Title: Bad Boys Don't Make Good Boyfriends
Series: Life Lessons
Author: Melanie A. Smith
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Release Date: 19th May 2020
BLURB supplied by Xpresso Book Tours
Even when you know better, sometimes it’s simply too tempting…
Hospital work isn’t for the faint of heart. Becca Dillon knows that
firsthand, having worked as a medical assistant in the cardiac unit at
Rutherford Hospital for longer than she cares to think about. What she does care
to think about is having fun, gossip, and … guys. Her favorite of the three.
And why stick to one, when you can sample them all?
That’s exactly her plan when a workplace crush on a mysterious bad-boy
orderly unexpectedly takes a very steamy turn. But Vincent DeMarco turns out to
be nothing like she expected, and before she knows it, she’s falling hard and
fast. She wants him in ways she’s never wanted anyone before, but there’s
something he’s keeping from her. Something that’s holding him back. And Becca
is going to find out what.
Even though she knows that bad boys don’t make good boyfriends, he seems
like he might be so much more. Will her quest unlock the truth behind who he
really is? Or will it end their relationship for good? Either way, ready or
not, Becca’s world is about to change.
PURCHASE LINKS
AUTHOR INTERVIEW
Melanie A.
Smith is the best-selling author of The Safeguarded Heart Series and other
contemporary romance fiction. Originally from upstate New York, she spent most
of her childhood in the San Francisco Bay Area before moving to Los
Angeles for college. After that, she spent almost fifteen years in the Seattle
Area, and now lives in the Dallas-Fort Worth area of Texas with her family.
A voracious reader and lifelong writer, Melanie’s writing began at a young age
with short stories and poetry. Having completed a bachelor of science in
electrical engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles, and a
master’s in business administration at the University of Washington, her
writing abilities were mainly utilized for technical documents as a lead
engineer for the Boeing Company, where she worked for ten years.
After shifting careers to domestic engineering and property management in 2015,
she eventually found a balance where she was able to return to writing fiction.
Melanie is also a Mensan and enjoys spending time with her family, cooking, and
driving with the windows down and the stereo cranked up loud.
How many books will be in the Life
Lessons series?
This is the second
book in what I have planned as a three book series. But the great thing about
the Life Lessons concept is that it’s practically limitless, so who knows?
Do you, basic plot/plan for each
individual book in the Life Lessons series, before you actually begin writing
it all out? Or do you let the writing flow and see where it takes the
story?
I do a bit of
both. I started the series around the idea of three women who were friends and
worked together at a hospital. I gave them each backgrounds and personality
traits and kind of let them unfold from there, with some goals in mind. I find
if you don’t let the characters you create react and make decisions true to
themselves, you lose that sense of authenticity.
Do you use the same way of working to
write the Life Lessons Series as you did the Safeguarded Heart Series?
No, and on
purpose. The Safeguarded Heart Series was full-length novels (well, the first
three books). I wanted to challenge myself to bring the same kind of depth and
emotion, but in a shorter, more concise way. I wanted to force myself to really
think through what was necessary to the story and what wasn’t, so it made me
totally rethink the story flow. While I miss some of the fun things about
writing a longer novel, I think my writing is better for it in the end.
As you add books to a series does the
process become easier or harder?
I actually planned
(at a high level) the first three books in the series from the get-go. So, in a
way, I already know what’s going to happen, which makes things easier. But as
I’ve gone on, the characters have had more time to flesh out and really come to
life, and they don’t always cooperate with my well-laid plans. So in some ways
it’s easier, in other ways more challenging to keep things on plan.
Did you have to any specific research
for the Life Lessons Series? If so what/how did you do it?
Yes, absolutely.
The first kind of research was the type I do for all of my books. I always want
to anchor them in reality by making the locations and (sometimes) events real.
It’s part of the reason I only write in places I’ve lived or visited often
enough to get a feel for the vibe. The second kind of research, that was unique
to this series, was the medical aspects. I have some knowledge on that front
from college, having an older brother that’s a doctor, and some recent health
struggles, but I wanted to make sure I was accurately portraying the medical
aspects from the duties of each type of worker to the procedures they do to the
things that happen in a hospital. A lot of it never makes it into the book, but
I feel better knowing I’ve done my homework!
Who designed the Covers of your two book
Series? Do you have a lot of input into the process?
I do my own cover
design, which was a disaster at first if I’m being honest. But after studying
other covers in the genre and getting better design software, I’m miles ahead
of where I was when I started. I’ve always enjoyed design and definitely have
that creative side, so it’s nice to have complete control over how my books
look as well as what’s inside.
If you had to choose a favourite between
the Safeguarded Heart Series & the Life Lessons Series which would you
choose?
Noooo, don’t make
me choose! Haha. It’s like choosing a favorite child! If I absolutely must, I’d
go with the Safeguarded Heart Series. It was my first, and will always hold a
special place in my heart.
What can we expect from you next and in
the future?
Book
Three of the Life Lessons Series will be out this summer, after which I have a
standalone holiday novel planned. After that, well I’m still deciding whether I
want to do more Life Lessons Novels or perhaps a spin off series. I’m going to
see how the readers feel before deciding which.
Where can your readers follow you?
Thank you so much for featuring my book!
ReplyDelete-Melanie A. Smith
Looking forward to reading Melanie's books. Thank you
ReplyDeleteThanks for being on the tour! :)
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