i am not a bookworm!: The Adventures of Natalie Bloom (Bloom Sisters #2) by Brooke Stanton

The Adventures of Natalie Bloom
Brooke Stanton
(Bloom Sisters, #2)

Publication date: December 2nd, 2016

Genres: Adult, Comedy, Romance

Natalie’s dreams are about to come true. She’s found the perfect spot for her new restaurant and a perfect business partner to make it happen – gorgeous Luke Hawker – until she discovers things are not as they seem. Luke has run off with her money, leaving her dreams crumbling around her.

With Max Euston – her friend and secret crush -alongside her, Natalie must race against the clock to find Luke and get the money back before it’s too late.

With twists and turns, Natalie won’t know who to trust (or love) until the very last page.

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Here are some bonuses if you buy the book between Dec 2and Dec 6:

1: 75% off the retail price

2: entrance into an exclusive giveaway for a $50 Amazon Gift Card

3: A FREE, advanced copy of The Downfall of Catie Bloom

The bonuses will be available in the table of contents under Bonus when you buy the eBook.

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Q&A with Brooke Stanton

Tell us a little about yourself.

When did you decide to become a writer?

I used to keep notebooks filled with short stories starting in middle school. If I’m going to be completely honest they were filled with some pretty risqué stories. I was young and didn’t know much about romance or sex, but my aunt wrote romance novels and I used to sneak and read them, so I tried to emulate her. I didn’t really understand the subject matter. I don’t think I’d even kissed a boy, yet. Once I got to high school, I wrote more mainstream fiction in my spiral notebooks. They were never for anyone to see. Just my own enjoyment. I went to a performing arts high school and funneled my creativity on stage at the time. But I always knew one day I would publish a book.

Why do you write?

I write for the same reason I used to get on stage and sing and act. It’s cathartic. I love diving into different stories and characters. It makes me feel alive.

What are your ambitions for your writing career?

To have the freedom to write what I want in many different genres. I hope my readers love my books as much as I love writing them.

What has been the hardest part of building your career?

Being patient!

Which writers inspire you?

Jojo Moyes, Emily Giffin, Meg Cabot. All their stories and characters are interesting and unique and I love how their stories unfold. The love stories feel authentic and there’s always a bit of fun and laughter.

What have you written? (Include books, novellas, short stories, poems, blogs, awards or anything of interest).

My debut novel was the award-winning RomCom, The Misadventures of Catie Bloom. My follow-up novel is The Adventures of Natalie Bloom, which is the second book in the Bloom Sisters series (but can be read as a stand-alone). I have a blog on my website that focuses on my writing career with day-to-day life anecdotes. When I was trying to get preggers, I had a humor blog called Vagina Vacancy. I also contributed to Natural Awakenings magazine and wrote a column for examiner.com.

What inspires your ideas?

Everything! No, really. I never know when an idea is going to hit; I could be on a plane, in a car, watching a movie, reading the newspaper, about to fall asleep. My phone is filled with notes of story ideas. I have at least a dozen. And they will all be written.

Are there any correlations between the books you write and your life experiences?

The Adventures of Natalie Bloom was largely inspired by my yearly trips to Red Frog Beach in Panama. My parents own a place there and it’s a beautiful, unique, inspiring location. The wheels in my head were turning every time I went down there and out of that came this book.

My novel, How to Survive New York on Three Dates a Week (co-written by Corinne Barlow), is the most biographical. Most of the stories are pulled right from our lives. It’s scheduled to be released in early 2018.

All my books have a few anecdotes I took either directly from my life or my friends. If you know me, read carefully…you may find a bit of your life staring back at you!

Do you work from an outline or plot or do you prefer just to see where an idea takes you?

I used to write and see where the story took me. But I found writing for discovery without any kind of outline takes too long. Now I write a short outline before I write any book. It has done wonders for the speed in which I can write a book now. And there’s still a lot to discover, even with an outline.

Tell me about your most recent release.

It’s a romantic adventure about discovering what you and what you’ll do (and won’t do) to get. It’s a bit of romance, adventure, and mystery all tied together. Natalie Bloom discovers to get what she wants she has to fight for it and not be afraid to get hurt…a hard thing to do for all of us.

Is there a message in your novel that you hope readers will grasp?

I don’t focus on a message as much as I focus on giving my readers something to indulge in, like sneaking a pint of rocky road ice cream and savoring every morsel as it slides down. But the most prominent theme in Natalie Bloom is not letting fear get in the way of living your life – stand up for what you want and go out and get it, no matter what the obstacles.

Any new projects we should look out for?

The third and final book in the series, The Downfall of Catie Bloom, is coming out in the summer of 2017.

Author Bio:

After her own misadventures in New York City, LA and London, Brooke Stanton now lives in sunny South Florida. She's an award-winning author who has contributed to Natural Awakenings Magazine, wrote a column for Examiner.com, and is the author of The Bloom Sisters series. Visit her website brookstantonbooks.com.