Blog Tour + #Giveaway: Keeping Claudia by Suzanne McKenna Link @SuzMcKLink @XpressoTours

Keeping Claudia
Suzanne McKenna Link
(Toby & Claudia #2)
Publication date: June 1st 2017
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

How do you love someone whose past goes against everything you’ve ever known or trust in a future you’ve yet to believe in? 

Back home in a town she once fled, headstrong Claudia Chiametti returns to the arms of the only guy ever to awaken her heart. Everything about Toby contradicts her family’s traditions and values, but she’s ready to take a chance on love. 

Toby Faye is a new man, and the girl he’s long dreamed of is finally within his reach. With Claudia’s help, he’s put the past behind him. But one last secret hides in the dark corner of his past. The one that could undermine it all. 

Can Claudia love him unconditionally … or will the truth cost Toby what he wants most? 

Keeping Claudia is the emotional finale to the love story that began in Saving Toby, an unforgettable journey of a couple who discover the only way to love someone is with an open heart. 

Falling in love is easy. Staying in love is hard. 

Full length, Contemporary Love Story. 

Recommended Reading Age 18+ 

Though part of a series, may be read as standalone.

Goodreads / Amazon

Guest post:

"What’s the most difficult thing about writing characters from the opposite sex"?

In both books of my series “Toby & Claudia,” I tell the story from alternating POVs, both 24-year old Toby Faye and 23-year old Claudia Chiametti. Funny thing is, I never intended to write Toby’s POV. I started writing the story strictly from Claudia’s side. During a writing exercise it was suggested that I try re-writing a scene from another character perspective. I assumed as a woman, it’d be easier to write a female protagonist’s viewpoint, but telling the story from Toby’s POV was great fun. Writing his dry wit, and his dark despair too, came easily. His side of the story had to stay.

I would say the most difficult thing about writing a male perspective is getting it right. By right I mean, accurately representing the voice, actions and thoughts of a man. Let’s face it, guys do and think differently from us gals. I strive to create as realistic and as plausible a story as possible, and getting Toby’s perceptions right was really important to me. I’m what some might call an empath. It’s somewhat of a new term, but if you haven’t heard of it before, an empath is basically a person who is affected by other people's energies, and who have an innate ability to intuitively feel and perceive others. In short, we get feels from everybody. This trait, and the fact that I have been married nearly three decades and have a son has really helped me ‘tune’ into how men think.

A second difficulty would be conveying the sex drive of a man. I tried to express Toby’s interest in being physically intimate with Claudia, but at the same time I didn’t want his scenes to get bogged down with overtly sexual thoughts. I’ve read a great deal of new adult books where the author has the male character describing how he’s getting aroused and what he’d like to do, in explicit detail. This often induces erotica-level language. That’s perfectly fine if you prefer or don’t mind that content. Personally though, most times I just want a romantically intense love story—without those taboo words. I’m not saying “Keeping Claudia” is PG-rated. It most definitely is not. There are several smoldering scenes, but the heat and passion of the love scenes come from my character’s motions combined with clear descriptive language. Sex is illustrated without vulgarity, and I promise, you’ll not only know quiet clearly what’s going on, you’ll feel it, too. 

Author Bio:
Suzanne McKenna Link works for a family of newspapers that cover events in and around the South Shore of Long Island, New York. She lives in the town of Sayville with her husband and two children. 

SAVING TOBY is her debut novel. The literary love story follows the moving journey of a damaged young man and his love for a girl who might just save him. An avid interest in psychology has Suzanne digging deep into the reasons for her characters’ behaviors. The native Long Islander is fascinated by the how and why of people’s actions. As a result, her characters come to life on the pages. 

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