Okay, so I got a very nice 4/5 star rating on Goodreads for “You’ll Be Thinking of Me.” Unfortunately, the review was written in Hungarian! I turned to Google for a translation and this was the result:
“The story was completely surprised. Simple Romantic expected horrors rather small indentation, but fortunately not, “read it, then do not dare to go out in the dark bathroom” deep.”
I’m still smiling. 🙂
When I’m reading, I always wonder how much of a story came from an author’s life in some way, no matter how small. And I’m often asked how much of what happens in You’ll Be Thinking of Me came from my life. If you’re not familiar with the story, it’s about a young woman who has a chance encounter with a celebrity and an impromptu video of them taken on her phone ends up triggering the ire of a demented stalker.
Just to set the record straight, I’ve never been stalked. Don’t know anyone who has been stalked. That storyline was the result of research. But here are a few tidbits in the story that were drawn from my (far calmer) life.
The Brownstone—I owned a brownstone in Brooklyn several years ago. The description of the brownstone and the street  were real.
Louisiana—both MCs were born in Louisiana. So was I, and I drew on the characters and the atmosphere that I remember so well.
Cora—She’s the male MC’s mom. I had an aunt named Cora, but the character is an amalgam of all the southern “aunts” I knew growing up. I have a real fondness for Cora and for my memories of all the sweet Southern women in my life.
Heloise—I knew a woman, named Heloise, who lived on the same street as the Brooklyn brownstone and I was invited in for tea once. The character in the book is different, but her place and the tea drinking was drawn from a real-life experience.
Zabar’s—I lived in NYC for 13 years and have been in Zabar’s gourmet shop many times. So, yes, this came from real life.
Rachael—I’m much older than my female MC, but people who have known me for a long time, say they hear my voice in her thoughts and dialogue. It wasn’t intentional, it just came through.
Tattoos—I have no tattoos, but even at my age, I find the idea irresistible. Maybe when You’ll Be Thinking of Me gets made into a movie I’ll get a tiny tattoo to celebrate. 🙂
Anything else in the story that you wondered if it was based on something that actually happened?
You’ll Be Thinking of Me is only 99 cents on Amazon today! It won’t last long, so take advantage of the sale to read about Mick, Rachael and the stalker, who changes their lives forever. Here’s what readers on Amazon have to say about You’ll Be Thinking of Me:
“Clear your calendar, this is a story you really can’t put down.”
“I was ensnared by Webb’s storytelling – looking forward to more books by her!”
“I don’t regret a single minute of the sleep I lost, staying up until the wee hours to finish this book.”
“If you’re looking for a good read that grabs you out of the gate, this is for you.”
“I wanted to keep reading to see what happens next, even when it was way past midnight. Well done!”
Order now! http://amzn.to/1MCvYx9
Looks like my Amazon gremlins have retreated. However, if you downloaded You’ll Be Thinking of Me before they left, and you got only 27 chapter, instead of 42, please let me know and I’ll make sure you get the full novel!
Welcome to the Spring for Love Blog Hop and Giveaway! Enter below for a $50.00 amazon gift card and other surprise gifts! But first, let me introduce you to Blog Hop author, Dorlana Vann.
Fellow Soul Mate Publishing author, Dorlana Vann, is the author of contemporary novels for teens and adults. Her inspirations are classic romantic comedies, fairy tales, and the supernatural. She lives in Texas with her growing family.
What is her favorite thing about Spring? “Green. After a long winter of nothing but stark white, I love the green that blooms. There’s no other green, like spring green!”
Wait for it—The Trouble with Snowmen by Dorlana Vann will be released in August of 2015!
Snowmen drift into your life like they were sent from above. The relationship is great, rolls right along, and build. Everything seems perfect…until a little heat is introduced. Then they melt, leaving only they hat, their scarf, something to remind their victims of what they’d lost. Urban cowgirl Haley Monroe is told that the fabulously hot guy, who just dumper her, was a snowman. Her friend, Maximilian, convinces her that the only way she’ll ever stop begin played by snowmen is to become one. It takes a lot of drinks to work up the nerve but Haley gets her sexy on and goes on the prowl.
But there’s more! Check out Dorlana’s other novels, including:
To keep up with Dorlana Vann and her work, visit her at www.dorlanavann.me and on Facebook www.facebook.com/dorlana and follow her on Twitter https://twitter.com/DorlanaVann.
Enter the Spring for Love Giveaway here:Â http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/153622a63
And be sure and drop by tomorrow and Sunday when I’ll be featuring author,s Dale Ibitz and Jo Richardson! You can see all the wonderful authors who are participating in the Spring for Love Blog Hop and Giveaway here.
An Amazon gremlin stole the last 15 chapters of my book! If you downloaded You’ll Be Thinking of Me between March 10th and now (Amazon says it will be fixed soon), you received a file of only 27 chapters. You’ll Be Thinking of Me actually has 42 chapter!! If you read it, you must have thought I dropped off of a cliff in the middle of writing. Never fear, Amazon assures me that an email will be sent out to all who purchased the book during that time with updated content, i.e., the last 15 chapters. So sorry for the inconvenience, but I hope you’ll stick with me and read the rest when it’s updated on Amazon’s site. Thank you for your understanding and patience. You just never know when the technology gremlins will come out of hiding to scare the bejeezus out of you!
it’s a 4th Anniversary Party at The Romance Reviews and “You’ll Be Thinking of Me” is part of the fun. Answer questions, win prizes. Look for a Q & A (and a hint) about “You’ll Be Thinking of Me” (today only) to throw your name in the hat for prizes. http://www.theromancereviews.com/event.php
I’ve seen posts (I wish I could find them) talking about how literary critics read way too much into literary works, finding meaning where the author meant nothing more than what he/she actually says. I found this about the movie “Pulp Fiction” and thought it was a perfect example of that in the film world.
“There was great speculation about why Marsellus Wallace had a band aid on the back of his head. People who give Tarantino way too much credit theorized it had to do with Wallace’s soul being in the briefcase, since the devil takes your soul from your neck. As if Tarantino thought that deeply. In reality, Ving Rhames cut himself shaving and Tarantino thought it looked cool.”
20 Things You Didn’t Know About ‘Pulp Fiction’
http://www.ranthollywood.com/2014/09/16/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-pulp-fiction
I finished The Good Girl by Mary Kubica and I highly recommend it. The whodunnit was surprising and the irony of it, heartbreaking. Go for it. Now reading You by Caroline Kepnes. In a word, “creepy.” Getting creepier by the page. It’s different. Told from the viewpoint of a stalker (no coincidence that I’m reading it, since my novel, “You’ll Be Thinking of Me,” involves a stalker). Very different genre than mine, but oh, it’s good. Check it out.
I’m about 3/4 of the way through “The Good Girl” by Mary Kubica and I’m hooked. Wouldn’t be able to stop reading if I wanted to. I love books that have unexpected twists and turns and I have a feeling this one is going to pull the rug out at the end. Anxiously awaiting the fall.
Densie Webb 