I am thrilled to have Cd Brennan on the Ranch today talking about book two in her Love Where You Roam series! If you haven’t read book one, now’s your chance to rush out and get Watershed for just .99! Here’s a link to make it easy for you to check out.And then, why not get A World Apart while you’re there so you can keep reading? ;) G’head, click the awesome banner. I’ll wait.

Are you back? Good, let’s find out more about Cd and her book.

How did the writer’s journey begin for you?

Having traveled and lived all over the world, Cd Brennan now talks with a strange accent, a mix of distant terminology, a blend of culturally cute but confusing euphemisms that leaves everyone looking at her with a blank stare. Luckily, her Australian husband (who she met in Ireland) and her two Aussie/Yankee sons have no problem understanding her – well, except for the word NO.

Now settled back “home” in Michigan, she enjoys reliving her glory days by writing about them. She considers the last fifteen years abroad the perfect research for her Love Where You Roam series; matchmaking women and men from different cultures, even different hemispheres, helping them find their true one across oceans of difference.

As destiny plays a hand in all the stories, Cd Brennan truly believes that what is for you, won’t pass you by. She hopes to inspire others to get out there: “Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” [Mark Twain] And of course, fall in love.

Get in touch with her at www.cdbrennan.com

Tell us three things about you-the writer-readers wouldn’t typically know.

1. I hold both an American and Australian passport, but have lived and traveled all over the world.

2. I used to race yachts when I lived in Dublin, Ireland. A 38 Sigma called “Joker.”

3. I always dreamed of being a helicopter pilot.

It all began when…

I was working as a freelance editor and one of my author’s challenged me to write a book. She was going to submit her story to a competition, and she challenged me to do the same. So we had to write a chapter a week, then exchange and discuss each Sunday. We’d have a cuppa tea and talk about our stories, what was good, what was god-awful. LOL

I never really thought of myself as a writer, always an editor first, but it was an opportunity to delve into the “other side” and I’m a better editor now for it, to understand how much effort and heart goes into a story.

Writing and editing are different disciplines. One uses the right side of the brain; one uses the left. As an editor, I work with parameters and rules, including grammar and construction. I work within the laws of the language and guidelines set by my house. I evaluate a book’s development as if it were a puzzle, rearrange content, if needed, for it all to fit.

As an author, I develop settings and plot lines, create loveable, iconic characters, and devise witty, realistic dialogue. From nothing. From thin air. Poof! Okay, maybe with help from a glass of wine and 80s love songs. Everyone has their muse.

Differing and sorting your two brains is tough, isn’t it? LOL

I’m a huge fan of 80s music too! Where did you get the premise for this book?

I totally believe in writing what you know. Because without that intimate experience, I couldn’t portray the environment and setting in an accurate or dramatic way. And the setting is so important to the books, used to propel the conflict forward. If I hadn’t lived in those places, the vivid imagery – the smells, the sounds, the culture – all the description that I believe adds to the voice of the narratives would be lacking.

I lived in Scotland for two years when I got my MPHIL in Publishing Studies from the University of Stirling. A World Apart is set in Bridge of Allan where I lived, like Lizzy, in the Queen’s Hotel, working for reduced rates on my rent.

What stands out about this story that made writing it different for you?

I wrote Watershed, the first book in the Love Where You Roam series while I was living in Australia. The book is set in the Australian outback, and since I was living there myself, it was easier to draw on my own setting and people around me for character and plot building. A World Apart is set in Scotland, and I had lived there so long ago, I really had to tug at some memory strings to get things going, and then was constantly asking my mates there questions to help me remember!

Were there any difficult challenges or special subject matter you came across while writing this book?

A Scottish mate of mine was my SME (Subject Matter Expert) because I know little about architecture. My hero Hamish is not only an architect in a firm in Edinburgh but aspires to teach Environmental Architecture at the Glasgow School of Art. Hamish is a very driven man. J My friend, who is an architect, also helped me with the Scottish slang that is used in the story. Actually, he helped with loads! Thanks Ron Cameron! xo

What about this book would make us want to read it more than others of similar taste?

It’s New Adult, so it’s in the “new” genre out there, one that is still finding its feet and readership. NA is becoming more popular for its first mature love combined with youthful fantasy and silly mistakes. Young adults face profound life choices and powerful emotion. Parfait them with great sexual content, and you can’t help but have a winner. Originally, the Love Where You Roam series was slotted under Contemporary romance, but the stories definitely have a younger feel to them with backpackers going out into the world. The series is better suited in NA. They aren’t long stories, around 50K and would be great for a beach read or sipping a glass of wine on the front porch.

What do you want readers to take away from this book?

Mostly, I just hope they enjoy it! But, like my Bio says, if it inspires others to go travel, to get out there, to travel and step out into the unknown, then all the better. Because there is a world out there, so much to see and do. No time like the present, because if we keep saying we’ll do it next year, all of a sudden, the years have gone by.

Tell us about the finished book. Is there anything special we might not know after reading it?

The Queen’s Hotel was actually a hotel where I worked and lived from 2000-2002. It was an old shabby thing then, but just shortly before I left Scotland, new owners renovated the hotel, bar and restaurant. It’s gorgeous, but I’m sure it is still haunted by The Green Lady J She pops in and out of there and Stirling Castle just down the road. LOL

http://www.visitscotland.com/en-us/info/accommodation/the-queens-hotel-bridge-of-allan-p926651

Blurb:

She left home to find herself…and found love along the way.

Lizzy travels to Scotland to track down her roots, hoping where she comes from will help her figure out where she needs to go. An Aussie girl through and through, tough as nuts and a bit wild, she believes there’s nothing so wonderful as a world seen through wine-tinted glasses…

…until she meets Hottie Hamish, Bridge of Allan’s most eligible bachelor.

Hamish is Lizzy’s polar opposite in every way. He’s serious, driven, and motivated, focused on becoming the youngest associate professor at the Glasgow School of Art. But he’s hiding a social phobia behind his gruff exterior that makes it almost impossible to connect with people…

…until he meets Lost Lizzy, all sunshine and lightness, an Australian beauty with the proverbial heart of gold.

Where they come from may be worlds apart, but atop a Scottish Munro, they begin to realize where they’re going is best traveled side by side.

 CONTENT WARNING: Graphic descriptions of haggis ingredients.

 A Lyrical Press New Adult Romance

Where can readers find you and your books?

AMAZON   AMAZON UK   AMAZON AUSTRALIA  iTUNES   B&N   KOBO  BOOKWIRE

Media Links

www.cdbrennan.com

www.sundaewithnuts.com (blog)

https://www.facebook.com/CdBrennanauthor

www.twitter.com/CdBrennanauthor

www.goodreads.com/CdBrennan

www.pinterest.com/cdbrennan2012

Thank you for sharing your exciting life, Cd! Haunted hotels and castles? I’m so jealous every time I learn more about you and your travels to places I’ve always wished to visit.