Destiny by Carly Phillips

DESTINY
A Serendipity Novel

by Carly Phillips

Romance
Penguin
www.CarlyPhillips.com


5 autographed copies will be given away on Friday, March 2, 2012!



About the Book:

Nash Barron might be cynical about love, but even he likes a good wedding. Still the only good thing about his brother’s wedding is seeing Kelly Moss again. Nash can’t help but admire her confidence and beauty, but he’s forced to keep his distance because getting involved with Kelly could destroy his relationship with his newly discovered teenage half-sister, Tess…

Kelly doesn’t want to upset Tess’s life for a fling. Except…the more Kelly gets to know Nash, the more vulnerable she becomes to the kindness hidden beneath his gruff exterior, and the less she’s able to stay away. But Kelly has other reasons for keeping her distance—like the secret from her past she knows Nash will never forgive…

Check out our Exclusive Interview with the Author!

1) Considering a book from the first word you write to the moment you see it on a bookstore shelf, what’s your favorite part of the process? What’s your least favorite?

My favorite part of the process is the last third of the book when each scene feels like it's flowing, like a downhill glide to the end. I love that feeling! My least favorite part—there are two, actually—is the first half of the book. I hate writing beginnings; it's hard and it hurts. I usually have to consistently go back and weave things in as I discover them (because I don't outline everything or know everything before I start) and as I figure it out, I have to make it all work from the beginning. Once I hit that first third or first half, I'm in much better shape to go forward! The other part of the process that I don't enjoy is the second week of a book release when waiting on news for numbers, bestseller lists, evaluating the overall "how did this book do?" On the one hand, I am loving (usually!) the reader reaction but somehow the translation into actual sales numbers is so hard emotionally.

2) What’s the first thing you do when starting a new book?

Cry. No seriously, I sit down and try to figure out where the book should begin. By that point I usually have the basics, who the characters are at their core, how their conflicts work with one another, where they each are going with their lives and how their romance will impact what they think they want. It's the actual translation onto a page in the beginning that's the most difficult and that's when I sit down in my recliner where I write and try to hash it out. Usually that involves phone calls to plotting and critique partners and a lot more talking out loud to figure things out.

3) What’s the first thing you do when finishing a new book?

After I send it in? I clean my desk. During that downhill slide I let everything except bills pile up on the desktop. It’s a huge mess (although I kind of know where to find things). Once I get rid of that clutter, I feel like the book is really finished.

4) Since becoming a writer, what’s the most exciting thing to ever happen to you?

When The Bachelor was chosen as the Kelly Ripa Bookclub pick in 2002. It was the first romance chosen as part of a nationally televised bookclub and I was on “Live with Regis and Kelly.” I had been a huge Kelly Ripa/“All My Children” fan since I was a kid, so it was doubly huge for me personally and in my career! That moment literally put me on the map in romance.

5) How do you come up with your character names?

I love going through Soap Opera magazines for names because it gives me double—the characters’ names and the actors’ real names. Then I play mix and match with last names and first names until something both sounds right together and feels right for the character. It's a fun process, actually!

6) What do you do in your spare time when you're not writing?

I'm a wife, a mom of two daughters, one in college and one in high school, and I have two dogs that are extremely high maintenance, one a wheaten terrier and one a Havanese puppy. When I'm not busy with one of these things, for myself I love to read, which has only increased since I got my Kindle!! Love it. I knit scarves and the occasional blanket (easy patterns that relax me, nothing complicated), and I'm seriously a Twitter addict and Internet junkie. I also love to browse online shopping and do the occasional real life shopping spree. It's a pretty simple and yet very busy life!

About the Author:

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Carly Phillips has written over 30 romance novels with contemporary characters that today’s readers identify with and enjoy. She’s a writer, a knitter of sorts, a wife, and a mom to two daughters (15 and almost 20!) and two crazy dogs (a 1 year old Havanese named Brady and a 4-year-old wheaten terrier named Bailey). In addition, she’s a Twitter and Internet junkie and is always around to interact with her readers. Carly lives in Purchase, NY and would love for you to like and follow her on the ‘Net!: www.CarlyPhillips.com, on Facebook, or Twitter!

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