Interview with Courtney Walsh & Giveaway!

Hey Loves! Today is an exciting day because Courtney Wash is chatting with us about her newest novel, Just Look Up.  Most of you already know how much I love Just Look Up! It is not only one of my favorite reads of 2017, but one of my all time favorite reads.

Courtney is also giving away a physical copy of the book to one lucky winner! Stay tuned until the very end to learn how to enter.

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About Courtney Walsh

Courtney Walsh is a novelist, artist, theater director, and playwright. Change of Heart is her fifth novel and is set in the same town as Paper Hearts. Her debut novel, A Sweethaven Summer, hit the New York Times and USA Today e-book bestseller lists and was a Carol Award finalist in the debut author category. She has written two additional books in the Sweethaven series, as well as two craft books and several full-length musicals. Courtney lives in Illinois where she and her husband own a performing and visual arts studio. They have three children.

VISIT COURTNEY online at www.courtneywalshwrites.com.

VISIT COURTNEY on: Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Instagram, and Pinterest.

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About Just Look Up

After tirelessly climbing the ranks of her Chicago-based interior design firm, Lane Kelley is about to land her dream promotion when devastating news about her brother draws her back home–a quaint tourist town full of memories she’d just as soon forget. With her cell phone and laptop always within reach, Lane aims to check on her brother while staying focused on work–something her eclectic family doesn’t understand.Ryan Brooks never expected to settle down in Harbor Pointe, Michigan, but after his final tour of duty, it was the only place that felt like home. Now knee-deep in a renovation project that could boost tourism for the struggling town, he is thrilled to see Lane, the girl he secretly once loved, even if the circumstances of her homecoming aren’t ideal.

Their reunion gets off to a rocky start, however, when Ryan can’t find a trace of the girl he once knew in the woman she is today. As he slowly chips away at the walls Lane has built, secrets from his past collide with a terrible truth even he is reluctant to believe. Facing a crossroads that could define his future with Lane and jeopardize his relationship with the surrogate family he’s found in the Kelleys, Ryan hopes Lane can see that maybe what really matters has been right in front of her all along–if only she’d just look up.

Add on Goodreads

Purchase your copy here

Be sure to check out my review

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Thank you for joining me on the blog today Courtney! I’m so excited to chat with you!

Thanks so much for having me!! 🙂

What is your inspiration for writing Just Look Up?

Well, honestly, my inspiration came during a trip to NY, a place I absolutely LOVE… I hadn’t been back in years, and I noticed everyone on the street was staring down at their phone. I couldn’t help but think “Look up! You’re missing all the good stuff! Just Look Up!!” and it got me thinking about what I could be missing even though it’s right in front of my face… I knew that was the title, so then I started building the story around it.  

Tell us a little about Lane.

Lane is driven and ambitious. She was an overweight kid who grew up feeling out of place in a family of athletes. Now she’s a successful interior designer who works a LOT and is permanently connected to her phone and her social media. She loves her job, so it’s hard to separate herself from it, but the stress of it is getting to be too much.

Which character was the most fun to write about? Was it Brooks or Lane or another character that is in the novel?

I loved writing the scenes between Lane and Brooks. I decided to make Brooks a different kind of hero–not the standard brooding type we girls instantly swoon for, but someone with a sense of humor, who could evoke a smile from my serious heroine, someone who unapologetically pursues her. The flirtatiousness was really fun to write!

Which surprised you the most? Lane or Brooks?

Brooks. I often have the hero’s story all mapped out before I know the heroine’s story, but Brooks was different. I discovered his story as I wrote. That’s my favorite kind of writing to do. 🙂

What is the most important thing that you hope that readers take away from the book?

While the book obviously has a theme about disconnecting in order to reconnect with actual people, there’s another layer underneath that–the notion that we don’t have to strive to earn unconditional love. There’s One who gives it freely, willingly and with grace we don’t deserve. That striving has nearly done me in, and I don’t think I’m the only one.

I can imagine Just Look Up as a movie. If you could pick any actress or actor to play the roles of Lane and Brooks, whom would you choose?

Well, the closest actress I could find to Lane is Jaime Alexander (with long hair.) I’m not sure I’ve found the perfect brooks. There’s a fitness guy who is somewhat similar (but a little too bulky)… but if I had to choose, it would be someone probably like Ryan Reynolds, mostly because he’s handsome, adorable AND funny. I love a funny man. (Well, I love ONE funny man.) 🙂

Will we be seeing Lane and Brooks again in future books?

Yes! They will show up in the next Harbor Pointe novel, Just Let Go! I’m excited about that!  

Before you go, tell us a little bit of what you’re working on now?

I just today turned in the first round of edits on Just Let Go and I’m preparing for the release of a women’s fiction novel I’ve written called Hometown Girl. That one releases in the fall!

🙂 Thanks for letting me chat with you, Rebecca!!

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***GIVEAWAY TIME!!!***

Before you go, be sure to enter the giveaway! Courtney is offering a paperback copy of Just Look Up to one of my readers! (US only and please no P.O. boxes!)

All you have to do is enter the rafflecopter below. You have to enter the rafflecopter to be qualified.

This giveaway has ended. Thank you so much for participating! Congrats to Trisha R.! You are the giveaway winner!

Click here to enter: a Rafflecopter giveaway