Interview / Author Spotlight – Lan LLP; author of Beginning with Forever

Posted on August 24, 2014 by Lani Mac

Hi all, as you saw just a few days ago, I participated in a blog tour of Beginning with Forever, the first book in the Forever series. Given I’m clearly a fan, I was given the opportunity to ask a few questions to our author, and she was more than kind enough to give me some of her time. Before we dive into those questions, here’s a bit more on Lan LLP:

Author Bio:

Over a long year ago, I picked up a pen to jot down the first sentence of my vivid imagination. Those initial words were the seeds that grew into my flowering romance book, “Beginning with Forever.” With all my heart, I wrote, rewrote, edited, re-edited and now, I’m finally ready to share it with all of you. My one and only aspiration for this book is to have readers embrace my story and characters with their heart.If I can make someone laugh till their gut hurts, hate the villain with vengeance, cry till their eyes dry out, fall in love all over again, and drool over the hero or feel any other emotions, than I’ve succeeded my goal.
I’m the sappiest person in the world when it comes to romance. Don’t smirk! I believe in love at first sight, Prince Charming or in my book,Mr. Hot Billionaire, and happy endings. In my heart, every women deserves all three, and they will when they lose themselves in my books. Your fantasy can become a reality with just the flip of a page, so come join me.

Social media links:

Email: forevertrue.carsonlily@gmail.com

Blog: http://forevertruecarsonlillian.blogspot.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/forevercarsonlillian

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LanLLP

Wattpad: http://wattpad.com/LanLLP

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/LanLLP/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7782226.Lan_LLP

Now onto the Interview :

Me: Before I get into it, thank you so much for taking your time to talk – after reading this first installment of the Forever series, I’m hooked! So, how did you get started in writing erotica – what inspired you? And, are there any authors in the genre that you gravitate towards or are inspired by?

Lan: I began writing as a challenge from my friends after we all read 50 Shades of Grey. They wanted me to create my version of CG. I would say E.L James and Sylvia Day are authors who inspired me.

Me: I can see how you could get taken with that challenge. I was getting a hint of Christian with Carson, so I can see the start. How did you come up with the inspiration and the back story for this series and these characters? A lot of authors give us the leading man as a CEO of a successful business, but for Lillian?

Lan: I wanted to write a billionaire love story that was different from everyone else’s. With my love for the tropical islands and my familiar medical background, I put those two together and came up with Lillian’s character. I kill cancer for a living and always pray that we’d find a cure for it one day. This is how I came up with Carson’s background.

Me: Impressive! I really like to see when an author’s life ties into their work from a different POV. What do you consider to be your biggest challenge and success in writing / publishing?

Lan: The biggest challenge is getting my book out to readers. I’ve read so many amazing books by indie authors like myself that don’t receive the recognition they deserve.

Me: Not surprising at all – although i think that you started writing at a peak time when it’s very common for authors to go the ePub route and find a self-publishing outlet. What advice would you give to budding authors?

Lan: Always believe in your work no matter what some people tell you. You’ll never be able to please everyone so chuck it up as your book wasn’t a good fit for the person who didn’t like your book.

Me: I love that advice – i tend to be very careful when i’m reviewing as well – since i know that authors take great pride in their work. I can’t love everything, but that doesn’t always put me off a writer. Fortunately here, I’m a fan from the beginning! What’s next on the list for you to write – what are the next works that you have coming out and where can my readers find them?

Lan: My second book, Finding our Forever, is with the editor right now. It will be released in Sept. I’m currently working on the final book of the Forever series, ‘Ending with Forever,’ My first book, Beginning with Forever is currently only available via Amazon.

Me: Thank Goodness that september isn’t so far away – i don’t know what i’d do personally if i had to wait too long to see what happens. the cliffhanger – AMAZING! Lastly, anything more that you’d like to share?

Lan: I want to thank all of you who’ve given my book a chance to win over your heart. Stick with the series and you’ll be completely stuck on Carson and Lillian and all their adventures. It won’t be a dull ride. I promise.

Me: If the future keeps us on the same tight rope as this first book, I know that you won’t disappoint, and I’m looking forward to what’s next from you in this series and in anything else that you write. Good luck and thank you again for taking the time to chat!

As a follow up, knowing that some of the inspiration of this series came from a challenge from friends after reading FSOG, I wanted to get our author’s POV on how she feels that the genre has changed or expanded based on the overall general acceptance of FSOG and what it means for writers and readers.

Lan: Personally, I believe FSOG has helped many writers push their limits instead of staying within a ‘safe’ boundary. They’re not afraid to write their darkest, sexiest secret desires because it’s finally acceptable to admit it out loud.

Amen to that – is what I say to her response. I feel like there was a lot of taboo before everyone got onto the bandwagon, and from a girl who began reading romance in middle school and got into the ‘good stuff’ of erotica in college, it’s great to see that now it’s ok to be a fan and to be a budding author of the genre. You can put it on paper and not feel like you have to hide.

Thank you all for continuing to support my blog, and i hope that you continue to support the Forever series and Lan LLP.

Review: Beginning with Forever (Forever #1) by Lan LLP

Posted on August 22, 2014 by Lani Mac

Title: Beginning with Forever
Author: Lan LLP
Publisher/Year: Entangled Publishing 3/14
Length: 486
Series: Forever #1

Overview

Love isn’t easy to forget even if you’re determined to never feel it again. It has a way of finding you when all hope is gone, resurfacing tender emotions you’ve buried deep in your core because the pain of acknowledging them is too much for you to handle.

Carson Bradley, CEO of a powerful pharmaceutical corporation is rich beyond boundaries with a missing soul. His heart faded away fifteen years ago with the death of his first love.He strives every day for the sake of his cancer research because he’s determined to eradicate it forever.

Lillian Ly is a humble, young medical student whose kind and generous heart is as vast as the universe. Being raised poor by a single parent; she matured quickly and respected the sacrifices her mother made for her. Lillian’s determination leads her down a stringent five-year path with no room for love.

When their paths cross at an unlikely place thousands of miles away from home, they both realize that fate has brought them together, and Carson will never let anything or anyone tear them apart. He knows how desolate life is without love and refuses to return to that empty place ever again.

Lillian enters Carson’s world with the purest intention of loving him with all her heart, but discovers that his volatile world will alter her uncomplicated life indefinitely. Regardless of what obstacles are thrown in their path, Lillian and Carson will endure them all to hold onto their forever from the beginning to the end.

My Thoughts

I always wonder what the right time is to introduce a twist into the mix is, and in this instance, we hardly had to wait at all. I think that it’s interesting, although i feel like it detracted from a bit of the initial romance since personally i kept wondering what the back story is and when the other shoe would drop.

To take a step back, what we have here is a really great romance between our typical sexy and steamy CEO Carson who isn’t sure that he’ll ever find love again since he lost his first at a very young age. At the same time, we have our leading lady – Lil who is quite driven in all things academic and professional yet she’s incredibly naive in all things dealing with men. This comparison though, aside from the missing BDSM bit screams FSOG – but in a good way.

Where we meet these 2 is a bit in the past, as a lead into where we’ll be in the present – with Lil being accepted to an acclaimed accelerated medical program in St Croix, and Carson on his way to his wedding which he’s not overjoyed about. His plane goes down, and he ends up at Lils feet – literally and this is where their lives take a huge turn.

The story from there really gives us a heart warming romanticism – in the sense that they’ve both realized that they are perfect for one another, even in a matter of days or weeks. Carson is only temporarily on the island an Lily can’t bring herself to leave because of school, so we see them get hot and heavy fast – with some great scening and passion to go along with it.

Where the twist arises is with Carson’s ex – Bianca who’s not quite ready to give up on Carson, for reasons that we don’t quite know yet. what we’ve been clued in on is that she’s not really faithful to Carson, given that she’s in a relationship with her female assistant, and she’s more of a gold digger – but there seems to be more. I don’t know about any other readers, but i’m wondering what else she knows or thinks she knows.

It’s only towards the latter third of the book that things get really good. Not only do we see roller coasters going on with Carson and Lil, given that there are secrets and they aren’t in the same locale (he in Boston and she on St Croix) but Richard (one of her besties at school) and Bianca are up to no good. The other bit is that there’s some less than good stuff going on with Carson’s company and he’s concerned that it’s putting a lot more than just his research in jeopardy. This leads us to a very dicey cliffhanger of sorts, and one that made me quite sad, since we see a death in the midst of what was finally looking to be an upswing.

So, with all that, we have the makings of a great introduction to a series – hot romance and passion, a bit of naughtiness all around, and tension and anxiety since we don’t know all the motives, and who’s still to be trusted and who can’t be. Between you and me, i feel like Owen (Carson’s #2) isn’t to be trusted – he’s just a bit too ‘on his game’ but that’s just me being a cynic i hope. Anyhow – i’m upset that i have to wait a while to get book 2, but you guys should def check out this book 1!! Enjoy!