I'm so excited to be hosting rock star author C.J. Redwine in the second annual Authors are Rock Stars Blog Tour! A few of the reasons why I'm so thrilled to be hosting C.J. are pretty simple but epic none the less. Her books, her stories and her characters are thrilling, adventurous, and memorable. The world she has created is easy to vividly imagine. It's all about the writing and Mrs. Redwine sure does have a way with words. I knew I wanted to find out more about the world Defiance is set in and I'm eager to read Deception to find out just what happens next to Rachel and Logan.
C.J. YOU are without a doubt a Rock Star of an Author and I'm glad that today, my blog was able to celebrate YOU! Keep writing and we'll keep reading.
And now, I bring you a fun interview with none other than Rachel and Logan!!!
“Good evening and welcome to Happily Ever After with Julia Underwood. I’m here with Rachel Adams and Logan McEntire, the heroine and hero of the recent novel DEFIANCE by C.J. Redwine. Rachel, Logan … thank you for being my guest on the show tonight.”
Rachel: You’re welcome.
Logan: *nods*
Julia: Now, you two really got in over your heads in DEFIANCE! I don’t want to give away any details of your story to readers who haven’t met you yet, but I would like to ask you a few questions. Logan, I know this is probably a difficult subject to discuss, but our readers want to know how it felt to be an outcast on the streets of Baalboden for so many years. If you could describe it in one word, what would that be?
Rachel: *reaches out and takes Logan’s hand.*
Logan: *clears his throat and shifts in his chair* I guess if I had to pick just one word it would be desperate.
Julia: Desperate. *leans forward* Desperate for what? For food? Shelter? Safety?
Logan: *rubs the back of his neck* For family.
Julia: *looks misty eyed* It must be very difficult not to have any family left.
Rachel: *leans forward and blocks Logan from Julia’s view* Oh, he has family. He has me. And I think it’s time for your next question.
Julia: *smiles at Rachel* One of the things our readers noticed right away about you is your loyalty to those you love. Clearly, you’re loyal to Logan.
Rachel: *sits up straighter* Clearly.
Logan: *small smile at the edge of his lips*
Julia: We all know that you first told Logan you loved him when you were fifteen, but certainly you must have realized your feelings before that. Our readers want to know when you first knew that Logan, who’d been taken in by your adopted grandfather and then apprenticed and treated like one of the family by your father, was more than a brother to you.
Rachel: *glares* What kind of question is that? Logan was never a brother to me. Ew.
Logan: That really is a disturbing thought.
Julia: I simply mean, when did you first realize that you were attracted to Logan in a romantic way?
Rachel: *cheeks turn pink*
Logan: *smiles wider* I’d love to know the answer to this question myself.
Rachel: You would. *meets Logan’s eyes* It was the night we ruined the cake. Remember?
Logan: I remember. *looks at Rachel like she’s the only person in the room*
Julia: For those of us who weren’t there, can you explain more?
Logan: *still looking at Rachel* It was Oliver’s birthday.
Julia: Rachel’s adopted grandfather who also took you in, correct?
Logan: Right. *rubs his thumb over Rachel’s hand* It was his birthday, and he was always baking special treats for us, so we decided we would surprise him with a cake that we made ourselves.
Rachel: Except neither of us knew how to make a cake. I got out ingredients that looked like they probably belonged in a cake—
Logan: And I estimated the measurements, the probable cook time, and the most logical sequence for proper chemical bonding between the ingredients—
Rachel: And he estimated wrong. The batter rose over the side of the pan and spilled all over the bottom of Oliver’s oven. The middle caved in. And the entire thing, especially the stuff on the bottom of the oven, burned.
Logan: *grins at Rachel* It smelled worse than the trash heap you threw Jeff Hughson into when he was bothering Sylph.
Julia: And how did a ruined cake help you fall in love with Logan?
Rachel: *frowns slightly* I didn’t fall in love with him because of the cake. I fell in love with him because he kept fighting for himself and for those he cared about even when the odds were always stacked against him. And because he bites his lip when he’s concentrating. And he makes me laugh. And he takes me seriously. And he tries so hard to do the right thing. And when he looks at me … wait, what was the question?
Julia: The cake?
Rachel: Right. There we were with that cake all over the place, and the smell, and Oliver due home any minute to a mess instead of a birthday surprise, and Logan started laughing even while he burned his fingertips trying to clean the oven before Oliver could see it. He stood there and laughed, and it made me laugh too, and I realized that I wanted to laugh with him all the time. I wanted to be near him, even when everything was a disaster, because no one else could make me laugh when I wanted to cry.
Julia: That’s lovely. Logan, when did you realize you loved Rachel? Was it over the cake?
Logan: *tightens his hold on Rachel’s hand* I didn’t know I loved her until I was separated from her. Until I was confronted with the very real possibility that I would lose her forever. I guess it takes me a while to figure things out.
Rachel: It would be easier for you if people came with schematics, right?
Logan: *grins* Much easier.
Julia: Your road to romance was blocked, not just by the fact that you didn’t realize your feelings at the same time, but by the culture of your city and by outside circumstances. If you could go back and change one choice of yours, what would it be?
Logan: I would’ve said yes when Rachel asked me to help her find her father.
Rachel: *smiles at him* I wouldn’t have wasted two years being mad and embarrassed that he turned me down when I was fifteen. Our friendship is too important for that.
Julia: There are a lot of obstacles yet to be faced in your lives. Here at Happily Ever After, our readers are always curious to know what you are willing to do to overcome those obstacles.
Rachel: Whatever it takes.
Logan: *jaw tightens* Anything that doesn’t put Rachel in danger.
Rachel: Oh, great. Now you make it sound like I’d willingly put you in danger. Or worse, like I need to be protected.
Logan: *leans close to her* No, I made it sound like I love you and don’t want to lose you.
Julia: *beams* Wonderful. One last question. What does happily ever after mean to you? What do you want most?
Rachel: *is silent for a moment while she thinks* I want to finish our enemies and then go live quietly somewhere where our only problems are ruined cake and too much laughter.
Logan: *looks at Rachel* She’s my happily ever after. Anything else is a bonus.
Julia: There you have it, readers! Thank you for joining me for tonight’s episode, and may all your ever afters be happy.
Author: C.J. Redwine
Publisher: Balzer + Bray, 403 Pages (August 28th, 2013)
Add to: Goodreads
Check out my review of: Defiance
Synopsis: While the other girls in the walled city-state of Baalboden learn to sew and dance, Rachel Adams learns to track and hunt. While they bend like reeds to the will of their male Protectors, she uses hers for sparring practice.
When Rachel's father fails to return from a courier mission and is declared dead, the city's brutal Commander assigns Rachel a new Protector: her father's apprentice, Logan—the boy she declared her love to and who turned her down two years before. Left with nothing but fierce belief in her father's survival, Rachel decides to escape and find him herself.
As Rachel and Logan battle their way through the Wasteland, stalked by a monster that can't be killed and an army of assassins out for blood, they discover romance, heartbreak, and a truth that will incite a war decades in the making.
Title: Deception (Courier's Daughter #2)
Publisher: Balzer + Bray, 480 Pages (August 27th, 2013)
Add to: Goodreads
Synopsis: Baalboden has been ravaged. The brutal Commander's whereabouts are unknown. And Rachel, grief stricken over her father's death, needs Logan more than ever. With their ragged group of survivors struggling to forge a future, it's up to Logan to become the leader they need—with Rachel by his side. Under constant threat from rival Carrington's army, who is after the device that controls the Cursed One, the group decides to abandon the ruins of their home and take their chances in the Wasteland.
But soon their problems intensify tenfold: someone—possibly inside their ranks—is sabotaging the survivors, picking them off one by one. The chaos and uncertainty of each day puts unbearable strain on Rachel and Logan, and it isn't long before they feel their love splintering. Even worse, as it becomes clear that the Commander will stop at nothing to destroy them, the band of survivors begins to question whether the price of freedom may be too great—and whether, hunted by their enemies and the murderous traitor in their midst, they can make it out of the Wasteland alive.
In this daring sequel to Defiance, with the world they once loved forever destroyed, Rachel and Logan must decide between a life on the run and standing their ground to fight.
Order both books online:
Amazon, Barnes and Noble, The Book Depository, Amazon UK
About the author:
C.J. Redwine loves stilettos, lemon bars, any movie starring Johnny Depp, and books. C.J. holds a degree in English Literature from Pepperdine University and now lives in Nashville, Tennessee with her husband, four kids, two spastic cats, and one long-suffering dog. For more on C.J., please visit her website at: http://cjredwine.blogspot.com.
Find C.J. Online:
Website/Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | Tumblr | Goodreads
Loved their interview! Thanks!
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