Origin of a Novel: All In and Facing Your Fantasy by Autumn Stark (@AutumnStarkAuth)

One of the questions I get asked the most as an author is where my ideas for my stories come from or what my inspiration for might be. The truth is that inspiration, for me, can come from just about anywhere. Possibly my favorite thing about being an author is getting to play “what if” with nearly anything and everything in my life and the lives of anyone who crosses paths with me.

All In is the second book in the In Plain Sight Series. The inspiration for this series really started as a musing about how so many people can find exactly what they want right in front of them. More than that, people often miss the fact that their dreams are touchable and tangible.

The inspiration for this novel in particular was this question: if you could have exactly what you dreamed of, would you reach out and grab it? It seems like an easy question, but my experience has often been that people are afraid of exactly what they fantasize about. The truth is that our dreams are terrifying. To reach out and make your dream a reality means that you have to admit that the potential is there and that its a choice you make. Sometimes it’s about the fact that the fantasy is a threat to our sense of safety and comfort level.

I wanted to ask what would happen if two people were faced with the opportunity to get exactly what they’d always wanted, but at the cost of their own sense of how the universe worked. Would they be willing to compromise their way of life? Their morals? Their routines? It seems laughable to think that you’d pass up on some steamy sex with a movie star so you didn’t miss The Walking Dead, but I’m not so sure that’s an obvious choice.

For Parker and Jay, the question starts at a very basic trade. Are they willing to cross a taboo physical boundary? They do a pretty good job of writing it off as a “trade” initially, like I’m sure most people would, but it quickly becomes apparent that it’s really more than that for both of them. A great complication of the situation is the fact that their lives aren’t so separate as they thought. They’re connected by family-like friends and that makes things even more complex. It always is when family gets involved, right?

Ultimately, I think both of these characters has to struggle with their choices and come to their own conclusions. At the same time, I think what it really comes down to is sacrifice. The question is, who and what does that sacrifice require?

I truly love these two characters and I hope readers do as well. Jay and Parker are pretty explosive together, but there’s a depth of sweetness to be found, too. One of my goals as a writer is to write about real people with real flaws discovering their own truths all while falling in love. My hope is that while I’m forcing my characters to confront their limitations and strengths for a greater goal, my readers can seem themselves doing the same.

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Excerpt:

It was possibly nine in the morning the next day before Abby barged into Parker’s house. To be fair, Abby had used her key which Jay must have given back to her, but it was as close to barging as one might get, all things considered. Parker was barely awake.

“Parker? Are you home?”

“Where else would I be?” Parker tried to sound pleasant, but at best she knew she sounded grouchy as she called out to Abby.

“I don’t know, having wild sex with Jay in Los Angeles?” Abby walked into the kitchen as Parker was focusing on pouring coffee grinds into her espresso machine. Parker graced her with a snort as an answer. “Well, you could be.”

“I don’t know what that overgrown pretty boy told you, but I am not going to Los Angeles.”

“I’ll wait till you’ve had your coffee.” Abby grabbed her own cup and patiently sat on one of the bar stools under her kitchen island. Parker tried not to remember exactly what had been done on that particular counter while also trying to remember if she’d sanitized the thing since the sex marathon had started.

“Coffee won’t change my answer.”

“Might make you more talkative though.”

“Or more able to kill without getting caught.”

“I’ll take the chance.” Abby grinned at her and Parker sighed.

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Jay Markham, a wildly popular actor and a chronic womanizer, has become bored with his life. Jay decides to take a break and goes to visit his life-long best friend and famous romance novelist, Anthony Tate. But just because Jay decides to take a break doesn’t mean his fans will let him. The fans and the paparazzi follow him to the small Washington town and, in an effort to escape a particularly dogged fan, Jay ducks into the first open door he can find.

Parker Hardisson is a fairly normal, if self-contained, woman in her, ahem, early thirties. Relatively happy with her life as a freelance translator, she gets to work out of her own home and enjoy her life as quiet and drama-free as possible. So what if she’s a teensy bit lonely? So what if there’s some part of her that wants to explore the world? Things are working out just fine. So, when a mega-movie star comes slamming into her house, she wonders if she’s finally cracked.

Parker seizes the opportunity to make the deal of a lifetime. No strings, no questions. The problem is, Jay is playing this game by his own rules.

Buy Links:

Amazon UK | Amazon US | Barnes & Noble

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Autumn Stark writes Romance with a sense of humor and a whole lotta steamy fun. Doesn’t mean there aren’t a few whips every now and then, but she’s a sucker for a happy ending. Autumn has been writing in one capacity or another her entire life, but Break Me is her debut novel.

Autumn Stark is the pen name for author and publisher, April Oglesbee. (http://apriloglesbee.com/)

All In is the second book in the All In series. Book 1 is already available on Amazon, B&N, and iBooks. Book 3 will be released in June 2014.

Website: http://www.autumnstarkauthor.com/about-autumn.html

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/autumn.stark.338

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AutumnStarkAuth

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7562617.Autumn_Stark

This is the second book in the All In series. Book 1 is already available on Amazon, B&N, and iBooks. Book 3 will be released in June 2014.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21471824-i-want-crazy?from_search=true

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GIVEAWAY!

Autumn will be awarding at each stop a signed copy of All In to a randomly drawn commenter (US ONLY), and a Grand Prize of a $25 Amazon/BN GC plus a signed copy of All In will be awarded to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour (US ONLY). A $25 Amazon/BN GC will be awarded to a randomly drawn host.

Make sure to follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here:

http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2014/04/virtual-nbtm-book-tour-all-in-by-autumn.html