Straight Chatting From the Library: Fat Girl by Leigh Carron

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Leigh will be awarding a digital copy of Fat Girl to a randomly drawn commenter at each stop. A Grand Prize of a $50 Visa or Amazon GC, an autographed copy of FAT GIRL and an invitation to discuss the book with the winner via phone or online will be awarded to a randomly winner. All prizes will be awarded via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

 Welcome to the blog, Leigh. What do you do when you are not writing?

In my other life, I work as a business change consultant by day and play the role of wife and mom. My 12-year old daughter is a competitive cheerleader, so my many evenings are spent at the gym. But as soon as I get free time, I write!

How do you market your work? What avenues have you found to work best for your genre?

As a new, independent author, it has been trial and error. I did my research, spoke to other indie authors and the like, but there is no specific formula that works for everyone. It’s hard work, perseverance and yes, a little luck.

I started off with an ad in BTS Emagazine and that gave me a jumpstart; access to thousands of readers. Tweet campaigns and Blog Tours have been effective as well, some more than others. It’s important to find the right tour company that understands your genre and has broad access to heavily promote you. Fellow authors and bloggers have been amazingly supportive by tweeting and retweeting about Fat Girl. I can’t thank them enough. But what I enjoy the most about “touring” is connecting personally with readers. In the end, it’s that connection that matters most.

If you had to go back and do it all over, is there any aspect of your book or getting it published that you would change? I wrote three iterations of Fat Girl before I finally landed on the published version. I started with Dee and Micah reuniting at their high school reunion. Glad, I scraped that…too cliché. The second version reunited Dee and Micah through her work, but was missing the family element that kept niggling in the back of my mind. So, I rewrote the manuscript yet again, including the family ties. However, the third-person narrative, which I usually enjoy in a romance novel didn’t work. I just couldn’t seem to translate the emotion from my head to the computer screen the way I needed to. I decided to revise once again and write in the first-person narrative from both Dee and Micah’s POVs. That worked!

Having said all that, I’m not sure I would have changed anything about the process. It was a journey in which I learned a lot about myself as a writer and a person. I think Fat Girl is better for it.

Do you buy a book by the cover?

No, I am drawn to a great cover. But I buy a book based on the synopsis and the sample/first couple of chapters. I enjoy steamy romances that have great character development, intriguing/unique plotlines, and are well written.

Do you write under a pen name?

Yes. I took the last half of my real first name and the French version of my middle name to come up with Leigh Carron.

Did you have a favorite toy as a child?

Barbies. No wonder my perception of my body was so skewed. Who the heck looks like that?

Do you ever write in your PJ’s?

Rarely. I like to laze around in my PJs, watch TV or curl up with a good book. When I write I want to feel energized and alert.

If you could travel in a Time Machine would you go back to the past or into the future?

I wouldn’t do either. The past has been lived…I’ve learned, made mistakes, grown, moved on (mostly), I have no desire to go back. As for the future, I wouldn’t want to jump ahead. I think the journey in getting there is worth experiencing.

Night owl, or early bird?

Definitely night owl.

Pet Peeves?

Dishonesty, pretentiousness and making unfair judgments about people.

Where is one place in the world that you would really love to visit someday?

Italy for the food and culture.

What is your favorite type of pet?

Dog. We have a Havenese who thinks he’s a baby.

Who is your favorite singer?

Old school Prince before he became a symbol.

Do you prefer print books or ebooks?

In recent years I have come to appreciate the convenience of the e-reader. I read most of my books online now, but I still have a preference for paperback. There’s just something about holding a book in my hands that feels right.

What is your most embarrassing moment?

When I was invited to this guy’s high school prom and he told me I looked like a clown. In looking back at the pictures, I did. The pink lace dress with the ruffled collar was truly hideous, but still he was an A$$ for telling me.

Do you drive a manual or automatic vehicle?

I learned to drive stick shift and my first car (a Lada…lol) was manual, but the SUV mommy car I now drive is automatic. Hubby on the other hand drives a stick, so I get to indulge.

What was your first job?

Believe it or not, selling chocolates door-to-door. I did eat most of the profits.

If you could meet one person who has died who would you choose?

Maya Angelou. What an amazing woman.

What are you working on now?

A Naked Beauty, the conclusion to Fat Girl.

What advice would you give aspiring writers?

The best advice I ever received was to stick to it and finish! Don’t fill your computer with only works-in-progress.

Thanks for the great interview questions and the opportunity to share Fat Girl with your readers.

READ THE BLURB

Years after fleeing small-town Springvale, Illinois, Deanna Chase has picked up the pieces of her shattered heart and built a new life for herself as a child advocacy lawyer. Her food addiction is quasi under control, her secrets are buried, and she has even made a tenuous peace with her plus-size body. Until…

Micah Peters—the very sexy and now famous man she fled— walks through her office door and sends Dee reeling. His demand that she help a young boy caught in a custody battle will reunite her with the past she left behind.

Torn between duty and self-preservation, Dee isn’t easy to convince. But when obligation wins, the former lovers get more than they bargained for—a searing passion that burns hotter than ever and startling revelations about what really happened the fateful night she left.

Will the truth set Dee free to love again? Or will past hurts and lingering insecurities destine her to walk away from her heart again, this time for good?

Fat Girl is the first book in this provocative two-part series about love and self-acceptance.

READ AN EXCERPT

“Mick…”

My hand slides up her neck, testing the rapid beat of her pulse.

“Don’t,” Dee breathes, but the protest sounds as weak as my will to withstand her.

I lower my head and skim my lips along her bare shoulder. The fragrance of her soft, quivering skin seduces my senses.

“I’ve never gotten the smell of you out of my head…or the taste of you.”

Her breath hitches and I pull the sound deep into my mouth. I might regret my weakness later, but the silk of her lips, the sweet flavor I’ve never forgotten, spins my head, and trumps all rational thought or common sense.

I tug the band from her hair and grab two fistfuls of curls. And Dee’s right with me. No token resistance. No pretense. She gives back, just the way I need it. Hot and mindless. Going up on her toes, she winds her arms around my neck and molds her body to mine. Our tongues collide in a rush of longing. Tasting, tangling.

No woman has ever filled me so completely, to the exclusion of everything else. In that moment of frenzy, the past, my anger, and her transgressions are all white noise against the clamor of something louder and more powerful roaring in my blood.

I crush her back into the counter and muscle my thigh between her legs, leaving no doubt as to how badly I want her. Releasing my grip from the twist of curls I cup her unfettered breasts through the thin material and squeeze their ripe fullness. The nipples harden to bullets beneath my palms, and when I whisk my thumbs across the peaks, Dee’s breathy moans drive me full throttle.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 

An American living in Canada. Chocolate snob. Recovering yo-yo dieter. Devoted mom and wife, blessed with a brilliantly witty daughter and unintentionally humorous husband. My wacky family feed my creativity and fuel my passion. Most nights, you will find me either curled up with a great book or, more often, sitting at my computer, tapping out the countless visions in my head.

To me, there is nothing better in a narrative than perfectly flawed but strong characters and intense romance that is sexy, deep, and sensual. Mm…I liken such stories to a box of Godiva. Decadent and delicious! You can’t stop at just one. In fact, I’m now hard at work on my next novel—A Naked Beauty, the conclusion to Fat Girl.

Stay Connected at:

Website: http://www.leighcarron.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leighcarronebooks?ref_type=bookmark
Twitter: @LeighCarron
GoodReads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22594594-fat-girl?from_search=true

Now available at Amazon, Kobo, or Smashwords.

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