With only one more week to go before the release of Ally Adams's début novel, Team Lucas, part one in the Saints series, I am delighted to be part of the blog tour and to get to share with you all the details - PLUS an exclusive Q&A with the author, AND a giveaway for a signed paperback copy!
I myself absolutely loved this book and cannot wait to share my review with y'all on release day - but for now, let me share my excitement, and keep reading until the end for the before mentioned extras!
TEAM LUCAS (A Saints team novel) by Ally Adams
Contemporary Romance
Published by Atlas Producations, July 1st 2015
"I want to stay forever... I want to have you for as long as I can have you, Lucas, even if that is a week or a year or a decade... Just let me get my fill of you and I'll deal with the fallout if, when it happens."
Mia Carter never thought getting suspended from her part-time job for having attitude could be the best thing to ever happen... maybe.
When Lucas Ainswright - one of the world's biggest sporting stars - needs a minder, it just so happens that attitude is what is needed to keep Lucas in line.
Now Mia's job is to manage the sporting world's bad boy and keep him at the top of his game for the season.
Game on!
Next in the series: Team Tomás
Ally Adams is a journalist who lives in coastal Victoria, Australia, with her husband and furry friends. She is a literature major, romance reader and writer.
Q: I thoroughly enjoyed the story of Mia and Lucas - especially all their banter. It was great seeing Lucas and all his actions and reactions through Mia's eyes, but... do you have any plans of writing Lucas and Mia's story from Lucas's POV? I'd love to get a glimpse into his brain (and heart); a story told through his eyes.
A: Ah, I’m glad you asked me that Becky. I love Joanne Wylde’s book where you get both perspectives, but I also love Kylie Scott and Leisa Rayven’s stories where it is the girls’ POV. As a journalist I’ve worked with a lot of guys (more guys than gals) and they are so complex and difficult to read. I decided to just write the girls’ POV at this stage. I think it might be a novella if I wrote Lucas’s point of view unless I had flashbacks to his school days!
Q: There are a lot of pop cultural references in "Team Lucas", including, amongst others, The Vampire Diaries, The Bold and the Beautiful, The Walking Dead... so I take it you like watching TV? What do you do when you're not writing, and where do you draw your inspiration? - Do you have a writing routine, if so, what is it like? Is there a playlist that inspires you, something that's "totally Lucas and Mia" that you did or listened to to get your mind in the right spot?
A: Ha, I tape a lot of programs and because I write often five or more hours a day, I play them in the background, it sort of keeps me in the ‘genre’. When I’m not writing, I’m jogging, drinking coffee with friends or spending time with my dog. But honestly, I’m always writing in my head. I think of where the story will go when I drive, when I jog, even when I lay in bed, then I put it to paper. Chronic huh? I see it like a film then write it. I think a lot of writers are storytellers who always have ideas… even when I was at school I’d be organizing kids in my class to do play and perform. I’m not a big music person, I’m all about the words.
Q: "Team Lucas", book one in the Saints series, could be labeled a sports romance. Are you a big fan of sports? What's your favorite?
A: Yes, totally. I follow the AFL (Australian Football League) and my team is Geelong. I used to work in public relations for a national football team (hence the inspiration) and for a little while, I was a WAG, so I have put some insider information in the books. But that’s top secret J I can watch any elite sport, but I love the AFL and the summer of cricket.
Q: Next up in the series will be "Team Tomas" - is there anything you can already share about it? Hint on? Teasing's pleasing the reader's mind (-;
A: Ah Tomas is so sexy—the Latin lover. He doesn’t want to be in love because as the eldest of five kids and having been raised by a single mom, he’s been responsible for most of his young life. Now, he just wants to earn the big money and play around. Then he meets Alice. He tries to forget her but he can’t—she’s so sweet and innocent and not like the women he’s met who are happy to play the field with him. He’s also a very good lover and he will teach Alice some tricks! After Tomas is Team Nik and he’s this strong, fit German soccer star but when he loses his heart, he loses it big time.
Q: Your writing's very descriptive when it comes to your characters - it seems like you have certain people in mind when picturing each of your characters. If you were to cast a movie or TV show based on your book, whom would you like to see on the casting couch?
A: Great question Becky, thanks! So true. When I start each book, I do a research sheet where I write about them, their best friend, their family, the car they drive, their nicknames, their pet, everything that makes that character tick. I read a great quote once by author Anne Lamott who said we should listen and observe our characters because they’ll tell us more about them. So true. So I always do a story board or picture board of the character as I see them and I write it picturing them. I kind of had a young David Beckham in mind physically when I was writing Lucas, and Katy Perry for Mia. Every reader will have their own image. Who would you cast? I’d love to know!
Thank you SO much for having taken the time to answer all of my questions, Ally! (:
Since Ally asked... I figured I'd share some of my casting picks as well. Once you've read the novel, feel free to comment below to let us know whom you'd cast!
Lucas. In my mind, he kinda looked like Alex Pettyfer - and he even has the matching accent (-;
Mia. Ooooooh Mia. Mia was a lot tougher. On one hand, Zoey Deutch came to my mind - she can do the attitude, she can do the fun banter...
...but at the same time, Zooey Deschanel seemed to be perfect for Mia, too. I promise it's not the first names, but... I think you'll understand once you're reading the book?! (;
Tomás. He was another easy one - while described as an Enrique Iglesias look-alike, he immediately looked like Mitia Breckenridge in my mind!
Last but not least... GIVEAWAY-TIME!
A HUGE THANK YOU goes out to Ally Adams,
A HUGE THANK YOU goes out to Ally Adams,
as well as to
Helen at Atlas Productions!
