2014 Most Anticipated - The Lonesome Young

The next pick on my 2014 Most Anticipated list is being called Romeo and Juliet meets Justified. Pretty much sold IMMEDIATELY from that description.

The Goodreads synopsis also sounds amazing!

Get swept away in the first book of the sensational romantic drama that is Romeo & Juliet meets Justified.

WHAT HAPPENS when the teenage heirs of two bitterly FEUDING FAMILIES can’t stay away from each other?

The Rhodales and the Whitfields have been sworn enemies for close on a hundred years, with a whole slew of adulterous affairs, financial backstabbing, and blackmailing that’s escalated the rivalry to its current state of tense ceasefire.

IT’S TIME TO LIGHT THE FUSE . . .

And now a meth lab explosion in rural Whitfield County is set to reignite the feud more viciously than ever before. Especially when the toxic fire that results throws together two unlikely spectators—proper good girl Victoria Whitfield, exiled from boarding school after her father’s real estate business melts down in disgrace, and town motorcycle rebel Mickey Rhodale, too late as always to thwart his older brothers’ dangerous drug deals.

Victoria and Mickey are about to find out the most passionate romances are the forbidden ones.

. . . ON A POWDER KEG FULL OF PENT-UP DESIRE, risk-taking daredevilry, and the desperate actions that erupt when a generation of teens inherits nothing but hate.

Lucy was kind enough to answer a few questions about herself, and The Lonesome Young.

1 Describe The Lonesome Young in 3 words

Steamy. Suspenseful. Riveting.

2 Your book seems to deal with a Romeo and Juliet style love story. Why do you think these types of romances are so popular?

The forbidden nature of some love stories heightens the intensity, I think.  It’s a question of how high the stakes are--what are you willing to risk for the right person?  How far will you go for that one special world-bending love?

3 What three things do you need while revising?

An open mind, so that I can imagine circumstances and ideas that go in wildly different directions from where I started.  Multi-colored gel pens, because I circle and draw arrows and write in notes on the paper copy of my manuscript, totally old-school.  And the ability to hear the dialogue in my mind, in order to catch any clunky conversation.  (I’d been a writer for a few years before I first discovered that most people don’t hear voices in their heads! LOL.)

4 Are you able to share a secret about one of the characters, the world, something that inspired something about the world/characters?

I have a MAJOR secret I’m DYING to reveal about the Rhodale/Whitfield family connection, but I can’t, yet, argh!!  Book Two, Carry Me Home, will tell that one.

Here’s a secret about me, though--or at least, something I’ve never in my life really talked about very much. My family was very poor after my dad abandoned us when I was in high school.  We were only able to eat some weeks because of food stamps, and I had to get part-time jobs to be able to afford school clothes.  I was the first person on my dad’s side of the family to ever go to college.  That’s a big part of why I wanted to tell this story, set in a rural part of the country where people struggle to get by--we’re not all rich kids living in mansions when we’re growing up.  The decisions most teens today face are usually a heck of a lot harder than which fancy designer dress to wear to the prom.  So, I guess my secret is that I lived in that world, too.

5 What 2014 release are you most excited for?

Ooh! I have far too many favorite authors to ever pick one book!!  Some of my very favorites are Simone Elkeles, Katie McGarry, Eileen Cook, Mari Mancusi, Kassy Tayler, Jennifer Echols, Heather Davis, and Melissa Walker.  Of course, Sarah Dessen, Alyson Noel, Melissa Marr, Kelley Armstrong, Rachel Caine, too.  Wow.  I could keep going for days…

A huge thank you to Lucy for taking the time to answering these questions. It's especially sweet that she provided personal, touching answers. It makes me think the romance, and character aspect of the story will be amazing because it means something to her.

If you want to learn more, check out the author's website, or the publisher's website for more information.

The Lonesome Young will be in stores April 8, 2014. Pre-orders for this title are already up, and you can get your copy at the following retailers

Chapters
Amazon
Barnes and Noble

Let me know in the comments what you think of the cover, the synopsis, or what you think of Romeo and Juliet style romances. Also, check back soon for a contest where you could win one of my featured titles (these interviews may just help you win!).