#PlottingPrincesses welcome @ReeseRyan! & Making the First Move

Howdy, Reese, and welcome to the PP.

Put on your tiara and let's have some fun!

Reese Ryan writes sexy, contemporary fiction filled with colorful characters and sinfully-sweet romance. She secretly enjoys torturing her heroines with family and career drama, reformed bad boys, revealed secrets, and the occasional identity crisis, but always rewards them with a happily ever after. 

Born and raised in the Midwest, she now resides in Central North Carolina with her husband and young adult son who tolerate her propensity to sing and dance badly. A self-proclaimed Bohemian Southern Belle, she treads the line carefully between being a Northerner and a damned Yankee–despite her insistence on calling soda pop. Reese gauges her progress by the number of “bless your lil’ hearts” she gets each week. She is currently down to two.

What are your three favorite books of all time? Pride & Prejudice, Little Women, and Water for Elephants

Morning, afternoon, or evening person? I’ve learned that I work best in the early hours of the morning. Unfortunately, I don’t always go to sleep early enough to take advantage of this fact.

Music--with or without? What kind? I write with music most of the time. My musical taste is very eclectic. What I’m listening to is determined by either my mood, or the mood I want to set in the scene. I listen to everything ranging from Classical & Jazz to Rock and Hip-hop.

First or third POV? My debut is in first person. My second novel—which releases December 30^th—is third person, alternate view point. Right now I’m preferring third person alt, but for me the choice is based on the story and characters.

How's tricks? Do you juggle multiple projects? I’ve got that crazy, monkey mind going on so I’m always thinking of new ideas. I have two completed manuscripts that I need to revise, several partial manuscripts I plan to get back to, and a couple of new stories brewing. So yeah, I definitely juggle multiple projects.

What's harder: beginning, middle, or the end? The beginning and the end are so crucial. They both stress me out.

Revisions: Love 'em or hate 'em? Revisions are tough. That’s where the real magic happens. But I enjoy it. It’s a thing of beauty seeing a scene or the overall story really come together after a tough round (or two) of revisions.

How did you come up with that title?  Actually, the original title for Making the First Move was Too Good to Be True—which kind of says it all. Another Harlequin author has a book by this title already, so the book was renamed.

Best advice anybody ever gave you? I’ve gotten so much great advice from fellow authors. But the most helpful advice to me, as a writer, came from a podcast I heard where best-selling author Kimberla Lawson Roby talked about the importance of outlining. I’m not as much of a stickler for it as she described, but at the time I imagined myself a pantser—yet I didn’t have any completed manuscripts. Once I started to outline—first just scenes, then eventually sketching out the overall story—I completed three manuscripts in a relatively short period of time.

Fill in this blank: My ideal fictional hero would think me gorgeous no matter… I’m gonna borrow a line from India.Arie. “I’m not the average girl from your video and I ain’t built like a supermodel.”

What's your favorite dessert? If I had to pick just one, right now I’d say it’s a Gigi’s Cupcake piled high with buttercream frosting. Don’t ask me to pick just one kind though. Trying a new flavor is the best part.

What's your favorite type of hero/heroine and why? I prefer heroes and heroines that are more like real people, with real people problems. So I’m a fan of the flawed hero and heroine. I love sharing the character’s journey of growth and redemption.

Blurb:  Melanie Gordon has spent the past five years obsessing over her career to dull the pain of a devastating breakup and the loss of her father. Her effort pays off when she receives the promotion that could be her big break. Only it means returning to her hometown to face her past while leaving behind the man who could be her future.

Excerpt:

I follow the tantalizing aroma of breakfast. Raine stands at the stove barefoot in jeans and an undershirt. He turns toward the sound of my footsteps. His eyes light up and he breaks into a grin that flexes every muscle in his face. The last time someone was this glad to see me, I had to take him for a walk and give him doggy treats.

“Morning, sleepyhead.” He leans in to kiss me then quickly returns his attention to the skillet. “Hungry?”

“You cuddle. You spend the night. You make breakfast.” I shake my head. “Are you for real? ’Cause I’ve seen this in Lifetime movies. It doesn’t end well.”

When he looks away quickly, I’m afraid I’ve offended him. But then the right side of his mouth turns up in a half smile.

“Consider yourself the beneficiary of two decades of trial and error,” he says. “Or maybe this is all part of my evil plan.” He raises his eyebrows up and down manically.

“So there is an evil plan. Well, that’s a relief.” I smile. “But I shouldn’t be surprised. There’s a lot more to you than you let on.” I gently trace the sword tattoo on his right arm with my fingertips.

Raine offers a quick smile before he focuses on his cooking again. He slides a spatula underneath the omelet he’s cooking and gently flips it. “Like I said, things were crazy for a few years. My mother likes to call it my ‘Tattoo Period.’”

Amazon Link:  http://www.amazon.com/Making-the-First-Move-ebook/dp/B00CC68FMU/ 

Barnes & Noble Link:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/making-the-first-move-reese-ryan/1115148406 

iTunes Link:  https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/making-the-first-move/id653078144?mt=11 

Website:  ReeseRyan.com 

Making the First Move Blog Tour Grand Prize * $25 Amazon or Barnes & Noble Gift Card

* Digital copy of Making the First Move by Reese Ryan

* Digital copy of The Winning Season by Alison Packard

* Digital copy of Knowing the Score by Kat Latham

* Digital copy of Personal Assets by Kelsey Browning

* Digital copy of Derby Girl by Tamara Morgan

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