Today I'm pleased to welcome Natalie J. Damschroder to the blog. She's the author of A KISS OF REVENGE, a paranormal romantic suspense novel that came out last month from Entangled Publishing. Her book sounds absolutely delicious and I'm hoping to try it soon.
Natalie is here today to talk about living vicariously through her characters.
Please join me in welcoming Natalie to the blog and make sure to enter the tour-wide giveaway at the end of the post!
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Thank you so much to everyone at Team Tynga’s for being a part of the blog tour for my latest release, A Kiss of Revenge.
My heroine, Reese Templeton, has been married four times. She started when she was young and alone, and was subconsciously convinced that she needed to conform to her husband’s interests and needs in order to keep him. So each time, she took on her husband’s hobbies or supported his business. Consequently, she has only recently discovered who she is as her own person, and it’s not something she wants to lose.
That conformation obviously isn’t a good thing for her. But it was great for me, especially when I was writing the first draft of the book. I’d given myself carte blanch to just have fun with the story, so Reese originally had SIX husbands. The first five gave her myriad skills and hobbies that…confession alert…I wish I had.
Husband #1: Joey Bastiani
Occupation: Cop
Poor Joey was killed on the job only 9 months after he and Reese got married. But in that short time, living in New York City, he made sure she learned basic safety, to be suspicious of everyone, and how to use a gun.
I’ve taken self-defense classes and have lived in cities, but I’ve only ever used a gun once. All issues of danger and violence aside, since I’ve been writing romantic adventure, the grace and mechanics of weaponry has appealed to me. I really want to learn the skill of shooting. “So find a local range,” you say? I know, right?! But that would take time and, I assume, money, so I’ll just write about characters who know how to shoot instead. At least for now. :)
Husband #2: Martin Idler
Occupation: Survivalist
Martin didn’t make later drafts of the story. He fell into a spiked pit (that does some damage, finding your husband of two years in a trap of his own making). From Martin, Reese learned how to live in the woods, hunt, skin, and cook animals, and essentially how to be MacGyver. None of those skills turned out to be valuable on her vengeance quest, so he hit the cutting room floor.
But really, he existed just because I want to be MacGyver. I *loved* that show when I was a teenager, and I’ve always wished that I had the right mix of knowledge—science, math, technology, and outdoorsmanship, not to mention a resourceful and innovative mind—to do things like patch a radiator by cracking an egg into it or defuse a bomb with a paper clip.
Husband #3: Erik BoothOccupation: Medical Supplies Sales
Reese helped Erik with his business stuff, which is where she got the know-how to run a successful bakery even while distracted by trying to track down her would-be murderer. He had kind of unusual hobbies. His family owned horses, so Reese learned (and loved) to ride. He also competed in archery, and Reese found an outlet in the precision and control of it, so she continued these after he died in a car crash, and even combined them so she could fire a bow from the back of a horse.
Wouldn’t that be COOL?!
Husband #4: Pete Kryszka
Occupation: Ski Patrol
By the time Reese met Pete, she was tired of subjugating herself to her husbands, and she thought telling him she didn’t like to ski was a positive step in her personal growth. But then he ran off with a downhill Olympian, and that kind of reinforced some of her less conscious beliefs.
I skied my senior year of high school and a little bit through college graduation, but it was too expensive to continue once we had kids. I miss it like crazy, but I really think I’d make a fool of myself if I tried again. LOL
Husband #5: Trey Van Arden
Occupation: Mountain Climber
I don’t know how mountain climbing was supposed to be an occupation. In the first draft, Reese had actually tried climbing as a hobby for herself, and met Trey that way. The only reason I created Trey was to explain how Reese could climb a wall. LOL I don’t think his last name even made it into the book.
I “climbed” one real mountain in my lifetime (really just hiking). Mt. Katahdin in Maine, at the end of the Appalachian Trail. It was incredible! Incredibly hard and exhausting, but so gorgeous and satisfying. Putting this in the book was more nostalgia than living vicariously, I have to admit.
So how many of you *read* books to live vicariously through the characters? To “experience” something you don’t have the time, money, or ability to try in real life?
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Thanks for visiting, Natalie! You can see the other stops on Natalie's tour by visiting this page.
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Here's the scoop on A KISS OF REVENGE:
Marriage is completely over-rated, especially after Reese Templeton’s quadratic failure. She’d rather settle down to a solitary life of owning a bakery—after she tracks down the man responsible for her husband’s death and making her a human Taser full of enough electricity to short out a city block or send a man into cardiac arrest with just one kiss.
But alluring P.I. Griffin Chase is stirring up those feelings of need again. Only this time, her desire to be in his arms has nothing to do with her fear of loneliness and everything to do with the current charging through her body every time he looks at her…touches her.
Griffin hasn't remained at Reese's side just because of the spark that has nothing to do with her super-human talents. He's willing to compromise his rock-solid principles so she can find closure. But before they can move on, he must help her catch her late husband’s killer, staying on track before she has a chance to exact her revenge. Because leading Reese to jail in handcuffs may just break his heart for the final time.
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There is a tour-wide giveaway of one (1) iFrogz GoLite – 2600 mAh Battery and Flashlight. It only ships within the U.S. so an alternate prize (TBD) will given if the winner is international. 
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Natalie J. Damschroder is an award-winning author of contemporary and paranormal romance—Love with a Shot of Adrenaline. She sold her first book in 1999, and 2014 will see the publication of her 15th novel. She grew up in Massachusetts and loves the New England Patriots more than anything. (Except her family. And writing and reading. And popcorn.) When she’s not writing, revising, proofreading, or promoting her work, she does freelance editing and works part time as a chiropractic assistant. She and her husband have two daughters she’s dubbed “the anti-teenagers,” one of whom is also a novelist. (The other one prefers math. Smart kid. Practical.) You can learn more about her and her books atwww.nataliedamschroder.com.
Thanks so much for having me today!
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting! :)
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