Blog Tour & Giveaway: Catch Me by Claire Contreras

In the past, I've always been given everything I've wanted, but nothing that I truly needed. I've experienced a lot of things in my twenty-five years, everything except the one thing I want. It's the one thing that can’t be bought. It can't even be taken, it has to be given. And nobody has ever given it to me, not really anyway.

Not until him.

Music is the center of both our lives, but as he found his place in it, I lost my way. He soared, while I spiraled down a destructive path.
I lost myself in more ways than I can count.

The ironic thing is that I didn’t realize how lost I was until he found me.

And now that he has, I have to wonder if he'll stay around long enough to catch me.

 
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So some of you may not know, but Claire Contreras is actually a good friend of mine I met through the book world by chance. I was asked to beta read her first book and agreed simply because I didn't know her. Well, it's also because her book sounded intriguing too. :) Anyway, we quickly hit it off, which surprised me. Most authors aren't open to such criticism of their books, but she was and that was what I liked about her. She took it like a champ (I can be pretty tough at times) and would comment right back with revisions sometimes adding in a line of sarcasm or two at times mainly for me. I quickly learned she has a wicked sense of humor and a BIG heart. Claire and I have not met yet, but when we do, well, she better be prepared for little ol' me to maul the shit out of her. ;)


When the tour invite came out, I jumped on it. I really loved Catch Me and planned to post a review but then realized in all this time I had never interviewed her. What kind of crappy friend/blogger am I? Then I planned to do a fun, different, friend/book kind of interview, but I couldn't get it to flow. So here is the interview Claire did for us, but I'm going to add my two cents in. Enjoy!!

Taryn: What do you have planned for 2014? Anything you can share?

Claire: Definitely Prisoner and a spin off from Catch Me (just not sure which character’s spin off yet).

Taryn: Seriously, get on that shit. Dean needs his book written, like now.

Taryn: What’s your writing process like? Typically, how long does it take for you to write a book? Better yet, how many drafts do you start with?

Claire: I start with one draft. I think by the end of the process I’ve gone through at least 5 of them though.

Taryn: She's lying. She had like 20 for Catch Me. Trust me. I got all the revisions! lol It's all good though. I liked seeing the email with a subject like "LAST ONE." I laughed and shook my head knowing it wasn't the last one.

Taryn: I know this is a questioned asked often, but what inspired Catch Me? It's not a light and easy read. It's gritty and emotional with a touchy theme.

Claire: My life. The past.

Taryn: That makes me kind of sad yet happy. :/ Happy because Brooklyn came out strong and confident in the end.

Taryn: What is something about Catch Me that most people wouldn’t know?

Claire: Hmmm… I have all of Hendrix’s mugs.

Taryn: Wasn’t Catch Me suppose to be a standalone novel? Not that I'm complaining, but why did you decide to change it?

Claire: It was. As I was writing and introducing characters I thought, “I really want to tell this person’s story…”


Taryn: Nick and Shea... I personally loved them both! They’re two totally different characters. What are you favorite lines from both of them?

Claire: “I’m sorry I couldn’t be more to you.” – Shea
Taryn: Ughhh You gut me with that line!

“I want to show her that my day begins starts with her running through my mind and ends with her sleeping in my arms.” –Nick


Taryn: If Nick and Shea were to come with a warning label, what would it say?

Claire: Shea – handle with care. Nick – doesn’t wash off.

Taryn: *sigh* And here I'm thinking only Shea was for me.

Taryn: Since this book has a large music aspect in it, what would be the theme song for this book? Or, maybe a theme song for one of the characters?

Claire: For the book…Homesick by Sleeping At Last

Brooklyn- Skyscraper by Demi Lovato

Taryn: Brooklyn’s mother was a real piece of work! Was she purely fictional, or was she modeled after someone?

Claire: She was modeled after someone.

Taryn: What has been the toughest criticism given to you as an author? What has been the best compliment?

Claire: Biggest compliment: Your writing just keeps growing. Criticism…as a writer in general I haven’t gotten any. It’s VERY difficult to tear me down. I kind of embrace or ignore criticism (depending on who’s giving it to me), so maybe that’s why?

Taryn: Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

Claire: There are a couple of things I hope they grasp, but I feel like saying what they are defeats the purpose of the story. I hope they read it and after they’ve let the entire story sink in they take a couple of things from it.

Taryn: Did you learn anything from writing this book and if so, what was it?

Claire: I learned that sometimes letting go is the only thing left to do.

Quickie Questions!

Snickers or Twix? Twix
Shorts or Skirts? Shorts
Country or Rock n roll? Rock n roll
Jack or Jose? Jack
Oreos or Pizza? BOTH
Tattoos or piercing? Tattoos
Summer or Winter? Summer
Sleep in or get up early? Sleep in. IF MY KIDS WOULD LET ME.

 
Claire Contreras graduated with her BA in Psychology from Florida International University. She lives in Miami, Florida with her husband, two little boys, and three dogs.
Her favorite past times are: daydreaming, writing, and reading.
She has been described as a random, sarcastic, crazy girl with no filter.
Life is short, and it’s more bitter than sweet, so she tries to smile as often as her face allows. She enjoys stories with happy endings, because life is full of way too many unhappy ones or ones that will scare the daylights out of her and have her looking over her shoulder at every turn. Like I said, she's very random.

Claire is giving away a kindle paperwhite! To be entered in the giveaway, please fill out the rafflecopter and leave a comment! 

I will also personally give away a copy of CATCH ME with this giveaway. But in order to get that, you must comment with your email address so I can contact a winner. Thanks!! 

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