Vicki Crum - Emotional, Second Chance Fated-Lovers Romance

Vicki Crum is the award-winning author of the Eternal Moon series - Once in a Blue Moon, Moonspell, Blood Moon, and Embrace the Moon. Blood Moon was voted Best Paranormal Romance of 2021 by Book Buyer’s Best Award. These days Vicki is writing straight contemporary romance, dipping her toe into the exciting world of rock and roll heroes with a two-book rockstar duet. The Long Road Home is the beginning of an emotional, second chance, fated-lovers romance, climaxing in Forever Mine, where with a little faith and a lot of hard work, happy endings really do come true.

Vicki resides with her husband in a charming seaside community in Southern California. She has two grown daughters and two adorable grandchildren who light up her world. As our Author of the Day, she tells us all about her book, Forever Mine.

Please give us a short introduction to what Forever Mine is about.

Forever Mine is Book Two in a steamy, emotional, second-chance rockstar romance duet. The Long Road Home is Book One in the duet, a poignant love story about high school sweethearts ripped apart on the precipice of adulthood, only to be reunited after thirteen long and eventful years. The books are best read in order since The Long Road Home fills in all of Luke and Jenna’s critical backstory issues and ends on a bit of a cliffhanger. Forever Mine finds Luke and Jenna fighting like hell for their second chance at love, with Jenna in the middle of a contentious divorce, mourning the sudden loss of her mother and battling to make a new life for her and her young daughter. Luke is reeling from the death of his best friend and bandmate to a drug overdose, contending with a barrage of sensational publicity, and weary of the demands placed on him as the front man of a world-famous rock and roll band. The last thing he needs is a demented fan dogging his every move, threatening the safety of both him and the woman he loves.

What inspired you to write this book? Was there anything in particular that made you want to tackle this?

I had written a version of the first book years ago, creating the characters and their complicated backgrounds, the general storyline, and was advised by an agent I was querying at the time that she loved the characters and all of their emotional interactions, but had a problem with the main conflict. As a relatively new writer at the time, I had gone off on a bit of a tangent that just wasn’t working in the story. So I put the manuscript aside and kind of forgot about it, even though my critique partners kept urging me not to give up, to take another run at it. I didn’t have the heart for it at the time, but when I eventually dove back into the original manuscript, I got so caught up in Luke and Jenna’s world that the rewrite stretched into two full-length books! The stalker aspect of the story just sort of evolved as I went, and in the end turned out to be the perfect final conflict.

What makes Luke such a great protagonist?

I fell so deeply in love with Luke because he just puts himself out there for all the world to see. He lost Jenna at eighteen due to his immature desire to have his cake and eat it too. He expected Jenna to forego her own dreams of getting a college education, an effort to secure a more solid future, and follow him around the world in pursuit of his own personal dream—setting the music world on fire. They fought over the timing of such a pursuit and the lack of any personal resources to fall back on, and things ended bitterly between them. When they meet again, Luke has succeeded beyond his wildest dreams. Wealthy, famous, sought-after by women the world over, he wants what he foolishly cast aside before, the one thing, the only thing that can make his life complete—the girl who stole his heart away in adolescence. Luke will move heaven and earth to make Jenna his again. And this time he’s never letting go.

What appeals to you about second-chance romances?

I love second-chance romances because of all the history between the characters. They already know each other on an intimate level, no matter how much time has passed. The stakes are higher this time around, the tension strong and palpable between the protagonists right from the start. It’s a do-or-die situation. It grabs me and won’t let go. I love it!

What did you have the most fun with when you wrote this story?

The fun in writing a story like this, and what hooked me and kept me writing frantically through two full books, is the fantasy of it. Right? What woman doesn’t fantasize at some point about having a famous and talented, straight-up gorgeous man madly in love with her? For all Luke’s success, the one thing he can’t live without at this point, is Jenna. He’s ready to risk it all for her. So romantic! It’s lots of fun living the life of the rich and famous, at least for a time, even with all the pitfalls. But it’s the do-or-die stakes of true love, ending up with all that your heart desires—or losing it forever—that really does it for me.

Readers say your characters are relatable. How do you pull this off?

I love it when readers say that my characters are relatable, because as a writer that’s the goal. To create characters that could be your mother, your sister or brother or best friend. Or more importantly, you. I love stories where I can put myself in the role of the heroine—or even the hero when we’re in his point of view. Right square in the middle of the action is the very best way to enjoy a story for me.

Besides writing, what other secret skills do you have?

Besides being a writer, I love interior design. In another lifetime, that could have been my profession. I derive so much satisfaction from choosing furnishings and the perfect accents to go with them for my own home, along with helping friends and family members do the same. It feels good when someone I care about asks for my opinion on making the most of certain living spaces, along with things like centerpieces and focal point decor. It’s a whole other realm of creating, and very rewarding.

What are you working on right now?

Since the holidays ended, I’ve been spending most of my time on book promotion—much too busy to start a new project! Or so I keep telling myself. Mostly it’s just an excuse to stay close to Luke and Jenna. After spending two entire books with them, writing, editing, choosing cover art and all the rest, I’ve been hesitant to leave them behind and throw myself into a new and different world. It’s kind of sad for me after all this time to say goodbye. A hazard of the profession, I guess—but I’ll be getting on it soon!

All my books are available on Amazon and in Kindle Select. Readers are welcome to email me if they want, or they can visit my website and sign up for my newsletter. And please, don’t forget to follow me on Facebook! I’ve shared the links below.

Website:
https://vickicrum.wixsite.com/author

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/vickicrum.author

Goodreads author page:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8422368.Vicki_Crum

Amazon author page:
https://www.amazon.com/stores/Vicki-Crum/author/B00MCW2Z98?ref=ap_rdr&i…