Saturday Spotlight: Andrea Lynn Colt–Torched

Welcome to Saturday Spotlight. A feature hosted by Tina’s Book Reviews as a way of shining the light on Indie/Debut/Self Published authors. Each week I’ll have a guest post written by a featured author.

Rose Whitfield's senior year just went up in smoke. Instead of having a blast with her best friend, her cheerleading squad, and her boyfriend Ryan, she's framed for arson. Popularity and criminal records don't mix, apparently.

Luckily, Rose knows exactly who's framing her: Paxton Callaway. Paxton and Rose have spent years locked in a war of practical jokes. This time he's gone too far. Rose sets out to prove her innocence, win Ryan back, and take Paxton down hard. Not necessarily in that order.  Goodreads | Kindle | Nook | Paperback

I’m happy to have Debut YA author Andrea Lynn Colt as my Saturday Spotlight feature today. Torched is a great, twisty, Mean Girls meets a Sara Shepard novel mixed with a touch of sexy romance!

Andrea Lynn Colt:

One thing I love about writing is that it shows you what you want to read - or at least, it has for me. Of course, not everything that I love in a book is something I can write myself; I don't have any delusions of matching the high-stakes paranormal drama in Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke & Bone (I loved that book!) anytime soon, for example!

But after writing the first draft of Torched, I realized not just that it was my favorite of my novels I've written so far (there are several that will never see the light of day!), but also why.

1. I love romance, but I need a book to focus on more than JUST romance to really draw me in. I used to read a ton of romance novels, and though I still read some, I prefer books where romance is a thread, not the whole weave. Personal preference, but even now when I grab a Regency or such, I gravitate towards the ones where it's clear there's a solid plot to frame the romance :)

2. I love characters who DO. For the longest time, I tended to write stories with protagonists who let the plot happen TO them. They were passive. This frustrated my critique partner to no end ;)

But with Torched, though Rose has a huge problem dumped on her right off the bat, she doesn't take it lying down. She acts, and never gives up. I love that about her, and I realized that all my favorite books also star heroes and heroines who push the action forward themselves.

3. Banter. I love it! I never thought of myself as that witty, honestly, but something that's made me grin my face off every time I hear it is when people tell me that they loved Rose and Paxton's back-and-forth :)

The realizations I made with Torched have informed how I go forward with writing. I love banter, active heroines and a strong plot with a good solid romance. It made me realize why previous novels weren't quite working - they weren't me.

So for my next novel, though I'm not sure exactly what it will be, I know some of the elements I'll be shooting for!

I'd love to know …. Look at your own bookshelves: what three things do your favorite novels all have in common?

Bio: Andrea Lynn Colt grew up laughing, reading, and squabbling with her twin. She lives in Alexandria, Virginia with her fiancé, a fridge full of cheese, and two muses in feline form. Visit www.lynncolt.com to get to know her better. Twitter | Facebook







Karen: Thanks Andrea!

One thing I’ve noticed that my keeper shelf has is books with strong, opinionated heroines. They can be flawed but they embrace their intelligence and strengths. Another thing I love in a book is humor - preferably of the snarky variety.

GIVEAWAY!

Andrea is giving away one copy of Torched. Just enter using the Rafflecopter form below.

Ends 10/27 – winner announced 10/28
Open to international entries. a Rafflecopter giveaway