It's the Great Pineapple, Angela Terry....plus a book giveaway

We're so glad to have Angela Terry back at CLC today. Her sophomore novel, The Trials of Adeline Turner, is just as charming as her debut! Check out Melissa's review. Angela is answering some more questions today and has a really funny story that goes along with our heading for this post. She also has a copy of her novel to share with a lucky reader!

Angela Terry is an attorney who formerly practiced intellectual property law at large firms in Chicago and San Francisco. She is also a Chicago Marathon legacy runner and races to raise money for PAWS Chicago—the Midwest’s largest no-kill shelter. She resides in San Francisco with her husband and two cats, and enjoys throwing novel-themed dinner parties for her women’s fiction book club. (Bio courtesy of Angela's website.)

Visit Angela online:
Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram * Pinterest 

Synopsis:
Thirty-three-year-old corporate attorney Adeline Turner has built her adult life around stability. Her professional life is thriving, but her personal life . . . not so much. Deep down she wants more, but finds it’s easier to brush aside her dreams and hide behind her billable hours. That is, until a new client and a chance encounter with her high school crush have her taking leaps she never planned. Suddenly, unadventurous, nose-to-the-grindstone Adeline finds herself moving across the country from her predictable life in Chicago to San Francisco, falling into messy romantic situations, and trying to unravel an office-sabotage plot before it ruins her career.

Without the safety net of her old life in Chicago, Adeline must become her own advocate and learn that people aren’t always who they seem. Which makes her wonder if the key to having the future she desires lies in uncovering the truth of the past. (Courtesy of Amazon.)

What is a favorite compliment you have received on your writing?
One of my favorite compliments from readers is when they say they found my characters to be relatable and that the characters felt real to them. When writing, I spend a lot of time on character development and the protagonist usually goes through many iterations until I find her voice. Once I have her voice down, then the story can follow. I also like to create backstories for the supporting characters. Even though not everything about a character makes it into the book, this process makes them more real for me.

What is something you learned from writing Charming Falls Apart that you applied to The Trials of Adeline Turner?
Ha! I learned that no one wants to read a drawn-out description of someone grocery shopping. I love everything about food, and so once I start writing about it…look out! There’s a scene in Charming Falls Apart where Allison goes to the grocery store. In the early draft, it went on for pages as I described in detail each section and aisle, what she bought, and what she contemplated making. The final version for the book was edited to two paragraphs. Similarly in the early drafts of The Trials of Adeline Turner, every time someone eats a salad I described each ingredient; but this time I knew it would be edited down to simply “salad.” (Readers will just have to trust me that there are no sad desk salads in this book!) 

If The Trials of Adeline Turner was made into a movie, what are some songs that would be on the soundtrack?
Since Edwin McCain’s “I’ll Be” is referenced in the first chapter, that would be the first song on the movie soundtrack. I have to admit that while I love music, my knowledge of current tunes is lacking. But since I do a lot of “writing” while running, I can tell you which songs on my playlist inspired the book: “Brave” by Sara Bareilles, “Shake It Out” by Florence + the Machine, “I Bet My Life” by Imagine Dragons, and “Something Just Like This” by The Chainsmokers & Coldplay.

What TV series are you currently binge watching?
Right now I’m bingeing Ted Lasso and Only Murders in the Building and am loving them! Also, I just started watching season two of The Morning Show. Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon are brilliant! 

What is something you learned about yourself during the pandemic?
During the pandemic, I learned that I might be less of an introvert and homebody than I thought. I need the night out with friends to balance out the night I sit at home reading. Also, the lack of in-person socializing affected my writing. I get most of my inspiration from being out in the world—interacting with others, people watching, eavesdropping, etc. And a lot of communication is accompanied by body language and facial expressions. I think this is why I started watching so much television during this time—I needed to see people. And when I was in an editing phase, I would pause the screen during a show and study the actor in order to better describe facial expressions for certain emotions. So maybe I’m an introverted person, but an extroverted writer? 

What is your favorite Halloween memory?
As a kid, my favorite memory was always at the end of the night when my brother and I would dump out our loot on the family room floor. The rest of Halloween was a blur (probably from the sugar-induced coma). A more recent Halloween memory that will serve as a PSA was the year my husband and I decided to get creative with our décor and went with a fruit-inspired theme. Instead of carving a pumpkin, we carved a pineapple into a Jack-O-Pineapple. Well, there’s a reason to carve pumpkins and not pineapples. The next day our front steps were a sticky gross mess. Since then our rule is: For fall décor, go with gourds!

Thanks to Angela for chatting with us and for sharing her book with our readers.

How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here.

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Giveaway ends October 19th at midnight EST.

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