Blog Anniversary Celebration: Interview with Renee Carlino + Giveaway

Posted August 27, 2017 by Amber in Author Spotlight, Blog Anniversary, New Releases, Review / 3 Comments

Happy Birthday to Girls with Books!

 

August marks the 5th Anniversary of our blog and we are totally excited to continue our celebration with each and everyone of you.

One of my favorite authors, Renee Carlino, recently celebrated the release of her newest novel, Wish You Were Here.  Here’s some info on her newest book:

Synopsis:

Charlotte has spent her twenties adrift, floating from interest to interest, job to job, and guy to guy, searching for a spark but never quite finding it. All she knows is that she won’t discover it working as a waitress at a pies-and-fries joint in Los Angeles or living with her fun but aimless best friend in a tiny apartment in the Arts District.

Then Charlotte collides with Adam, a gorgeous and soulful painter who seems just as lost as she feels. Their instant connection turns into a midnight drink… and a whirlwind night of champagne, Chinese food, and the kind of conversation that only happens in romantic comedies. But the next morning, Adam gives Charlotte the cold shoulder, leaving her confused and hurt—and wondering if the few odd moments between them the night before were red flags in disguise.

Months later, Charlotte hasn’t been able to shake Adam, so she decides to find out what happened the morning after their magical night together. This fateful decision rewrites their wild love story, but what Charlotte doesn’t know yet is that the ending has already been written.

About a week ago, I had the pleasure of attending Renee’s release party for Wish You Were Here at a fabulous local bookstore, Warwicks.  As it happens, Renee is a local girl…from San Diego…just like me.
It was a fun filled evening.  And even more so, the audience was filled with family and friends there to help Renee celebrate her latest release.  We were graced with stories about her siblings (the short blanket being one of them) and got to meet her brother Rich, to whom the book is dedicated to.  I even had the pleasure of meeting Renee’s mother.

 

 

 

Prior to the party, I had the opportunity to interview Renee to coincide with her new book as well as our anniversary celebration.

GWB: What book are you reading now?

Renee: I’m currently reading The Wild Woman’s Guide to Traveling the World by Kristen Rockaway. I’ll be sitting on a panel with her at the San Diego Festival of Book on August 26th and I’m also reading Most of All You by Mia Sheridan.

GWB: Is there a particular author that you “drop everything “ to read their latest release?

Renee: John Irving, Caroline Kepnes and now Jill Santopolo.

GWB: What books have influenced your life most? Or is their one book in particular that you reread often?

Renee: I’ve re-read a The Fourth Hand by John Irving countless times. It’s one of my favorite books.

GWB: What inspired you to write your first book?

Renee: I was inspired by my seventh grade English students and their passion for reading, as well as some very inspirational musicians I reference in Sweet Thing.

GWB: What’s your writing process like? Do you make an outline or just start writing?
Renee: I usually write a synopsis or short outline but I have the bones pretty well thought out in my head and then I start writing away.
GWB: Do you have any advice for other writers?

Renee: Sometimes I tell people to schedule writing. It’s a very disciplined craft. You have to commit to sitting at a computer for hours at a time.

GWB: Out of all of your books, which character did you enjoy writing the most? Or one character that you most relate to?
Renee: The character I most relate to is definitely Charlotte in WISH YOU WERE HERE because she is most like me in that we are both a little scattered. I most enjoyed writing Will in Sweet Thing because I was just so in love with the idea of him.
GWB: With your latest release, Wish You Were Here, how was the character Adam developed? Was he inspired by someone or something personal?
Renee: Adam was inspired by a mural I saw in the Arts District of LA. I thought about what kind of person goes around painting on walls at night and things fell into place from there. I loved that Adam understood that if you’re not living you’re dying and I really wanted that to be a big theme.
GWB: With the release of Wish You Were Here, what’s up next from Renee Carlino?
Renee: I just finished a book called Blind Kiss, which will be out next summer about friends who long to be with each other over thirteen years since they met in college. It’s about a true, deep meaningful friendship that is challenged by societal expectations and circumstances that were out of their hands. It was my favorite to write so far so I’m excited for that to come out next summer.
You can check out Renee and her books on her Goodreads Page
You can ready my review of Wish You Were Here…here

In keeping with the celebration, we have a giveaway! Here’s your chance to win a kindle copy of Renee’s newest Release, Wish You Were Here!

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