A little about Twenty-Five
Abigail Bronsen is sure her life is going nowhere when she turns twenty-five and realizes she hasn't done anything on a list of goals she made for herself as a teenager. Ben Harris is looking to find "the one" after his last girlfriend cheated on him. When they crash into each other, it appears they've both found exactly what they wanted. A year of firsts follows: first date, first kiss, first “I love you’s.” The first fight is inevitable, but neither of them saw a breakup coming. When Abigail is offered a job overseas, they’ll discover that no relationship is perfect and even true love sometimes finds itself separated by time and distance.
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1. What was your inspiration for this book? I was twenty-four years old, living with my parents, working at a job I hated, and my younger sister was planning a wedding. I felt like nothing was going right in my life. One day I was just fed up with being frustrated. I sat down at my desk, turned off the television, and wrote out my feelings. Eventually that turned into writing Twenty-Five, the love story I’d always wanted, but never gotten.
2. Would you classify your writing as plot driven or character driven? Plot, definitely. I’m bad at characters! Twenty-Five is a little different because the main character was basically me in the first draft, but the other things I’m working on are much more dependent on the plot than the characters. Hopefully, as I grow as a writer, the character development will grow, too.
3. Can you tell us a little about your main character? Abigail is facing a lot of the problems I was facing myself when I wrote the book. She hates her job. She feels overshadowed by siblings that she loves. And she’s never had a real relationship. She’s lonely. But the great thing about her is she strives for independence even when a man comes along who offers to take care of her. Throughout the book, she thinks she isn’t living life, but she’s constantly trying new things. She underestimates herself, when she’s really a pretty awesome person.
4. Without giving away too much, tell us a little about the main conflict in this book. Traditional writers and critics are going to hate this book! When I was editing it, the biggest critique I got was that there needed to be more conflict. But in real life, the conflict isn’t always good vs. evil. In real life, conflict can be as little as not being able to tell the guy you’ve just started seeing how inexperienced you are in love and life. I wanted this story and these characters to be as close to real life as possible.
5. What do you hope readers take away from this book? A love story makes everything better. When it comes to love, you have to find yourself just as much as you have to find someone else.
6. What song best describes your writing style? A song to describe my writing style? Haha, I don’t know. But I always think of Twenty-Five when I hear the song, “Collide,” by Howie Day.
7. Night Owl or Early Bird? Such a night owl. But as I am getting older, I find it harder and harder to sleep in on weekends, so the tides might be changing there.
8. Skittle or M&Ms? Skittles, but chocolate in almost anything else. Brownies, Chocolate cake, ice cream, cookies. I prefer my sweets to have some substance.
9. Who are your favorite authors? Jane Austen, something my MC and I share. Charles Dickens, JK Rowling (if you don’t love Harry Potter, we can’t be friends), Claire LaZebnik, Kathy Reichs. And all of my friends in the real world whose work I read and am amazed by.
10. Can you tell us about any future projects? Absolutely! I have a second book written that I am currently editing – a fantasy about mermaids who don’t have the ability to love. I’ve also just started writing another book set in a parallel universe that asks the question “is there really only one person for everyone?” Obviously, love is a theme!
Meet the Author
Twenty-Five is available now from
Connect with Rachel online
I like what she said, "you have to find yourself just as much as you have to find someone else". I know I've been too dependent on relationships for the longest time, that I must make an effort to really get to know myself before anything else.
ReplyDeleteI agree, that line really says a lot. And it's very true as well. Thanks for stopping by, Pepper.
DeleteIt's almost a cliche how true it is!
DeleteThis sounds like an excellent book. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI really was one I enjoyed a lot! Thanks for checking it out, Christy!
DeleteThanks, Chrisy! I hope you'll read the book!
DeleteThis book sounds very interesting and something that I would definitely read (along with the mermaid book!).
ReplyDeleteI hope you check it out! Thanks for taking the time to stop by, April!
DeleteThanks, April! The mermaid book will hopefully be available around the beginning of 2014. It's called The Maidening Ceremony.
DeleteThat sounds like an interesting book! It is true, sometimes conflicts are not huge, but still important.
ReplyDeleteSometimes the smallest thing can have big effects, especially in relationships. Thanks for stopping by, Raine!
DeleteThe conflicts that seem to make the most impact on individuals are the smallest ones, sometimes. Thanks, Raine!
DeleteSounds like a good read. I love how open Rachel is about the inspiration for the book. I makes me want to know how the story ends...for both the characters and Rachel.
ReplyDeleteIt really does! I hope you get a chance to read the book and find out :) Thanks for stopping by!
DeleteSavvy, thank you! you'll have to read the book to find out how the story ends for Ben and Abigail, but as for me... I'm still a work in progress!
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