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I was super happy to be invited on this blog tour! I fell in love with Sarah Morgan's books with her O'Neil brothers trilogy - two take place in the winter and one takes place in the summer. I couldn't wait to read her latest book First Time in Forever. I knew it would be fabulous - and I was right. I fully confess that this was my upstairs books - but I became so engrossed with it that I brought it downstairs to devour. Sometimes that happens to me - but it's rare.
Emily's famous half sister dies leaving her custody of a six year old child. Emily and her sister were never close and she's never met her niece. Now responsible for protecting the child against the media hounds, Emily flees to the safety of an island where she spent her summers happy.
My Thoughts: I loved this book - it's all about letting go, second chances, and taking control of your life. It's the perfect read, especially for this time of year when I longed for the summer sun, longed to taste the ice cream, and longed to hear the waves crashing along the beach as I read about Emily, Lizzy, and Ryan. My heart went out to Lizzy who has been scared, but little by little she starts coming out of her shell. The growth of comfort level between the Emily and Lizzy made me smile and warmed my heart. I love how both Ryan and Emily had secrets in their past that shaped the person they've become - and how they started letting go of the past. I loved Cocoa the dog and the comfort she brought to everyone. I can't wait for book 2: Some Kind of Wonderful coming in August!
Final Thoughts: Read this one, either now when you're longing for the beach or in a few months when you're sitting on the beach. You won't regret it, it's fantastic!
Interested in learning more about the book and about Sarah?
She answered some questions for us!
Q and A with Sarah Morgan
author of FIRST
TIME IN FOREVER
First Time in Forever is the opening book in your brand new Puffin Island
series. What inspired you to write this series?
I knew from
the start that I wanted the link between the characters and stories to be a
strong friendship. I write romance, but I also love exploring the other
relationships in my characters’ lives, including family and friends. I had
finished my O’Neil Brothers series, which was set in the beautiful mountains of
Vermont, and I wanted a completely different setting for my new series. I
decided on an island, a coastal retreat where three friends could escape when
life was hard. I want readers to dive in, breathe in the sea air, taste the
fresh blueberries and the smooth chill of ice cream and take a beach holiday
while they read.
What is the title
in reference to?
The title was
chosen by my publisher but it’s perfect for the story because for my heroine,
Emily, it is a summer of firsts. Like many of us, she lives her life well
within her comfort zone. She thinks she has control of everything but life has
a way of shaking up that theory and overnight her life changes. Suddenly she’s
forced to do all the things she has been avoiding and by pushing herself she discovers
she is capable of more than she thought. For Emily, it really is ‘First Time in
Forever’.
Can you tell us a
little about best friends Emily, Brittany and Skylar?
I love these
characters, and their friendship is a constant theme flowing through all three
books. They met in college and formed an instant bond that has deepened over
the years. Theirs is a deep, authentic friendship. They know each other, accept
each other without judgment and they’re always there for one another. In a
crisis, they’ll be on the phone – they may not always agree, but they always
support. They encourage, laugh, listen and forgive. They share history,
secrets, and they always want the best for each other.
All three
girls are very different. Emily is the more cautious of the three. She’s
guarded, but very loyal to her friends. After a difficult childhood, she
protects herself emotionally by keeping tight control over her life. She lives
well within her comfort zone, avoiding responsibility for anyone but herself.
When she finds herself responsible for a child, everything changes for her.
Brittany is
an archaeologist, a cross between Lara Croft and Indiana Jones (but nothing
annoys her more than being asked if she owns a whip!). She is smart,
adventurous and given to impulse. At the age of eighteen she married island bad
boy, Zachary Flynn. It lasted all of ten days. Since then she has travelled the
world and put that relationship behind her. Brittany’s story, Some Kind of
Wonderful, will be out in September in the US, but readers who would like to
meet her early can find her in Playing by the Greek’s Rules, a story I wrote
for Harlequin Presents, which is out now.
Skylar is a
jewelry designer, an artist with a dreamy streak and a wicked sense of
humor. She’s a free spirit, a trait that
causes conflict with her family who are continually hoping she will choose a
more conventional career path. Skylar is romantic but she doesn’t dream of
weddings, she dreams of love.
How do you decide
which character to write about first?
I’d had
Emily’s story in my head for a while, and she was my starting point for the
whole series. What I didn’t have was the setting or the other characters. I
started to think about what had happened to her (finding herself guardian to
her half sister’s child when she’d made a life decision never to have children)
and how she’d react. Even though it was never her choice to have Lizzy, she is
a very responsible person so I knew she’d do anything and everything within her
power to keep the child safe. I’d already decided that she would have close
friends, so I decided the three women would have somewhere they always went in
times of trouble. Castaway Cottage is owned by Brittany, and all three women
treat it as a sanctuary. Once I had the friends and the island, all I had to do
was build a warm, wonderful community who would gradually ease Emily out of her
shell. And populate it with hot men of course!
What is the
central theme of First Time in Forever?
The central
theme is courage. We all have a tendency to avoid the things that scare us, and
that is what Emily has done. Her whole life has been constructed to avoid her
biggest fears and suddenly she is forced to meet them head on. She is
determined to protect herself and not make herself vulnerable so taking that
leap with Ryan is huge for her. She’s known loss, so now she chooses to keep
people at a safe distance. In the end Emily faces her fears and triumphs. Love
and making yourself vulnerable, requires courage.
What made you
choose the Puffin as the island bird?
I spent a
long time researching the various islands around Penobscot Bay, Maine. Although
I prefer to have a fictitious setting, it’s important to me to make it as
authentic as possible so I was focusing on the national park and the wildlife
of the area. I discovered that although Puffins are not an endangered species,
they are rare in Maine and there are projects to reintroduce them to the
islands.
I first saw
Puffins in the north of England and they are the most amazing sea birds. As I
was researching, one of the facts that stayed with me was that although they
spend most of their lives at sea, they usually return to breed on the same
island where they were hatched. This fitted well with my idea that Puffin
Island would be a sanctuary for the three friends. Emily, Brittany and Skylar
each live busy independent lives but when they need a safe retreat, they return
to the island. In the books, the Puffins actually live on Puffin Rock, which is
a small rocky outcrop to the north of the island. They don’t like humans to get
too close!
The names that
you chose for the island and the cottage are so lovely - how do you come up
with them?
Picking the setting for a new series is very important because I’m
going to be spending so much time there myself during the writing process. It
has to be somewhere that captures my imagination, and I need to fall in love
with it myself before I create a word that hopefully the reader will love too.
I knew I wanted to set the series in Maine, but I am lucky enough to have
readers all around the world, so the place I chose had to work for them too. As
part of my research, I was looking at seabirds in the area and decided that
calling it Puffin Island would work for readers all over the globe.
The cottage
is a sanctuary for all three women and I wanted the name to reflect that. It’s
somewhere they can escape to when life is difficult, so ‘Castaway’ seemed like
the perfect name. I wanted it to be secluded but also warm and welcoming and in
the end I fell in love with the cottage. I’d move there tomorrow!
Were you involved
in the cover design process?
I’m very
lucky because the team in the art department at HQN do a wonderful job with my
covers. My editor and I make sure they have as much information about
characters and setting as possible, to help them design a cover that reflects
the feel and tone of the story. My agent and I do see early concepts, and
feedback our ideas too. I love the cover for First Time in Forever. It conveys
that warm, summery, beach feeling that matches the tone of the book.
Without revealing
too much, what is your favorite scene in the book?
That’s a
tough question. I enjoyed writing the beach picnic scene because it represents
a real challenge for Emily, but also for Ryan who is equally out of his comfort
zone. A woman with a child isn’t on his wish list and this is the scene where
he realizes he isn’t as in control of his feelings as he’d like to be.
What first attracts Ryan to Emily and vice versa?
Ryan first
meets Emily because he is asked by their friend Brittany to check on her. At
first he is simply fulfilling a duty, but he senses that she has secrets and
he’s intrigued. Ryan loves a mystery and, of course, he’s very attracted to
her. Once he finds out more about her, he wants to help her. Ryan pushes her
out of her comfort zone and with him she starts to do things she hasn’t done
before. In helping her, he is forced to take a long hard look at his own life.
Emily has
been playing it safe for most of her life, but now she is right out of her
comfort zone, not only because of the responsibility for Lizzy, but also
because of her feelings for Ryan. He makes no secret of the way he feels about
her. He is strong, persuasive and insanely hot! The relationship is very
sexually charged, and she isn’t used to that. She doesn’t know how to handle
it. At first she resists but gradually he nudges her out of her shell and
persuades her to open up to him. Also, he has experience in the area she feels
most vulnerable – caring for a child. It’s through his dealings with Lizzy that
she sees his true character.
Your character Emily has a terrible fear of the ocean.
Why did you choose to include this in the book?
Overcoming
fear is a theme of the book, and Emily’s fear of the ocean mirrors her fear of
emotions. She is afraid of being swamped, of losing everything. She is torn
because on the one hand Puffin Island is the perfect place to hide away, but it
also means confronting her worst fears. When she visited the island with her
friends she was able to stay indoors and inland and think only of herself, but
now she has Lizzy, who wants to play in the sand and swim in the sea. She is
forced out of her comfort zone and it’s difficult for her. I love challenging
my characters and watching them grow, and that’s the case for Emily.
You have a strong connection to the ocean. What are
your fondest seaside memories?
I love the
ocean. I live close to London, so escaping to the sea is nothing more than a
dream for most of the year. I have two sons and some of our happiest holidays
have been spent by the beach. Every summer we hire a house near the ocean and
like many families, we have our own routines and rituals that we often repeat
each holiday. If we’re feeling energetic we brave the freezing waves to go body
boarding and walk miles along the coast path. If we want a more leisurely day
we explore the tide pools, delving beneath rocks and through fronds of seaweed
to find hidden treasures. We build the most amazing sand sculptures and of
course we eat! Beach picnics are always fun and sometimes we’ll take a fishing
trip and cook what we catch. There’s nothing quite like the taste of freshly
cooked fish eaten on the beach as the sun goes down. And no beach holiday would
be complete without ice cream (my current favorite flavors are pistachio and
vanilla). It’s no coincidence that ice cream plays a role in First Time in Forever. I had so much fun
dreaming up Summer Scoop and the
whole family (and my readers on facebook!) helped pick the flavors.
What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
I love
spending time with family and friends.
I’m a sociable person and people are the antidote to long hours spent in
front of the computer. Having friends over is a favorite pastime, and I love
cooking.
I also try
to spend time outdoors whenever I can. Writing is a mostly sedentary, indoor
job so when I’m not tied to a deadline I like to walk and ride my mountain bike
(but only in the summer I confess).
When I want
to flop, I read (of course!) and I’m addicted to various TV dramas (The Good
Wife, Scandal, House of Cards, The Big Bang Theory are among my favorites).
Who would play Emily and Ryan in First Time in Forever, the movie?
Emily Blunt
could be Emily, and Chris Pine would be Ryan.
Are you a seat
of your pants writer or do you plan out the story idea beforehand?
I’m
definitely seat of my pants, but I do have a rough idea of where I'm going
before I start. I know the characters and the conflict, but the detail evolves
as I write. I do find it helps to think hard about the ending right at the
beginning of the process. If you know where your characters are going to end up
and how they will change over the story, it forces you to think hard about what
decisions they might make, and lessons they might learn, to affect that change.
What are you currently reading?
Sarah
Addison Allen’s First Frost. I love her work. One of my favorite books is The
Peach Keeper.
Are there any quirky rituals/habits you have during
the writing process?
I use a lot
of sticky notes and I don’t throw anything away until the book is finished. I
make a playlist but I don’t usually write to it. Music is a wonderful way of
evoking emotion, and finding exactly the right track can make a scene easier to
write. It’s very personal. I’m not sure that a reader listening to a playlist
would necessarily enjoy the music unless it was played in exactly the right
place in the story, but it really helps the thinking process for me.
Who are some of your favorite authors?
This is such
a difficult question because there are so many authors whose work I enjoy and I
love discovering new authors. I read a lot. Among my top favorites would be
Nora Roberts, Jill Shalvis and Sarah Addison Allen.
What advice would you give to an aspiring writer?
Read
Write every
day
Stay off the
internet
When you’re
stuck, keep going
Read more
Make your
characters as human and real as possible
Join a
writing organization such as Romance Writers of America
Put your
work aside and don’t be afraid to revise. Revisions are part of writing.
Read it
aloud for rhythm
Develop
resilience.
Find at
least one good writing friend.
Every time
you’re knocked down, get up again.
READ!
What are you working on next?
I’m in the
middle of the third book in the Puffin Island series, Skylar and Alec’s story,
called Christmas Ever After. Sky is a really fun character to write and the
tension with Alec is electric. It’s one of those stories where life keeps
throwing boulders at the characters (a bit like real life!) and it’s
interesting to see them fighting their way out. I love this couple. Their
relationship borders on adversarial but they have off the scale chemistry and
plenty of humor so it’s fun to write. And it’s a Holiday story, so there is all
the extra frosty sparkle I always enjoy.
I can't wait to read more in the trilogy! Thanks for chatting with us today Sarah!!
