NBTM Tour + #Giveaway: Becoming Magic by Michelle Garren Flye @michellegflye @GoddessFish

Becoming Magic

by Michelle Garren Flye

GENRE: Contemporary Romance

BLURB:

Carole Barnes once believed she would make her own way in Hollywood, but those days are long gone, leaving behind only a dark, slimy secret that Carole has never shared with anyone. Now she hides in the bright sunshine of the Crystal Coast of North Carolina. As far away as she can get from Hollywood. But what to do when Hollywood comes knocking in the form of a sexy movie star?

Connor Wallace has everything going for him—looks, talent, a successful career—but what he really wants is to perform magic on stage. His love of magic leads him back to his mentor Walt Bryson. At first, he’s pleased when Walt suggests his assistant Carole produce a documentary of his transformation from movie star to magician. He’s worked with Carole before—but the ambitious girl who had a crush on him is gone now, leaving a beautiful, withdrawn woman.

It’s the perfect arrangement. Carole knows she can make a success of the movie and Connor wants to work with her. But as they grow closer, Connor determines to find out her secret. Can love overcome the boundaries of fear? Or will Carole’s past return to plague them both?

Excerpt:

Connor pulled the linking rings back out of their velvet bag and began practicing with the engagement ring on them. “I may need your help, too.”

“With the trick?” She raised her eyebrows. “I’m not sure I’m the one—”

“Nonsense. You know how it works. You just have to catch it correctly.” He tossed the ring to her. She caught it neatly, but the engagement ring went flying.

“Damn.” She cursed softly. “I thought I could do that.”

“No, you weren’t sure. You said so.” He found the engagement ring and replaced it on the linking ring. He fixed her with a stern look. “Be certain.”

“Okay.” She shrugged, but she knew what he was talking about. Every movement in magic—or any showmanship, really—had to be done with certainty. No rethinking yourself or doubts allowed. The audience should never be aware that you might not know what you’re doing. And so she banished any doubts and looked at him expectantly.

“And don’t look at me like that.” He twirled the rings in the air, absently connecting and disconnecting them. She knew how it was done, but he’d gotten so good at it, she couldn’t catch him.

She laughed. “Why not?”

He paused in the act of juggling the rings, caught them and displayed them all connected with the engagement ring dangling at the bottom. “Because you make it hard for me to be certain.”

She tilted her head, wondering what he meant…

Interview with Michelle Garren Flye

Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in Becoming Magic?

Carole Barnes is the heroine. She’s worked in show business since she was a teenager, but when she tried to make it in Hollywood as a young woman, she lost her innocence in a violent way. She returned home changed, but she never told anyone her secret. The hero of the novel, Connor Wallace, is a movie star who wants to become a stage magician. Walt Bryson and Sabrina Parker (who Sleight of Hand fans will remember from Movie Magic) combine forces to help Connor, and they convince Carole to produce a documentary about him. Connor and Carole get close while they’re working together, but Connor has his work cut out for him trying to get past Carole’s guard.

Can you tell us a little bit about your next books or what you have planned for the future?

My next book is Dickens Magic, the next book in the Sleight of Hand series and my first ever attempt at writing a holiday book. Those are tough to write, I found. It’s hard to get in the mood for Christmas in May! But this one is special to me because it takes place in the town I live in, New Bern, N.C., and it centers around a theater where both my daughter and I have played around on the stage. I fell in love with that theater. It truly seems like a magical place, and I know it’s one of my happy places.

How long would you say it takes you to write a book?

That’s a tough one. I can write a very rough draft in a month or two. But then there’s editing, and that can take a couple of months depending on the amount of rewriting that is required. And after that there are several more rounds of edits to catch small plot holes and typos. If everything goes smoothly—maybe four to six months? But then there are those occasions when I run into what I call “editor’s block”. The first draft is done but when you go to rewrite it, you run into a wall. I’m at that point with the third and final book of my Synchronicity series. I wrote it a year or more ago. But I can’t get past a point in the rewrite to my satisfaction.

What is your favorite childhood book?

Another tough one! I probably answer this differently every single time because I was a big reader as a kid, and when I found a book I loved, I read and reread it. For the purposes of this interview, I’m going to say Alice in Wonderland because it ties in with both Movie Magic and Becoming Magic.

If you could spend the day with one of the characters from Becoming Magic who would it be? Please tell us why you chose this particular character, where you would go and what you would do.

Walt. Which is maybe funny because he is a side character in this book, even though he was the hero of Movie Magic. But he’s one of my favorite characters I’ve ever created. I like him because he’s a magician, but he’s not secretive. You don’t get the feeling he’s trying to trick you. I think I’d like to spend some time at his mansion on the beach and let him teach me some magic tricks. And then maybe go sailing because he’s an expert sailor, too. Of course, this would have to be completely platonic because no way am I gonna come between him and Sabrina. She can be a little scary.

What was the hardest scene from Becoming Magic to write?

Definitely the reveal of what happened to Carole in Hollywood. She has to tell Connor, of course, because otherwise she’ll never be able to open herself up to love again. But it’s really ugly, and I had to make it that way because I wanted the reader to feel the horror of it. I sort of had to go back to my roots as a horror writer to get it right. It ended up pretty powerful, I think.

What made you want to become a writer?

There’s no one thing. I’ve written stories since I was about seven years old. I remember my mom saying I could be an author when I grew up. I didn’t know what that meant, but it made an impression on me. But I’ve always loved writing and telling stories. I used to lay awake at night imagining happily ever after fairy tales. I didn’t actually become a writer, I guess. I’ve just always been one.

Just for fun

(a Favorite song: David Bowie, “Let’s Dance” (Always)

(b Favorite book: Grown up book? Maybe The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

(c Favorite movie: The Princess Bride (No real surprise there!)

(d Favorite tv show: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (Maybe a little surprised?)

(e Favorite Food: Pecan pie. Guess that’s my southern roots.

(f Favorite drink: Red wine. Although sometimes a get a craving for scuppernong wine!

(g Favorite website: http://washingtonpost.com. Well, you asked. It’s the only website I check every single day. I love the Opinion section.

Thanks so much for visiting with us today!

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Michelle Garren Flye is an award-winning romance author of eleven novels and counting. Her short stories have been published by the romance anthology Foreign Affairs, Opium.com, SmokelongQuarterly.com and Flashquake.com, among others. She has served on the editorial staffs of Horror Library, Butcher Shop Quartet and Tattered Souls. Michelle has a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Master’s degree in Library and Information Science from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She is the mother of three and lives in North Carolina.

Blog: BREATHE ~ Facebook ~ Twitter

Buy Links:

Amazon ~ Barnes and Noble

Giveaway:

$50 Amazon/BN GC

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