Winner of Living In Glass Houses!

Thanks to the generosity of author Zoe McKnight, I had a copy of her novel Living in Glass Houses to give away as part of the recent CLP Blog Tour. You can read my review here.

To choose the winner, I assigned each entry a number and went to random.org to choose the winning number. It picked 1.

And the winner is...Kelsey!

Thank you all for entering this giveaway! I loved hearing everyone's favourite thing about fall. It's nice to think about the good things about the season - the colours, the food - instead of the fact that cold weather is coming!

Thanks again for entering and following. I hope you stick around!

Author Interview: Zoe McKnight

Final stop (for me) on the Living in Glass Houses tour! I reviewed the book last Saturday and you can read the review here – I really liked the book! I got the chance to interview author Zoe McKnight for this stop. Thank you to Zoe for answering my questions! And don't forget to enter the giveaway for a copy of this book - details are at the end of the post!

Let’s start the interview with some fast and furious favourites:

Favourite movie? The Duchess, starring Keira Knightley
Favourite author/book? The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory 
Favourite (or dream) travel destination? London. Would love to live there at some point. 
Favourite indulgence (food to eat, store to shop in, etc.)? Banana Republic and Eggnog lattes. 

What was your experience like writing and publishing Living in Glass Houses, your first novel?
It was exhilarating. It was the first time in a long time I embarked on a project that I cared so much about. I pulled many an all-nighter, spent hours on end brainstorming on ways to make it better, often vacillating between pride and self-doubt. That’s how I knew I was meant to be an author because this process breathed new life into me. The book was a definite burden of love, but I have to say I enjoyed almost every moment of it. 

Are you an outliner or a write by the seat of your pants author?
Definitely from the seat of my pants. Before I start writing, I set up the characters and their conflicts, but the details and subplots come to me along the way. Typically, I’ll have the beginning and the end in mind, then I just fill in the blanks. 

What made you decide to try your hand at writing a novel?
I'm fascinated with psychology. I love to figure out what makes people tick and I've learned that if there’s one thing that brings out the best and worst in people, it’s relationships. Some of the most rational, level-headed people I know have made some of the most shocking decisions when it came to affairs of the heart (myself included). I thought it would be interesting (and educational) to chronicle spin-offs of these stories in a novel. Blair, Jonathan and Elle are composite characters based on people I know. 

Do you have a particular writing routine? A favourite place to write or time of day to get work done?
I'm trying to develop a routine, but so far it’s been a bit of a random process. My mind is the freshest early in the morning or after midnight, so I try and stick to those time frames when I'm under a deadline. Otherwise, I try to write a little bit each day. Some days that results in several chapters, other days, just a few lines, but I think it’s important to maintain the momentum. 
As for venue, it all depends on where I am in my writing process. Early on, while I'm still brainstorming and basically throwing ideas against the wall, I can write at my local Starbuck's. But once I'm in the final stretch or editing, I need quiet. I’ll lock myself in my bedroom with no music, no TV and no cellphone so that I can focus. 

What kinds of things do you like to do when you're not writing?
When I'm not hanging out with my dogs, I'm watching a LOT of reality TV or 80's movies. I'm a huge on-line browser. I get a kick out of surfing my favorite websites and creating wish lists, although I rarely go back and purchase any of it. 

What can we expect from you in the future?
The sequel to Living in Glass Houses is in the works. It should be out by November 1. It follows the story of Blair and Vaughn from the first book. So much of the feedback I received was about the two of them and what happens next, so I decided to continue their story in my next novel. 

Now, for that giveaway! Zoe is kindly offering a copy of her novel to one of you lucky readers. You can choose a print copy or an ebook. All I ask is that you leave a comment on this post, or any of the previous posts, with your email address so I can contact you (use AT and DOT if you wish), and let me know what your favourite thing about fall is. I tried to come up with something that was related to the book but I decided to do something fun and random with this one! Bonus point if you follow the blog and/or the Facebook page. The contest will be open until midnight on Monday October 29 - the last day of Zoe's tour. If you've already commented on either of the previous posts, there's no need to comment again to enter (but I welcome responses to this interview!).

Happy reading :)

Guest Post: Zoe McKnight

It's another Living in Glass Houses tour stop! Today, author Zoe McKnight has generously written a guest post for Books Etc. I reviewed the book on Saturday and you can read the review here but the short version is that I enjoyed reading it! I was curious to find out what it was like writing from multiple perspectives and if it was difficult to make sure each character got the right amount of attention. Thank you for this great post, Zoe! And don't forget to enter the giveaway for a copy of this book - details are at the end of the post!


When I started writing Living in Glass Houses, it was my plan to tell the story from only one character's point of view—Elle. But I found her too level-headed and logical to make for an intriguing story on her own. So, I introduced more characters and felt their stories needed to be told as well. 

In order to balance out Elle's pragmatism, I developed a second character. One with a riveting story-line, to which I believed readers would respond strongly. And, they did. The most impassioned feedback has been about Blair. Readers either sympathize with or hate her. 

And because chick-lit (by definition) focuses solely on women, I thought it would be cool to show things from a man’s perspective. Having several close male friends I've learned that they go through a lot of the same relationship woes we do. Only, they rarely talk about it. That was the genesis of my third character,  Jonathan.

I had a lot of fun dipping in and out of the three character’s heads, but my challenge was in telling enough of their personal stories so that readers could connect with them each. Believe me, there was a lot more I wanted to write, but for the sake of brevity I had to limit their back stories. In order to find their individual voices, I created a bio for them each. A detailed story about who they were and not just the surface things like their occupations and hobbies, but also details like their personality quirks, fears, and bad habits. The small things that make people who they are. For instance, I knew Jonathan had a touch of ADD and Blair was perpetually late. Once I felt like I really knew them in my mind, I had a better sense of how they would react under certain circumstances and what drove their decision-making. It also helped as a reference when I came to points where I wasn't sure which direction to take. 

I must admit, I was a bit biased in that I had my favorite characters. And the plot I was most fascinated with, did get the most attention. But, overall, I think I balanced them out well and towards the end, the stories began to overlap so I was able to feature more than one character in each chapter. 

In my next novel, the sequel to Living in Glass Houses, I'm only telling the story of one character, Blair. This will answer a lot of questions readers had after completing the first book. It gives a deeper look into her past, who she is and why she's such a controversial character.

Now, for that giveaway! Zoe is kindly offering a copy of her novel to one of you lucky readers. You can choose a print copy or an ebook. All I ask is that you leave a comment on this post, or any of the upcoming posts, with your email address so I can contact you (use AT and DOT if you wish), and let me know what your favourite thing about fall is. I tried to come up with something that was related to the book but I decided to do something fun and random with this one! Bonus point if you follow the blog and/or the Facebook page. The contest will be open until midnight on Monday October 29 - the last day of Zoe's tour. If you've already commented on either of the previous posts, there's no need to comment again to enter (but I welcome responses to this guest post!).

Happy reading :)

CLP Blog Tour: Living in Glass Houses

Welcome to a stop on the CLP Blog Tour for Living in Glass Houses, the debut novel by Zoe McKnight. This is going to be a busy tour for me - I've got the review today, and a guest post and interview coming up in the next few days. Plus, there's a giveaway going on, too! All the details for that awesomeness will be at the end of my review.

Here's the synopsis:

Even good people make bad decisions when it comes to affairs of the heart.  

Living in Glass Houses is a contemporary story of three friends, all at a crossroads after discovering that sometimes even the best laid plans won’t result in the life you want. It’s about navigating the murky waters of relationships and friendships and having the courage to make those hard, life-altering decisions which mark the difference between existing and living.

There was a lot going on in this book. A lot. In fact, I sometimes I felt there was too much happening and that the characters - Blair, Jonathan, and Elle - were competing for my attention. It was sometimes hard to keep track of who knew who and what was happening in each of their lives. There were a few times that I really wish there would have been more detail. For example, one of the characters finds out she was pregnant and then has the baby (with a bit happening in between) but the pregnancy revelation and the birth all happened off the page with nary a mention. It was sort of like, "Surprise! This has happened and we're now moving quickly along to the next plot twist." There was also a surprise engagement with no details on exactly how it got to that point. Would I say others shouldn't read this based on this fact? No, I still think a lot of people would love how much drama was going on.

I also thought their situations were almost all too similar. It wasn't until I rated this book on Goodreads that I really thought about the title and how it reflected the story. You know that old saying, "People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones?" That pretty much sums up this book. Everyone is both in a position to judge while also having no ability to because they'd essentially be judging themselves. Pot calling the kettle black, and all that. That part of the story wasn't necessarily a deterrent but it was sometimes hard to read about the many lies and deceptions. It also didn't help that some of the characters needed to grow...er...let's say a backbone and not another part of the anatomy...and make a decision that made them happy, instead of worrying about other people or appearances or money or what might happen. The grass is not always greener (there's another theme for ya), as these characters learned.

OK, so I'm reading over what I've written so far and it's really looking less than complimentary so I feel the need to state that I really did enjoy reading this novel. It was interesting to see that dark side of relationships that no one wants to talk about. That little voice that might be inside your head saying, "Are you sure this is the right choice?" Everyone has those insecurities and I think everyone can identify with at least parts of the novel. As uncomfortable as that may be. This also points to a strength in Zoe's writing - the characters were all very believable. Either you've felt that way yourself or you've heard a friend say or do some of the same things as these characters.

I'm glad I got the chance to read Living in Glass Houses and I'm really looking forward to the sequel, which will focus on Blair. Author Zoe McKnight provided me with quite the rollercoaster ride and I'm interested to see how she continues the story. Remember to stop by in the next few days to read the guest post Zoe was nice enough to write for Books Etc. and to read the interview I did with her. Interesting stuff!

Now, for that giveaway! Zoe is kindly offering a copy of her novel to one of you lucky readers. You can choose a print copy or an ebook. All I ask is that you leave a comment on this post, or any of the upcoming posts, with your email address so I can contact you (use AT and DOT if you wish), and let me know what your favourite thing about fall is. I tried to come up with something that was related to the book but I decided to do something fun and random with this one! Bonus point if you follow the blog and/or the Facebook page. The contest will be open until midnight on Monday October 29 - the last day of Zoe's tour. If you've already commented on the post from the other day, there's no need to comment again to enter (but I welcome responses to this review!).

Happy reading :)

Blog Tour for Living in Glass Houses - and ANOTHER Giveaway!

Hi all! I wanted to have this up at the start of the CLP Blog Tour for Zoe McKnight's novel Living in Glass Houses. That was Monday. Today is Thursday. Obviously I'm on the ball!

Moving right along...

I've got lots of good stuff coming up for this tour - a review, a guest post, an interview, PLUS a giveaway! Zoe is kindly offering a copy of her novel to one of you lucky readers! You can choose a print copy or an ebook. All I ask is that you leave a comment on this post or any of the upcoming posts, with your email address so I can contact you (use AT and DOT if you wish), and let me know what your favourite thing about fall is. I tried to come up with something that was related to the book but I decided to do something fun and random with this one! Bonus points if you follow the blog and/or the Facebook page.

The contest will be open until midnight on Monday October 29 - the last day of Zoe's tour.

If you'd rather wait until you read my thoughts on the book before entering the contest, my review will be up on Saturday.

Good luck!