Swoon-worthy kisses, sizzling romances, and epic tales of heartbreak. Welcome to the Heartbreakers Blog Tour.
Here you'll be introduced to some of the brightest and best young adult / new adult authors around, as well as snag sneak peeks at upcoming titles guaranteed to get your emotions running high and your heart racing.
And don't forget to enter the Rafflecopter GIVEAWAY at the end of this post for chances to win a FREE Kindle, loaded with titles from our participating authors. Who can resist a HEARTBREAKER?
DAY FOUR: B.A. BINNS and DENISE JADEN
B.A. Binns is the author of Minority of One:
Neill Mallory: Young. Black. Gay. A young man who's future has been set in stone by a loving family, whether he likes it or not.
Sheila Galliano: Young. White. Former poor little rich girl, now just poor. Facing an unknown future with a mother she barely knows.
Invisible ties bind these two together, ropes that tighten when Neill's brother is arrested for the murder of Sheila's mother. These two outliers have to work together to uncover the truth and make futures of their own while they uncover the past they share.
Sheila Galliano: Young. White. Former poor little rich girl, now just poor. Facing an unknown future with a mother she barely knows.
Invisible ties bind these two together, ropes that tighten when Neill's brother is arrested for the murder of Sheila's mother. These two outliers have to work together to uncover the truth and make futures of their own while they uncover the past they share.
1. Heartbreak can come in many forms: a messy breakup, a disappointing setback, death of a loved one, or a broken friendship. Has writing ever had a hand in helping you deal with a wounded heart?
Not my writing. I actually tried something like a memoir
once, but it was so painful.
2. Top 5 films about heartbreak?
Titanic – 1997 – This is the movie that got me through the death of
my sister. I don’t know what there is about me that found comfort in watching
hundreds of people die, but I would walk into the movie for the sinking scene,
and then leave. For whatever reason, that helped.
Harold and Maude – 1971 – I know, its suicide more than breakup,
but this movie still resonates with me.
Brokeback Mountain – 2005 (I think this is one of the saddest love
stories I ever saw.)
Ghost – 1990
West Side Story – 1961
Top 5 songs about heartbreak?
Curse you, I literally had to
winnow through dozens of songs. In the end picking only five was impossible,
especially since there are two different kinds of heartbreak, the pain of
breakup and about recovery.
First – songs about the pain
I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry by Hank Williams (Did you ever see a robin weep When leaves begin to die? Like me, he's
lost the will to live, I'm so lonesome I could cry)
Unchained Melody by The Righteous Brothers (I’ve hungered for your touch the long, lonely time)
Killing Me Softly by Roberta Flack (He was strumming my pain with his fingers, singing my life with his
words)
The Tracks of My Tears by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles (Outside I'm masquerading, Inside my hope is
fading)
Tears In Heaven by Eric Clapton (Time can bring you down, Time can bend your knees. Time can break your
heart, Have you begging please)
I actually prefer the other kind
of heartbreak song, the kind that says I am so over you, I will not let the
loss bring me down. These are the songs
that keep me going.
I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor (I spent so many nights thinking how you did me wrong and I grew strong)
What Goes Around Comes Around by Justin Timberlake (In time you will find, What goes around,
Comes all the way back around)
Irreplaceable by Beyonce (I
will have another you by tomorrow)
Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’ by Journey (Now it's your turn to cry, Na na na na na na)
We Just Disagree – Dave Mason (Let's
leave it alone, 'Cause we can't see eye to eye)
I credit Gloria Gaynor with
getting me over my first really bad breakup. I have lived the Justin Timberlake
song, and someday I have got to write a story based on Irreplaceable, because
no man is, yeah!!
____
Denise Jaden is the author of Never Enough:
Loann’s always wanted to be popular and pretty like her
sister, Claire. So when Claire’s ex-boyfriend starts flirting with her, Loann
is willing to do whatever it takes to feel special…even if that means betraying
her sister.
But as Loann slips inside Claire’s world, she discovers that
everything is not as it seems. Claire’s quest for perfection is all-consuming,
and comes at a dangerous price. As Claire increasingly withdraws from friends
and family, Loann struggles to understand her and make amends. Can she heal
their relationship—and her sister—before it’s too late?
Denise Jaden's writing has appeared in Mississippi Crow
Magazine (Spring, 2008), The Greensilk Journal (Fall 2007 - where her
story, LOCKED AWAY, won an Editor's Choice Award),and The Tidepool Fiction
Ezine. Her novels from Simon & Schuster have received various
awards through Romance Writers of America, INSPY, and SCBWI. The first draft
of her debut novel, LOSING FAITH, was written in 21 days during NaNoWriMo
2007. Her second book NEVER ENOUGH, took about eight years longer. Her
first non-fiction book, WRITING WITH A HEAVY HEART: Using Grief and Loss
to Stretch Your Fiction, was out in October, 2012. Her second non-fiction
book for writers, FAST FICTION will be out in March, 2014 from New World Library. She lives just outside Vancouver, Canada with her husband, Ted, and their nine-year-old son, who she homeschools (and who writes during NaNo each year), Teddy.
1. Heartbreak can come in many forms: a messy breakup, a disappointing setback, death of a loved one, or a broken friendship. Has writing ever had a hand in helping you deal with a wounded heart?
When my dad passed away in 2011, writing was a
necessary escape for me. During that time, I probably wrote the most romantic
novel I’ve written to date (it’s not out yet, but it’s called FOREIGN
EXCHANGE). When I sat down to write each day I felt as though the characters
took me into their world for an hour or two and let me rest from the heartache
of my own life.
2. Top 5 songs about heartbreak? Top 5 films?
Songs:
Thanks for Nothing by Fefe Dobson
Heartbreaker by Pat Benatar
Here I Go Again on My Own by Whitesnake
Free Fallin’ by Tom Petty and the
Heartbreakers
Push by Avril Lavigne
Films:
When Harry Met Sally
Love Actually
My Girl
With Honors
Man on Fire
Thanks so much for hosting us, Judith! Boy was it hard to come up with those films and songs, but it's so fun seeing everyone else's choices!