Behind The Books – Interview with J.A. Redmerski about her upcoming book, “The Edge of Always”

J.A. Redmerski really knows how to tug on our heartstrings, distract us into comfort and then deliver a wallop! I’ve only reacted as intensely (meaning physically – more than just tears) to a very few, and her book “The Edge of Never” was one of them. An absolute standout! And then I found out that she was writing book #2 (The Edge of Always), and I just had to ask her… stuff. 😉

WARNING!!!! If you have not read The Edge of Never, DO NOT READ this interview (*potential spoilers for the first book*). If you enjoy reading my kind of favorites, with the angst, and the super-romance and that awesome “New Adult” feel we’re so crazy about, read her first book, absolutely!!! Skip this interview, read my review (if you’d like) and then after you’ve read #1, come back and read this.

Ready? Let’s see what she has in store for us!

Maryse: Congratulations to you on the amazing book deal!! Tell me about the day you found out your books would be published by Grand Central Publishing. How did you celebrate?

J.A.: Thanks for having me again, Maryse! As always, it’s great talking with you. To answer your question, I have to say that I was relieved and excited when I found out I had a deal with Grand Central Publishing/Forever Romance. In all honesty, to be published by a traditional publisher has been one of my lifelong dreams and I couldn’t be more grateful that my dream came true. How did I celebrate? I dove right into my sequel!

Maryse: Oh I love that the excitement had you immediately writing more! I’d love to hear about your own personal writing journey. Have you always known this was what you were meant to do? Have you always had stories brewing? Any writing memories you’d like to share?

J.A.: I know I’ve said it before, but I’ve been writing something for as long as I can remember and started my first novel at the age of thirteen. I can’t imagine not writing! It has been the one consistent thing in my life, as far as hobbies and careers. My love for it never faded, I never lost interest and I never gave up.

Maryse: And we are very fortunate for that! Has your family read your books? Their reactions?

J.A.: A few of my family members have read some of my books and they love them (of course, they have to because they are family!), but for obvious reasons, I have pretty much begged them all to never read The Edge of Never. If they ever did, the holidays would become very awkward for us all, I think.

Maryse: *giggle* I get that… 😉 But it’s soooooooo good. You’re depriving them!! I bet some of ’em read it in private. Just you wait for that next holiday. You’ll probably notice a grinning family member awakwardly needing to gush and yell at you for a certain few… things. 😉

Okay, so… favorite scene within your own book?

J.A.: I think in The Edge of Always my favorite scene was one having to do with hallucinations and a beach, but that’s all I’ll say!

Maryse: *squeeee* We get a beach! Always romance at the beach!! Sunsets, sea breeze, waves crashing, sand stuck…. places… 😉 Hehe. Okay now tell us your favorite most heart-wrenching scene?

J.A.: In The Edge of Always, probably the tragedy.

Maryse:  GAH!!! TRAGEDY!!!??? Are you trying to kill us?!! (okay mini *squeee* I’ll be on the edge of my seat for this one. I already was gonna be, but now you just made it worse!! 😉 ). Any reservations on certain aspects of where you took your story?

J.A.: All I can say is that where I took the story was where it had to be taken.

Maryse:  Oh jeez. Yep. You’re tryin’ to kill us. *whiny melodramatic voice* Awwwwww come on!!!! *grins* Okay okay. Lemme be serious for a second (although I was kinda serious in my scared whiny-ness)… I love not knowing, though, and I can appreciate your need to take your characters where they need to go, so no matter what… I’m throwing my heart into the pile. I AM ALL IN!

Were there any scenes or characters inspired be real-life events?

J.A.: Just like with THE EDGE OF NEVER, the sequel – characters and events – were inspired by my *other* lifelong dream to backpack across the world. I can’t really say too much as far as The Edge of Always goes, without giving anything away, but something that happens, not the tragedy itself, but what the tragedy causes, hits very close to home.

Maryse: Fair enough! Big *hug* for giving a bit of your own self in these stories. I think it’s probably what makes these books so real to us. The emotion and thought processes are lifelike, and now I know why.

After such a whirlwind journey (both as they ventured on the road together, and shared in their own personal journeys) what can we expect in book #2? What inspired you to continue their story? Without asking for spoilers, what do we, the readers, not see coming? Possible shock to the system again? Er… wait. After what you just told me up there, I think that’s a given.

J.A.: Tough questions! Well, I planned to write a sequel before I even finished THE EDGE OF NEVER. I had the entire sequel mapped out in my head, but after the unexpected success of the first book, writing the sequel made me very nervous. I was afraid to ‘mess up a good thing’. But after I thought about it more, I thought that it would be more of a tragedy not to continue their story and let the readers really know what became of Camryn and Andrew and their life together. And yes, I’d say there is something significant they might not see coming, later on in the book.

Maryse: I get what you mean about not ruining a good thing, and to me, The Edge of Never was pretty much… perfection. At least in terms of how much I connected to it and how it is still vivid in my brain after so many months. Any book that can do that to me, have me physically react that way, and continue to adamantly recommend it to every person I can is my perfect read.

And one thing that helped make it so beautiful was their musical journey together. Her tentative approach to it all, his gentle support, and how they spoke to each other, and connected to each other so deeply through music. And in turn, we were able to connect with Cam & Andrew just as intensely. It made me feel them, and connect to their journey that much more. Will The Edge of Always be heavily influenced by music again? Any hints for the next song list?

J.A.: I’m so glad that readers could connect with their journey more because of the music! Yes, The Edge of Always will also be influenced by music, because hey, that’s who Camryn and Andrew are and it wouldn’t be right not to keep with their tradition in the sequel. Hints? Hmmm, Stevie, Dax and Withers? I hope those are good enough hints!

Thanks again, Maryse, for having me! You are super sweet and I look forward to meeting you at Book Bash! 🙂

Maryse: *squeeeee* See you at Book Bash!!! I’m gonna fangirl gush. Just a warning… 😉 OMG!! I just had a thought! I get to hug you for real!! Okay… okay… i’m calming myself. *deep breath in… deep breath out…*

Okay so just to let y’all know, book #2 (The Edge of Always) will only be out November 5th 2013 (I know it’s a long wait… but what an awesome read for our upcoming wintery holiday season), and it’s probably a good thing ’cause if there’s a “tragedy” that goes too far in that book, there might have been some Book Bash panic attacks at her table. 😉

If you want to know more about this author, check her out online, here:

• Website: https://jessicaredmerski.com
• Edge of Never Pinterest page: https://pinterest.com/jredmerski/camryn-andrew-the-edge-of-never/
• Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/J.A.Redmerski
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/JRedmerski

Oh and check out my first interview with the author, after having read “The Edge of Never” <— I was a mess after that book.