Toot's Book Reviews: Noah and Me by Beckie Stevenson : Spotlight, Excerpt, Teasers, Author Interview & Giveaway

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Book Blurb & Info

“So you fix broken hearts, do you?” I ask. “Seems a little ironic.”

Noah Carter is one of the best cardiothoracic doctors in the country. He’s incredibly intelligent, funny, kind and he’s a beast in the bedroom. He has scars that drizzle down his chest and painful memories of an unforgettable night that plague his every waking hour.

Seven years ago, Noah stumbled upon me at the side of a grave and saved me in one of the most compassionate ways another human being can save another. I will always love him for that. Always.

He loved me in a way that no man has ever loved me since, and I gave him everything. I gave him it all until my secrets and lies tore us apart, forcing me to shatter his heart into a thousand little pieces.

Seven years ago he loved me, but now he hates me. And I hate that he hates me. Leaving Noah is my biggest regret in life - and I have a lot of things that I regret. A lot.

I’m Ariel Miller and this is the story of Noah and Me.

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Book Excerpt

I narrow my eyes at his back.

“Alright,” says Ben. “But I’m still going to make my own mind up about her. After all, people can change, can’t they?”

“I’m still here,” I remind them.

“Unfortunately,” mumbles Noah.

I turn to Ben. “Some people can change,” I say, “but some people still act like idiotic teenage boys.” I nod towards Noah.

Neither of us says anything after that, and with each floor we pass, the tension and awkwardness grows between us. I decide to stare straight ahead and sip my coffee. I know he’s pissed off with me for just leaving him like that, but what else was I supposed to do? I was doing it for him. Surely after all these years he can see that.

The lift pings and the doors slide open. None of us move.

“I think this is your floor,” says Ben.

I look up and see the signs for the labour ward. “Oh,” I say.

“See you around,” calls Ben. “Hope your first day goes alright.”

“Okay,” I reply. “And thank you.”

I don’t look at either of them as I walk out of the lift. When I hear the doors close behind me, I feel my shoulders sag in relief.

“Ariel,” says Noah.

I jump at the sound of his voice. I hadn’t realised he’d followed me out of the lift. “What?” I snap, turning around to face him. I wish I hadn’t. Now that he doesn’t have an angry scowl smothering his features, his handsome face is like a slap to my own. All those images I have of him in my memory don’t begin to do him justice. His blue eyes look like a snapshot of a midnight sky, complete with twinkling stars. They stare into me, but my gaze has travelled from his eyes down to his angular jaw. He’s got a twitch in in it, just underneath his ear, which means he’s grinding his teeth. Wow, he’s still really angry.

“Stay away from me,” he says, breathing his minty toothpaste breath all over my face.

My eyes flash down to his hand, but there’s no ring. Hmm. What happened there then?

“So you fix broken hearts, do you?” I ask. “Seems a little ironic.”

I see a flicker of confusion on his face before he composes himself and then frowns at me. “Ariel,” he warns. “I don’t want to talk to you, I don’t want to see you and I don’t want to hear about any of your antics from my mates.”

How does he know about my antics?

“Stay away,” he says again.

“That’s exactly what I was intending to do nearly seven years ago, Noah.”

“Is that so?” he says. “Well, you shouldn’t have come back.”

“You weren’t supposed to be here,” I tell him, and now he’s the one that looks as if he’s been slapped in the face.

Teasers

Interview

Hi Beckie,

Thank you so much for sitting down with Toot's for an interview. If you don't mind, I have some questions for you about your new book, Noah and Me and your process for our budding authors as well as fans.

So first off, Noah and Me Questions.......

Hiya! Thank you so much for inviting me to sit down with you. I don’t mind answering any questions and I’m one of those girls that will tell you ANYTHING. And it’ll be completely honest too (sometimes that’s not such a great characteristic to have, but I’m hoping it’ll work on here), so here goes….

In your own words, what is Noah and Me about?

Gah. Why is the first question the most difficult? ;o)

Okay…Noah and Me is a complicated story about lost love. That’s what it is in its most basic form anyway. The undercurrent throughout the book is what makes it complicated. Love isn’t always easy and especially not for Ariel and Noah. Love is hard in it’s own right, but add into that all of the life-changing things that these two have been through and the circumstances surrounding the start of their relationship, and you’ve got a pretty topsy-turvy road to romance.

It’s also about Ariel and how finding the perfect man can either complete you or break you.

How did you come up with the title of the book and can you tell us its significance?

Ahh, titles…oh, how I hate them…and writing a synopsis, but that’s another story. I wrote the whole book and continually saved it as ‘untitled.’ Once I’d finished the book, I sat around for about 4 days trying to think of a title and it was only when I went back to re-write the scene (with Ariel and a certain doctor) that the title for the book just popped out of my head. I typed the whole chapter out without realising I had come up with a title and only noticed it when I read it all back.

It’s significant because it’s all about Noah and what he did for Ariel.

Is Noah and Me a standalone book or will it be part of a series?

It’s a standalone, but one of my proofreaders has suggested that I do a sequel called “Ariel and Me.” I like the idea of telling the story from Noah’s POV but I’m not a huge fan of re-telling the same story. Maybe I’ll do it for fun. Noah is pretty amazing. Wink, wink.

What genre would you say Noah and Me is and what sets your book apart for fans of the genre?

The genre is something else that I’ve had a few hiccups with. The story flicks back and forth to a time when they were 18/23 years old, to present day when they’re 25/30, so it would probably fit into NA, but I think it would officially go down as contemporary romance.

What sets my book apart? Oooh, that’s a very tough one and I’m not sure I can answer. There are tons and tons of books out there in both of the above genres that are absolutely fantastic. The only real ‘big’ difference I can see is that I’ve set mine in Yorkshire in the north of England and I’ve kept the dialect in tact. I could have opted for more commonly used phrases and words between the UK and the US, but I haven’t. It’s all very English and I don’t think I’ve read a book where an author has done that yet. I’m sure there is one out there, but that’s the only difference I can come up with at the moment. Does that count?

What are some of the elements of the world you created?

The world I’ve created is honest, raw and most of all, real.

If you had to pick one thing, what is your favorite thing about the world you’ve created?

My favourite thing about the world I’ve created is Noah. I looooveeee him!

What was your favorite scene to write for either your hero or heroine in Noah and Me?

Now, this one is easy! My favourite scene for both Noah and Ariel is chapter 36. Ariel and Noah are both in bed and they’re finally admitting to each other that they can’t hide from their feelings anymore. We finally get to see the soft center in Ariel too.

What was the hardest scene to write?

The hardest scene to write was the funeral. Sad face.

What's your favorite line or quote from Noah and Me?

“I’ve never loved anyone like I loved you,” he says. “We were a mess, but we were a fucking beautiful mess.”

Writing.......

Do you recall how your interest in writing originated and what made you decide to pursue it as a career?

I don’t really remember how it originated, to be honest. I’ve always been a massive reader and I used to imagine how I would tell a story and one day, I just started writing. I would be mortified if anyone read that first story but it was a story and it was full length, so I realised I had the ability to create characters and fill in the bits in-between. And I’ve never looked back since!

What inspires you to put the pen to paper or fingers to the keyboard?

I don’t need inspiration to actually write. I wake up thinking about writing and go to sleep thinking about what I’ve written. I love it. I honestly think it was what I was born to do. It’s just a shame that I can’t spend all day, every day doing it!

I get my inspiration for a story from watching music videos without sound (oooh, that’s a big secret!). I try to imagine what they’re singing about and then I get a light bulb effect and I have the full story in my head.

What are some of the elements in/of your writing process?

I can only write in same person, present tense. I’ve tried third person and then I had to re-write the whole book. That was very annoying.

I have to get my characters names sorted before I do ANYTHING .

I write the prologue and the ending chapters first.

Are you a Plotter or a Panster?

Plotter, but I’m a mild one. I plan chapters but they’re only usually a few lines. Most of my books have 12 pages of chapter planning and then I just write and I don’t tend to deviate much from a chapter plan once I get going. Unless my editor persuades me otherwise!

Have you released anything under a different pen name, and if so, is there any difference between them?

I’ve not released anything under a different pen name…yet. I have considered it and if I did, I would write erotica.

What's next for you?

More writing. I have a couple of books that I wrote in the early days that are completed but need tweaking. I also have a brand new one floating about it my head that I keep thinking about, so I might have to get a chapter plan down and see what happens after that…

Is there anything you’d like to add or say to your fans?

Yes. I’d like to say Thank you. I honestly love my fans and I’m more than happy to chat/tweet/facebook about anything reading/writing related with them. I really appreciate them buying and reading my books and if they love it, then it melts my heart to hear about that too.

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?

My favourite hero is Noah from Noah and Me. You’ll see why when you read about him ;o)

My favorite heroine is Serena from Sorrow Woods. She’s so strong!

Are there any of your stories or characters that hold a special place in your heart?

They (the characters) all hold a special place in my heart because there is a little piece of myself in each and every one of them. Some more than others!

I think Sorrow Woods will always have a special place in my heart because it was my first book that I published.

If the book had to have a theme song, what would it be?

Kate Winslet – What if

Lastly, What 5 things do fans not know about you and 5 they don't know about the book?

There’s not much that people don’t know about me. Like I said, I’m a sharer. Haha! But here are a few:

1. My age – I’m 28.

2. My ‘real’ job. I supervise a settlements team of 12 people within the Foreign Exchange and Money Markets back office team for a very well known global bank.

3. I have no qualifications. Well, except GSCE’s but they don’t count. I left school at 16 (with 11 GCSE’s) and started to work in a retail bank.

4. I’m honest to the bone. And loyal.

5. I love my editor!

Book:

1. There are detailed sex scenes in the book.

2. It flicks from THEN to NOW and the difference is 6 years.

3. I can’t think of anymore without giving too much away. Sorry…

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! – Toot’s

Thank you to you too! I hope you enjoy reading it. Thank you for blogging about me and Noah and Me.

Author Info

Beckie's real name is Rebecca, but she get’s called (and answers to) any of the following…Beckie, Bek, Becca, Rebecca, Pip, Pippy or Stevo.
Beckie is the author of 'Sorrow Woods,' the 'Existing' series and 'Noah and Me.'
She is due to publish more YA and NA novels in 2015/16.
She lives in Staffordshire, England, with her partner and two children.
Beckie likes putting music on in the house and dancing around like a mad woman.
When she isn’t playing with her children, doing housework, dancing around the house like a mad woman, walking, cycling reading or writing, then she can be found working in an investment bank. Or sleeping.