From her cheating boyfriend to her dead father and cold, judgmental mother, Daly knows she can’t trust others to be there when it counts. This cynicism begins to melt away when she meets Kashi, a light-hearted charmer from India, who decides he cares too much to let her fade into the background of her own life. After a series of false starts, their quirky romance carries them to India, where Daly must win the approval of Kashi’s family in order to seal their “forever.”

Meanwhile, Laine struggles to cope with the pain of early widowhood, fleeing into the pages of her well-worn library and emerging only to perform her duties as a social worker at the crisis pregnancy center. Although her daughter wants nothing more than to work as an artist, Laine doesn’t know how to redirect Daly to a more suitable profession without further damaging their tenuous relationship.

Can Laine look past her pain to learn from an unlikely mentor? Has Daly finally found someone whom she can trust? Will the women recognize their common bonds before the relationship is broken beyond repair?

“Torn Together,” Emlyn Chand’s first sojourn into Literary/Women’s Fiction, illustrates how our similarities often drive us apart.

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I read and reviewed this book previously (you can click here for my review) so I asked Emlyn to answer a few questions instead of just rehashing how much I enjoyed her book

Interview:

Where do you get your inspiration from? I understand Torn Together was drawn from your own life. Do you borrow for your other writing projects?

Oh, my inspiration comes from all over the place—but almost always while driving (I’m a terrible driver). With the exception of Torn Together, I don’t intentionally borrow from my own life. However, many of my novels have “come true.” Torn Together seems to have predicted my divorce and the consequential fall-out of my personal life. In my other novel, Open Heart, I crafted the character Dax to represent my dream man—and then just months later I met the living embodiment of him, fell into a whirlwind romance, and am now happily married to my soul mate.

You’ve written in a variety of genres (YA, Literary, Children’s) Do you have a particular favorite?

I love all my books, but my greatest passion is for YA. That’s probably because I get to live in the stories longer than when I write kids’ books. I do love seeing the illustrative interpretation of my stories for the kids’ books, though!

What were the challenges you encountered writing in this genre, compared to writing your YA series?

Oh, the challenges were many! Although Torn Together was my third published novel, it was my first written. That means, it’s the book that taught me how to write—and I made every single mistake in the book:  passive voice, POV violations, stilted dialogue, and GRE-itis (using big words just because I know them). Torn’s taught me so much about the craft, and Farsighted wouldn’t even be half the novel it is were it not for writing Torn first.

There is an author interview included at the end of Torn Together. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before, what made you decide to add this to the novel?

Back in the day, I founded a classics book club that now has over 500 members. I ran it for a couple years before my work life became too busy and I entrusted the group to my best friend. I always enjoyed being able to find book group guides for our reading selections, and those guides always included interviews. Each of my novels has a list of discussion questions and an author Q&A in the back. I think it encourages readers to want to go out and talk to their friends about it, and Torn needed the author interview to provide more insight into the story and how it reflects my own life.

You have your own publicity company plus you write. How do you find time?

I have what I like to refer to as “Hyper Focus Disorder.” It’s basically the opposite of ADHD. I start a task and zoom in on it so hard that nothing else exists. I’ll admit, it’s hard to find time to write, what with the constant demands of Novel Publicity. I’ve been gearing up for a writing break for the past two or three months. If I plan far enough ahead, I can move my responsibilities around to clear out my schedule and home in on writing. I plan to start this break on January 21 and take until sometime in February… I also don’t watch much TV, and generally work about 11 hours per day 7 days per week.

What’s coming up? Are you working on another stand-alone novel?

I’m currently working on my trilogy of romance novels to be released under the pen name, Darby Davenport. After that, I need to focus on getting book #3 of the Farsighted Series, Pitch, out. I have a couple other YA series in me and my on-going Children’s series, but no current plans for another stand-alone novel. I’m sure that will change soon, since I have more ideas than I can possibly keep up with!

What has been the greatest reward for you during your writing/publishing journey?

The knowledge that I wanted something and made it happen—my lifelong dream of writing. It’s helped my self-esteem tremendously, and it’s just so infectious to interact with others who are living their dreams as well. I wouldn’t trade my life for the world!

Who is your favorite author to read?

I have many favorites. John Irving is my favorite contemporary literary author. I’ve loved getting acquainted with Bella Andre, and have just eaten up her romance novels. I’m also addicted to good YA, like Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, The Lunar Chronicles, Tiger’s Curse, and so much more!

Have you encountered someone new that you think is one to watch?

Oh, I’ve met many, many talented authors both in my role as Novel Publicity and my work as a book blogger. Megan Miranda (author of fracture) has an amazing fresh voice. Marissa Meyer (author of Cinder) wrote one of the best books I’ve read ever—I just consumed it and am eagerly awaiting my pre-order of book #2. In the indie community, I love Melissa Luznicky Garrett’s Spirit Keeper (YA) and the literary novels of Stevie Mikayne (Jellicle Girl) and Robb Grindstaff (Hannah’s Voice). Oh, and Amelia James if you’re looking for romantica—OMG!

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Can I say both? I keep simple outlines and notes on each of my projects, but I spend so much time daydreaming about the plots and characters that I have them pretty solid by the time I begin writing. Still, major surprises always sneak their way into my stories. It’s what happens when you write character-driven fiction. They, too, have ideas about where they want their stories to go!

About the Book – About the Author – Prizes!!!

About the book: Life, love, and an unforgettable trip to India–readers call “Torn Together” an emotional roller coaster ride. What’s all the fuss about? Grab your mother, daughter, sister, or closest friend, and get reading. Make sure to keep a box of Kleenex handy! Get Torn Together through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Kobo Books.

About the author: Emlyn Chand emerged from the womb with a fountain pen clutched in her left hand (true story). When she’s not writing, she runs a large book club in Ann Arbor and is the president of author PR firm Novel Publicity. Best known for her Young Adult novels, she is also developing a small, but devoted, following to her children’s book series and is beginning to dabble in other genres as well. Emlyn enjoys connecting with readers and is available via almost every social media site in existence. Visit EmlynChand.com for more info. Don’t forget to say “hi” to her sun conure Ducky! Connect with Emlyn on her website, Facebook, GoodReads, or Twitter.

About the prizes: Who doesn’t love prizes? You could win one of two $50 Amazon gift cards or an autographed copy of Torn Together! Here’s what you need to do…

1. Enter the Rafflecopter contest
2. Leave a comment on my blog.

That’s it! One random commenter during this tour will win the first gift card. Visit more blogs for more chances to win–the full list of participating bloggers can be found here. The other two prizes will be given out via Rafflecopter. You can find the contest entry form linked below or on the official Torn Together tour page via Novel Publicity. Good luck!

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway