The Art of Keeping Faith (#2) – Anna Bloom

Posted on June 15, 2014 by Z. Elizabeth

Synopsis

Lilah and Ben. They are meant to be a thing.

Well, they were. The best thing ever. That was until Lilah decided to teach herself a lesson and let go of Ben since she’s learned The Art of Letting Go.

Now it’s a new academic year, and Lilah has it all to play for and it all to lose as she battles scary lecturers, evil PR girls, and her own inability to make the right decision at the right time.

Life has moved on for Lilah and her friends, and life off campus is more complicated than any of them would have guessed. As the reality of being second-year students sets in and the study starts to build up, cracks begin to appear in the very fabric of their friendships. There is a chance that none of them are going to complete Year Two in one piece.

Facing down her worst enemy, herself, Lilah has to try and change her own past mistakes when she realizes that the only way she is going to get the future she wants is if she manages to learn The Art of Keeping Faith in herself.

The Art of Keeping Faith is the second year in The Uni File Series and continues Lilah McCannon’s diary as she searches for love, tries to find and earn trust, and ultimately discovers who she is really meant to be.

Sometimes the only way to meet your future is to face your past.

5 out of 5 stars!

REVIEW: The Art Of Letting Go – Anna Bloom (+ DELETED SCENE)
EXCLUSIVE: Benjamin Chambers and Trafalgar Square – Anna Bloom

——————————————————————————–

My Reviews

You know you have the best friend ever when she sends you ARCs, sends you teasers and will let you text her screaming in cap-locks when things happen whilst reading The Art of Keeping Faith. And this was basically me to Anna throughout the whole book. I would text her when things went right, when I wanted to rant about a certain character *COUGH*RICHARD*COUGH*, rant about Lilah and rant about Ben. Basically I just ranted and shouted and raved about The Art of Keeping Faith and I had a lot of feels.

My love for Anna and her books goes waaaaaay past the point of being acceptable. There is just something about the way Anna writes that draws you in, keeps you entranced and flipping page after page until you at the end, holding the book and wondering where the time has gone, why book three is not out yet and badgering Anna for it. (Although I told her not to tell me when she is writing it nor send me teasers because when she does eventually send it to me, it will be the best day ever!)

As I mentioned in my The Art of Letting Go review, the dairy entries are completely unique. You can hear Lilah’s voice throughout it, visualise her writing it all down after each event, and I adore that Lilah still documents her life. Not many people do and I really like that it seems to help Lilah, especially when she re-reads her entries and re-evaluates her life.

I’m going to say that The Art of Keeping Faith was definitely an emotional one. I was filled to the brim with all these different emotions. From joy, fear, heart ache; feeling sick to my stomach and an overpowering sense of anger, before going back to feeling on top of the world with love and grinning from ear to ear.

You feel every single emotion from all the characters, especially Lilah and Ben. Dear god these two! We all know what happens at the end, and have been on tenterhooks needing book two to know what happens. I want to shout from the rooftop about what happens but I shant, i’ll let you read it. I’ll let your emotions wiggle all around and make you lose yourself in the magic and pain of Ben and Lilah. You really do go from highs to low, feel exhausted but your heart races and your smile widened and you squeal at the end and it makes all the pain go away.

Lilah grows up in this book. She has to. With Ben off around the world with his band she has to learn to be alone, be wiithout the love of her life and she gets there. She delves into her work, she meets new people and gets on with her life. But she feels paranoid. She’s seeing and reading things about Ben that you know arent true. It’s hard being in a long distance relationship and it tests your trust and your faith in each other. As someone who has done the whole LDR, I could really sympathise with Lilah. I understood her emotions and everything she was feeling. She’s still her quirky and fun self, but you know she is missing Ben like no other, yet she has to get on with her life.

Those moments with Ben were special and you could see how they both just wanted to shut the world out and spend those few days together. Lilah goes through a lot during the second half of the book, and I could feel her frustration, her heartache and the pain she was feeling. She needed Ben, she needed to let him know something and the texts to him had my chest hurting, and tears in my eyes and I felt as sad and lonely as Lilah did, without Ben by her side. But you know as soon as she gets Ben back in her life, as soon as he is there everything will be right in the world because when its just those two? They are the only two people in the world.

My Benny boy, my Benjamin Chambers. I am so sorry I went though a small phase of doubting you, but those damn articles, those damn photos. I knew you werent like that, but with everything going on I couldnt help but think the worst. But you are the best guy I know, the one who loves so fiercely and would do whatever to have Lilah in your life. But when all that stuff went down and I had no idea where you were, you broke me apart. You broke my heart and I was shouting at Anna to tell me just what the hell was happening. I understood your pain, how you needed to just go away for a little while and sort your head out. You and Lilah had been through so much, you had wanted her, searched for her and you had her. You had her heart and in a way you broke it too. (I realise I am ‘talking’ to Ben, but it makes it easier hahah). But your heart was breaking as well. You and Lilah are made for one another. You bring out the best and you have been through a lot as well. Everything you both went through only made you stronger, made you love stronger and you knew, just knew that nothing and no one would ever come between you again. Benjamin, you redeemed yourself and I love you so much for that. I know music is your everything, but Lilah means so much more to you. It was your turn to evaluate your life and I am so proud of you.

I cannot wait to see how you turn out in book three, how doting you are going to be, how much more love you are going to give. I know you are never going to let Lilah down and you are going to go to great length to show her. You already do. I am so glad you found Lilah and she ended up loving you too. You are one of my favourite couples and your love and determination to be together is overwhelming.

Ps. My characters in my book love you. Please give them free tickets to see you play life. They will love you forever 😉

The Art Of Keeping Faith is truly that. About keeping faith in your love, your relationship, your friends and in the end faith prevails everything. Just look at everything Lilah and Ben had to go through to get to where they end up at the end. I had faith and although theirs faltered at points, their love never and that is what makes this series so special to me.

Anna, get writing book three now!!

BOOK TOUR: The Art Of Letting Go – Anna Bloom (+ DELETED SCENE)

Posted on October 25, 2013November 26, 2013 by Z. Elizabeth

Today is The Book Lovers stop on the amazingly awesome book tour of The Art of Letting Go. Because Anna loves me, she has also given me a deleted scene, which i was contemplating adding in…well, because, i wanted to be greedy and keep Ben for myself, but because i am soooo nice, I have decided to share the goodiness of it!

You can thank me after 😉

———————————————————————–

Synopsis

One year. One woman. One Diary. One question: can you ever stop history from repeating itself and if you could what would you do to stop it?

When Lilah McCannon realises at the age of twenty-five that history is going to repeat itself and she is going to become her mother—bored, drunk and wearing a twinset—there is only one thing to do: take drastic action.

Turning her back on her old life, Lilah’s plan is to enrol at university, get a degree and prove she is a grown-up.

As plans go, it is a good one. There are rules to follow: no alcohol, no cigarettes, no boys and no going home. But when Lilah meets the lead singer of a local band and finds herself unexpectedly falling in love, she realises her rules are not going to be the only things hard to keep.

With the academic year slipping by too quickly, Lilah faces a barrage of new challenges: will she ever make it up the Library stairs without having a heart attack? Can she handle a day on campus without drinking vodka? Will she ever manage to read a history book without falling asleep? And most importantly, can she become the grown-up that she desperately wants to be.
With her head and her heart pulling her in different directions can Lilah learn the hardest lesson that her first year of university has to teach her: The Art of Letting Go?

FIVE BLOOMING STARS!!

—————————————————————————————–

My Review

I would firstly like to thank Anna for sending me an advanced copy – well in advance (with my name written over it – woop woop) – of her book The Art Of Letting Go. You cannot understand my excitement when she sent it to me and my little acknowledgement! I have been wanting to read this book for months now, and when it arrived in my mailbox, I quickly finished my last book and got into the story of Ben and Lilah pretty much from the get go. (As all my followers should know…this book was all I could talk about for days…okay it still is…)

The Art Of Letting Go is definitely a book that deserves a place on your kindle and deserves your utmost time to devour everything inside of it. Anna has put blood, sweat and tears into this book to make it what it is – and it’s a book that is just so refreshing to read, so different from other books that I have read. Firstly it is set in diary entries, dated and timed too. This gives the book a sense of realism and Anna’s writing style is spot on for a dairy and that you feel that you shouldn’t be reading it, but you can’t stop yourself. It’s invasive, but you couldn’t give two hoots, you just have to keep on reading about Lilah’s life. She develops all the characters and you feel towards all of them, want to be a part of their little gang and wish you were back at university, experiencing everything all over again.

We have all had a diary once in our life and this helps Lilah deal with everything happening in her life – from leaving her job, going to university, falling in love and going through all the things that happen in the book. It’s a great way to learn about everyone in the book. Secondly, Anna is spot on with her writing style. She uses sarcasm and humour perfectly, she knows how to make you swoon in Ben and Tristan scenes, you will cry, you will laugh, you will get annoyed and it’s a journey of overcoming obstacles and things put in Lilah and all the characters ways. How they overcome their first year of university. And that ending. Dear god Anna, give me Year Two now please!

Anna writes real life. Its not all rainbows and fairy dust, oh no. You will have distractions and roadblocks in the way, you have characters with insecurities and trials and tribulations but one of many real things in the book? The friendship. Yes. I am so close to my university friends despite leaving last year and I can see how real their bond is. How real their love is for each other.

The Art of Letting Go is just that. Lilah is fed up of working for her father and after a cigarette break, she decides to just not return to work and instead, go to university. Lilah is bonkers, like I pure, bloody love her! At 25, she doesn’t want to end up like her mother, so on a whim, she walks away from her job and signs up to university. She makes rules that, of course, are broken within the first couple of hours but you can’t help but love this girl. Crazy as she is, you gobble up all of her diary entries, wanting to know more about her days at university, more of her crazy ass lifestyle and more about the swoon-worthy Ben Chambers. Oh yessss.

At points I wanted to smack her around the head and shout at her to tell Ben her feeling for him. You can see from her entries that she does care for him, throughout all the dilemmas in her way, but its hard for Lilah to let go, to admit her feelings for him until, really, its kind of too late and time is running out. You do root for Lilah and Ben, you see how perfectly they fit together and how Lilah, as the book title says, is in the art of letting go, and at the end of the book, it’s a tiny cliff-hanger but one where you want to know it’s going where you want it to. Know that Lilah has manned the fuck up and realized she’s about to let someone SO important to her go. She lives by Taylor Swift songs and even if you don’t know all of them, you can guess why they are important to that certain scene and why Lilah thinks that song sums up that entry. She really is a brilliant character and one that you must read about!

I do have to say, Anna warned me I would either start drinking or smoking throughout reading the book…I have to say, a lot of wine was consumed throughout the duration of this book (seeing as I don’t smoke). I am warning you now hahah.

Ben. Ben, Ben, Ben. MY darling Ben. He plays guitar and sings…in a band people! UHH weakness. He has dark hair, amazing blue eyes and freckles. How sexy is that?! He’s gorgeous, but hates the attention, he can be cocky and his smirk *sigh* and he is instantly drawn to Lilah. Well, he had been searching for her for the past nine months, after spotting her one Christmas at a Do he was playing at. Ben is sweet and lovely and really wants to be with Lilah, despite the roadblock, shall we say, in the way of the actual getting together – but he’d wait a life time for her. He will do absolutely anything to be with her, be around her and just have Lilah in his life. You can see how much he likes her, fancies her. Everything that Lilah is writing down, you can see that although she doesn’t see it, we, as the reader can see the way Ben acts with Lilah.

So something happens that makes you think “Oh Benjamin” But you trust him, because of how much he loves Lilah, even if she can’t see it and won’t let him explain. Even through her entries, you know he’s telling the truth about that night. Why would he be saying all these things to Lilah and wanting to spend all his time with her, if he was lying about that night? Nope, I believe my Ben!

Your heart breaks for him too. Lilah can’t trust him and doesn’t really want anything to do with him and he tries his damn hardest to get through to her, to see her, to make it right. He literally spends his time trying to get her to open her door. He will sit and wait, he will do whatever he can to make it up to her, to get back to how they were. But Lilah is stubborn and doesn’t let him.

Uhh and then his band has the chance to go to America to record an album, and you can actually see Ben, although he probably wants to go, he doesn’t want to leave Lilah. Those two just hotfooted around that and I wanted to shake them both and tell each other their feelings (Okay, so Ben is more open about his) and Lilah to say no, but then I was proud of her for not saying anything too because this is a big deal for Ben and his band. I was torn. I wanted Ben to stay, but I wanted him to chase his dream and make it big.

There are sooooo many amazing scenes…okay, the whole book is just amazing but there is one scene that I go on and on about to Anna – on text and twitter – but I can’t tell you want it is…my god, I want to shout it from the rooftop but I cant. BUT it proves just how freaking sweet and perfect my Benjamin is and my heart hurt and burst for him and Lilah. Dear god, that scene.

Can I also swoon over Ben singing ‘Hey There Delilah’ (That song was on repeat a hell of a lot) and Taylor Swift. PLEASE be real Ben, I need you in my life.

I adored the secondary characters – Meredith and of course, Tristan the arse. Meredith, despite being a few years younger than Lilah, is such a brilliant friend. Her and Lilah are just so great together and cause mischief but there are some tender and heart-breaking moments between the two and you just know that cements it for them – they have a bond that can’t be broken now. And Tristan. He’s Lilah’s twin brother and an arse, yet he really isn’t. He’s a beauty, and I really enjoyed the scenes with him. He too, is there for Lilah, he becomes close with Ben and he falls for the lovely Meredith. Their relationship is the cutest and despite the age gap, they are so right for each other.

I cannot tell you enough times to get your arse to Amazon, 1-click and open that book file asap. You want British humour and sarcasm? You want a wacky but fun heroine, you want a guitar-playing, sexy and loveable BRITISH hero and a hell of a lot in-between? Did you say yes? Well what the hell are you waiting for, The Art Of Letting Go is for you and its available at your becking call. GET READING right now and fall in love along the way with the characters and with Anna – she is one author to look out for! FOR SURE!

Once you start it, you won’t be able to put it down….I sure as hell couldn’t!

—————————————————————————————

Deleted Scene

Stomping on the Grave of Rules 1, 2 and 3

Drunk is not so good.

Five pints of beer later we are stumbling out of the Student Union bar, Meredith is drunk—really drunk—and is making rude gestures at Ben who is walking a few paces in front.

We must have been in the bar longer than I thought; I am surprised to find that it is getting dark outside. The last couple of hours have been strange to say the least. We have been sitting at a table whilst Meredith holds court with a vast number of suitors who wander over. She does not seem interested, just accepting free drinks when bestowed. This explains why she is so royally smashed. Ben and I have been talking, talking and talking. I don’t even know what about, just general chit chat that seems to flow easily between us. Feeding each other little bits of information about ourselves. For instance, he knows Trev the barman because he played a few gigs here during his band’s early days. And that’s why he chose this university. I told him about the bank and working for my dad and what it is like to stare at a computer all day; something he knows nothing about.

All I know is that we have been gravitating towards each other like magnets; first knees turning to find other knees, then torsos turning, then hands sliding forward. Eventually, one of us would have to break the tension and get up to get a round of drinks. I can’t drink anymore though, so I think it better to lock myself in the safety of my room where I cannot keep trying to touch him, like a demented stalker.

The blue coloured twilight sets his form into a contrast of shadows and makes his hair hard to make out as we stumble across campus. Drunk as she is, Meredith still perceives the change between Ben and me and she is not so discretely pushing me over to him.

What is she? Like twelve or something?

I glare at her, but of course, that’s not something she seems to notice.

“Yous need to shtalks toose him,” she slurs.

“And tell him what?”

I am just being difficult. I know exactly what she means. And she is right: I have to tell him the truth. I have to be brave and honest, and tell him all about myself, just so if he is truly interested, then he knows everything. But I can’t tell if he is just playing me or really interested in me.

It’s scary how out of practice at this stuff I am.

Meredith falls further behind—on purpose—and then steps away in a different direction, instantly lost in the shadows.

“Ben!” I call, my hand reaching out to slow him down. Of its own accord it slides down his arm and his fingers link with mine. He turns his face, now pale in the half light, and leans in close to me.

Please don’t kiss me and make this harder! Please just kiss me anyway!

“Yes, Lilah.”

His voice is low and the sound of my name whispered off his lips makes my stomach dip in an alarming manner. My body will not listen to reason and steps into him. We are just standing there breathing; it feels completely electric.

I am feeling very inebriated. Again. Everything is starting to whirl around the edges, like I am caught in the eye of a storm. His fingers are easing along the edge of my jeans, tracing a cool pattern along my midriff and over the exposed top of my hips. I try to suppress a gasp, but fail as he slowly pulls me in close and I tilt my head up to look at him. His eyes are as black as midnight in the darkness, but they still show their intent as clear as day. It feels like I am experiencing the whole moment in slow motion as he lowers his cool lips to my own. He is not tentative like the other night, like he is not quite sure if he is going to get clocked around the head. This time there is a determination in his lips, and the hands that are locked around my hips pull me closer—as close as is physically possible under the circumstances.

My resolve weakens in a flash and I meld myself into him; my lips on his, hands in his hair, then along his back clutching at his t-shirt as if I don’t ever want to let go. Which I don’t. He backs me up against a tree and we stand under the turning leaves, lost in an oblivion I have never experienced before. I am greedy for it and want more. I tug his head down to mine and kiss him with as much enthusiasm as I can muster. Which is a lot.

Why I am doing this? Ben Chambers makes me want to punch him every time he opens his mouth, but at the moment all I want to do is kiss said mouth like there is no tomorrow. It makes no sense.

His hands lift me up off the ground and I wrap my legs around him, something I have never done before. Ever. My back is snagging on the bark of the tree but I don’t care in the least. The more pain the better. If it hurts, then it will somehow make it better. Make what I am doing better.

What Am I Doing?

The thought hits me like a slap in the face.

I am cheating.

The worse bit is not the fact that I am cheating on John, it is the fact I am cheating myself. Three days ago I came here to get away from my nightmare life, but as far as I can tell, I am just bringing the nightmare along for the ride.

I push against his chest, disengaging my lips and limbs from his. He does not let me get far. He just loosens his hold fractionally so I can slide down the length of his body until I am in a more suitable position. He is leaning down into me; his forehead is still pressed against mine, eyes closed.

“I broke my promise,” he says. His voice is thick and low.

At first, I do not know what he means.

“If anyone is breaking promises it is me,” I say.

Then I recall his words to me in the kitchen yesterday and I allow myself a smile. He smiles too. I can feel it: his nose skims along my jaw line and I take a deep breath. This is far harder than I thought it would be.

“I forgive you,” I say as I kiss his lips.

So shoot me. I can’t help it.

He presses against me and I know I need to speak now or I never will. And have to tell him the truth.

Please don’t like me. I don’t deserve it. I am a bitch who makes promises she does not intend to keep.

“Ben, wait.”

I pull away again, although not far enough, and his nose is still trailing up and down my neck. His lips follow leaving a pattern of their own, burnt into my skin. This is not working. I push away and he opens his eyes in surprise.

“I can’t do this Ben, I’m sorry.”

Then I run away like the big fat girl that I am. I don’t tell him anything apart from the embarrassing fact—one even I didn’t know—that I quite like to be groped whilst being pushed up against a tree.

————————————————————————————–

Author Bio

Anna Bloom is a contemporary romance writer who writes about life as it happens. Combining a busy schedule of looking after two small children whilst working in a local school and completing The Uni Files series she also spends a lot of time imagining kissing hot guys – all in the name of her art.

Find the author: Website/Blog | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads

————————————————————————————-

Purchase links

Amazon UK

Amazon US

————————————————————————————

Giveaway:

Sapphire Solitaire Necklace (open worldwide)
One prize package for US and one for the UK:
candy, ebook, signed post card and a $20 gift card (£10 UK)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

———————————————————————————–

Check out all the blogs involved in the tour HERE

Anna Bloom, Author Interviews, Interviews

AUTHOR INTERVIEW with Anna Bloom

Posted on August 8, 2013October 6, 2014 by Z. Elizabeth

Today I have a very truthful interview with the lovely Anna Bloom!

If you have yet to know of her and her awesome book (Which i am currently reading. Sorry guys, Ben is mine and has been for a few months now ;)) then maybe this will get you interested and click that button on 25th September 😉

————————————————————-

Synopsis

One year. One woman. One Diary. One question: can you ever stop history from repeating itself and if you could what would you do to stop it?
When Lilah McCannon realises at the age of twenty-five that history is going to repeat itself and she is going to become her mother—bored, drunk and wearing a twinset—there is only one thing to do: take drastic action.
Turning her back on her old life, Lilah’s plan is to enrol at university, get a degree and prove she is a grown-up.
As plans go, it is a good one. There are rules to follow: no alcohol, no cigarettes, no boys and no going home. But when Lilah meets the lead singer of a local band and finds herself unexpectedly falling in love, she realises her rules are not going to be the only things hard to keep.
With the academic year slipping by too quickly, Lilah faces a barrage of new challenges: will she ever make it up the Library stairs without having a heart attack? Can she handle a day on campus without drinking vodka? Will she ever manage to read a history book without falling asleep? And most importantly, can she become the grown-up that she desperately wants to be.
With her head and her heart pulling her in different directions can Lilah learn the hardest lesson that her first year of university has to teach her: The Art of Letting Go?

1) Firstly, where did the inspiration for The Art of Letting Go come from?
So this is the honest answer…When I was at Uni I wrote a diary…no I promise you I am not taking the p*ss, I actually did. A long long time after I graduated I found the diary and gave it a quick re-read. I was shocked and horrified by just what a pile of drivel I had written. So I threw it away. Another few years passed and I started thinking about the diary again, I guess I no longer felt so sensitive about the stuff that was in there. I kind of regretted throwing it away and I felt bad that I had thrown away a bit of my past just because I felt it in that moment. The more I thought about it the more the idea grew that it would be so much fun to just re-write my Uni diary and make it much more exciting than anything that actually happened to me! Much much more exciting…. No one would want to read a book about my antics at Uni but hopefully everyone will want to read about my characters.

2) How long did it take you to write it?
Well the overall writing with all the different versions took about two years, but when I first started writing I was not doing it seriously, I was just messing around. In fact I wrote a large percentage of the first version in long hand.

When I eventually started in earnest it was quite quick. My epithany for this version actually happened on the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee weekend I then wrote like a crazy person for two-three months solid and had pretty much finished the version I was going to keep by August when I handed it over to me editor. I am very spontaneous – if I hear it in my head then I just have to keep going until it is all down and I won’t stop until it is complete!

3) From your guest post, you said there were many things that changed, how did you know that this was the final version?
This was just the version that I knew worked. It was everything that I wanted, funny, sarcastic, romantic and a little on the edge. I did not want to just write a straight forward romance I wanted to push the reader a little, I wanted to challenge them into liking my characters. There is one bit that my editor, was like, no seriously there are going to be a lot of women that complain about that, but I held firm. A book should challenge you. It should be fun and enjoyable but the reader should want to invest in you and your characters and I really hope I have achieved that. I want everyone to believe in the world I have created and I knew I had the version I wanted to keep when I knew I believed in it – I was no longer trying to hit a word count the words were just flying from my fingers.

4) You’re book is unique, you use diary entries to mark the days/time of the events, what made you choose to do it this way?
I’ve touched on this above but I only really started the Diary idea after my Jubilee weekend epiphany. It just suddenly made sense – there I was trying to write a book based on this idea of an old diary of mine (remember not my actual diary) but I was not writing it as a Journal. The moment I started breaking it all up and looking at the academic year as a diary it all started to flow pretty fast. I love the fact that on some days Lilah has nothing at all to say but on another she has the one of the best days of her life. That’s what real life is actually like – it is not all drama every day! Well not for most people.

5) Is Lilah based on you or traits of you? Come on, no lying now 😉
Um…this is a tricky one. Truth be known Lilah does have a few of my traits, mainly a deep love of wine. But I don’t rely on Vodka to see my way through emotional trauma and I can cook!

I think most people want to know if this book is based on what happened to me at Uni but sadly it’s not. However, I do take note of pretty much everything that goes on around me and I am known to slide the odd thing in.

The fountain pen gaff in the opening pages is something that I once said to someone (thirteen years later it’s still one of the more embarrassing things I have said) and I did have a friend at Uni who puked on a pub carpet after a trip to the Imperial War Museum. In the second book there are a few of the crazier things that my sister and I have done over the years but I will reveal them when the time is right!

6) Ben is unique in the way he looks, black hair, blue eyes and freckles. Did you imagine anyone to look like him when you were writing him? It had taken us forever to find him.
The reason we can’t find a suitable picture of Ben, although I am rather pleased with the one we have found this week! Is basically because he only exists in my head. There is no Ben Chambers and he is not based look wise on anyone. The only thing I was determined to have were the cornflower blue eyes, that was very important to me but the rest just grew as I wrote him. I think that’s why his eyes are the first bit that Lilah see’s because that is the first bit I saw as well. I think his mannerisms are a culmination of many influences… but I can admit that I do love a man who can play guitar.

7) Taylor Swift songs are a big part of the book. What was it about her songs that made Lilah think about which ones she followed that day/week?
I listened to A LOT of Taylor Swift when writing this book, and I truly love her writing. She can get down in a three minute song what it takes me a 100k word book to say.

I added the songs on my first read through. So I listened to it a lot when writing but not any song in particular but then when I went back through from the beginning every time I had a little giggle or something obvious jumped out at me I added it in. I used to sit there and think – what would Taylor sing about that?

There is one Taylor Swift song that started off my whole writing process and I do mention it in the book but it is not one of the songs she is living her life too. I will tell you the day the book comes out and it goes back to my first answer regarding the diary….haha cryptic!

8) are Taylor’s songs a guilty pleasure on karaoke? 😉
I am far too old for Karaoke and I think the last thing I sang at Karaoke was an Abba song (I say no more) but I do have a feeling that one day…and maybe you will be there to sing it with me I will belt out All Too Well at the top of my lungs. I love that song and it is the sort of song that needs to be shouted…but I will need to be hideously drunk to do it!

9) how many bottles of wine did you get through when writing The Art Of Letting Go?
Too many too remember!! In fact I hate to think….

10) what is your fav wine?
Depends what mood I am in. Either a perfect crisp Pinot Grigio, or a deep heavy Shiraz guaranteed to give you a cracking headache.

11)if I were to come visit you, what would the night consist of? This is a plan!
Well we would have to go to Putney…obviously… We would start at the top of the high street at the Wetherspoons with all the old men (cheap booze) and then work our way down the high street until hopefully ending up at the Half Moon where if our luck is in there will be a hottie singing live music. Or we could go to The Fez…but I am probably too old to get in these days!

12)do you have more books in the line up? Like the second and third years? Spin-offs? Wink wink.
Yes, Year Two – The Art of keeping Faith is in editing right now. It is a bit of a shocker and even I cannot believe that I have taken the characters to those places, but it does have a good ending and that is all I am going to say!

Year Three – The Art of Growing Up is going to be my hardest one to write which is why I am putting it off for a moment until it is completely right in my head. The story line is going to go full circle but I already know how it is going to end, and believe me I cannot wait to write that scene.

Ben has his novella which I just love. There is this one line that makes me give a little squeal every time I read it. I love Ben maybe a little too much at times.

Alongside Year Two I am going to have another Novella based on a character called Zoe….a publishing assistant who helps Lilah out of a trick situation – twice (ha! You only know about the once). She is going to be around for the rest of the series and you never know may get a full novel of her own at some point when I have finished at Uni. Maybe a publishing house will be my next port of call! Actually I am going to finish a novel based in Cornwall first with a hot artist called Jude in it first but then maybe after that will head back to the big smoke and visit a publishing house.

13)You are an avid reader of my blog, and you always send me cute emails that make my day. I have to ask, what is it about my blog that keeps you reading?
I love your infectious love of books and your enthusiasm for supporting everyone. I like the fact that I think I can now read in between the lines of your reviews and know when you like a book and when you really love a book…I probably can’t but I like to think I can.

And I like the fact there is always an element of fun to the posts. It is not just a blog where you review books because that is what you say you are going to do. It is a blog you run because you love reading and you also love the art of writing and respect it.

14) if you were to pick one guy, other than your husband (don’t tell him I asked you this) to marry, who would it be?
Brandon Flowers. No hesitation whatsoever at all.

15) finally what scene are you most looking forward to people reading?
Oh that’s quite a tricky one. I think I like all the quiet moments between Lilah and Ben the best. I love it when they have conversations in the middle of the night. But if I had to narrow it down to one scene it would be Trafalgar Square or maybe the Leaver’s Ball. Or maybe Trafalgar Square, or maybe The Leavers Ball or maybe…

Follow Anna on Twitter @annabloombooks
Her Website: http://annabloomwrites.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnnaBloomBooks

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesday: The Art Of Letting Go – Anna Bloom

Posted on August 6, 2013August 2, 2013 by Z. Elizabeth

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers.

My Teaser

I think Roehampton actually chose me. In August, when i left my desk for the world’s longest cigarette break, i had no plan of what to do next.

Page 12, EARC of The Art of Letting go (The Uni Files) – Anna Bloom

Anna Bloom, Guest Reviews

GUEST REVIEW by Anna Bloom

Posted on August 3, 2013November 26, 2013 by Z. Elizabeth

Before I post Anna’s review, you all seriously need to add The Uni Files to your TBR list.

Anna has become a good friend and I’ve had sneaky views of this book and it really looks amazing to read! It’s my next book to read after my tour book ;). But yesss, Anna has kindly written about The Uni Files for ya’ll to know what it is about 😀

—————————————-

Synopsis

Turning her back on her old life, Lilah’s plan is to enrol at university, get a degree, prove she is a grown-up and blow a big fat raspberry at all those who doubt her, especially her dad.

With the academic year slipping by too quickly, Lilah faces a barrage of new challenges: will she ever make it up the Library stairs without having a heart attack? Can she handle a day on campus without drinking vodka? Will she ever manage to read a history book without falling asleep? And most importantly, can she become the grown-up that she desperately wants to be and learn the hardest lesson that her first year of university has to teach her: The Art of Letting Go?

The Uni File: Year One – The Art of Letting Go is the humorous diary of a young woman in the throes of a mid-twenties breakdown. It will leave you asking the question: can you ever stop history from repeating itself and if you could, what would you do to stop it?

————————————————

Anna’s guest post

Did you know that there were two versions of The Uni File – Year One before I finally finished one I was happy with? Of course you don’t. None of you know about The Uni File yet because we are still two months away from publication and you haven’t had a glimpse into the world of Ben and Lilah yet. It is a world to me, a world that I live and breathe and spend every waking moment thinking about.

So why did I end up with the version that I did? What did it have that the others didn’t? What made it set my imagination on fire to such an extent that it would become something that I would put my real life on hold for?

Well the truth is I don’t really know. It just evolved and my characters and the storyline changed along with it, every version took the characters one step further until I finally knew who I wanted them to be. For instance in my first draft Lilah was not called Lilah she was called Jessie and the Uni File was not a diary but a blog. Jessie used to have a diary but her brother Tristan who was also her best friend got drunk one night and read it out to the whole pub. Jessie left the diary at home and decided to have a blog instead on her first day at Uni.

I don’t know when Jessie became Lilah but I guess at some point she did and I am glad of that fact. The Uni File would just not be the same with a Jessie at the helm instead of a Delilah. Just the name Delilah speaks crazy for me and opens up so many different avenues to explore. For example Lilah hates it when people call her Delilah, but Ben does, normally when he is taking the piss out of her. All of her good friends call her Lil which I would never have thought works but it kind of does all the same.

Tristan did not remain in his cuddly best friend Brother role. He is Tristan the Arse in this version, but you will have to read it to find out why.

Now Ben. Ben was initially called Ben Chase and he did not play guitar. Yes that is right and I will repeat it just to make it clear, BEN DID NOT PLAY GUITAR! I know… I thought of a premise for a story where my Ben did not play guitar? I just can’t believe it, but the evidence is there so it must be true. Ben Chase was a member of the football team who seemed like an enigma to Jessie. Always warm and friendly but legged it at every available opportunity. I cannot even tell you how far this is from my Benjamin Chambers who is strong and solid, caring and thoughtful as well as super talented and outrageously hot (of course).

In my second draft I went the other way, Lilah was Lilah by that point but she was stuck in a dramatic storyline involving blackmail and family feuds. Ben was Ben Chambers but his band Sound Box were uber famous and it was Ben that was running away to University to escape the limelight and not Lilah who was changing her life in a bid to save herself.

I was halfway into this version when I woke up at five in the morning and had an epiphany. I knew exactly the kind of book I wanted to write. I stripped it all back to just Lilah and Ben and then I started to create a world around them, I gave them friends who all have their own stories, I gave them an environment where anything could be possible and I gave them the chance to create something that could be perfect. I wanted it to be laugh out loud funny, I wanted it to be beautiful and romantic. I wanted it to be a love story but a real one at the same time, one that people would read and fall in love with the characters but also understand and accept the decisions that they had to make. More than all of that I wanted to write a novel that people would believe, a love so right that it would feel it had actually happened, a world so convincing it would all feel real.

Have I succeeded? I hope so, but I guess I will be waiting for you guys to let me know when you finally get to enter the world of Lilah and Ben and The Uni Files.

Anna’s links

Website

Twitter