Yours and Mine by A.E. Bennett - Book Tour + Giveaway

Yours and Mine

A.E Bennett

134 Pages

Blurb:
She told a lie. He confirmed it. Now they’re secretly betrothed against their families’ wishes…

Lady Octavia Dorchester is the most desired young lady in the Realm. Now that she has twenty years behind her, society has deemed her ready to marry. Although she’s not enthusiastic, she promises to act like a proper lady and look for a good husband—just like her powerful father Lord Roman Dorchester wants.

Lord Gerald Verte has been painfully shy his entire life. He’s never been comfortable in society and lives in the shadow of his older brother, the imposing Lord Tristian Verte. Despite his desires to remain indoors and away from people, he promises his older brother that he won’t shame the family name, no matter how much his anxiety threatens to overwhelm him.

After sharing a dance at a ball held in Octavia’s honor, both she and Gerald know what no one else believes—it’s love at first sight.

When their respective family members object to the match, Octavia lies about their betrothal and Gerald corroborates her story. Raising the ire of both Lords Dorchester and Verte, Octavia and Gerald are torn apart and kept from one another until tragedy strikes.

This high-heat romance with a guaranteed HEA is a prequel to Gathering of the Four: Book One of the Serrulata Saga but can be read as a standalone.

Book Links:
Goodreads
Amazon

Author Interview
1. If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?

Thanks so much for having me! Honestly, the biggest advice I have is for my 2021 self.

Dear 2021 Self,

Please, for the love of everything, hire a professional proofreader. You think you can do it on your own, but you can’t. You are only going to wind up embarrassing yourself when you launch the first version of Gathering of the Four. You will realize how many typos and grammatical mistakes you missed, and you will want to kick your own butt.

Hire a proofreader!

Xoxo,

Your 2022 Self

All kidding aside, it’s a huge embarrassment but, yes – the first version of my first book was (and still is) a massive embarrassment. I was naïve and impatient and didn’t know what I was doing and I wound up with a bit of a disaster. I’ve since corrected my manuscript—I did hire a professional proofreader—but I wish I had had some staying power and done it right the first time.

2. Did you want to be an author when you grew up?
I’ve always been a writer, but I didn’t get serious about actually putting The Serrulata Saga out into the world until around late 2018/early 2019. That’s when I sat down and banged out what I thought would be the final version of my first book, Gathering of the Four. I didn’t have anything close to something I could publish until 2021 and, as you can see from the above answer, even that wasn’t 100 percent.

3. If you could own any animal as a pet, what would it be?

Oh, this is hard because I adore all animals. I think I’d like to have some sort of sanctuary-type place where creatures wounded by the illegal animal trade could live out their lives in peace. Illegal trading of animals causes so much harm in so many different ways, if I had the resources I would do everything I could to stop it.

4. If you could travel anywhere in the world to write, where would you go?

I got an amazing opportunity to visit Florence when I was in high school and I would love to go back. In my dreams, I would have a top floor apartment—maybe with a roof garden—and I would sit out in the sunshine with dark coffee and rich tiramisu and write until my fingers got tired. It’s a magnificent city!

5. Which fictional character(s) do you relate to the most and why?
Ah, well here I have to be selfish and reference the main characters from the primary storyline in The Serrulata Saga. The Four—Leora, Roland, Aurora, and Leopold—are each based on certain aspects of my personality. There are bits and pieces of me in my other characters, as well, but The Four are my dearest character friends because, well, they’re the most like me!

6. If you could be mentored by a famous author, who would it be?

Oh dear. This is very difficult because there are so many authors—living and dead—whom I admire. I guess if I had to pick I’d say Jane Austen. I’d love to know how she was able to pinpoint humanity so completely; she was so talented, her work resonates across centuries and cultures! I can’t even imagine having that insight!

7. Have you ever gotten reader’s block?
I’m very, very, VERY lucky to say that I haven’t. I have had writing sessions where I’ve sat down to write knowing most, if not all, of what I was putting down on the page during that session would wind up getting tossed, but I’ve never had an instance where I’ve tried to write and been unable.

8. What is the most difficult part about writing for you?
Hurting my main characters. As I said before, each of them is a bit of me and it’s hard to see them suffer. But, alas, you can’t have rainbows without rain…

9. Do you have a favorite book-related quote?
I re-read Ray Bradbury’s Dandelion Wine this past summer and the quote, “Be what you are, bury what you are not,” really stuck out at me this time. I notice something new and wonderful every time I revisit that book.

10. Tell us a fun fact about yourself
Ooof. I am never very good at answering these types of questions – haha! I have a lot of tattoos and I like to run.

Author Bio:
A.E. Bennett (she/her) lives in Washington, D.C.

She is originally from North Carolina.

Author Links:
https://www.booksbybennett.com/

https://www.instagram.com/aebennettwrites/

https://twitter.com/aebennettwrites