AUTHOR LINDSAY DETWILER
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Contemporary Romance Author

Jeannine Colette: Reckless Abandon Review

1/31/2016

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Reckless AbandonReckless Abandon by Jeannine Colette
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“Our lips entwine, melding together like branches of a hundred year old tree and my entire body melts into his embrace.”

Reckless Abandon is a perfect mix of emotion, romance, drama, and spice. I read Colette’s Pure Abandon and really liked it. However, I have to say Reckless Abandon was even better!

Emma Paige has experienced a lot of tragic loss in her life. While on vacation with her sister in Capri, however, things seem to turn around for her. She meets Alexander Asher, and the two connect on an emotional and physical level. A few major events lead to the destruction of their connection, however, and Emma decides to leave Asher in her past. Thanks to fate and some relentless assistants, Emma and Asher re-enter each others’ lives in New York City. As the two try to overcome emotional hurdles and issues, they come together. There are plenty of twists and surprises, however, in the plot. Just when I thought everything was going to wrap up neatly, there was always another surprise. This kept me wanting to read more, and I really enjoyed the plot. Sometimes in this genre, plot takes a backseat to character development. Colette, however, expertly crafted both character development and plot to create a story that will resonate with you long after you close the book.

I liked Alexander Asher’s character in Pure Abandon, but I wasn’t absolutely obsessed with him. He had a Christian Grey, alpha male feel, which isn’t really my thing. In this book, however, I got to see a much softer side of him. I really, truly liked him better in Reckless Abandon. He still felt like the same character from Pure Abandon, but just more mature and likable. I would like to think that is because Emma Paige brings out better qualities in him. There are still “selfish,” alpha tendencies to him at times, but I found them much more forgivable in this book.

I also loved Colette’s writing style again. She has a very descriptive, emotional style that pulls you in from page one. She has a lot of relatable references and always gives her characters just enough quirkiness to make them memorable. I also liked how there were some spicy scenes, but they were still tastefully done. I felt like they perfectly complemented the development of the storyline and relationship. Emma and Asher’s relationship, thus, was a perfect balance of emotion and passion. It never felt out of balance.

Overall, I really enjoyed Reckless Abandon. It had so many great things about it. The setting, the storyline, the characters—they were all memorable and enjoyable. I will definitely be looking for more work by this talented author!


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The Book I've Always Wanted to Write: Then Comes Love

1/30/2016

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Apparently, our shower has writing power.

I had signed the contract for my first novel Voice of Innocence and was standing in the shower one summer day. Between the shampooing and the rinsing process, the idea for Without You came to me.

Fast forward to the next summer. Again, I found myself in the shower, perhaps conditioning this time. As the steam filled my lungs, the character of Charlotte came to me. I imagined her to be a mixture between my own late grandmother—who was obsessed with bingo and cats—and a spunky Betty White. She loved yellow and, despite her age, was super outgoing.

From there, the idea to write about Charlotte as well as her daughter and granddaughter came to me. I always write in multiple perspectives, but usually only two. Why not three?
Then Comes Love was born.

From the beginning, I knew this book would be different. I wanted it to have the same realism I pride myself on, but I also wanted there to be a touch of humor. If you’ve ever spent time with the elderly or in some sort of community for the elderly, you know humor is definitely a part of the life. My grandfather is currently ninety-three…and we have had many humorous moments with him. Life in an assisted living center, a retirement community, or even a nursing home can be a crazy experience.I wanted to focus on that.

I also wanted to focus on the idea of identity and loss. My characters in this book are thirty-two, fifty, and eighty, but all three are struggling with figuring out who they are at their respective life stage. So often, we believe that by a certain age, our lives become solidified. We expect a smooth sailing, routine path. This is often not the case. No matter how old you are, you will face doubts, changes, and struggles to figure out what you want. My three characters experience all of these feelings.

Finally, I’ve written a lot about first loves. This is probably because I married my first love. 

I have absolutely no experience with second loves.

So that was why I wanted to write about second loves.

I have friends and loved ones who have had second loves. I’ve heard about the conflicting emotions, the complications in opening your heart again. Whether you lost your first love by choice, by death, or by other circumstances, moving on to a second love brings its own set of complications. I wanted to highlight that second love is sometimes more difficult than first loves…but also sometimes more beautiful.

Voice of Innocence was my pipe dream, the book I thought would never get published.

Without You was my confidence booster. It allowed me to see that I could really do it again.

Then Comes Love is the book I’ve always wanted to write.

Thanks to Hot Tree Publishing, I will now get to share it with you. I cannot wait to share these characters with you. Don’t tell my other books, but this one is truly my absolute favorite.
​
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January 30th, 2016

1/30/2016

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Author Lindsay Detwiler


"So...you're an author?"
"Well, I write books."
"So, you're an author."
**shrugs and winces*** "Sort of?"

Less than a year ago, this was my conversation when someone asked me about my writing. I can still remember the night I posted on Facebook for the first time about Voice of Innocence getting published. I felt an overwhelming need to vomit. I had never told anyone about my ludicrous dream. I never planned on it coming true.

When it did come true, I was terrified. How would people react? What if people didn't like my writing? What if people thought less of me after reading my book? There were a lot of sleepless nights leading up to and even after my release of debut novel.

Even after the reviews starting rolling in, good reviews to my delight, I still struggled with seeing myself as an author. To me, authors were these distant entities I idolized, people who I only had a connection to from reading their words. To be lumped into a category with Nicholas Sparks, Liane Moriarty, and other people I idolized seemed crazy to me. They were authors. I was just someone who published a book. There was a huge disconnect.

Now, here I sit a year later, and I realize how much I've grown from this industry. In December, I published my second novel, Without You, which was a huge boost to my author confidence. I realized the first book wasn't just a fluke or a stroke of rare luck. I could do this. Writing wasn't just a one-time thing.

With this past year has come a lot of confidence. I've been forced to interact with others. I've learned a lot about book writing, book publishing, and especially marketing. I've met tons of new people, both in person and online. I've learned what a lovely community of writers there are. Mostly, though, I've learned that I am an author.

As I prepare to publish a third novel this year and continue working on three other books I have started, I still have to pinch myself sometimes. When a reviewer compares my style to Nicholas Sparks, I'm quick to shake my head. Hey, I'm still getting to used to this world, getting used to the fact my craziest dream came true.

But at least now, almost a year later, I am able to say yes when someone asks if I'm an author. In fact, when someone asks what I do for a living, I now tell them I'm a teacher and an author. I own it.

I've come to realize being an author doesn't mean everyone knows your name or that you're a bestseller or that you've sold millions of copies. It's so much more than that. Being an author means you're willing to share your life view with the world through your words. It means you spend hours and hours telling the story of people you've never met, of people who don't exist.

It means that through good reviews and bad, through good sales and terrible sales, through all sorts of ups and downs, you keep writing your next book. Being an author means you write not for fame or money, but because you simply have to.

So yes, I am a small town girl who never dreamed she would get published.

Yes, I love writing about love and romance.

And yes, I AM an author.

​

Lindsay Detwiler Author
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Lindsay Detwiler

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