Twenty Questions with... Stina Lindenblatt

For today's round of #TwentyQuestions, I am delighted to welcome Stina Lindenblatt onto my blog, author of Tell Me When released earlier this year by Carina Press (kind of like the big sister of my own publisher, I guess).

Since my deadline is hanging over me like a ticking time bomb, I shall jump straight in with the questions...

ACT ONE – all about you…

Stina Lindenblatt writes New Adult contemporary romances and currently lives in Calgary with her husband and three kids. When she isn’t writing or lost in a romance novel, Stina loves to spend her free time behind the camera lens. She’s also a contributing blogger on the Querytracker blog.


1) Have you always been a writer or is it something you fell into?

I’ve wanted to be a writer since I was nine years old, but I didn’t start officially writing stories until I left my job as a pharmaceutical drug rep to become a stay-at-home mom. 

2) Do you have a particular writing style or ritual?

I don’t have any exciting rituals. Hmmm. This probably means I need to start some. I do turn off the Internet whenever possible (i.e. when the kids aren’t home) to avoid the temptation of playing around on it. I’m very easily distracted.

3) Is there a book or an author that has influenced you in your writing?

Yes and no. There are a lot of YA and NA authors I love, both because of their writing and their stories. One of my favorite authors is Katie McGarry. When I wrote Tell Me When, I wanted to write a story that touched readers the same way Pushing The Limits affected me. That book makes me cry every time I read it.

4) Is there one piece of writing (or life?) advice that has stuck with you, or that you would like to share?

Read. Read. Read. And never stop challenging yourself to do better. Both would explain my overstuffed bookshelves, especially when it comes to books that deal with the craft of writing.

5) Can you tell us three things about yourself that we probably don’t already know?

I’m originally from England but now live in Canada. I’ve also lived in the US and Finland. I have a Master’s of Science in exercise physiology and a Physical Education degree. Oddly enough, the one class I almost failed in high school was physical education. 

6) What five luxury items or gadgets would you hate to be without?

My MacBook Air (I love using Scrivener on it). My iPod Touch. I use it for music and ebooks. And that’s about it. 

ACT TWO – all about your new release…

Amber Scott should be enjoying life as a college freshman. She should be pursuing her dream of becoming a veterinarian. She should be working hard to make sense of her precalculus math class.

She shouldn’t be waking up her college roommate with screaming nightmares. She shouldn’t be flashing back, reliving the three weeks of hell she barely survived last year. And she definitely shouldn’t be spending time with sexy player Marcus Reid.

But engineering student Marcus is the only one keeping Amber from failing her math course, so she grudgingly lets him into her life. She never expects the king of hookups will share his painful past. Or that she’ll tell him her secrets in return, opening up and trusting him in a way she thought she’d never be able to again.

When their fragile future together is threatened by a stalker Amber thought was locked away for good, Marcus is determined to protect her—and Amber is determined to protect Marcus…even if that means pushing him away.

7) Congratulations on your recent release of Tell Me When, what was your inspiration for writing the story?

I was stalked while in university. When I decided to write a New Adult story, I knew I wanted to write about stalking since it’s common problem for high school and college students.

8) Did the story flow from your finger tips or did some scenes take a bit of cajoling?

Once I realized the story was about a girl trying to reclaim her life after she had been stalked and kidnapped in high school, the story came fairly easily to me. 

9) I see Tell Me When is your debut, how long did it take for the initial spark of the story to make it onto the page and then onto the publisher’s desk?

It took about eight months from the time I came up with the idea for the story to when Carina Press offered the two-book contract. Considering it used to take me a year to write a book before I’d start querying it, eight months was fast for me.

10) Do you have a favourite paragraph or sentence from your story that you would like to tantalise us with?

I continue kissing him and feel something stir deep. I quickly stamp it down as I pull away. A subtle taste of victory courses through me.  My experiment, a success.

11) Over to you, what can you tell us about Tell Me When, to make us rush out and buy it?

The book has been described as a beautiful, heartbreaking story. It deals with tough subject matter, some of which hasn’t been addressed in New Adult stories before now. I can’t say what it is because it’s a major plot point. All the reviewers have avoided mentioning it directly, but it is part of the story that has touched them the most.

12) What can we expect from you next? Is there something you are working on right now? 

Let Me Know is the sequel to Tell Me When. It’s scheduled to be released September 1st. Tell Me When is a standalone novel, but there were some lose threads at the end of it and Carina Press asked me to write a sequel. 

I’m also working on another New Adult contemporary romance tentatively titled Heat It Up. It was inspired by my time in Finland when I was in university. I’ll be sending it to my agent soon.

QUICK FIRE ROUND – it’s pop quiz time…

13) Plotter or pantser?

Plotter

14) Digital books or print books?

Both, but mostly digital.

15) Tea or coffee?

Neither. I’m not a fan of hot drinks. Diet Dr. Pepper is my fav.

16) Extrovert or introvert?

Introvert

17) Facebook or Twitter?

Twitter

18) Christmas or birthday? 

Christmas

19) Morning person or night owl?

Morning person

20) Sweet or savoury?

Depends on my mood. 

And that’s a wrap!

Thank you so much for taking part, Stina, I wish you every success with your new release.

To discover even more about Stina Lindenblatt, and to keep up with her latest projects and shenanigans, you can visit her at:

Website/blog     Facebook     Twitter     Pinterest

Buy it now…

Add to Goodreads

ISBN: 9781426897887
Released: 20th January 2014

Carina Press
Amazon UK / US
Nook UK / US
Kobo
iTunes

Excerpt…

He shrugs. “Our relationship only lasted the summer, but I quickly discovered that plenty of girls wanted to have sex with me. I was fine with that.” He looks back at me. “I was fine with that till I met you. You’re the only girl who makes me feel something.”

“Me? I haven’t had sex with you.”

Pain flickers on his face for a brief second. I can tell he’s thinking back to the night he almost tried to take things that far. “No, but just holding you makes me feel alive. This makes me feel alive.” He lowers his lips to mine and lightly kisses my mouth. 

His smell, a combination of safety and spice, wraps me in a comforting cocoon. He makes me feel alive.