Virtual Book Tour + #Giveaway: Mona Lisas and Little White Lies by John Herrick @johnherrick @GoddessFish

Mona Lisas and Little White Lies

by John Herrick

GENRE: Romantic Comedy

BLURB:

She’s America’s hottest new celebrity. But her identity remains a secret.

Lily Machara is a wisecracking auto mechanic. She’s never cared for glitz or drama. But when Ryder Flynn, a rising star in the world of commercial art, adopts Lily as his muse after a random sighting, Lily discovers herself painted into his hot new pieces … and becomes America’s newest — anonymous — celebrity.

The only problem: The woman Ryder imagines isn’t the true Lily.

Or is it?

Now, as Lily and Ryder give in to mutual curiosity and a budding romance, Lily’s life — secrets and all — fall victim to a pop culture with one question on its mind: Who is the woman in Ryder Flynn’s art?

In the spirit of Cyrano de Bergerac and Pretty Woman, MONA LISAS AND LITTLE WHITE LIES is a delightful new romantic comedy from John Herrick, bestselling author of Beautiful Mess.

Excerpt:

Ryder rubbed his eyes. No wonder they felt so sore—one glance at his watch told him it was almost two in the morning. Although he could still hear well, the loud music seemed to have whittled his sensitivity to about 85 percent, as though he’d wrapped his eardrums in cotton.

         

After dinner, he’d allowed Chase to drag him to a nightclub, which was where Ryder had last seen his friend before returning to the hotel alone by way of a taxi. They would find each other before the art show opened that morning at ten o’clock. Chase might push his limits, but he was never late.

         

Now, upon entering the hotel, he found the lobby empty except for a concierge at the front desk. The room’s silence rivaled that of a funeral parlor. Ryder made a beeline for the elevator bank and pushed the round button to hail a ride upstairs. With a glance around the corner, he found the doors to the art show shut and locked. He detected no pulsating rhythms, which meant the wedding reception had ended, as well.

         

Ryder heard the elevator tone—followed by the swish of fabric coming from his left. He halted. Listened.

         

Another swish, like the chiffon of a bridesmaid’s dress.

         

When the elevator doors opened, Ryder wasn’t standing in front of them. With one eyebrow furrowed and his ear cocked upward, he eased toward the far end of the elevator bank, then peered around the corner.

         

More rustling of fabric, then tiny sobs. Step by step, he followed the sounds. On his right, he noticed someone had left open the door to a dark room. Another sob came from inside that room. A female voice.

         

“Hello?” Ryder whispered. His eyes adjusted to the dark as he brushed his hand along the wall in search of a light switch. At last, he located the switch and flipped it on.

         

The room was small. He wandered to a far corner, where a desk topped with random clutter sat, a four-star hotel’s answer to a dumping ground. When he peeked behind the desk, he discovered a young woman. Weeping, she sat crumpled on the floor with her back against the desk. A peach-colored rose trampled by life.

Interview with Author John Herrick

As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal?

Thanks for allowing me to stop by! I think my avatar would be an interstate highway. It’s a continual journey with a lot of stops along the way and little details I never expect to encounter. But it would be a stretch of interstate that dips down as the stretch rises ahead, the kind where you can see for miles—the kind that makes you believe the future is wide open and anything is possible. (Sounds clichéd, I know, but it’s the truth for me. Interstate drives are therapeutic for me.)

How many hours a day do you put into your writing?

Usually 2-3 hours first thing in the morning. I write in Starbucks and watch the sunrise every day.

Do you read your book reviews? If yes, do they affect what you write in the future?

I read every review I can get my hands on, whether it’s positive or negative. If it’s positive, it gives me a boost and confirms the areas where I’m strong. But I never want to stop improving, so I read the negative reviews, too. I try to separate the wheat from the chaff—I look for the constructive criticism, try to apply it to my future work, and allow the chaff to fall by the wayside. Anytime you do something for a mass audience, you need to enter it with the realization, “I can’t make everyone happy.” So my aim is to make as many people happy as I can, to do my best and keep moving forward.

Do you leave hidden messages in your books that only a few people will find?

Yes! I hide a ton of symbolism and foreshadowing in my books. I craft dialogue in a way that will make sense on the surface, but which will also give deeper clues about the characters. After writing my first novel, From the Dead, and reading reader reviews, I learned something important: Readers are savvy. They figure things out and read between the lines. So I’ve learned to respect that. I try to tell the story in a way that will satisfy readers who want a simple and complete escape, but I also hide bonus nuggets for those who like to discover things for themselves. I try to make my novels an interactive partnership.

I also list some trivia nuggets for each book at www.johnherrick.net.

Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in Mona Lisas and Little White Lies?

Ryder is a commercial artist who spots Lily in a rare moment of beauty and falls in love at first site. He never sees her again, but can’t forget her, so he adopts her as his muse, keeping the dream alive. He knows nothing about her, so he starts putting her into different scenarios, picturing all the possibilities of who she might be.

Lily is an independent, wisecracking auto mechanic who doesn’t recognize her true beauty on the inside and outside. When she starts seeing her likeness in Ryder’s works of art, pictured in different scenarios in which she would never have imagined herself, her self-image begins to change for the better.

Take a modern Mona Lisa, add some little white lies … but you’ll need to read the book to find out how they fit together!

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

I’ve finished the first draft of a novel based in Manhattan and Queens. It’s a return to drama for me, and it combines destiny, love, loss, and a touch of the paranormal as it examines the ways our lives intersect each other.

I’m also in the process of planning a complex, puzzle-like novel in the vein of Dan Brown, but I don’t think anyone has done something like this before. And it has the potential to spin off into two series that are completely different from each other.

Do you allow yourself a certain number of hours to write or do you write as long as the words come?

I work in the early mornings before I start my “day job,” so I’m limited to 2-3 hours a day. But given a choice, I’d show up every day with 2 hours budgeted, then continue if the words are still flowing. As long as I don’t stop, my body doesn’t have a chance to figure out its rest time!

Do you have a certain number of words or pages you write per day?

My personal goal is to average 2,000 words per day, but I don’t pressure myself. I’ve learned to celebrate small steps forward. Whatever it takes to minimize the negatives and maximize the positives. I’ve found contentment in balance and simplicity.

What inspires you to write?

Psychology behind my characters. Once I get to know their personalities and what makes them who they are—their memories, their backgrounds, their perceptions—I love to drop them into scenarios outside their comfort zones and watch how they respond.

Would you rather

Read fiction or non-fiction?

Fiction—but I have my nonfiction cravings and am in the midst of one now.

Read series or stand-alone?

Stand-alone

Read Science fiction or horror?

I’d probably choose something by Philip K. Dick.

Read Stephen King or Dean Koontz

Nonfiction :-D

Read the book or watch the movie?

Read the book

Read an ebook or paperback?

eBook for pleasure. Paperback for research.

Be trapped alone for one month in a library with no computer or a room with a computer and Wi-Fi only?

A computer and Wi-Fi. I’d still have the library at my fingertips!

Do a cross-country book store tour or blog tour online?

As much as I enjoy the blog tours, I love connecting with people in person. Something special happens when you can look into their eyes, see their gestures, have that interpersonal interaction. And I love to travel, so I’d need to pick the cross-country route. (Did I mention how much I love bloggers, though?! ;-)

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

John Herrick is best known as a chronicler of the human heart. His complex characters and earnest tone prompted Publishers Weekly to write, "Herrick will make waves." When he is not writing, he loves long drives on the interstate. He is a sucker for 1990s music. Herrick lives in St. Louis.

In addition to novels such as BEAUTIFUL MESS and FROM THE DEAD, he authored the nonfiction bestseller, 8 REASONS YOUR LIFE MATTERS.

Visit his website at www.johnherrick.net.

You can find John online at:

Website ~ Facebook ~ Goodreads ~ YouTube ~ Twitter

Giveaway:

$10 Amazon/BN GC
 

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