult novel? When in Paris... is the first book in her Language of Love series and I'm so very happy to have Beverley here today to talk all about When in Paris.... Please give Beverley a warm welcome.
Beverley discovered her love of books while growing up in, the then, small city of Barrie, Ontario Canada. With her love of books and romance, she always wished that everyone would find their happily ever after. Add in her love of London, England set in a period when ladies strived to be genteel and dresses could barely fit through doors, and it was obvious she could write nothing but historical romances.As the mother of one too bright and mischievous young boy, she pulls full-time duty on all fronts. When she's not working full-time, mothering, writing or reading, she's probably sleeping and dreaming of a time when she'll have time for her favorite hobbies: knitting, crocheting and sewing.
Beverley has lived on two continents, in three countries, two provinces, and four states. She stopped her nomadic existence and settled in the southeast. All things artistic feed her creative passion, but none more than writing.
Places to find Beverley:
Getting into the mind of the young adult romance hero is easier said than done.
After reading like forever and publishing three full-length historicals and one novella, I was used to getting into the mind of a fully developed adult male. Actually, what I should say is that I was used to getting into the mind of a Victorian (as in mid-1800s England) adult male. What I’d never written was from the point-of-view of a young adult male.
Well that was the position I put myself in when I decided to write college-set romances (new adult). Without giving away how ancient I am, let’s just say that my college days are more than a decade ago and my son is only nine. But I grew up with three brothers and I’ve been around enough of them in my life to get an idea how they think. I’ve certainly seen how they act. Zach, my hero in WHEN IN PARIS…, is a combination of everything I remember, observed and read about of the not so mysterious young adult male.
My biggest task was how to portray Zach in a way that wouldn’t have readers rolling their eyes and thinking guys don’t say stuff like that or guys don’t act like that while making him a hero in the true sense of a romantic hero. It’s amazing how sometimes these things are at complete odds.
Readers will let me know if I accomplished what I set out to do but my Zach is definitely a tad on the cocky side. He’s young, gorgeous, smart and a total athlete. He attracts girls everywhere he goes but he’s got a sense of loyalty a mile wide. He’s as one reviewer described him, an alpha-in-training, and is, underneath his inscrutable expression, a guy with a big heart and a romantic streak I don’t even think he knew he had. I absolutely loved spending time with Zach and falling in love with Zach…as I do all my heroes. ;)
How realistic do you like your young (18-24) male heroes? I’m giving away 2 (two) digital copies and 1 (one) print copy of WHEN IN PARIS… to 3 (three) random commenters.
College freshman Olivia Montgomery is thrilled at the chance to start over, escape the rumors that plagued her in high school. And she can finally put her juvenile crush, Zachary Pearson, where he belongs—in her past. Then her unrequited love strolls into her French class, shattering Olivia’s newfound peace, and the feelings she'd thought buried for good come rushing back. Now she can't shake her unwanted attraction to the one guy who can twist her stomach into knots with just a smile...but has never given her the time of day.
Zach’s good looks may have always gotten him his pick of girls, but it's the star quarterback’s skill on the football field that gives him his pick of the Big Ten colleges. To escape the crushing demands of his win-at-all-costs father, Zach opts for a private university in upstate New York where...his present and past collide. And the one girl he’s always wanted but can’t have—and a class trip to Paris—turn out to be the ultimate game changer that has him breaking every one of his rules.
Purchase: | Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Smashwords | iTunes |
Up For Grabs:
- 1 lucky winner will win a print copy of When in Paris...
- 2 lucky winners will win a eBook copy of When in Paris...
To Enter:
- Leave a comment answering Beverley's question: How realistic do you like your young (18-24) male heroes?
- Fill out the Rafflecopter form below.
Good Luck =)
I think any hero should have enough realism to make him believable but there can be a bit of fantasy there too. Like a woman's dream guy, but somewhat attainable.
ReplyDeleteI like the realistic, but they do need to have a lot of redeeming qualities. You need a hero the reader can fall in love with too.
ReplyDeleteI like the realistic, but they do need to have a lot of redeeming qualities. You need a hero the reader can fall in love with too.
ReplyDeleteparisfan_ca@yahoo.com
I like realistic young male heroes, but sometimes dream male heroes are also good.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love your books. I can't remember when I discovered you as an author other than it felt like a really long time before and Heir to Deception came out. I already read When in Paris. Zach made a really good hero.
ReplyDeleteI love having my heroes realistic. I want to be able to relate on how they handle a situation or think 'yeah a guy would that'. I want them to also be romantic, not just do romantic gestures. I want them to think 'what would make her happy' when planning something.
The problem is that guys in that age range tend to be pretty immature. So, you can't be too realistic with them, otherwise, they just aren't hero material LOL. If they have a backstory that shows that they've dealt with some adversity, then they are more sympathetic.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy a fairly realistic attitude in a hero. His circumstances may be extraordinary, but that's what makes him special.
ReplyDeleteHi, new author for me so I'm excited to get started on some new series :).
ReplyDeleteAs for the question... It depends on what genre I am reading. My first love will always be historical however enjoy other genres too. I think a lot depends on the author and how believable she/he can make their characters seem. I like the ideal/fantastical characters as well. It's nice to imagine and escape the realistic at times.
Thanks,
Lori
loris (at) yahoo ( dot) com
Just the right amount of realism to make it believable and wonderful :)
ReplyDeleteWell, I like my heroes to be somewhat realistic. I remember what the guys I went to high school and college were like, and I can honestly say I wasn't very attracted to many of them.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait for your book to come out~! I would love my heroes to be some what realistic as much as they can so that I won't be frustrated when reading them. But being in that age range it'll be a tad hard to portray them but if they have a straight head on their shoulders then it'll work for me.
ReplyDeleteI would have to say somewhat realistic.
ReplyDeleteI hate to say this but guys at this age aren't very attractive to me because they are kind of immature! :) Rare to meet a mature guy in this age group...
ReplyDeleteHi, Beverley! I am so glad to see you here! I have read all of your books except WHEN IN PARIS... and they were all fabulous!
ReplyDeleteI like my heroes as realistic as possible, but most young college age guys are a bit immature, so sometimes a bit of imaginary is a good thing. As long as they have a good heart, treat people right, and think of their heroine first, I am happy.
kscathy AT yahoo DOT com
thanks for the great post and congrats to Beverly on the newest release! Ummm... somewhat. I want an engaging story and characters and unfortunately that age group doesn't really appeal to me so it will take some "stretching" to get me involved.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy your books Beverly. Thank you for another, what I assume to be another great read. I like my heros realistic and maybe a bit more mature than some young men. They can be young, but not silly and immature.
ReplyDeleteI think the hero should be realistic, but some authors rely too much on slang. When this happens, I feel like the character is a stereotype of what a young adult should be.
ReplyDeleteI like realistic. I think if they are more realistic I connect with the characters more.
ReplyDeleteI like mine more mature than the standards of most young men today, but I do like it when it's more realistic, so I guess there needs to be a balance of both.
ReplyDeleteFor that age group of males - maybe not TOO realistic. I want to actually like them as I read.
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I like them to be somewhat realistic, but not too much. I didn't like guys that age even when I was that age.
ReplyDeleteRealistic would be good. Honest and sensitive. Most boys are - but too often books only reflect those jerks that make up the 10%.
ReplyDeleteI like them realistic if they're a little more mature.
ReplyDeleteivegotmail8889(at)yahoo(dot)com
I like a little realism with a dash of fictional hero.
ReplyDeletejenalang(at)live(dot)com
Congrats on the new release. I think a hero should have enough realism to be believable but there also needs to be some fantasy and some redeeming qualities in him.
ReplyDeletee.balinski(at)att(dot)net
I like realistic heroes. Down to earth, not the over the top alpha(hole).. In other words, I want to really like the hero, and dream like fantasy characteristics don't hold much weight with me.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the giveaway!!
readsalot81(@)hotmail(dot)com
Fairly realistic.... but with room for my imagination!! ;o)
ReplyDelete