What It Takes by Jude Sierra Blog Tour, Interview, Excerpt & Giveaway!

Jude Sierra - What It Takes 960x350

Hi guys, we have Jude Sierra stopping by with her new release What It Takes, we have a short interview with Jude, a great excerpt and a fantastic giveaway, so enjoy the post and click that giveaway link <3 ~Pixie~

Jude Sierra - What It Takes 1600px COVER (RGB) - Front

What It Takes

by

Jude Sierra

The connection was instantaneous.

Mere moments after Milo Graham’s family relocates to Cape Cod, he meets Andrew Witherell—launching a lifelong friendship built on a foundation of deep bonds, secret forts, and plans for the future. When Milo is called home from college to attend his domineering father’s funeral, he and Andrew finally act on their mutual attraction. But doubtful of his worth, Milo severs all ties with his childhood friend. Years later, the men find themselves home again, and their long-held feelings will not be denied. But will they have what it takes to find lasting love?

Jude Sierra - What It Takes Banner300x250

Interview

Today I’m very lucky to be interviewing Jude Sierra author of What it Takes

Hi Jude, thank you for agreeing to this interview.

Thank you for having me!

How do you develop your plots and characters?

I ruminate. For a while. Generally before I even start I spend a long time – in the case of What it Takes – thinking through the plot and characters. My books often start as tiny seeds of ideas that have to grow over time. Once I have a general idea, I spend a lot of time puzzling out the characters. Why would they do that? What influenced that? How would that affect this potential plot? My characters take over my stories quite often. Willingness to let that happen and also a commitment to really understanding them is what makes my books take shape.

Who doesn’t love a good hero? Tell us about your protagonist. Was there a real life inspiration behind them?

Andrew came from a song. Years and years ago I heard this song by Anya Marina, Satellite Heart that made me wonder how someone could write a healthy love story about someone so incredibly devoted and loving. The way that Andrew loves was inspired by my Tio John. He had the most incredible, loving heart. I’ve never met anyone who matched that quality. I miss him terribly.

Milo was initially harder, because he’s got a lot of damage. Some of that is modeled after me, and my experiences. But he’s very much his own person. He’s got a very special capacity for love; he just has to learn to trust. He’s very intelligent and resilient.

What real-life inspirations do you use when world building?

I’m very nature inspired. I’ve been told that I’m a nature poet; my poet partner once said that I remind her of Mary Oliver (which, let’s be serious, no one can touch Mary Oliver’s gift with nature and words). I try to take a lot of inspiration from watching the world around me. I am very inspired by music. Very. I have crazy playlists for each book that evolve over the course of its life.

Did you learn anything from this book and what was it?

I learned how important maps are! I invented a small town on the Cape, and since I am so nature inspired, I really had to know where everything was. Since I write out of order initially, putting everything together means I have to catch and pull together threads I wasn’t linking originally. I drew a map of Santuit so that I could really know who was where, when. It was way harder than I anticipated because I had to account for so many things!

It’s your last meal on earth. What do you choose?

Oh my goodness, I love food. How could I pick? Right now, I think I’d have to say, tacos. Particularly the taco bar we set up at home, with all the fixings. I would pack away to many tacos.

Jude Sierra - What It Takes Book Banner

Excerpt

Andrew gladly lets Milo drive his car; he hates driving, especially when he can play radio DJ and watch the scenery go by. He looks at Milo: the way the fading light before dusk changes the tone of his skin; the way the muscles of his arms stand out and his lips curl as he sings along, awfully, to the radio. Milo smiles at him and Andrew flashes a brief one back, wonders how obvious he’s being, and looks back out the window at the slipping sand that spills onto the road and the ramshackle businesses along the road.

“So what got this bee in your bonnet?” he asks suddenly.

Milo shrugs. “You sound like my grandma.”

“Awesome; I like her. Let’s focus.”

“So… okay.” Milo clears his throat and his fingers tighten on the wheel. “I um, think I have something to tell you. But I’m—”

“Is everything okay?” Andrew interrupts, scanning his memory for any signs of additional distress Milo might have displayed in the last few months.

“Yeah. Well. I mean, um… whatever. But I—”

“What? You’re worrying me.”

Milo sighs and pulls into the parking lot of a restaurant with a giant crab on the roof. “I can’t do this and drive.”

“Okay,” Andrew says slowly, then unbuckles his belt and turns to face him. Milo’s face is a little drawn.                

“So, I think I might be gay,” Milo blurts. “I mean, I know. I know I am.”  

There’s a full minute of silence in the car while Andrew tries to work the words out. Static screeches in his ears, fleetingly numbing his reaction. Focus. He has a few seconds to control his face, to tamp down that sprout of irrational hope seeding despite the chaos, and be ultimately supportive.                

“Um.” Andrew licks his lips and tries to pull himself together. That seedling wants to grow into something bigger, and he can’t let it. He looks at Milo’s face, which has morphed into something more vulnerable and worried. Hope is a hollow bell in his chest, ringing loud and dissonant; he wants to vibrate out of his skin with the inappropriateness of his own reactions. This is about Milo, not him. “You aren’t worried that I’m mad or something, are you?” he manages to say.

“I don’t know. Um, your face is doing… a thing,” Milo replies.

Reflexively Andrew puts his hands to his cheeks. His fingers are cold. Okay, so he definitely doesn’t have his face under control. “No, I… wasn’t expecting it, that’s all.” Andrew’s brain, sometimes faster than his mouth, is careening backward. “Maybe I should have had a clue.”

“Oh?”

“Well, for starters, you kissed me back.”

Jude Sierra - What It Takes BannerTemplateJude Sierra Banner

About Jude

Jude Sierra began her writing career at the age of eight when she immortalized her summer vacation with ten entries in a row that read “pool+tv.” She first began writing poetry as a child in her home country of Brazil, and is still a student of the form.

As a sucker for happy endings and well-written emotional arcs and characters, Jude is an unapologetic bookaholic. She finds bookstores and libraries unbearably sexy and, to her husband’s dismay, is attempting to create her own in their living room. She is a writer of many things that hope to find their way out of the sanctuary of her hard drive and many that have found a home in the fanfiction community. 

She is currently working on her Master of Arts in Writing and Rhetoric and managing a home filled with her husband, two young sons, and two cats. Her first novel, Hush, was published in 2015 by Interlude Press.

Where to find the author:

What It Takes will be published by Interlude Press on January 14, 2016. Connect with author Jude Sierra at JudeSierra.com, on Twitter @JudeSierra, on Goodreads at goodreads.com/Jude_Sierra, and on Facebook at facebook.com/JudeMSierra.

Jude Sierra - What It Takes RC

Giveaway!

Win a $25 Interlude Press web store gift card + What It Takes ebook!
Win one of 5 eBook editions of What It Takes!

(Just click the link below)

Jude Sierra Rafflecopter giveaway!

(Ends)
Jude Sierra - What It Takes Badge

Check out the other blogs on the blog tour

21-Jan: Molly Lolly, MM Good Book Reviews
Pride Promotions Transparent Proud Blogger

One thought on “What It Takes by Jude Sierra Blog Tour, Interview, Excerpt & Giveaway!

  1. This book sounds great, definitely have to check it out! When it comes to hideaways, well I would say somewhere quiet and near water. 🙂

Comments are closed.