Into The Night Book Reviews: Blog Tour Stop and Giveaway

This is the beginning of an atypical romance.

When artist Nate Wilson falls in love, he falls hard. The problem is, he’s only been in love once, and the girl of his affections is his best friend, Emi Hennigan. In high school, the two bonded over painful breakups, and swore off a relationship to save their friendship. Thirteen years later, Nate has had more than his share of emotionally-unfulfilling, sexual relationships with beautiful women to distract himself from his true romantic feelings.

When a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity takes Nate away from his friend and his comfortable lifestyle, he is forced to reflect on the distinct void that Emi’s absence leaves in his life. To Nate’s surprise, Emi has a similar experience; but as the friends embark upon their journey toward happiness together, destiny reveals other plans for Emi.

Lori thank you so much for taking some time out to answer a few questions from us.

Lets start with what was your inspiration for Lost and Found?
These characters – Nate and Emi – sort of came to me over a couple of weeks. They developed before the plot, and just about the time I understood who they were, I realized how their relationship would play out. The idea of life-long friends becoming more than that has always seemed romantic to me.

Describe yourself in three words

Emotional. Driven. Creative.

What has been your most memorable author moment so far?
It was early on, before the books were published. I modified a chapter I had written for the Emi Lost & Found series and entered it into the Writers’ Digest short story competition. I received an honorable mention, which blew me away and really did push me to keep going at a time when I was doubting my talent.

What are the things you "must have" when you’re writing?
I need my computer and music, and maybe a Diet Coke. I’ve learned to adapt to my surroundings, and can write in almost any environment.

What would you say is Nate’s most admirable quality?
His commitment to the pursuit of love. He knows love, he just isn’t always free to express it the way he really wants to.

What three words do you think best describes Emi?
(She matures quite a bit over the course of the books I’ve written, which span nearly thirty years… so I’ll answer this for Lost and Found’s Emi.) Sensitive. Stubborn. Hopeful.

What/who is your favorite book/author?
I have a horrible memory, and can’t recount a lot of what I’ve read. The books I’ve devoured recently (mostly YA) are good – many are quite good – but thinking back to reactions I’ve had of other books, they just don’t affect me in quite the same way. I will say that I walked away from Lolita in awe of the way Nabokov crafted his prose. Truly. And I know there was a lot of controversy over A Million Little Pieces by James Frey, but I think that was the first book I read that broke all the rules of writing, and really opened my eyes to a whole new world of possibilities.

What would you say is your ultimate guilty pleasure?
New Kids on the Block.

OK, I did a bit of a double take there. Not actually what I would have picked and very, very different to some of our other author interview responses - but you go girl!!

To give everyone a little bit more insight into Lori Otto - pick one of each of the following:

Paperback or e-book? e-book

White, Milk or Dark chocolate? Dark

White or Red wine? White

Sleeping in or Staying up late? Staying up late
Summer or Winter? Winter

Facebook or Twitter? Facebook

I would have picked Facebook as your preference for the last question. I was sure Twitter would have too many similarities to your billboard industry experience!! Thanks again for taking the time to share with us Lori. All the best for the blog tour.

After graduating from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1997 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications, Lori Otto worked in the billboard industry for ten years. Frustrated with trying to communicate entire messages in “seven seconds or less,” she decided to leave outdoor advertising and return to her love of creative writing.