Page Trotters: Tasting Never Blog Tour 2013

Hello everyone! Today we are hosting the last stop for C.M. Stunich's Tasting Never Blog Tour!

If you haven't read Tasting Never, check it out on Goodreads and Amazon!

Check out my review here!

Now for the fun stuff!!!

A little about C.M. Stunich. Bio from her website.

C.M. Stunich

C.M. Stunich was raised under a cover of fog in the area known simply as Eureka, CA. A mysterious place, this strange, arboreal land nursed Caitlin's (yes, that's her name!) desire to write strange fiction novels about wicked monsters, magical trains, and Nemean Lions (Google it!). She currently enjoys drag queens, having too many cats, and tribal belly dance.Always a fan of the indie scene and 'sticking it to the man,' Ms. Stunich decided to take the road less traveled and forgo the traditional publishing route. You can be assured though that she received several rejections as to ensure her proper place in the world of writers before taking up a friend's offer to start a publishing company. Sarian Royal was born, and Ms. Stunich's books slowly transformed from mere baking chocolate to full blown tortes with hand sculpted fondant flowers. C.M. is a writer obsessed with delivering the very best and scours her mind on a regular basis to select the most unusual stories for the outside world.

Author interview!!!

1. As a self-pub author, is there any advice that you’d like to share about the process?

Absolutely! First of all, it is one of the most rewarding things I have ever done, and the farther I go, the farther I want to go! I can publish books at a much faster rate than a publishing company could, and I can price my eBooks way below traditionally published works. BUT, before you jump out of the pan and into the fire, just remember that you are a one person corporation. You are a cover designer (or you must pay for one), an editor (or you can shell out for this, too), a formatter (ditto), a web designer (you get the point, right?), marketing director, social networker, party planner, etc. It's one of the wildest, craziest things I have ever done, but I wouldn't trade it for anything!

2. How long have you been writing?

Forever it seems! I've always written – I even have old, ugly, wrinkled notebooks to prove it! I always just did it for fun … until I'd worked at a call center for years and came this close to having a nervous breakdown. While researching career options, I was like, Huh, 'author' is a legit job possibility? I send out dozens of query letters and never once had anyone actually read my work. Instead of spending time polishing my query letters/salesperson skills, I Indie pubbed and LOVED it!

3. What’s your favorite book?

This is like choosing between kids! Um, can I say my favorite genre instead? LOL! I love the first twelve Anita Blake books by Laurell K. Hamilton to death, and recently, I've fallen in love with “Scar Night” by Alan Campbell. I honestly don't have the time to read like I used to … I had no idea that as an author, I'd have to read my own work so much for edits and also, when I write sequels, I usually have to reread the other books in the series. Strange, huh?

4. Best advice you were ever given?

“You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don't try.” -Beverly Sills

5. Do you have any rituals while writing?

I'm a bit strange … I have to have a clean environment, of course, so that means no dishes in the sink, vacuumed carpets, mopped floor. I'm very particular about this! Other than that, my rituals change depending on the day. Some days, I can't write unless I'm at a desk and other days, I can't write unless I'm tucked into bed. Some days, I need music and others – it better be silent! I do have some strange superstitions, too. For example, I can't leave a sentence unfinished, so even if I have to get up to answer the door or something, I type out the rest of the sentence, even if it isn't good or what I want, just so it's not left hanging.

6. Give one word (if possible) to describe Never and to describe Ty.

F*cked. ;)

7. What made you decide to discuss sex addiction?

Well, the New Adult genre (college aged romances) is all about dealing with big issues – sexual abuse, substance abuse, etc. I decided that there was one topic that I hadn't seen discussed before, and I wanted to shed some light on it. I started off with this very vague idea and Never showed me the rest of the way on her own. She told her story through me. I am just the interpreter between our world and hers.

8. Is there any significance to Never’s name? How did you come up with her name?

This question comes up a lot! Honestly, I came up with the title first. I said, okay, this book that I'm going to be working on is going to be gritty and real and what the heck should I call it … Tasting Never popped into my head and then I decided to name Never, Never. It was sort of unconscious. I like to think that she exists in an alternate universe somehow, and that I just picked up on her signals. Or I could just be talking like a freaking weirdo. There's that, too.

9. What is your favorite scene?

So hard to choose … my opinion changes often! Here's what I like today. ;)

“Can I tell you what I love most about Never?” Ty asks as I turn in slow motion to look at him. Love? He loves something about me? Is that the same as loving me? I swallow and avoid that train of thought. It might lead to a wreck of gnarled metal with my heart in the center of it. I don't think I could handle that.

“Can I tell you what I love most about Ty?” I say, and I don't notice it then, but everyone around me is smiling big and goofy, recognizing something between us that even we don't see yet. Ty McCabe and I are falling in love.

“Of course,” Vanessa says, emerald eyes sparkling. “Please do.”

“I think you have an incredible capacity to love,” Ty says and then because he's been too serious, he has to go and make an ass out of himself by grinning and saying, “And a tight ass.” I roll my eyes as chuckles wind their way through the group, but inside, I'm grinning, too. There might still be darkness around me, but when I'm with Ty, I'm standing in a spotlight.

“What I love most about you,” I say and toss one out there for the group to grin at. “Is your rhythm.” I snap my fingers and I see that some of the ladies are smiling. The guys don't get it, at least none of these ones do. “It's not about the size of the hammer,” I say. “It's the pace at which you swing it.” Ty laughs, and I'm happy to see his face bright. His dimples are round and perfect, proving that the reaction I'm getting is as real as any I've seen before. “But truthfully,” I say. “The best part about you is your soul. It's a piece of tortured beauty.”

10. What was the hardest scene to write?

The hardest scene to write was the one where Never and Ty open up their STD test results … I didn't want it to be cheesy, but I wanted to make sure the readers felt what they were going through, how scared they were … And I'm not spoiling that scene if you haven't read it! ;)

11. Do you have a favorite line?

My favorite line is actually Noah's poem that Never quotes:

And the downtrodden found refuge in dilapidation; and they were happy there because it was theirs and no one else's; bare of pretense and expectations, this place became a haven of solace and a sanctum for peace.

12. Do you have a playlist you listened to while writing Tasting Never?

YES! Tons of beautiful songs that I listened to far too much …

Just the Girl by Click Five

Inside Out by Eve 6

One Step Closer, In the End, Breaking the Habit, and Numb by Linkin Park

Hold my Hand by New Found Glory

Absolutely (Story of aGirl) by Nine Days

Face Down by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

Riot, Let it Die, I HateEverything About You, and Scared by Three Days Grace

Let it Bleed by The Used

AND MORE! Too many to list … ;)

13. What can we expect for Never and Ty?

Expect old flames, old enemies, family problems, tractor sex, lies, lots of cussing, Noah Scott, and Ty's past unfolded like an origami crane. Book two comes out on February 2^nd and book three on March 2^nd.

She is awesome and we worship her. *bows down*

Here's a glimpse of Book 2 which is out TODAY!! *squeeeee!*