FULL MEASURES by Rebecca Yarros: RELEASE DAY

Excitement is in the air! Valentine's is just a few days away. What better way to celebrate than to read a brand new book?

I've got the perfect one for you, just releasing TODAY. That's right! You can be the first of your circle of friends to read FULL MEASURES by Rebecca Yarros. Then you can tell them how wonderful it is, and push them to read it so you can chat about Ember and Josh. 

I'm lucky enough to get an interview with the illustrious Rebecca Yarros, but first let's take a look at FULL MEASURES. * dreamily stares at the beautiful cover*

And here's the tantalizing blurb:

Three knocks can change everything…

"She knew. That’s why Mom hadn’t opened the door. She knew he was dead."

Twenty years as an army brat and Ember Howard knew, too. The soldiers at the door meant her dad was never coming home. What she didn’t know was how she would find the strength to singlehandedly care for her crumbling family when her mom falls apart. 

Then Josh Walker enters her life. Hockey star, her new next-door neighbor, and not to mention the most delicious hands that insist on saving her over and over again. He has a way of erasing the pain with a single look, a single touch. As much as she wants to turn off her feelings and endure the heartache on her own, she can’t deny their intense attraction.

Until Josh’s secret shatters their world. And Ember must decide if he’s worth the risk that comes with loving a man who could strip her bare.

Rebecca Yarros

Where to find this treasure:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Kobo

Okay, now for all the questions:

Finish this sentence: If I could live anywhere…

I would be home in Colorado.  You can take the girl out of the mountains, but never the mountains out of the girl.  I adore my family, and I can’t wait to be home again so my kids get a turn at being annoyed by my dad’s “if you started here, and I started there, how long until we met in the middle…” math questions. 

What inspired FULL MEASURES?

That’s a big one.  I’m a military brat, both my mom and dad served twenty years, and given the life I lead now, I wondered, if I’d lost my dad to war at that age, what would it have done to me? How would it have changed the woman I am, or what would I have been willing to risk if I’d already paid the steepest price?

Rebecca's blog is called The Only Girl Among Boys

I already know you are a military spouse, and I believe you told me you grew up in a military family... how much of your own experience (not literally, but in general, such as lifestyle) made it into FULL MEASURES?

I put a ton of effort into making FULL MEASURES as realistic as possible, from military terminology, to the relationship between spouses.  That being said, a lot of the emotion is mine, and I drew on the feelings I had when my husband was seriously wounded during his first deployment a lot.  Also, the way Ember knows Sam from a previous duty station is definitely our life.  Our next door neighbors from two duty-stations ago bought a house six houses down from ours, and our children, who were both born in Germany a few months apart, are now in the same first grade class. I hope I capture the highs and lows we feel as military families.

Is there music or television on while you write?

OOOH, best question EVER! Music.  Music.  MUSIC!  Music puts me into an emotional state for each scene, and I’ll hit repeat on a song until I finish that scene.  I run a playlist for each novel I write on Spotify, and it immediately puts me “in” the work.  With five kiddos at home, I’m also a huge fan of noise-cancelling headphones.  ;)

As an author, are you a planner (outline) or a pantser (by the seat of)?

It really depends!  For the most part, I’m a total a pantser.  I know my characters, where they start, the general conflicts, and where they end up.  I let the middle surprise me as I write.  But for some of my more complicated, paranormal plots, I really like to keep an outline so I get a view of the big picture and how everything connects.

Phobias? Do your phobias ever work their way into your writing?

I think FULL MEASURES takes my greatest fear head-on.  I’m terrified of the knock at the door, at hearing that my husband won’t walk through our door again, so I’d have to say yes.  Now my fear of spiders?  I keep that under lock and key.  *Shudders*

Which authors inspired you when you were younger (or what authors inspired you to write your own books)?

Mercedes Lackey, without any doubt.  I’m a huge fan of the Heralds of Valdemar series!  I’d sneak them into classes and read at school all the time.  As a kid, I devoured C.S. Lewis and Brian Jacques, which I now point my kids to at every available opportunity.

Best advice you’ve ever received about writing/publishing?

 I have a favorite quote by Steinbeck (who also wrote my favorite novel of all time), where he says, “Abandon the idea that you are ever going to finish.  Lose track of the 400 pages and write just one page for each day, it helps. Then when it gets finished, you are always surprised.” I remember this advice every time I’m exhausted by the kids’ hockey schedules and our life, and make an effort to spit out at least one page.  Chances are if you sit down to write that one page, you’ll look up ten pages later.   

Looking back, what’s the one thing you wish you knew before starting your first novel?

 Janet Reid told me once, “your story begins at the choice,” and I wish I’d realized that.  I spent so long writing and rewriting those first chapters, when I didn’t realize they really weren’t needed.  Your story begins when your main character makes the choice that is the catalyst for the plot, and not a page before.

What advice would you give aspiring authors?

Don’t get hung up on getting your first novel agented/published.  If your queries dead end after you’ve edited it 30 billion times, move on and write something new.  We’re constantly evolving as authors, becoming better and honing our craft.  Chances are your second novel will blow your first out of the water, as will your third, fourth… you get the point. Don’t be afraid to shelve an MS.  Stop thinking of it as “dead,” and instead think of it as “resting.”  Move on.  Keep writing.

GREAT ADVICE, Rebecca!

Do you believe in love at first sight? Why or why not?

I believe in infatuation at first sight, is that the same?  LOL!  I think there can be an instant connection between souls, something that triggers passion, adoration, friendship, all which leads to love.  But, seeing how much I “loved” my husband the first months we dated, versus the depth of love I have for him fourteen years later, it’s a stream to an ocean.

Why did you decide to write the genre(s) you do?

 I write Young Adult and New Adult for two very different reasons.  I love YA because it’s such a great time in life, where you discover who you are and how you relate to the world around you, where anything and everything is possible.  I love New Adult because for me, it’s that time in life where you get to make mistakes, love passionately, and shape your world into what you want it to be.  There’s a lot more freedom in New Adult than YA, and I’m very drawn to that.

I love when authors open up and give us a glimpse of the person behind the pen (or pc, however they go about it). Thank you, Rebecca, for giving us a little insight into you and your world. Be sure to tell your husband 'Thank You' for serving, and thank you for YOUR service to our nation as well. I wish you and your family all the best. 

Okay, readers, get out there and get your copy of FULL MEASURES today, let's help Rebecca have a great first week of sales! Ready. Set. GO!

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