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Me+You Author Interview: Alyssa Drake


Message in a Bottle by Alyssa Drake

Uncork a mystery… Still grieving the loss of her husband, Rose Jacobs moves herself and her young son, Liam, to a beachside town from her youth; the only place not tainted with memories of Trevor.

However, long-buried feelings are dredged to the surface as Rose reconnects with her childhood crush, Jaxon. When Jaxon reveals he rescued Rose after a botched treasure exploration, he inadvertently plants a seed in Liam's mind.

Now the seven-year-old is missing...

1) What is your favorite genre to write? Romance, in general, because I always enjoy a love story. However, I like to blend genres together. Most recently I attempted Gaslight Romance which is Victorian (my favorite time period) and fantasy mixed together. 2) Do you believe in love at first sight? Yes! I think you can meet someone and just know they were meant to be with you. 3) What is your favorite body of water? The ocean, more specifically a stretch of beach near Santa Barbara. 4) Have you experienced a summer romance? Yes, but it had nothing to do with the beach or summer camp. 5) What one thing always reminds you of summer? Sprinklers! I used to love playing in them as a kid. 6) Favorite color? Turquoise/blue-green, just like the ocean. 7) Favorite ice cream flavor? Cookies and cream. How can you go wrong with cookies and ice cream? 8) Favorite summer romance movie? Dirty Dancing…Because nobody puts Baby in a corner! 9) What is your favorite season/month? Autumn: football, beautiful colors, crisp air, and the beginning of the holiday season. 10) Describe one scene you cut from your final story? I cut a scene of Rose walking along the beach by herself at sunrise as she grieved for her husband. It was the original paragraph I began the story with, but discovered it no longer fit with the theme of the piece. I cannibalized it and kept the few descriptive sentences I loved. 11) What is one thing you cannot write without? Music. I always have my headphones with me (actually I keep a second pair in my coat when I’m commuting too). I find when I hit a writer’s block, I can change the music and refocus my directions. 12) Do you prefer plotting or allowing the characters to drive the story? I am a “plantser” (a combination of both). I begin with a general idea, a rough skeleton, and then let my characters drive the story. Often, they led me in directions I never imagined. 13) What is your favorite scene from this story? The scene where Jaxon overhears Liam tell Rose, he wouldn’t mind if she married Jaxon. 14) Which author in this set are you most excited to read? I was lucky enough to read the submissions for this set, so that’s not really a fair question (because I want to read them all 😊 ). 15) What is your favorite word? According to my editor, it’s “that”, but I love the word “serendipitous”.

16) Describe your perfect sand castle. High towers, flags of seaweed, a deep moat and at least one bridge.

17) What is your favorite water activity (swimming, surfing, skiing, tanning ect.)? Swimming, if I could swim every day, I would. 18) What other projects are you working on? I am currently working on edits for Wiltshire Chronicles. The third book in the series, A Perfect Deception is due out by the fall of this year (fingers crossed). 19) Which is more romantic, sunrise or sunset? Sunset, it looks as though the sun is melting into the horizon.

20) What is your favorite mythological water creature (mermaid, siren, nymph, ect.)? A hippocampus (half-horse and half-fish).

Me+You: Summer Romance Anthology will be releasing June 14, 2018. To get to know more of the authors, and to get updates on the book, please join our Facebook group.

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