Today I am delighted to welcome Cecilia Fyre to the blog to answer some of my questions about her writing. I also have an extract for you from her contemporary romance, Heart and the City and a great giveaway for you to enter. Details on how to enter are at the foot of this post.
Welcome to Books,
Life and Everything. Thank you so much for agreeing to answer some questions on
my blog about your writing.
Would you
like to start by telling us a little about yourself and how you started as a
writer?
This pen name is new. I’m trying out a new genre, even
though, interestingly perhaps, these five novellas were one of the first things
I ever wrote. They changed a lot in the intervening years as I learned more
about writing, but I’ve always loved them, and I feel I can finally do them
justice.
Which
genre best describes your writing and what is it that attracts you about this?
I’ve tried different genres but this story is very much
contemporary romance. I like to colour ever so slightly outside the lines,
though, so they have a very distinct trope which isn’t all that common. It’s
sometimes called hurt/comfort, and I’ll be very curious how they’ll be received
as I don’t know too many authors writing this trope.
What can
you tell us about your latest novella, Heart and the City?
It’s the story of Dr Lea Holm, a Brit who moves to New York.
She’s there to work on a study on pain medication, and to work at the ER of a
big hospital. But soon she meets this famous guy who has a lot of issues. They
fall in love, and drama ensues – lots of it.
Where did
you get the inspiration for the central characters in Heart and the City- Lea and
Ricco?
There were different things that inspired me. One, Lea is
from London, where I live, so there’s a little bit of play with British vs
American English language, and also culture. I like to write about things I
have some experience with, so I made her a doctor. In a former life I studied
health sciences, but decided it wasn’t the career for me. But I’ve always loved
medical dramas on TV, so that has coloured my inspiration. Also, I have
experience in looking after people with long-term conditions. Not like Ricco’s,
but I prefer to write about serious issues that are one step removed, if that
makes sense.
If your
book became a film, who would you like to play them and why would you choose
them?
I visualise Ricco a lot like Kit Harrington in terms of
looks, though a bit sweeter and hapless. Lea is a little harder. I’m not as
young as I was when I started the novellas so the actresses I might have had in
mind are maybe a bit old now. But I love Natalie Dormer, so she’d be a good
choice. (Confession: I changed the looks of my characters slightly so they’d
fit better with the cover models that were available.)
When
you’re not writing, what do you like to read?
You could say I’m a voracious reader. I used to read a lot
more books when I had more time, but I still read very widely. I’m currently
going through a biography phase, and I read some celebrity biographies to help
me a bit with visualising Ricco’s world.
If you
hadn’t become an author, what would you have done instead as a creative outlet?
This one is really hard! I can’t draw, I can’t carry a tune
and I don’t like standing on a stage. But I think if I had to do the latter, I
would probably be a comedienne.
Finally,
have you three words which sum up Heart and the City?
Sweet, dramatic, sad
Thanks so much, Cecilia. I am fascinated that you changed the looks of your characters slightly to fit the cover stars! Before we get to read an extract from Heart and the City, here's a little about the book.
Heart and the City (Book 1 in the Love Medicine series)
British doctor Lea Holm has come to New York to work in her
chosen field of emergency medicine. She loves her new life in this exciting
city and can’t wait to get started with her research project. The last thing
she needs are distractions.
But then she meets famous actor Ricco Como in her building –
a distraction if ever there was one. He’s gorgeous and sweet, and there’s an
immediate connection between them. Lea tries to resist temptation, but when he comes
to her for help dealing with his steadily worsening migraine she can’t turn
away from his plight.
As Ricco’s health takes a turn for the worse, their lives
become more and more entwined. But can their growing attraction withstand the
strain of his ill health, and can he let Lea be more than just his doctor?
**This novella series contains detailed descriptions of
long-term health conditions, cheating and a bereavement.**
The series is set in New York City and was written before
COVID-19. It makes no reference to recent events.
Extract - Chapter 1
Lea stepped out of the elevator and heard a weird, humming
sound. No, not humming. Purring. Looking around her she spotted a black cat in
the crevice under a nearby radiator.
“Hey, who’re you?” she murmured.
Big, green cat eyes stared at her out of the gloom, the
jet-black body obscured in the shadows.
“Are you running away?” She crouched down and held out a
hand. For a moment the cat looked like it was going to hiss at her. But then it
slunk over, belly close to the marble floor. It was still purring.
Truth be told, Lea wasn’t really a cat person. She preferred
dogs. Or maybe, in the tiny New York apartments, a cockatiel would be nice.
Though this kitty was pretty cute. Its coat was fluffy, and it was a little on
the chubby side. Well cared for, certainly. Of course, it would be, in this
swanky Little Italy apartment building where the cheapest unit cost well over
three million dollars. And whoever the cat belonged to was probably looking for
it. So Lea braced herself and picked it up.
The elevator servicing the apartments on this floor was
hidden away in a nook at the end of the hallway. As Lea stepped out from that
little space now, the cat hanging relaxed in her arms, the door at the opposite
end of the hallway opened. A man peered through it. “Carl? Man, if you slipped
out, I’ll…shit…oh.”
He spotted Lea and opened the door wider. She felt foolish
asking since he had pretty much confirmed it. "He yours?" She nodded
at the cat in her arms, who had wriggled onto his back, head lolling, looking
at her with those weird, slitted eyes.
“Yeah, he is,” the man said. “Little fucker… sorry.”
She hid her smile as the color rose in his face. "Did
he give you the slip?"
He nodded. Lea walked the length of the hallway, taking the
opportunity to study him. Brown hair to just over his ears, tousled and
standing up in places like he'd just woken up. His eyes were very blue,
slightly slanted, and returning her gaze openly. Nice cheekbones that gave his
features a certain finesse. He had boyish good looks that could only be helpful
in his line of work. He wore a black T-shirt and grey sweatpants, and despite
his handsome face, his smile was a little shy and very ordinary. Lea already
knew who he was.
Despite what she might have said to Carmine about not caring
for the famous people living in his building, now that she found herself face
to face with one her heart jumped in her chest and her hands that were still
clasping the cat began to sweat.
When she reached him, she held out her arms, uncertain of
what to do. He smiled again, then disentangled the furry creature from his cozy
spot.
“Thanks a lot.”
Lea returned his smile. “No problem.”
He wrestled for a moment with the cat, who was trying to
crawl onto his shoulder. Once the cat had settled, looking very much at home,
he extended his hand. “I’m Ricco.”
Lea was about to say, I know, but then decided against it.
She shook his hand. “I’m Lea. Nice to meet you.”
Ricco gestured behind himself. “D’you wanna come in for a
coffee? Thanks to you my afternoon won’t be wasted looking for this monster
now.” He patted the animal, who purred.
Lea shook her head. She could’ve kicked herself. “I’m sorry,
I can’t. My shift starts in less than an hour.” She glanced at her watch. She’d
rushed out to run some errands she’d forgotten about all week and was running
late now.
"Oh, okay… maybe another time." He seemed
disappointed, but Lea found that hard to believe. Why'd he care one way or
another?
She banished the cynicism. “Definitely.”
Ricco was still looking at her, and the intensity of his
gaze made Lea feel uneasy. He seemed to notice and lowered his eyes, retreating
into his doorway. Lea turned to retrace her steps to the door furthest from
his.
“See you later,” he said. Lea glanced around and he gave her
a one-handed wave. She waved back and began to dig in her bag for the house
keys. His door fell shut. Lea inserted her key into her own door, then stopped
and glanced back down the corridor. Her heartbeat rather fast and her hands
shook. She couldn't understand why that should be so. She'd never cared a fig
about celebrities.
About the Author
Cecilia Fyre is the pen name of a romance author trying out
something new.
She likes sunny, crisp autumn days. Cups of hot cocoa with
little marshmallows floating on top. The roaring of the sea. Laughing until
your face hurts. The silence when you curl up with a good book.
Her stories are about people. Some of them are strange, some
think they're boring. They all have secrets, they're all scared sometimes.
Cecilia writes about life, about love. About how hard it is to do it right.
Usually, there's a happy ending, or at least there might be one, someday.
But life's not all sunshine and roses, and that's why
Cecilia tells her stories.
In the real world, Cecilia lives in England.
Check out theae great bloggers!
Giveaway (International)
To win 2 x A Complete set of all 5 novellas in the
Love Medicine series, in an ebook format just follow the link below and good luck! (Open INT)
The five novellas are:
Book 1 – Heart and the City
Book 2 – Unexpected Truth
Book 3 – Been There Before
Book 4 – Wish The Pain Away
Book 5 – A Thousand Little Pieces
*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome. Please enter using the Rafflecopter box
below. The winner will be selected at
random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter
and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random
Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all
entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal
data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and
will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’
information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for
fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete
the data. I am not responsible for
despatch or delivery of the prize.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Comments
Post a Comment