11.21.2013

Addicted For Now by Krista & Becca Ritchie: Author Interview & Giveaway

New Adult Romance recommended for readers 18+ for mature content



ADDICTED FOR NOW
Addicted Series, Book Two
by Krista & Becca Ritchie 
Coming Novemeber 30th, 2013
Find it on Goodreads
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He's addicted to booze. She's addicted to sex...staying sober is only half the battle.

No. More. Sex.

Those are the three words Lily Calloway fears the most. But Loren Hale is determined to be with Lily without enabling her dangerous compulsions. With their new living situation—sleeping in the same bed, for real, together—Lily has new battles. Like not jumping Lo’s bones every night. Not being consumed by sex and his body.

Loren plans to stay sober, to right all of his wrongs. So when someone threatens to expose Lily’s secret to her family and the public, he promises that he’ll do anything to protect her. But with old enemies surfacing, Lo has more at stake than his sobriety.

They will torment Lily until Lo breaks.

And his worst fear isn’t relapsing. He hears the end. He sees it. The one thing that could change everything. Just three words.

No. More. Us.


About Becca & Krista Ritchie

Becca Ritchie claims she's from Mystic Falls, but really, she lives in Atlanta where humidity is her greatest foe. She loves comic books, blue nail polish and Jonathan Taylor Thomas circa 1995. She frequents Twitter to dish about too many TV shows, and when she's not blogging, she writes novels and has teamed up with her twin sister to collaborate on a New Adult series. 

Krista Ritchie has a clone...or someone who looks exactly like her. If she's not writing books with her twin sister, she's pouring over entertainment news and ingesting copious amounts of pop culture. She likes tennis, that thing called the TV, and beating Becca (her clone) on Sega Genesis. She created YA Book Exchange to combat her book buying addiction and started Nawanda Files, a YA Book Blog that features books into movies news, to share her love for all things bookish. Oh, and she does something called science. Whatever that is. 

Krista & Becca Ritchie write New Adult books that make you cringe, gasp, and go ooh-la-la. (If you do that sort of thing.) They are currently working on the spin-offs and final books in the Addicted series. Connect with them on twitter and their website: kbritchie.com




Lily & Lo Book 1
Addicted Interview Questions

IBT: What's the story of when Lo & Lily met? How did they become friends?

Krista: We briefly mention Lily and Lo’s first meeting in ADDICTED TO YOU. Their fathers are best friends, so they were introduced one day at the country club. It wasn’t some spectacular fireworks event. Just two kids meeting based on their family ties. I’ll let Becca finish answering the question. I don’t want to be a question hog ;)

Becca: You said it perfectly, Krista :) I appreciate the hogging (less words for me!)

IBT: Your books are full of strong women and men who don't feel that they need to:  A.) treat these women like babies, and B.) fight their battles. Are you always conscious of not crossing the line into hero-sweeping-in-and-beating-everyone-up and keeping the power balance equal between the sexes?

Krista: If we wrote this book four years ago, I think we would have definitely thrown a “hero-sweeping-in-and-beating-everyone-up” trope. So what changed? We went to college. We went to parties. We saw and met so many different types of people. The type of guy that comes in and pounds his fist into another guy for even “eyeing” his girl was no longer sexy and hot. It was kind of scary. So it was definitely a factor that we were conscious of throughout the entire series. We wanted women who could be vulnerable, intelligent, and independent with men who didn’t feel like they needed to suffocate them in order to protect them.

Rose & Connor's story
Becca: Exactly! I love a good Alpha male, but there has to be room for a woman to breathe. It was really important to us that our leading guys didn’t stifle any of the girls. And I love when a guy is able to empower a woman and make her feel more confident and independent. That is hot to me. But help is also necessary when our girl characters come in contact with bigger adversaries. Rose thinks she can tackle any linebacker with a kick to the balls and some pepper spray. Not possible. She needs help too. And accepting that help from a man shouldn’t be a bad thing—a woman doesn’t lose agency with the fact. This is what KISS THE SKY (her spin-off novel with Connor) is all about. Sorry this is long…this topic is important to me! 

IBT: Ryke is abrasive, says whatever he wants, and doesn't care what people think of him. Does Ryke internalize his feelings? It seems as if his rough exterior is his biggest shield that keeps people from getting too close. After the events in ADDICTED FOR NOW, will be start to see behind his wall in the books yet to come?

Krista: Ryke is one of those characters that’s just heavily misunderstood (intentionally). Out of all the characters, I would say that Connor is the one who internalizes his feelings the most. Ryke is who he is. His rough exterior isn’t so much a shield as it’s his way of saying, “This is me. Take it or leave it.” He’s rough on the inside. He knows it. He doesn’t care if you don’t like him. I think his “wall” comes with the fact that he doesn’t feel the need to explain himself or defend his actions.

Ryke & Daisy's Story
Becca: I totally agree. Like in the blurb for his book (HOTHOUSE FLOWER): He knows he’s hard to love.

Krista: And sometimes I personally don’t agree with what he does, but I still like Ryke. He’s probably the most compassionate character in the series.  

Becca: Oh yeah, he’s one of the most selfless characters, and he empathizes way too much. It’s why he’s such a “fixer.” He’d do almost anything to help someone. 

IBT: Rose seems the most together of the bunch, and yet she surrounds herself with a band of misfits. Is she keeping her inner freak under a tight leash?

Krista: She’s super freaky! (I couldn’t resist, lol). In truth, Rose has her own issues. She’s definitely not the most together, and you’ll see her struggling a lot in KISS THE SKY. Her sexuality is a huge topic in the book.

Becca: Couldn’t have said it better :)
IBTYou've handled Lily's addiction was such honesty. Readers feel her anxieties, her emotional highs and lows absolutely vibrate off the page (no pun intended). What research did you do to get into Lily's headspace?

Lily & Lo Book 1.5
Krista: I did so much research into not only sex addiction but addiction in general. All addictions have the same underlying basis and cycles. And if you’re ever curious about what it feels like to be in the head of sex addict, I would wholeheartedly suggest watching the movie Shame. I’ve never felt so emotionally spent after watching a movie, and our goal was to capture that same feeling by the end of the book.

Becca: What Krista said! (This is my go-to answer since I have the perk of answering second, lol.)
IBT: Personally, I think the best part of Lily & Lo is their friendship. The fact that they know each other so completely, every ugly dark corner is accepted- understood. Did the friendship between L&L come up as you were developing the characters, or did you know what ingredients you wanted the relationship to be built on.

Krista: So the published version of ADDICTED TO YOU was not the first version of the book. We wrote and scraped three different ones. All of them had Lo and Lily meeting for the first time. They were never supposed to be friends, and it never worked. It was as if the writing gods wanted them together all along, lol.

Becca: Yep, they always met at AAA. And we scraped that too and started with them not wanting to seek help. (Partly because it’s not accurate for female sex addicts to attend AAA too. We talk about this in Ricochet).

Krista: Sex addiction group therapy is usually segregated between genders. For obvious reasons.
IBT: Connor Cobalt seems to be fazed by nothing. He's like the rock of the Addicted series. I'm hoping we'll be able to get beneath that cool exterior in KISS THE SKY with some Connor POV. Was this patience already part of his character when you came up with him, or something you added so he could weather the storm that is Rose?

Krista: Connor internalizes his feelings more than anyone, so you’ll definitely be able to see the real Connor Cobalt in KISS THE SKY. His character actually wasn’t supposed to last more than a couple of chapters, so his calm, conceited nature was created long before we ever realized he’d be compatible with Rose.

Becca: Exactly, they just kind of fit together as we kept writing. And their backstory seriously warms my heart. You’ll see how important Connor has been in Rose’s life.

IBT: Family drama is the engine that drives everything in the Addicted series. What were both of your inspirations for the privileged and dysfunctional families in this universe?

Lily & Lo book 2.5
Krista: We come from a huge Italian family, and we have our own share of drama. But family dynamics in general are just so intriguing. They’re a hotbed for psychological and sociological dysfunction that we’re usually drawn to writing about them.

Becca: I’d say movies too. We love movies that focus on family dynamics. A current one that just blew us away was The Way, Way Back.

Krista: Yes! Love that movie!
IBT: Why do you think Lo inspires such devotion from your Addicted fans?

Krista: I think people love flawed characters. They’re more real than writing about a perfect person who does and says everything right.

Becca: Yep, he’s the epitome of a flawed hero. He has to overcome his own addiction in order to be with the girl he loves. It’s one of the biggest gestures of love. And he’s not slaying dragons or jealously beating up another guy. It’s a real decision that so many addicts have been through.
IBT: Lastly, are you ladies comic book fans? If not, how did you pick X-Men: Julian Keller (Hellion) and Laura (X-23) as Lo's favorites?

Julian (aka Hellion) & Laura (aka X-23)
Krista: I admit, I don’t read comics but I love superhero movies. So this is totally Becca’s question :)


Becca: I LOVE X-MEN! So much. It’s one of the only comic series I keep up with. Julian Keller is a lot like Lo. He comes into X-Men as a bully, but you slowly understand him through his love for Laura. I thought Lo would connect with him the most. (And they’re my favorite mutant couple, right in front of Emma Frost and Scott Summers!) 

IBTThank you for the interview ladies! This series is hands down my favorite contemporary romance of all time- not just New Adult (of which you ladies reign as Queens!).

Find Becca & Krista here:
Goodreads
Twitter



ADDICTED FOR NOW GIVEAWAY

  • Win a: $15 Amazon Gift Card!!
  • US Residents: Paperback copies of Addicted to You and Addicted for Now (OR) International: Ebooks of Addicted to You, Ricochet, and Addicted for Now.

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