Curves in the Road by Amy K. McClung

5/23/2017

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Author: Amy K. McClung

Title: Curves in the Road

Series: Southern Devotion, Book 2

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: May 6, 2017

Publisher: Hot Tree Publishing

Designer: Claire Smith

ALL BUY LINKS

http://books2read.com/curves-road

Living in Nashville with his daughter, Katelyn, single dad Derrick Collins’s main goal is to provide a good life for his daughter. With no social life to speak of, he knows it’s time for a change. He just needs to find the perfect woman who will complete his happy family. The problem is he’s already met her and let her go.

Mary Jane Evans’s life took a path she could only dream of. Though leaving her home in Nashville meant saying goodbye to childhood friends, family, and the first man she ever loved. Now she has to choose if she will return or continue her new journey.

With a decision to make, is it possible for two lost loves to find their way back to each other or are there too many curves in the road?

The Most Difficult Parts of Writing Curves in the Road

by Amy K. McClung

In the first book of this series, For the Love of Gracie, there were a lot of intense moments involving difficult issues to read (or write). I wanted Curves in the Road to have a more lighthearted feel about it, but to keep to the theme of the Southern Devotion part of the series that involves lifelong friendships full of loyalty and selfless acts. The group of friends in this set of books is special. They’ve been through so much together and stayed strong. The hard part was having people remember how special the group is.

Mary Jane, to some, may appear selfish at times, but when you stop and consider the actions she takes, they show her selflessness has no bounds. She puts everyone else’s happiness in front of her own. As a writer, our characters play out in our heads showing us their story. I could see Mary Jane’s clearly and knew what decisions she wanted to make and why. Another difficult aspect was taking her voice from my head, putting it on paper, and making sure the reader saw the same point of view as I did and didn’t interpret it in a negative way.

In most of my books my favorite characters tend to be male. Of my female characters though, I relate the most to Mary Jane. She’s a plus-sized woman which alone brings up insecurities in life, something I’ve experienced for many years. To meet a man like Derrick who never makes her feel anything less than beautiful was a rarity for her. Then to work so hard to prepare for the opportunity for a dream internship and have it land in your lap the same time you meet the man of your dreams, it’s a decision I don’t envy.

In the beginning of the story, the strength of Mary Jane choosing her career over love didn’t make her selfish or uncaring; it shows her bravery. I want people to see her in the light I do. To see each sacrifice she makes along the way to benefit someone in her life. From the start, she puts her happiness on hold. I hope when people read this book, they see Mary Jane as the loyal friend, the courageous ally, the beautiful person she is. It’s not to say she isn’t without flaws, or that her decisions make the most sense, but she tries. As human beings, the only thing we can do in life is take chances and hope for the best.

ALL BUY LINKS

http://books2read.com/curves-road

Southern Devotion Series

Book 1 on sale for 99 cents!

books2read.com/loveofgracie

Amy McClung was born in Nashville, TN. She is the second oldest of four girls and occasionally suffers from middle-child syndrome. She met the love of her life online in August of 2004, on his birthday of all days, and married him in September 2005.

Currently they have no human children, only the room full of colorful robots that transform into vehicles and the large headed Pop Funkos who represent their favorite characters. Collecting movies, shot glasses, Pop Funkos, and dust bunnies are some of her favorite pastimes.

Amy began writing in September of 2011 and independently published her first YA novel, Cascades of Moonlight, Book one of the Parker Harris series the following May. Her first book was a means of therapy for her, enabling her to escape reality for a while during a difficult transition in her life.