Author interview, Sex Snob and Pieces of Perfect

Pieces of Perfect by Elizabeth Hayley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Love triangle at it's finest....

Lily......What can I say about her.....I did not care for her in the second half of the book. She went from being this spitfire, to trying to make herself "fit into" a certain mold. In the start of the book she was full of fire and seemed more confident. Then when both men come into her life she changes and tries to be someone who she is not. She was VERY wishey, washy and a little self absorbed.

Max......I am on the MAX train, I will go where ever he goes and I want him and Lily together like yesterday (I just finished the book today). He comes off self absorbed and arrogant, but now I have this lingering to want to keep him. He Meets Lily at the airport and perused her till he got what he wanted.

As Lily tries to push him away he tells her...

"Suit yourself," he whispered as he leaned into kiss my cheek. "But remember what I said, doll. I do always get what I want. and what I want is your name. Actually," he said, cocking his head to the side playfully, seductively even "what I really want is you. Over and over. And over again."

I mean really, how can you not want him? That right there sealed the deal for me. Anyways Lily is a teacher and has a parent teacher conference and is introduced to Adam Carter.

Adam is very nice and seems to come off very reserved. He is a single father and is trying his best to be a good Dad. he is doing a good job at it. Adam is attracted to lily, and they start to talk and flirt. There is something about him that I can not put my finger on. I can not put my finger on it but I am not completely sold on him. He has opened up to Lily and yet there a just a few situations that leave me to think that he is not always himself, but then again neither is Lily.

The only reason why I am giving this book is 4 stars was "LILY." She just bugged me and I am not sure who I would choose for her. The ending.....well, like I said I am fine with it as far as Lily goes. Figure your crap out or what ever, I feel that it was just right, the ending that is.



Sex Snob by Elizabeth Hayley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Amanda Bishop has rules. After being hurt by her ex boyfriend she has decided that rules must be set in order to find the right man. They are a little off, but you need rules to protect yourself right? Amanda is not some broken girl in this book, she is a successful career woman and has a great group of friends that like to go out and drink. Amanda does not mind the occasional hook up as long as her rules are in force.

Shane Reed is Amanda's Cross Fit instructor and is just as snarky as Amanda. He is rude and hot to her at the same time. He wants her bad. The two clash and have hot sex. The problem is Shane does not fit in Amanda's rules. But aren't rules made to be broken?

I loved all the characters in this book. Kyle is Amanda's friend with benefits and it is good benefits. He too was very sexy and hot. This book was full of crazy scenarios that included lots of drinking and swimming in a river while you are trying to escape. I enjoyed every moment of this book.

I got a good taste for Shane and all his banter and verbal insults. I enjoyed that they both gave each other hell. If you ever want to give you personal instructor verbal insults....you get a few here. He really liked Amanda but realized that she need to give in as well, he was not sappy and broken when she fought her feelings for him. The whole book was kept the flow just right and had my full attention. Great read. I look forward to more books from these two ladies.

Here is my Author interview with Elizabeth and Haley (yes there is two authors for these books)

1.  How did you come up with the character Lily?

Lily just kind of developed as we wrote. We're both sarcastic and enjoy witty banter, so we wanted to create a character who we could relate to. We also developed her with allusions to the Bible in mind. Lily represents Delilah, Samson's downfall in the Old Testament. This is why we made Max's last name Samson. Also, her name is a flower, which relates to the Garden of Eden, where the Biblical Adam resided. We wanted her to be complex: being the object of each man's affection while also being their downfall.

2. Is there going to be another book that Lily, Max and Adam will be in?  If so what is the time frame between the two books?

Lily is in our second book Sex Snob, which is a spin-off of Pieces of Perfect, as a supporting character.  The reader will definitely get a little insight into what Lily has been up to, but Max and Adam are not in that book.  The sequel to Pieces of Perfect will have Max and Adam, but they will not be in a love triangle with Lily.  Their roles shift a bit.  Both books take place about four to five months after the first book ended.  Sex Snob only spans about three months.  The sequel to Pieces will span about nine.  

3. How did you feel about ending Pieces of Perfect in the way that you did?  I was so nervous as it got to the end, yet like how it ended.

Well, we don't want to give too much away about the ending, but the simple answer is no, we don't regret it. Our goal was always to be realistic (or as realistic as we could be while still holding on to some traditional aspects of the romance genre), and we didn't want the characters to get something that they really didn't deserve. Our only real regret was not having a sequel ready to release. I think we would've had upset fewer readers if we'd had the conclusion to Lily's story ready to release right after the first. We'll make it up to you in the sequel; we promise.

4. How do you both "blend your ideas" in writing books?  Do you each write a chapter or something of that nature?

Yes, we each take a chapter. Then we edit the crap out of the other's work and both revise until we're in agreement that we have reached the best final version we're capable of. It's a ton of back and forth, but it works for us. We actually answered these interview questions the exact same way.  

5. How do you go about hiding "hints or clues" in the book, that we may not realize till we are done reading?

This is a great question.  And one that has a difficult answer.  Many of the clues are probably hidden in dialogue.  For example, when Max is at the craps table in Atlantic City, he says a line that gives a clue about the ending, and in Sex Snob there are many hints about what Lily has been up to.  When she has a serious conversation with Amanda toward the end of the book, she appears to be talking about Amanda’s situation, but is talking about her own as well.  There are also parallels between the book The Outsiders, which Lily is teaching her class, and her own life.  Many times a character appears to be discussing something that is happening in that scene, but his/her comments really pertain to the novel as a whole.    

6.  What can you tell us that might change our minds on Lily?

We have definitely gotten mixed reviews about Lily.  Some readers love her sarcastic wit and completely understand how torn she is between the two men.  Others think she is a snarky, selfish bitch.  Every reader has the right to feel as they do because Lily is really all those things.  She isn't meant to be perfect, hence the title.  We wrote her as a flawed, but hopefully somewhat relatable character.  We don’t believe that a  main character always needs to be completely innocent and likable.  That isn’t how real people are.  So if you didn’t like Lily at certain parts of the book, that’s okay because you really weren’t supposed to. Especially since Lily spends a lot of the book not even liking herself.  That being said, we hope to have her learn some lessons and redeem herself in the sequel to make her a more likable character.  She just needed some time to get there.

7.  Question for Max if possible???  At what point did you realize that you were in love with Lily?

To an extent, I've  always known I felt something deeper for her. Even during our first, ahem, "encounter," I called her "doll."  You saw at my parents house how meaningful that nickname is for me. But I don't think I really let myself see my feelings for what they were until she came back to my house after the bar that one night. Watching her in my house, it was like she belonged there. That was the moment I knew that I had to have her, and I'd go to any length to make that happen.

8.  Do you both write individually as well?

Nope.  Everything we’ve written has been a joint effort.  

9.  What is your process of co-writing?

We both discuss a general plan for the book (where it’s headed short-term and in the end), and then we plan out a few chapters at a time--usually 4-6.  Then we decide who wants to write what.  Sometimes we call dibs on certain scenes we feel drawn to, sometimes we break it up by length.  It really depends.  We write on Google Drive, which allows for a constantly changing draft where we can both edit simultaneously if necessary.  We comment on things that make us laugh, things we think are hot, how the wording or content should be fixed, etc.  It’s not uncommon to see comments like “lmfao,” “haha,” “this is so freakin hot,” or “this sentence makes no sense.”  It’s usually a mixture of all of that plus much more.  

10.  Do you both have any difficulties writing together vs. alone?

Well, we don’t really write together in the sense that we write scenes together.  It would be tough to do that.  We need to be in our own minds to write.  So that’s why we pick a section and make it our own until the other person reads it.  That being said, our writing is much better when we have the other person to critique it.  So, in that sense, we write together because we both "touch" each scene in some way.  

11.  Do you see more books in your future?  Together or alone?

After the Pieces of Perfect sequel is completed, we do have plans for a stand-alone novel.  Elizabeth has “imprinted” on this book like Jacob from Twilight.  It’s all she thinks about.  She’s completely obsessed.  So yes, we do have plans for other books.  It’s so much fun writing together.  If we wrote alone, it would feel so boring.  

12.  What gives you inspiration to write?  

Elizabeth: I just try to immerse myself in the world of the characters. I don't really need much more than that. Sometimes I'll hear a song or an idea will pop in my head and my fingers will nearly ache with the need to write.

Hayley:  All different things, really.  Sometimes I hear someone say a line that might work in a book, sometimes I just think of them on my own.  Nothing makes a better story than real life, and I use that to my advantage.  If a situation amuses me, I put notes in my phone or take a video of something.  You never know when you’ll need to come back to it for ideas.  I also like to create a playlist of songs that remind me of a scene I’m writing.  It helps put me into the minds of the characters in the scene.  

13. What music do you both like to listen to when you write?

Elizabeth: I don't listen to anything. I need to hyper-focus when I write, and can't have any distractions.

Hayley: I don’t always listen to music.  A lot of the time I like it to be pretty quiet so I can concentrate, but if I listen to music I listen to songs that remind me of the characters or scene I’m writing.  

14. Oh and yes, in Sex Snob, the main character and her friends play a game that involves taking inconspicuous pictures of a hot co-worker.  Where did the idea for "Hot Rod Shots" come from?  Did one of you ever partake in this game before?

Ahem...um, no comment.  We would never do such a thing in real life.  Next question lol.  Oh, and for the record, everything we “don’t” do, we “don’t” do together.  

15. What is your favorite movie?

Elizabeth: I don't have a favorite. Different moods call for different things. I love horror and comedy, but I can really watch almost anything.

Hayley:  I don't have one favorite either. I love comedies, and will watch ones like Pitch Perfect and Wedding Crashers any time they're on TV.

16. What is your favorite band?

Elizabeth: this answer changes with the weather. I'm a Top 40 kind of girl.

Hayley:  I don't have a favorite band. I like Top 40 too. And for some strange reason, I like country, even though I hated it up until about two years ago.

17. Favorite food?

Elizabeth: anything with carbs in it.

Hayley:  Pasta, desserts, pizza, really anything I shouldn't eat.

For Amanda:

18. How do you feel about your rules now?

Jesus Christ, are those rules going to haunt me forever? I think I make it pretty clear how I feel about them by the end of Sex Snob. You’ll just have to read to find out.