Book Blurb & Info
Addicted to You (Addicted #1)
No one would suspect shy Lily Calloway’s biggest secret. While everyone is dancing at college bars, Lily stays in the bathroom. To get laid. Her compulsion leads her to one-night stands, steamy hookups and events she shamefully regrets. The only person who knows her secret happens to have one of his own.
Loren Hale’s best friend is his bottle of bourbon. Lily comes at a close second. For three years, they’ve pretended to be in a real relationship, hiding their addictions from their families. They’ve mastered the art of concealing flasks and random guys that filter in and out of their apartment.
But as they sink beneath the weight of their addictions, they cling harder to their destructive relationship and wonder if a life together, for real, is better than a lie. Strangers and family begin to infiltrate their guarded lives, and with new challenges, they realize they may not just be addicted to alcohol and sex.
Their real vice may be each other.
New Adult Romance recommended for readers 18+ for mature content
Buy Links
Goodreads / Amazon
Lo swoops in behind me, his arms flying around my waist. He sets his chin on my shoulder, hunching over a little to counter my short height with his tall. “He better have been worth it,” Lo whispers, his hot breath tickling my neck.
“Worth what?” My heart lodges in my throat; his closeness confuses and tempts me. I never know where Lo’s true intentions lie.
He guides me forward as we walk, my back still pressed against his chest. I can barely lift up a foot, let alone think straight. “Your first walk of shame in a frat house. How’d that feel?”
“Shameful.”
He plants a light kiss on my head and disentangles from me, walking ahead. “Pick it up, Calloway. I left my drink in the car.”
Ricochet (Addicted #1.5)
Addicted for Now (Addicted #2)
He's addicted to booze. She's addicted to sex...staying sober is only half the battle.
No. More. Sex.
Those are the three words Lily Calloway fears the most. But Loren Hale is determined to be with Lily without enabling her dangerous compulsions. With their new living situation—sleeping in the same bed, for real, together—Lily has new battles. Like not jumping Lo’s bones every night. Not being consumed by sex and his body.
Loren plans to stay sober, to right all of his wrongs. So when someone threatens to expose Lily’s secret to her family and the public, he promises that he’ll do anything to protect her. But with old enemies surfacing, Lo has more at stake than his sobriety.
They will torment Lily until Lo breaks.
And his worst fear isn’t relapsing. He hears the end. He sees it. The one thing that could change everything. Just three words.
No. More. Us.
Thrive (Addicted #2.5)
Two years will change them forever.
When rumors spread like wildfire—like having three-ways with her boyfriend’s rock climbing brother—Lily Calloway spirals into a dark place. Her bedroom. Loren Hale is more confident and determined to keep their sex life private, even from their friends, and he helps Lily in the only way he knows how. But how much love is too much?
Their lives are filmed, watched, and criticized. And through it all, Lily and Loren have to face enemies they never thought they’d see, demons they don’t know if they should bury, and setbacks they didn’t think they’d meet. Not this soon.
And one rumor could be too much for them to handle. It will test their greatest limitations, and if they don’t hold onto each other, someone is going to drown.
A full-length New Adult Romance that bridges the gap between the second and third books.
Thrive must be read before Addicted After All if you have not read the Calloway Sisters spin-off series.
Becca Ritchie claims she's from Mystic Falls, but really, she lives in Atlanta where humidity is her greatest foe. She loves comic books, blue nail polish and Jonathan Taylor Thomas circa 1995. She frequents Twitter to dish about too many TV shows, and when she's not blogging, she writes novels and has teamed up with her twin sister to collaborate on a New Adult series.
Krista Ritchie has a clone...or someone who looks exactly like her. If she's not writing books with her twin sister, she's pouring over entertainment news and ingesting copious amounts of pop culture. She likes tennis, that thing called the TV, and beating Becca (her clone) on Sega Genesis.
Krista & Becca Ritchie write New Adult books that make you cringe, gasp, and go ooh-la-la. (If you do that sort of thing.) They are currently working on the spin-offs and final books in the Addicted series. Connect with them on twitter and their website: kbritchie.com
Book Excerpt
“Worth what?” My heart lodges in my throat; his closeness confuses and tempts me. I never know where Lo’s true intentions lie.
He guides me forward as we walk, my back still pressed against his chest. I can barely lift up a foot, let alone think straight. “Your first walk of shame in a frat house. How’d that feel?”
“Shameful.”
He plants a light kiss on my head and disentangles from me, walking ahead. “Pick it up, Calloway. I left my drink in the car.”
Book Blurb & Info
As a sex addict, Lily Calloway must do the impossible. Stay celibate for 90 days.
Cravings and fantasies become her new routine, but while Loren Hale recovers from his alcohol addiction, Lily wonders if he’ll realize what a monster she really is. After all, her sexual compulsions begin to rule her life the longer she stays faithful to him.
Progress. That’s what Lily’s striving for. But by trying to become closer to her family—people who aren’t aware of her addiction—she creates larger obstacles. When she spends time with her youngest sister, she learns more about her than she ever imagined and senses an unsettling connection between Daisy and Ryke Meadows.
With Lily and Lo’s dysfunctional relationship teetering and unbalanced, they will need to find a way to reconnect from miles apart. But the inability to “touch” proves to be one of the hardest tests on their road to recovery. Some love brushes the surface. Some love is deeper than skin.
Lily and Lo have three months to discover just how deep their love really goes.
Cravings and fantasies become her new routine, but while Loren Hale recovers from his alcohol addiction, Lily wonders if he’ll realize what a monster she really is. After all, her sexual compulsions begin to rule her life the longer she stays faithful to him.
Progress. That’s what Lily’s striving for. But by trying to become closer to her family—people who aren’t aware of her addiction—she creates larger obstacles. When she spends time with her youngest sister, she learns more about her than she ever imagined and senses an unsettling connection between Daisy and Ryke Meadows.
With Lily and Lo’s dysfunctional relationship teetering and unbalanced, they will need to find a way to reconnect from miles apart. But the inability to “touch” proves to be one of the hardest tests on their road to recovery. Some love brushes the surface. Some love is deeper than skin.
Lily and Lo have three months to discover just how deep their love really goes.
Buy Links
Book Blurb & Info
No. More. Sex.
Those are the three words Lily Calloway fears the most. But Loren Hale is determined to be with Lily without enabling her dangerous compulsions. With their new living situation—sleeping in the same bed, for real, together—Lily has new battles. Like not jumping Lo’s bones every night. Not being consumed by sex and his body.
Loren plans to stay sober, to right all of his wrongs. So when someone threatens to expose Lily’s secret to her family and the public, he promises that he’ll do anything to protect her. But with old enemies surfacing, Lo has more at stake than his sobriety.
They will torment Lily until Lo breaks.
And his worst fear isn’t relapsing. He hears the end. He sees it. The one thing that could change everything. Just three words.
No. More. Us.
Buy Links
Book Blurb & Info
When rumors spread like wildfire—like having three-ways with her boyfriend’s rock climbing brother—Lily Calloway spirals into a dark place. Her bedroom. Loren Hale is more confident and determined to keep their sex life private, even from their friends, and he helps Lily in the only way he knows how. But how much love is too much?
Their lives are filmed, watched, and criticized. And through it all, Lily and Loren have to face enemies they never thought they’d see, demons they don’t know if they should bury, and setbacks they didn’t think they’d meet. Not this soon.
And one rumor could be too much for them to handle. It will test their greatest limitations, and if they don’t hold onto each other, someone is going to drown.
A full-length New Adult Romance that bridges the gap between the second and third books.
Thrive must be read before Addicted After All if you have not read the Calloway Sisters spin-off series.
Buy Links
Teaser
Interview
Hi Krista & Becca,
Thank you so much for sitting down with Toot's for an
interview. If you don't mind, I have some questions for you two about your series,
Addicted, your new book, Thrive, and your
process for our budding authors as well as fans.
So first off, your newest book is part of your series, Addicted. Let's talk about the series as a
whole....
In your own
words, what is the Addicted series about?
Krista: The Addicted series is really a saga,
spanning many years with three different couples that still interconnect and
grow together. The family and friendships are a huge element of the series. And
the romance, at its core, is about overcoming obstacles and fighting for a
happily ever after amidst strong outside forces.
Becca: Krista said it perfectly!
What inspired the series?
Krista: I’m constantly thinking of new ideas and
concepts and pitching them to Becca. I don’t start writing a new project until
I have her 100% on board. With Addicted to You, I had just watched the movie Shame. It’s about a male sex addict, but
the point of view was very emotive and introspective. I began to think about
female sex addiction and how different a female’s journey with the addiction
would be. I pitched the idea to Becca (crossing my fingers that she’d like it)
and she did!
Becca: When Krista threw out the idea, I loved that
we’d be tackling female sexuality in a new way. During the time, “slut-shaming”
was a prevalent topic, and we wanted to comment on it through our writing. This
was our prefect outlet—to produce a group of female characters that we could
stand behind and men that we could love.
What are some of the
elements of the world you created?
Krista: I’d say the biggest element we’ve created is
the addition of a soda called Fizz. Lily Calloway, the protagonist in the
Addicted series, is an heiress of the soda empire known as Fizzle. Often the
characters in the series will be drinking Diet Fizz, Fizz Life, and other Fizz
drinks. When they’re at a bar, they’ll order a Fizz and Rum. It’s something
cool that we’re going to keep in all of our books—even the ones outside of the
Addicted series.
Becca: Fizzle is definitely the biggest piece of the
series. Another element that has really catapulted the characters to new places
was Princesses of Philly, a
drama-filled reality show set within the Addicted world. It appears in Kiss the Sky and Thrive.
If you had to pick
one thing, what is your favorite thing about the world you’ve created for your series?
Krista: Definitely the reality show: Princesses of Philly. It features all of
the Calloway sisters. Becca and I are super TV junkies, and we’re known to
delve into the trashier reality TV shows. Even though it was the hardest book
to write (reality shows aren’t easy to incorporate into a plot), it was also
the most rewarding. Plus, it was just good fun J
Becca: My favorite thing about the overall world (I’m
gonna be more general about this one) is the family dynamic. I love the sense
of family that’s created over the series. Lily Calloway starts off with a big
family, but she’s largely on the outskirts (sometimes self-inflicted). As time
comes to pass, Lily and Lo become more and more a part of the family.
Can you
tell us a bit about the newest book in the series, Thrive?
Krista: Thrive goes back in time, spanning the same
events that happened in Kiss the Sky
and Hothouse Flower. It’s told from
Lily and Lo’s POVs whereas the other two books are told from Rose &
Connor’s and Ryke & Daisy’s POVs. We knew when we added spin-off books to
the series, we’d have to write a companion novel that caught up the readers
with Lily and Lo’s point of views. It was undeniably one of the harder books to
write in the series—kind of like a huge puzzle. But it’s also one of the most
special for us. It shows the most amount of character development and growth
out of any other book in the series.
Becca: Krista did a great job explaining it. For
anyone who loves Lily & Lo and likes witnessing developments in friendships
and relationships, Thrive is your book. Plot doesn’t drive the novel, but
relationship arcs do. Through 2 years, it shows the ups and downs of battling
addiction, living in the public eye, and trying to protect loved ones from
outside forces.
How did you come up
with the title of your newest book in the series and can you tell us its
significance?
Krista: We knew we wanted a title to match the other
companion novel in the series—Ricochet.
So it had to be one word. We threw out some ideas and Thrive was the title that just felt right.
Becca: Lo and Lily are constantly the underdogs of
the series, as the addicts. And in the book, Lo explains what “thrive” means to
him. It’s one of the most emotional scenes, and it’s a definite favorite of
ours.
What genre would you
say Thrive is and what sets your book
apart for fans of the genre?
Krista: New Adult Contemporary Romance. And what sets
the book (and the entire series) apart from other books in the genre are the
relationships. It’s not just a romance between a boy and a girl. It does have
the romance, but it also has the relationships between all of the friends, the
sisters, the brothers, even the parents. We really try to show every aspect of
these character’s lives, not just the part where they fall in love.
Becca: The whole series encompasses the lives of six
people, their friendships, their parents, their relationships and their ups and
downs. For two characters, you even see them date other people and experience
the slow-burn and “flirtationship” before they can be together. We always call
each book an entire season of television (because in some ways, it works like a
TV series). And by the end, the Addicted Series will last a total of 9
seasons—we’re pretty grateful we have control on how long it “stays on the air”
;)
What was
your favorite scene to write in Thrive?
Krista: The bathtub scene with Lo and Lily at the
end. It’s heartbreaking and emotional, but it’s one of those scenes where you
remember why they’re soul mates.
Becca: I love that one! And then Comic-Con is very
close to it. The entire Addicted Gang dress up for a Philly Con and it’s lots
of good fun.
What was
the hardest scene to write for Thrive?
Krista: Also, the bathtub scene at the end. It’s so
funny that the hardest scenes usually become my favorite. But this particular
one took many rewrites before we found the right one.
Becca: Agreed! We wanted that one to feel right. To
get it right. It meant so much to us. So we rewrote it the most out of all the
chapters in the book.
What is
your favorite line or quote from Thrive?
Krista: This quote brings back the opening scene in Addicted to You. For that, it will
always be my favorite in the book: “I
lost something recently," he tells me. My heart swells at the familiar
voice, and I spin around to drop-dead-gorgeous cheekbones, a ruby-red visor,
and lips that pull into a breathtaking smile. "Found her," he says.
Becca: MINE TOO! Whenever I read it, my heart always
skips an extra beat.
As a
writing duo, what is your relationship and how did you decide to co-write
together?
Krista: We both do the same amount of writing and have
the same amount of influence over the story. It really is a complete
collaboration. We decided to write together in college for a YA novel, and we
realized quickly that it was way more
fun writing together than separately.
Becca: Collaboration all the way! I love writing
with Krista, and even when we disagree, we have no problem settling the issue.
What is the
best part of writing as a duo?
Krista: Always having someone to bounce ideas off
of. And having someone else equally invested in the story. Plus, snack breaks!
Those are always fun when you have them with another person ;)
Becca: Ooh the snack breaks! Yep, I love those. Oh
and when I’m unsure about something I wrote, I can stop and let Krista read it
to tell me if I’m on a good track or not. That’s invaluable. Especially since I
know she’ll always be honest with me.
What’s the
hardest part?
Krista: Communicating ideas. Sometimes it’s not easy
relaying what’s in your brain to another person. But we’re twins so we have a
leg up on other non-twin people.
Becca: Sometimes we get off the same page of
thinking and we can’t understand what the other person is saying. It takes a
bit of time, but it can be frustrating. Thankfully, we always manage to work it
out.
Are you a
Plotter or a Panster?
Krista: A bit of both, but I lean more heavily
towards plotting.
Becca: I always used to be a panster, but doing it,
I ramble way too much and it caused for a longer editing process. So now I plot
a little bit beforehand.
Have you
released anything under a different pen name or individually?
Krista: I haven’t. Becca released a YA paranormal
series when she was in high school.
Becca: *whispers* don’t talk of that series. *hides* It’s just so long ago. I wrote it
when I was 14 and I can tell my writing is a work in progress. We hope one day
to publish something under a different pen name, most likely a young adult
novel.
What's next
for you?
Krista: The next book in the series—Addicted After
All—releases on October 31st. It’s the last book in Lily and Lo’s
POVs in the series. And then we have our first standalone—Amour Amour—releasing
on December 12th. It’s a romance with an acrobatic circus theme,
think Cirque du Soleil.
Becca: Yep, and for anyone who doesn’t like big
series, Amour Amour is perfect if you want to read something by us since it’s
our very first standalone outside of the Addicted series.
Is there
anything you’d like to add or say to your fans?
Krista: Our fans are the sweetest, most amazing fans
in the entire world. Yeah, I am biased, but I still think it’s true! They
inspire us to write faster and better and to never stop going after our dream.
Becca: Our fans inspire us daily, and they’re
bundles of joy. We’re so grateful to have them. Fizzle Force unite!
Personal questions......
Now I know this is like asking you to choose between your
own children, but out of all your amazing characters, who is your favorite and
why?
Krista: It’s pretty difficult! But I’d have to say Lily. Out of all the
characters, we’re in her POV the most (5 out of 9 books). I just love writing
her, flaws and all. She’s quirky, insecure, lovable, selfish, and really
kind-hearted. I’m still trying to cope with the fact that Addicted After All
will be the last book in her POV *holds back the tears*
Becca: I’d have to go with Lo since he started the series too. He’s a tortured
character with more flaws than things that’ll endear you to him. His best
quality is loving Lily, which is just so heartbreaking in itself. He’s so
self-loathing, but his sarcasm and the pain behind his words makes me root for
him so much throughout the series. You want him to have the girl, stay sober,
and just learn to love himself for all the good parts. And through four years
of his life with Lily—his childhood, best friend—he tries to grow up. From
start to finish, his journey is one of my absolute favorites.
If the book or series had to have a theme song, what
would it be?
Krista: I think that the entire series is really about these “new” adults
learning to grow up and become real adults. So for that reason, I’d say All
Comes Down by Kodaline. It’s sad but uplifting at the same time, and that
reminds me of the tone for the entire series as a whole.
Becca: Kodaline! I love “All Comes Down”
so much and it does fit perfectly. I’d say too—“On Your Side” by
SafetySuit—fits the entire group of characters really well. They each have
someone that stands by them from the very beginning.
Lastly,
What 5 things do fans not know about you two and 5 they don't know about the series?
Krista: Oh man, this is hard! We share so much that
sometimes I wonder if we have any secrets left ;) Especially if you get Becca
on Red Bull. She spills everything
lol. Okay, so here are a couple of facts that hopefully they don’t know yet. 1)
I can’t whistle but Becca can. 2) Addicted to You was the first completed contemporary book that we wrote
together. Before that we had written and completed a paranormal novel, two
science-fiction novels, and then lastly a fantasy novel (all Young Adult
books).
Becca: I’ve been deprived of Red Bull until our
next release!!(But I shall sneak some in…somehow.) Some more fun facts… 3)
Poppy Calloway was initially supposed to be a bigger character than Daisy
Calloway, but when we were plotting Ricochet, we had more ideas with Daisy and
kept her around. 4) we’ve only ever lived in Georgia. And lastly… 5) in our earliest draft of
Addicted to You, Rose had a fiancé! Thank goodness we changed that J
THANK YOU,
THANK YOU, THANK YOU for taking time to answer some questions. Congratulations
on the new book and I can't wait for everyone to read it – Sincerely, Toot
Thanks so much for having us on your blog and for all
your amazing questions <3
Xo Krista & Becca
Author Info
Krista Ritchie has a clone...or someone who looks exactly like her. If she's not writing books with her twin sister, she's pouring over entertainment news and ingesting copious amounts of pop culture. She likes tennis, that thing called the TV, and beating Becca (her clone) on Sega Genesis.
Krista & Becca Ritchie write New Adult books that make you cringe, gasp, and go ooh-la-la. (If you do that sort of thing.) They are currently working on the spin-offs and final books in the Addicted series. Connect with them on twitter and their website: kbritchie.com
Author Links
Website - http://kbritchie.com/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/KBRitchie
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/KBRitchie
Tumblr - http://kbmritchie.tumblr.com/
Pinterest - http://www.pinterest.com/kbmritchie/
Website - http://kbritchie.com/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/KBRitchie
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/KBRitchie
Tumblr - http://kbmritchie.tumblr.com/
Pinterest - http://www.pinterest.com/kbmritchie/
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