Book Blast & Interview: Wildest Dreams by @StrlngGry

 

Wildest Dreams

Sweet Dreams Series

Book 1

Stefany Rattles

Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense

ISBN: 978-1500659530

ASIN: B00MV3TO42

Number of pages: 172

Word Count: 50,863

Cover Artist: Stefany Rattles

Book Description:

When nineteen year old Alaina Sanders scores a position as an assistant at L&A law firm where her lifetime crush Rayden Matthews happens to work, feelings and emotions from the past resurface. With the physical attraction stronger than ever, soon they find themselves in a complicated situation. Rayden is engaged to his high school sweet-heart, but things are not what they seem and Rayden must make a choice before it’s too late.

L and A is Alaina’s first professional job, needless to say that the last thing she wants is drama or to lose her job. Unfortunately she finds herself surrounded by a series of events that are out of her control… like a stalker for one.

When her work and personal life intertwine, how will she be able to handle them? In a boring town like Springdale, Arkansas how much worse can things get for Alaina?

Book Trailer: http://youtu.be/r6HWhZpWUnw

Available at Amazon Kindle and Paperback

Free download for the Kindle Feb 23 and Feb 24

The first time that I saw Rayden Matthews, I was in seventh grade. We were both on a bus on our way to school I was talking to my friend at the time, Daisy.

"I'll give you back your homework before you go to math class." she was saying.

I nodded, 'Okay, don't forget because if I don't turn it in today I’ll get an__ Ow!"

My hair had been pulled.

That day, I had it up in a ponytail and it wasn't short.

I turned around in my seat and scowled at the stupid boy that pulled it.

Boys...

There were two of them.

"What was that for?" I glared at both of them.

They both looked a little older than me about two years but not much.

The boy sitting by the window pointed at his friend who was intentionally looking away from me.

Daisy giggled beside me.

Since neither one responded I turned back around in my seat and forgot about them, that is, until my hair was lightly pulled again.

"Hey!" I spun around, "why are you bugging me?"

The boy by the window laughed hard while his friend turned a little red, "he likes you," explained the friend.

I looked from one to the other, trying to figure out if it was a joke. But as I looked at the kid that wouldn't look me in the eye I could tell he was blushing.

Hmm…

He was cute.

"What's your name?" I asked him and just when he met my eyes and was about to answer, the bus came to an abrupt stop and all the kids jumped out of their seats shoving one another.

The kid that liked me and his friend quickly walked past me and left the bus. Daisy and I shared a confused look and then we both stepped off the bus.

"His name's Rayden," said Daisy as she handed me back my math homework, "he's in the ninth grade."

We were both now in the cafeteria getting lunch. Daisy had told me that she had seen the kid -Rayden- before, she had friends who had friends who were friends with him. Finding out his name was not going to be a problem, she'd said.

In a matter of hours she managed to find out what it was.

"Ninth grade?" I asked a little skeptical.

She gave me a look. "That's only two years! It's not like's old or something."

Conversation stops for a few minutes while we get our tray with food and sit to eat.

"So anyway, his name's Rayden Matthews, he's in the ninth grade and he's cute." So Daisy thought so too, well that made two of us.

I rolled my eyes. “Do you see him anywhere?” I asked while I looked around the cafeteria myself but there were too many kids, hard to find one out of over a hundred.

Daisy shook her head, “he’s a ninth grader, so he’s probably the other half that eats after we do.”

She had a point.

Days later I don’t really pay attention to Rayden, I didn’t think he was taking the bus to or from school.

I didn’t see him.

Daisy wanted to talk about him and his friend, she said that his friend’s dad had been taking them to school extra early because of band practice and they also stayed after school.

I told her that I didn’t care. There were many boys and it’s not like at that point I was old enough to date yet, especially a ninth grader.

But I saw him again.

I was at the school library, looking through books. After searching for over fifteen minutes I picked one of those mystery/scary books and was ready to check out, Daisy was with me.

“Oh my god,” she covered her mouth.

I looked over at the direction where she was staring.

“Oh.” There he was, standing by a window looking at some books on a shelf. The sun light was hitting him directly and he’s hair looks a little lighter, it almost looks like there’s a halo. He’s__

Our eyes met and we stare at each other for a minute…

In that very moment, it’s like the world had stopped and it literally revolved around us. We had made a connection deeper than anything I could have felt in my life. It was a weird feeling that as young girl I could not possibly explain to anyone, ever. The only word that could come to mind was mesmerizing.

It was mesmerizing.

And then I’m being pulled.

“Ah!” Daisy is pulling my arm and I’m trying to shove her out of the way.

“Hey,” He said to me and smiles.

I smiled back.

“We have to go back to class,” said Daisy pointing at the clock on the wall.

“Fine,” I looked over my shoulder one more time. And catch Rayden looking at me and then he walked away.

I didn’t understand why Daisy didn’t want me to talk to Rayden and then other times when she where she would be such a brat.

Later I found out she had a crush on him.

Well wasn't that great!

She was my best friend for about a year until I realized what a sneaky… you know, she really was.

A little later I met Brie.

Rayden and I spoke on a few occasions. I finally got his phone number a year later and called him.

We had the longest conversations and it was nice talking to him. There were times where we even passed notes during school but it never went beyond that. I even tried to hook him up with some Costa Rican chick that he’d been crushing on but unfortunately for him -and fortunately for me- she was never interested.

Daisy transfers to a different school and as far as I know, she has no communication with Rayden.

One day I discovered he had a girlfriend, he was dating a teacher’s daughter her name wasn’t important. I still talked to him and we still wrote to each other, once in a while.

Eventually they broke up.

One day we stopped talking, I was fifteen and new to high school. I learned that he had a new girlfriend, Jessica. She had a pretty face, not a great body. But I could tell he really liked her, not because of her looks but maybe it was her personality, that’s just the kind of guy he was.

It wasn’t fair but all through high school they continued dating. I did meet someone and we started a relationship that lasted a few years, we even lived together.

But it wasn’t the same and that’s why I was single again.

I saw him from a distance for the rest of the week. We didn’t end up in the elevator together again.

Which was only a little disappointing but I got over it.

From a distance I could see a few changes in Rayden. He had more of a toned body than he used to, he had a confident walk unlike the shy boy I remembered.

I wished I could talk to him...

***

 

Did you always wanted to be a writer? If not what did you want to be?

 I have always loved reading and writing but at first I didn’t think about being an author. When I was in High School I thought I wanted to be a teacher but after graduating, I realized that it wasn’t something I liked to do.

When did you first consider yourself a “writer”?

 I first considered myself a writer when I published the first book in my Dark Night series.

How long did it take to get your first book published?

 After deciding that I wanted to publish Dark Night, it didn’t take me more than a few months to get it ready for publishing.

Do you do another job except for writing and can you tell us more about it?’

 I work at JB Hunt Transport as an Application Specialist. Basically I do driver applications over the phone and pre-qualify them.

What is the name of your latest book, and if you had to summarize it in less than 20 words what would you say?

My latest book is called Bad Romance. It is a spin-off of Wildest Dreams and it has mostly new characters with appearances by favorite characters from Wildest Dreams.

Who is your publisher? Or do you self-publish?

At this time I self-publish my books and do it through Amazon.

How long does it usually take you to write a book, from the original idea to finishing writing it?

My first published book took me years to finish but that was mainly due to the fact that I wasn’t planning on publishing Dark Night at first. I wrote the first draft when I was eighteen and then left it alone for a year or two. Later I went back to it and did some editing. Eventually in 2013 I thought about it and realized that I could easily self-publish it, so I worked hard to make it better and then released it. On the other hand, Wildest Dreams only took me 3 months to write and then I listed the book on Wattpad so people could read it for free. Then I decided to publish that one too in 2014.

What can we expect from you in the future?  ie More books of the same genre? Books of a different genre?

 I have major plans. Currently I have 3 books that I’ll be working on releasing this year with a possibility of a 4^th one. I’m also planning on attending a few author events which will be posted on my website. Several book giveaways throughout the year.

What genre would you place your books into?

 I would place my Dark Night series into YA Paranormal Romance category and the Sweet Dreams series into Contemporary Romantic Suspense category.

What made you decide to write that genre of book?

 I really enjoy reading those specific genres and some of my favorite books are YA Paranormal Romance and Contemporary Romance.

Do you have a favorite character from your books? And why are they your favorite?

 My favorite characters surprisingly are not the protagonists of my stories (though I do love them too). To me when I write from their point of view, it’s like I’m living their life and I have to say that it’s not all that. What I mean is that I really like the surrounding characters. My favorite character from Wildest Dreams is Brie, she’s just so awesome! She’s a great best friend and I know she’s had her rough patches but she’s doing great.

How long have you been writing?, and who or what inspired you to write?

I have been writing since I was in school but back then it started out as writing songs. Eventually, after reading Twilight I was inspired to write my own books.

Do you have a certain routine you have for writing? ie You listen to music, sit in a certain chair?

I have to sit at my desk at home. It is my own little spot where I can just write (mainly because I have a desktop right now). That’s where I usually tune out everything and do work.

Do you read all the reviews of your book/books?

 Yes I do. I like to know what people think. Some message me on Facebook and I appreciate it. I think it’s cool when the author messages back, if he/she has the time.

Do you choose a title first, or write the book then choose the title?

At first I started out writing the book and then choosing the title but now it kind of comes at the same time. I’ll know what the book will be about and come up with a title then I’ll start writing it.

How do you come up with characters names and place names in your books?

With my characters, I choose names based on where they come from usually (like with Dark Night) or try to find unique names that are not too over the top and I know people would like. With places I usually pick the first thing that pops into my head and go with it.

Are character names and place names decided after their creation? Or do you pick a character/place name and then invent them? Main character names and places are decided before their creation. Everything else is decided as I write.

Do you decide on character traits (ie shy, quiet, tomboy girl) before writing the whole book or as you go along? Most of the time, I let their traits develop as I go along.

Are there any hidden messages or morals contained in your books? (Morals as in like Aesops Fables type of "The moral of this story is..")

I would say the message is that if it that relationship is meant to be, it will be. But I like for the readers to tell me what they got from the story. What is the message or morals that they got?

Which format of book do you prefer, eBook, hardback, or paperback?

I like all them! But for work I use the Kindle app on my phone. At home usually books either hardback or paperback (I’m not picky). I’ll use a tablet for traveling.

What is your favorite book and Why?  Have you read it more than once?

 I don’t have just one favorite book… But I love the Fallen series by Lauren Kate and the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead.

Do you think books transfer to movies well? Which is you favorite/worst book to movie transfer?

 In my opinion some do and some don’t. It just depends on the director, cast, etc. I don’t have a favorite or worse book to movie transfer yet.

Your favorite food is?

Sushi!

Your favorite singer/group is?

My favorite band is Linkin Park and favorite singer is Adele.

Your favorite color is?

Black.

Your favorite Author is?

Richelle Mead.

   

Stefany Rattles, lived in Los Angeles California for eight years and then moved to Arkansas and has been living there ever since. She has a full time office job and writes on her free time.

She wrote Dark Night when she was eighteen years old after it sat on her computer for several years. One day that she decided to work on it and finish it. Now, she has published 3 books, one of them is her first New Adult- Contemporary Romantic Suspense book in the Sweet Dreams Series.

She graduated Springdale High in 2007. Currently she is also attending Post University and hopes to get her degree in Computer Science.

She loves to read, write, read and write… when she’s not playing with her two little ones.

Web: http://stefanyrattles.wix.com/strlnggry

Blog: http://stefrattlesblog.blogspot.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/StrlngGry

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Stefany-Rattles/628466587263459

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8292431.Stefany_Rattles

Enter to win a paperback copy at Stefany’s website