Stay With Me
Stay With Me Trilogy Book 1
by Nicole Fiorina
Genre: New Adult Romance
In a desperate final attempt to save nineteen-year-old Mia from herself, she gets transferred to Dolor University, a reformatory college in the UK that housed deranged and dangerous young adults who viewed the private institution as their own personal playground. Mia didn’t care. She needed feelings to care. She’d keep her head down, ignore everyone, and make it through the next two years effortlessly.
Though Mia never anticipated Ollie Masters.
With green eyes, tattoos, and the voice of a poet, she is quickly drawn to him. But because of her sociopath tendencies, she knows it could only end in one of two ways. Either he will be the one to free her from her past, or she will be the one to destroy him.
**WARNING: Mature content, adult language, graphic sexual content, and disturbing matters may trigger an emotional response. Read at your own risk.**
Even When I'm Gone
Stay With Me Series Book 2
The second book in a heart-consuming series.
Ollie.
Forget everything you thought you knew. Hell, I don't even know myself anymore. For seven months I've been gone only to come back to be tested in every way possible. They say keep your enemies close, and my demons welcomed me back with open arms. My downfall is a necessary evil. But Mia is my endgame.
Mia.
Seven months ago, Ollie surrendered to the darkness, abandoning me in the process. He stripped me of my walls only to leave me defenseless. Now he's back, along with fresh new faces and obstacles standing in our way. He says trust no one. Not even him. How am I supposed to be strong for us both when I'm losing my grip?
"Just stay with me, Mia."
"Even when you're gone?"
"Especially when I'm gone."
Now Open Your Eyes
Stay With Me Series Book 3
MIA.
It was so close, I'd tasted it–the freedom.
But the only thing I could taste now was the end.
Over the last two years, I’d let all outside forces dictate my life, my feelings, my head.
I’d allowed everyone to control what my punishment should be for all my wrong-doings.
I’d been tested and learned my lesson.
I’d paid my dues and suffered long enough.
Because in the end,
even the once-upon-a-damned deserved to be happy too.
OLLIE.
How far are you willing to go?
I’d asked myself this very question countless times.
But never in my wildest dreams thought I’d go back in time,
chasing ghosts from my past for a chance to save our future.
So, there was no limit.
No boundaries.
I’d cross time, the world, my morals.
Yes, I’d even double-cross myself.
So, how far would I go?
The answer had always been simple.
I’d go an eternity plus a day past crestfallen.
What
book do you think everyone should read?
This
is hard considering not every book is for everyone. I do think everyone should
read something they’ve never considered, to step out of there comfort zone.
How
long have you been writing?
For as long as I can remember.
Do
the characters all come to you at the same time or do some of them come to you
as you write?
It
depends. With this one, they came as I wrote. I do have characters but no story
yet, so I’ll have to wait until their story comes. Sometimes as I write a new story, my homeless
characters will say, “Hey, I belong here,” so I’ll plant them in. It just
depends on the story and where they belong.
What
kind of research do you do before you begin writing a book?
I
research a lot before I dive in and I’m constantly researching as I write.
Research is so important. I research everything between the location to where
my characters are, situations and how others have reacted in the same cases,
medication, hobbies. I even pick up the hobbies and try them myself. I learned
to play the piano for Mia’s character in SWM series, and even played during
writing it with a keyboard set up next to my computer. I’ve learned the
electric guitar for another unpublished book, and watercolor for yet another.
My favorite part of writing is learning and experiencing new things. I’ve
always wanted to do, try, be everything, and go everywhere, and with writing I
can.
Do
you see writing as a career?
No.
Whether I made money doing it or not, I’d still be writing.
What
do you think about the current publishing market?
That’s
a loaded question. Over the last ten years, we’ve seen a trend. The Twilight
series hit, then a trend of vampire books followed behind. Fifty Shades hit,
then again, the trend followed behind. In the end, it’s the authors who are
struggling, fighting for their books to be noticed in a sea of the same crowded
genre. With the rise of social media and influencers, we’ve become a generation
of followers rather than leaders. I believe in order to be seen and heard, you
have to do something that’s never been done. “If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn’t thinking.” –George
S. Patton
Do
you read yourself and if so what is your favorite genre?
Yes,
I (try) to read every night before I go to bed and every morning. Any sub-genre
revolving around romance is my favorite, especially psychological thrillers.
Do
you prefer to write in silence or with noise? Why?
It
depends on what I’m writing, normally silence but at times I do play music with
my headphones on to turn off my brain. It’s constantly going and sometimes
hinders my writing process. Music helps entertain my brain so I can write
freely without overthinking.
Do
you write one book at a time or do you have several going at a time?
Usually
one at a time, however I am an emotion based writer. Sometimes an idea comes,
and I cannot get it out of my head until I get it out through writing. This
happened to me while I wrote my most recent book. I had to stop and bang out a
few chapters for the new idea before I could continue writing the current
manuscript.
Pen
or type writer or computer?
Poetry:
pen. Manuscripts: computer.
Tell
us about a favorite character from a book.
There
is a detective named Eggs I LOVE in Caroline Kepnes book, Providence. The entire story I adore, but the detective was
probably my favorite character I’ve ever read. He’s funny, determined, has a
heart, and so real.
What
made you want to become an author and do you feel it was the right decision?
Being
able to write full-time and help others, makes me feel at home and more myself
than I’ve ever been. I’ve always felt lost and never knew my purpose in this
world. With finally taking the plunge into publishing, I’ve found my place, and
I’m staying.
A
day in the life of the author?
Wake
up (sometimes as early as 5am) and write. I take a break to get my kids ready
and off to school then go back to writing and researching until I pick them up,
most times with my dog constantly harassing me. By two, I pick them up, help
with homework, cook dinner, and spend time with them until they go to sleep.
Then at night I answer emails, social media, and do all the dirty work. I also
run a side business to help other indie authors so my days are all over the
place. I’m either writing all day or coming up with design concepts, talking
with clients, untangling plot holes, editing, formatting, helping with covers,
ideas … You name it, I’m doing it. Either way, I’m constantly on my laptop with
a thousand things on my to-do list and a ton of books to write and get to. I
live on chaos and caffeine.
Advice
you would give new authors?
Write
for you, publish for them. I live by this.
Describe
your writing style.
Dark,
broken, and beautiful.
What
makes a good story?
One
that can make a reader emotionally react, whether it makes them laugh out loud,
cry, get mad, or too afraid to go to sleep at night. If you can do that, it’s a
good story.
What
are you currently reading?
Verity
by Colleen Hoover.
What
is your writing process? For instance do you do an outline first? Do you do the
chapters first?
I’m
a panster writer, so I just write. I don’t have a brilliant plan or process.
Only write until I can’t write anymore. If I’m ever stuck, I’ll do my bullet
point plot to guide me the rest of the way, but don’t always follow it. I
prefer to let the story develop naturally.
What
are common traps for aspiring writers?
Lack
of confidence and fear of rejection, which is what all authors (already
published or not) face throughout their writing journey, sometimes with every
book they write. You can and will get through it. I always say, a rejection is
far better than a regret. You can learn
to overcome with rejection, but regret will haunt you for the rest of your
life.
What
is your writing Kryptonite?
Knowing
when to stop. Sometimes I’ll be up until four or five in the morning writing,
and forget about the world around me and my household responsibilities. With
writing, my kryptonite is that I always add too much. Too much detail, too much
emotion. I have to remind myself to tone it down a bit to not lose focus on the
story.
Do
you try more to be original or to deliver to readers what they want?
Original.
Always stay original.
If
you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
Quit
your job, Nicole, you hate it anyway, and start publishing. Don’t wait until
your thirties. Start NOW.
What’s
the most difficult thing about writing characters from the opposite sex?
The
opposite sex isn’t hard for me. I think the biggest misconception is that a
male has to be an asshole, which is completely false. If you can write a strong
female character, you can write a male. If you can write a sensitive male
character, you can write a female. See what I did there? Every character is
different, has their strengths and weaknesses, personality, and beliefs.
Continue to challenge yourself. Writers are artists. Make art.
How
long on average does it take you to write a book?
It
depends on the book. My shortest time was 6 weeks and my longest was 4 months,
and that is just the first draft. I go through my book three times at the very
least before it is sent to beta readers. I don’t stop revising until I’m
completely happy and can close my laptop with a smile on my face.
Do
you believe in writer’s block?
Yes
and no. In my personal experience, a block comes when there is a block or hole
within my story. My first instinct is to find solutions, so I’ll go back and
re-read a few chapters, keep writing to see if it untangles, or I’ll pick up
other writing methods to free my mind from the current manuscript, allow it to
breathe a bit (journal, poetry, short story, etc). This goes back to my pet
peeve of making excuses or grieving over problems, and instead, I find
solutions.
Nicole Fiorina is an independent author, debuting with the Stay With Me series. She lives in Florida with her loving husband, Michael, two children, Christian and Grace, and Great Dane, Winston.
Her writing style is unapologetic and emotional, striving to push buttons, hearts, and limits. Nicole's books fall under New Adult Romance, with a suspenseful, poetic, and gothic twist.
A lover of music, especially classic rock, she can rap most Eminem songs, dance, dabbles on the piano, and likes to use power tools and a paintbrush. She's addicted to coconut berry Red bull, coffee, and root beer, and makes sure to force down water to appease her mother. When she's not writing, she's probably chauffeuring her kids around, at family gatherings, or sleeping.
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1 Comments
I like the flowers on the cover. Congrats on the release. How long did it take you to write your book?
ReplyDeletePlease try not to spam posts with the same comments over and over again. Authors like seeing thoughtful comments about their books, not the same old, "I like the cover" or "sounds good" comments. While that is nice, putting some real thought and effort in is appreciated. Thank you.