Hi
everyone.
The
lovely Tess Woods is with us today to answer a few questions and tell us a bit
about her novel, Love at First Flight. Tess lives in Perth, Australia with one
husband, two children, one dog and one cat who rules over all of them. Love at
First Flight is her first novel for HarperCollins.
Welcome
Tess!
What inspired you to write this story?
I've always
been inspired by the tragic love story, the story of great love that just can't
be. My favourite book The Bridges of Madison County stayed with me years after
reading it and played on my mind. Then I read Twilight and out of nowhere I had
to write my own book. Before this I had never entertained the idea of writing.
But the longing in Twilight and the knowing that the one you love is the one
that is dangerous for you resonated with me and I just had to write about that.
So with the themes of desire and danger, I wrote a book about a married mother,
because I wanted to write of what I know. I wanted to bring the great love
story into the world of the typical suburban mum who is chasing after kids,
working and running a home. I wanted her to have that Romeo and Juliet moment.
So I wrote 'Love at First Flight'.
Are
you working on anything at the present?
I’m writing my second book and I’m very excited! I am writing a
contemporary romance called Flat White With One which is about my main
character Mel’s son as an adult (he is a teenager in Love at First Flight).
Nick is Australia’s most popular football player, a real playboy who falls for
a young, conservative Egyptian girl named Anna with a tragic past who is
anything but the typical footballer’s girlfriend. Flat White With One is their
love story. Nick and Anna are tested by her family, Nick’s football community
and the Australian public as nobody seems to approve of them being together.
How do
you come up with the titles to your books?
I actually
didn’t come up with the title for my book! I came up with Flight. But I got a memo from my
editor, Anna, that Flight could
be about birds or kites and she wanted something that sold the story more. I
received that email while I was having lunch with my friend Emma on her
birthday. I complained and moaned about needing to change the title. Emma came
up with Love at First Flight. I
emailed Anna. She thought I was a genius. I happily took the credit! I’ve been
told by my literary agent that she is letting me keep the title of my next book
Flat White With One for now so
we’ll have to wait and see if I don’t end up naming that one either, hey!
What is your favourite
book?
The Bridges of Madison County by
Robert James Waller captured my heart like no other love story could. I read it
in one sitting, I simply couldn’t put it down. That such a passionate love
story could take place between two quite outwardly plain, middle-aged people in
sleepy Iowa, where not much ever happens, was amazing to me. The connection
between Francesca and Robert and their tragic Romeo and Juliet ‘not meant to
be’ love pulled at my heartstrings. They made me believe in love at first sight
and I went on to write my own book inspired by their intense love. I thought
Robert Kincaid was the most romantic male character I have ever come across.
“But, I am, after all, a man. And all the
philosophic rationalizations I can conjure up do not keep me from wanting you,
every day, every moment, the merciless wail of time, of time I can never spend
with you, deep within my head. I love you, profoundly and completely. And I
always will.”
What
made you want to be a writer?
I’ve always been a hopeless bookaholic. I was inspired by other writers
and other stories. Books like Tully, The Bridges of Madison County and The
Horse Whisperer stayed with me and inspired me. But when Stephenie Meyer wrote
Twilight, something shifted inside me when I read it and I just had to write a
book myself!
Love
at First Flight – Blurb
A family is threatened by an irresistible attraction in
this compelling debut that will appeal to fans of Liane Moriarty and Anita
Shreve.
Looking back on it now, I can see it was instant. The
second we locked eyes. Boom. Just like that. The me I had spent a lifetime
perfecting began its disintegration from that moment. And despite the carnage
it brought to all our lives, I still don’t regret it.
What would you risk to be with the love of your life?
And what if your soul mate is the one who will destroy you?
Mel is living the dream. She’s a successful GP, married
to a charming anaesthetist and raising a beautiful family in their plush home
in Perth. But when she boards a flight to Melbourne, she meets Matt and her
picture perfect Stepford life unravels as she falls in love for the first time
ever.
What begins as a flirty conversation between strangers
quickly develops into a hot and obsessive affair with disastrous consequences
neither Mel nor Matt could have ever seen coming. Mel’s dream life turns into
her worst nightmare.
Love at First Flight will take
everything you believe about what true love is and spin it on its head.
Here’s
a snippet –
‘Alright,
love, have a good night.’
‘You
too, hey? Be safe. Don’t talk to strangers. See you tomorrow. Love you.’
His voice was warm.
No suspicion there whatsoever. Of course there wasn’t, Adam trusted me. I’d
never given him reason to be suspicious before.
‘Love
you too, Adam. See you tomorrow, darling,’ I croaked.
I
dropped the phone into my bag and walked back into the bathroom, with a sudden
sharp headache behind my left eye.
‘How’s
Hercules?’ Sarah looked up from painting her toenails.
‘He’s
fine,’ I said flatly. ‘He says hi. He’s having an early night.’
‘God
bless him, like he needs the beauty sleep,’ she laughed.
I
regarded myself coolly in the bathroom mirror. ‘You are a stupid, stupid
woman,’ I hissed at the reflection.
I vigorously shook Matt from my head, wiped
off the red lipstick, replaced it with a clear gloss, and sent a mental kiss to
my unsuspecting husband who was missing me back at home.
No
more nonsense.
Finished.
If you would like to find out more about Tess, here are her
links. J
Website:
Facebook page:
Goodreads:
Amazon:
iBooks:
Kobo:
Barnes and Noble:
Thanks for stopping by.
Nicóle xx
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