Meet The Author - Ryan Loveless/GIVEAWAY

I'm pleased to welcome fellow author Ryan Loveless to the blog today. Check out what she's got going on and leave a comment for a chance to win an Ebook copy of her book Pop Life.

 What motivates Ryan Loveless the author? Why do you write?

 I have a lot of stories to tell. It's that simple. I would hope that one day I'd write something that someone would connect with, but it won't be on purpose if I do; it'll be because it comes from my heart and how I am.

When did you know you were a writer? Was it always your destiny or did you stumble upon your craft by accident?

 It's the only thing I've ever wanted to do, period. I have always been making up stories and writing them down. I have fully-developed characters and stories that will never see the light of day outside my head because they are so ingrainedly mine. There's nothing I can be except a storyteller, even to myself.

How many hours a day do you devote to writing? Do you have a set routine or do you write when the mood strikes?

Hours?  *Picks self off floor*  I've heard tell of people who write for hours and have schedules. I've tried, I really have, but have you met the internet? WriteorDie.com has been my savior.  It keeps me focused for an hour at a time. I don't write every day, sometimes not even every week, but I'm always, always plotting and writing in my head.  I feel so strange when I don't write it down, discombobulated and ill, so I have to do it. Like, right now, I just want to get this interview done so I can get back to it, but after I do, I'll be good for another day or so.

Who is your favorite author? And, if given the opportunity to meet them, what would you ask them?

Michael Chabon, Ann Patchett, and Jonathan Lethem. I met JL at the Brooklyn Book Fair a few years ago and fan-girled so hard. I swear, I didn't get that excited in my *N Sync days. We talked about Motherless Brooklyn and the reaction readers with Tourette's Syndrome had to his main character. That was all my brain could handle, so I let him go before I could tell him that I lived exactly where Fortress of Solitude was set.  I never met Michael Chabon, but my best friend had him sign a copy of Kavalier & Clay for me, which he personalized and drew a key in.  It's one of my treasured possessions. No luck with Ann Patchett yet, but if I ever do meet her, I'd love to talk about Bel Canto and my dream cast for it.

Do you have any words of inspiration to aspiring authors? What advice would you offer a writer trying to publish?

Well, assuming this author already has a good story that s/he has reviewed for typos and plotholes, my advice is to research publishers to see which would be the best fit, and submit.  You can't get published unless you do.  :)

Tell us about your current release.

Pop Life was my first novel, written about ten years ago. I'm thrilled to have it published because it's been a tough road--when I first shopped it, no one wanted a book that featured a boyband, and it's a little off the beaten path as a romance because it's a strong ensemble piece, even though it's written in first person. I really hope that people will find favorite characters and storylines among any in the cast, not just Jamie and Andrew. The process with Silver was so welcoming, which could be because they work with a lot of new authors. They have a hands-on attitude there, so I worked directly with the cover artist, Reese Dante, who was so open to what I wanted and didn't mind scrapping drafts until we found the perfect version. I had a great relationship with my editor, too, Dawn Sievers. She was just a joy to work with. And of course Alison, the submissions editor, is fantastic.

Blurb:

Andrew writes the songs that everyone sings along with on the
radio--tunes full of love, longing, and heartbreak. He has a knack for tapping
into the world's emotions, but when it comes to his own life, the feelings
aren't so easy to handle.

Sent to New York City to work on a lead singer's first solo album, Andrew finds
himself caught in the middle of a boy band's in-fighting and secret love affairs
while battling the memories of his last trip to the Big Apple, which ended in
divorce.

Yet his heart leaps when he discovers he's staying at the same hotel as Jamie
Webster, the worldwide sensation who once drunkenly kissed him at an awards
show. As the troubled popstar clings to Andrew for help, Andrew must ask himself
a hard question: Can I save this man, or will he pull me down with him?

319pp

Buy Link:
Available in paperback ($16.99) and ebook ($6.99):https://spsilverpublishing.com/index.php?main_page=advanced_search_result&search\
_in_description=0&keyword=pop+life

Excerpt:

"Paeder Brogan called," Michael said. He was sitting at our kitchen table amidst
a pile of half-finished score sheets and a precariously balanced keyboard.

I almost didn't hear him over the paper rustling in his hands and the water
running over mine into the metal sink as I washed up. I did my best thinking
when I was in motion. We had twelve gold records and a Grammy as proof. I didn't
usually resort to dishwashing while we were working. However, after a three hour
songwriting session, the lyrics I'd come up with weren't gelling with Michael's
melody, and neither lyric nor music was suited for the style of the young pop
artist to whom we were planning to pitch it. So, I was desperate.

"Did you hear me?" Michael asked.

"Paeder did what?" I thought I did pretty well at keeping the dismay out of my
voice, but Michael chuckled behind me. I slipped my hands out of the dishwater
and flicked suds at him. He flinched.

"He called. And careful, Andrew. This shirt's Armani." Michael smoothed his
hands over his sleeves and chest, checking for water damage.

"I'm nowhere near you." I took a few steps forward to demonstrate that he was
out of bubble-throwing range. "What does he want?"

Paeder Brogan was the lead singer in a three man Irish boy band called Icon that
had been going strong for almost a decade. The other two members, Keelin and
Russell, were nice guys, but in comparison to Paeder, so was anyone. No one over
the age of fourteen would be excited to receive a call from Paeder; I was
twenty-nine. There was only one reason for Paeder to call us. I hoped to God
that I was wrong.

"He wants us to write for his solo album."

"Well, that's just great."

"Why, Drew, I think you're being sarcastic." Michael smiled with fiendish glee.

He was entirely too happy about this.

"Is this a joke? Is this your Australian humor acting up? You know what I've
told you about that."

"One hundred percent true. My word of honor."

I balanced a casserole dish on the drying rack. "He doesn't like me, remember?
That awards show three years ago?"

"He told you that you were annoying. That's different from not liking you. I
think you're annoying, too, and I like you fine."

"Michael! He's going to figure it out when he meets us." I could see it
happening. Paeder would have one look at me, and Michael and I would be on the
plane home. Actually, that might not be so bad…

"C'mon, Andrew, Paeder barely remembers the names of his own band mates. Trust
me; he's got no room in that head of his to concern himself with your tendency
to stick your foot in your mouth. You need to focus on the important thing: he
called us. Not one of his people. Him. You know how much that means."

"Yeah," I said, albeit with reluctance. It meant that I was headed to LAX to
catch a flight. I didn't have time to go to London. I was already scheduled to
be in New York for a wedding rehearsal in two days and the wedding the day after
that.

"And speaking of meeting with him, he wants to get together in New York. He's
there now. You're going for that wedding anyway…"

"Cousin Arthur."

"Yeah." He pushed an envelope across the table. "Paeder had this sent over
yesterday."

I dried my hands on my slacks before opening the envelope. I pulled out an
airline ticket and a hotel confirmation. "What's this?"

"Your arrangements."

"I have arrangements already," I said. I tossed the envelope down. Any relief I
had felt from discovering I wouldn't have to completely upend my schedule and
commitments fizzled away. It figured that Paeder would think he could be this
controlling anytime he pleased.

Michael grinned. "Well, Paeder has made you new ones."

"Lucky me."

"You know, I didn't tell you sooner because I thought you might react badly."

"Imagine that."

"So, you do the two birds, one stone thing. No problem in that, is there?"

"Oh, no, not unless I mind that he's being completely inconsiderate and, and
rude."

"This surprises you? Well, there are benefits to staying in the same hotel. If
you wanted to, oh, call him by the wrong name or anything, you could do so at
all hours."

"I still don't know why he called us," I said. I ignored Michael's reference to
the first time Paeder and I met when I had mistakenly called him 'Peder' instead
of 'Podder', and he had asked security to have me removed. "Were we the only
songwriters available? Have the others stopped talking to him?"

"He said Jamie recommended us."

"He did?" The answer surprised me. Our writing for Jamie Webster was responsible
for three of the gold records hanging in the hallway as well as the Grammy. We
had gotten our first gold record writing for him with the song "Forgetful,"
which had been his first in America. We liked to develop a collaborative writing
process with the artists, and most of 'our' musicians stopped by the house at
least once while we were working on their songs. Jamie was the exception. He had
stayed in England. His assistant handled all communication between us. "Jamie
has complete faith in your abilities," she had said.

Michael had translated: "That means he's too drunk and high to stand up, much
less fly."

The lack of communication was not why I was surprised Jamie had recommended us
to Paeder. We had, after all, 'done him good'. No, the reason would be related
to the Grammy Awards two years earlier, when Michael and I had picked up the
trophy for "Forgetful," and Jamie had unexpectedly kissed me backstage. I'd been
on the verge of kissing him back when he'd passed out. That was the first and
last time we had seen him in person, although we'd continued to write for him.
Now we heard about him as others did--through the newspapers. One of the British
tabloids had begun a chart marking his "Struggle to Sobriety" with little
bunnies hopping up and down gray lines.

The last song we sent Jamie was called "I'd Have to Look It Up (The Reason I
Loved You)." I wrote the lyrics directly after Kate divorced me. It was bitter
by my standards and tempered by Michael's orchestrations. It had, with Jamie's
self-mocking delivery, planted itself on the British and European charts the
previous year and refused to budge from the top ten for five months.

"We haven't written for him in a year," I said. "I'm surprised he remembers us."

"I'm sure he remembers you." Michael grinned at me. He'd been right there when
Jamie had planted one on me. I ignored him. "Those songs we did are still
play-listed," he continued, dropping his teasing. "Paeder needs a hit if he's
going to break away from Icon. He knows it, and he'll put aside his attitude to
get it. So, we're going to help him."

"Because we're good people?"

"Because he is paying us, and this is what we do."

Do you have any upcoming projects in the works?

Several. I'm always writing multiple projects. In December, Dreamspinner Press (DSP) will publish my Great Depression/Chanukah novella, which picks up the character of Joshua Pascal from my Uniform Appeal anthology short (also DSP), Jean-Paul, fourteen years later when he's back home in New York and trying to help his family through the Depression. I'm also working on a sequel to Offside, my DSP soccer novella that will continue Adam and Colin's relationship and have lots of great soccer.  I have four or five other projects underway, but it's too soon to talk about those.  :)

Where can readers connect with you?

I love when people follow me on Twitter, which they can do at http://www.twitter.com/ryanloveless. I crosspost my blog through there, so you'll get all the updates, plus random things I'm too lazy to blog. You can also follow my (infrequently updated) blog at http://ryanloveless.dreamwidth.org and contact me through either method, or "like" my facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/ryanlovelessbooks.

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Pop Life sounds great! So my lovely readers, leave our guest some LOVE in the form of a comment for a chance to win an Ebook copy of the novel!

Ella