Hello Everyone,
We are now into week 4 of the Stalking Sapphire Book Club on Wattpad and as always, I have some tidbits to go along with the chapters.
Tidbits Chapters 10-12
1. In chapter 10, Aston manages to get out of the mess with the French CEO by allowing him to park anywhere he wants.
According to Aston, it was a good deal for the guy; finding parking in Beverly Hills was a bi**h.
Finding parking in Beverly Hills is a bi**h!
Like I've mentioned before, I lived there for a short period of time. Even after I moved away, one of my favorite restaurants were on Rodeo Dr. and my husband and I would go for their super cheap happy hour a couple times a month. Every time, we had to calculate when we'd be hungry and leave an hour ahead of schedule to find parking.
Sure, there was valet, conveniently located around the corner of the restaurant, for 25 dollars. It was more than our meal would cost and it wasn't an option.
We'd circle Rodeo Dr. for a minimum of 45 minutes waiting for one the BMWs, or Bentleys to leave. When they finally did, we'd have to fight of the other vultures circling Rodeo so that we could park our crappy Sebring convertible with a busted bumper.
In short, if you're ever in Beverly Hills...walk.
2. In chapter 11, Sapphire pulls over at Urth Caffé in Beverly Hills to kick Chrissy out of the car.
I used to go to Urth Caffé off Beverly Dr. and had a love, hate relationship with the place.
The Love: Everything--coffee, pastry, sandwiches--is organic and delicious.
The Hate: The place tends to get celebrities.
I know that would seem like a fun thing, but I get awkward around famous people. When I first see them, I feel like I'm supposed to say 'hello' because their faces are so familiar. Then I realize I don't know them at all, but staring anyway. I'm sure they're used to it, but also find it highly annoying. That's when my awkwardness sets in and I do one of two things: stare at the ground intensely. Or, accidentally give them the stink eye.
I once gave Jennifer Love Hewitt a really mean scowl when I passed her in the parking lot of a grocery store. Meanwhile, I was thinking: God, you were funny in Heartbreakers.
She looked a bit confused, then scowled back at me.
The story has changed over the years and is now known as the when-Jennifer Love Hewitt-scowled-at-me-in-the-parking-lot incident.
More Tidbits next week!
Xoxo,
Mia
Friday, September 27, 2013
Friday, September 20, 2013
SILENCING SAPPHIRE Summary Debut & Book Club Tidbits - Week 3
Hello Everyone!
Today, along with the this weeks Tidbits, I have two very exciting announcements to make!
First of all...
The summary for the Stalking Sapphire sequel, SILENCING SAPPHIRE, is now released!
SILENCING SAPPHIRE
(Coming October 22. Published by Diversion Books)
While setting her sights on a new serial killer, Beverly Hills heiress and vigilante, Sapphire Dubois, fights to cancel the wedding of the season in the sequel to the bestselling New Adult Thriller STALKING SAPPHIRE.
As a new serial killer dubbed the “Stripper Slayer” plagues Los Angeles, Sapphire once again sheds her socialite persona, this time to go undercover as a penniless stripper. Struggling to find the brutal man before he slays again, Sapphire finds that the thin wall separating her double life is cracking. Her family and friends expect her to walk down the aisle with the most eligible bachelor among the Beverly Hills elite; a man she doesn’t want. Meanwhile, the man she does want, handsome Detective Aston Ridder, is making her life hell as he closes in on the Serial Catcher’s trail.
Sapphire scrambles to keep the chaos at bay, unaware that someone else is tracking her as well. A serial killer from her past is back and will stop at nothing to get his vengeance.
Use this Goodreads link to add SILENCING SAPPHIRE to your bookshelf!
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/724219811
Second of all...
Keep your eyes peeled on Wattpad's Facebook page next week for a chance to participate in choosing the COVER for SILENCING SAPPHIRE!
To go to Wattpad's Facebook Page, click here: https://www.facebook.com/wattpad
Lastly...
We are now into Week 3 of the Stalking Sapphire Book Club on Wattpad!
Click on the link to join the Stalking Sapphire Book Club:
http://www.wattpad.com/24886678-stalking-sapphire-a-thriller-book-club
TIDBITS Chapters 7-9
1. Before I started writing Stalking Sapphire, the "Aston interrogating Sapphire scene" in Chapter 7 was meant to be the first time the characters were introduced to each other. They were supposed to find each other attractive during the questioning and that was it for that scene.
But when I thought about how Sapphire would feel, act, etc. while being interrogated by a cop whom she thought was handsome, I realized I wanted that scene to be as awkward as it could possibly be. Not just for Sapphire, but for Aston as well.
I knew, right then, how I wanted their relationship to be and how their push-and-pull dynamic should play out. In most novels the two main character's don't sleep together until sometime in the middle or closer to the end, and I wanted to do the opposite; a reversed romance.
2. The scene where Aston watches Sapphire through his binoculars had to be rewritten a few times. Every time I re-read it, it felt wrong. I wanted Aston to see her do things that would break her heiress persona and I also wanted to make sure the reader knew there was still sexual tension from Aston. But having him sit in the shadows, watching a young woman undress with binoculars made him come off like a pervert. Finally I added the lines: He aimed his binoculars at her, feeling like a perv... and: he thought about looking away...
Once I had Aston acknowledge that his actions were shady, he came off more like a curious cop than a pervy peeping Tom.
3. The hazy-eyed sales clerk at the Quickie Mart in chapter 8 was loosely based on a guy I used to work with--by loosely, I of course mean, completely. I don't want to go into details, but let's just say, he never completed a sentence and he always carried Visine...and it wasn't because he had allergies.
More Tidbits next week...
Xoxo,
Mia
Today, along with the this weeks Tidbits, I have two very exciting announcements to make!
First of all...
The summary for the Stalking Sapphire sequel, SILENCING SAPPHIRE, is now released!
SILENCING SAPPHIRE
(Coming October 22. Published by Diversion Books)
While setting her sights on a new serial killer, Beverly Hills heiress and vigilante, Sapphire Dubois, fights to cancel the wedding of the season in the sequel to the bestselling New Adult Thriller STALKING SAPPHIRE.
As a new serial killer dubbed the “Stripper Slayer” plagues Los Angeles, Sapphire once again sheds her socialite persona, this time to go undercover as a penniless stripper. Struggling to find the brutal man before he slays again, Sapphire finds that the thin wall separating her double life is cracking. Her family and friends expect her to walk down the aisle with the most eligible bachelor among the Beverly Hills elite; a man she doesn’t want. Meanwhile, the man she does want, handsome Detective Aston Ridder, is making her life hell as he closes in on the Serial Catcher’s trail.
Sapphire scrambles to keep the chaos at bay, unaware that someone else is tracking her as well. A serial killer from her past is back and will stop at nothing to get his vengeance.
Use this Goodreads link to add SILENCING SAPPHIRE to your bookshelf!
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/724219811
Second of all...
Keep your eyes peeled on Wattpad's Facebook page next week for a chance to participate in choosing the COVER for SILENCING SAPPHIRE!
To go to Wattpad's Facebook Page, click here: https://www.facebook.com/wattpad
Lastly...
We are now into Week 3 of the Stalking Sapphire Book Club on Wattpad!
Click on the link to join the Stalking Sapphire Book Club:
http://www.wattpad.com/24886678-stalking-sapphire-a-thriller-book-club
TIDBITS Chapters 7-9
1. Before I started writing Stalking Sapphire, the "Aston interrogating Sapphire scene" in Chapter 7 was meant to be the first time the characters were introduced to each other. They were supposed to find each other attractive during the questioning and that was it for that scene.
But when I thought about how Sapphire would feel, act, etc. while being interrogated by a cop whom she thought was handsome, I realized I wanted that scene to be as awkward as it could possibly be. Not just for Sapphire, but for Aston as well.
I knew, right then, how I wanted their relationship to be and how their push-and-pull dynamic should play out. In most novels the two main character's don't sleep together until sometime in the middle or closer to the end, and I wanted to do the opposite; a reversed romance.
2. The scene where Aston watches Sapphire through his binoculars had to be rewritten a few times. Every time I re-read it, it felt wrong. I wanted Aston to see her do things that would break her heiress persona and I also wanted to make sure the reader knew there was still sexual tension from Aston. But having him sit in the shadows, watching a young woman undress with binoculars made him come off like a pervert. Finally I added the lines: He aimed his binoculars at her, feeling like a perv... and: he thought about looking away...
Once I had Aston acknowledge that his actions were shady, he came off more like a curious cop than a pervy peeping Tom.
3. The hazy-eyed sales clerk at the Quickie Mart in chapter 8 was loosely based on a guy I used to work with--by loosely, I of course mean, completely. I don't want to go into details, but let's just say, he never completed a sentence and he always carried Visine...and it wasn't because he had allergies.
More Tidbits next week...
Xoxo,
Mia
Friday, September 13, 2013
BOOK CLUB TIDBITS - Week 2
Hello,
We are now into Week 2 of the Stalking Sapphire Book Club on Wattpad!
Wattpad Link:
http://www.wattpad.com/24886678-stalking-sapphire-a-thriller-book-club
Tidbits chapters 4-6:
1. At the beginning of chapter 4, Aston is attending the policeman's charity ball in Beverly Hills, and asks the bartender for a brewski, (for foreigners, like myself: a beer.) The bartender shakes his head, amused by the question.
I took this from a personal experience and put it in to show how Aston differs from Beverly Hills.
I was 19 years old, attending film school and interning at Phoenix Pictures in Los Angeles. On my first day on the job, I was to work the guest list at a Golden Globe pre-party. We were at the executive's mansion up in the hills of Beverly Hills. Very fancy, very intimidating for this small town Swede, fresh off the plane.
Since the guest list wasn't a very demanding job and there were five inters, the boss told us we could rotate to go join the party, eat some hors d'oeuvres, and have a drink. When it was my turn, I timidly walked into the ocean of rich and famous, and headed for the open bar. On my right, Dennis Quaid and his band--yes, he has a band--were preforming on a stage built for the occasion. On my left, Ben Stiller and his wife, Christine Taylor, were making out. I tried my best to look like I belonged when I leaned in and asked the bartender for a beer.
Dear GOD! The bartender acted like I'd asked him for liquidized testicles. He was appalled, amused, then finally, arrogant.
"We don't have beer," he sneered, then tapped one of the many bottles of champagne. "How about you try some Dom Perignon, Sweetheart."
Did I, at 19, want to know what Dom Perignon tasted like? Hell yeah, but I didn't want to let the bartender win, so I somehow ended up walking away with a drink I didn't even like: Whiskey, straight up. Needless to say, I never tried to order a beer at a Beverly Hills event again.
2. In chapter 6, Chief Anderson is displeased with Aston for wearing a t-shirt to Barbra Streisand's that read: "I don't take sh*t, I don't give sh*t, I'm not in the sh*t business".
This used to be one of my husband favorite t-shirts and he would wear it at the most inappropriate times. I hated this t-shirt with a burning passion, and eventually ended up "losing it" while doing laundry.
He still mutters about the strange disappearance sometimes, to which I innocently reply, "I don't know, it's a mystery."
More tidbits next Friday!
Xoxo,
Mia
We are now into Week 2 of the Stalking Sapphire Book Club on Wattpad!
Wattpad Link:
http://www.wattpad.com/24886678-stalking-sapphire-a-thriller-book-club
Tidbits chapters 4-6:
1. At the beginning of chapter 4, Aston is attending the policeman's charity ball in Beverly Hills, and asks the bartender for a brewski, (for foreigners, like myself: a beer.) The bartender shakes his head, amused by the question.
I took this from a personal experience and put it in to show how Aston differs from Beverly Hills.
I was 19 years old, attending film school and interning at Phoenix Pictures in Los Angeles. On my first day on the job, I was to work the guest list at a Golden Globe pre-party. We were at the executive's mansion up in the hills of Beverly Hills. Very fancy, very intimidating for this small town Swede, fresh off the plane.
Since the guest list wasn't a very demanding job and there were five inters, the boss told us we could rotate to go join the party, eat some hors d'oeuvres, and have a drink. When it was my turn, I timidly walked into the ocean of rich and famous, and headed for the open bar. On my right, Dennis Quaid and his band--yes, he has a band--were preforming on a stage built for the occasion. On my left, Ben Stiller and his wife, Christine Taylor, were making out. I tried my best to look like I belonged when I leaned in and asked the bartender for a beer.
Dear GOD! The bartender acted like I'd asked him for liquidized testicles. He was appalled, amused, then finally, arrogant.
"We don't have beer," he sneered, then tapped one of the many bottles of champagne. "How about you try some Dom Perignon, Sweetheart."
Did I, at 19, want to know what Dom Perignon tasted like? Hell yeah, but I didn't want to let the bartender win, so I somehow ended up walking away with a drink I didn't even like: Whiskey, straight up. Needless to say, I never tried to order a beer at a Beverly Hills event again.
2. In chapter 6, Chief Anderson is displeased with Aston for wearing a t-shirt to Barbra Streisand's that read: "I don't take sh*t, I don't give sh*t, I'm not in the sh*t business".
This used to be one of my husband favorite t-shirts and he would wear it at the most inappropriate times. I hated this t-shirt with a burning passion, and eventually ended up "losing it" while doing laundry.
He still mutters about the strange disappearance sometimes, to which I innocently reply, "I don't know, it's a mystery."
More tidbits next Friday!
Xoxo,
Mia
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Publisher's Weekly
Hi Everyone,
The Wattpad Stalking Sapphire Book Club just launched last week! It's going amazing so far, I couldn't be happier.
Woke up to this spectacular article in Publisher's Weekly:
The Wattpad Stalking Sapphire Book Club just launched last week! It's going amazing so far, I couldn't be happier.
Woke up to this spectacular article in Publisher's Weekly:
The Stalking Sapphire Book Club and all the wonderful things that come with it, is a very bright sun in my otherwise chaotic horizon right now. Silencing Sapphire is due very, very soon to Diversion Books and I'm scrambling to do what needs to be done. My days consists of loads of rewriting, loads of coffee, power bars, early mornings and late nights.
But, like I've said before, if I got to pick something to be stressed about, I would pick this. It's not a bad problem to have. I merely want the universe to grant my wish of turning a day into 30 hours instead of 24. I have a feeling my motion will be denied.
Xoxo,
Mia
Friday, September 6, 2013
BOOK CLUB TIDBITS
Hi,
As I've mentioned, today is the first Friday of the STALKING SAPPHIRE Book Club on Wattpad!
Every Friday, for the next seven weeks, I'll be doing some TIDBITS about Stalking Sapphire along side the release of the chapters.
Here is the link for the Book Club:
http://www.wattpad.com/24886678-stalking-sapphire-a-thriller-book-club
Tidbits Chapters 1-3
As I've mentioned, today is the first Friday of the STALKING SAPPHIRE Book Club on Wattpad!
Every Friday, for the next seven weeks, I'll be doing some TIDBITS about Stalking Sapphire along side the release of the chapters.
Here is the link for the Book Club:
http://www.wattpad.com/24886678-stalking-sapphire-a-thriller-book-club
Tidbits Chapters 1-3
1. Stalking Sapphire’s original title
was…brace yourself… Lip Gloss, Country Clubs & Serial Killers. Yikes! My excuse? I have none. Looking back I realize
I ignored people’s reactions of crinkling noses along with their: “Really?” when I told them the title. Let’s all be grateful for my agent who put a
stop to the madness and came up with today's title.
2.Sapphire’s mother, Vivienne, was originally named
Jocelyn. It was changed in one of the novel’s lasts drafts because her name was
too similar to Julia’s, also a motherly figure, and it got readers confused. When
I first started the rough draft of the sequel, Silencing Sapphire, I frequently had to cuss myself out because my fingers automatically typed Jocelyn instead of Vivienne.
3. The first image from Stalking Sapphire came in a dream…sound corny, I know. It was the dark forest and, the man who would become, Richard Martin’s black shoes cracking down on the dead twigs. I’d always had weird reoccurring dreams since I was a child, but this one was different, very vivid. I had the same short dream for weeks, before it evolved. I—the silent observer in the dream— eventually saw that the man was chasing a girl, his next victim. In the following weeks, almost every night, I feared for the girl as I watched the man follow her, knowing his intentions were to kill her. Finally, the whole scenario reveled itself and I knew I’d been wrong. She wasn’t the victim, he was.
I woke up that morning and was officially obsessed with the girl. Still am.
Next Friday, tidbits for chapters 4-6!
Xoxo,
Mia
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)