Title: Make it Last (Friends & Lovers, #1)Genre/Age Group: Contemporary New Adult
Publication Date: 11/12/12
In a small town, it's hard to recover from being dumped by your high school sweetheart. That's just what Briana has to do after Colin leaves her to follow his dreams. She focuses her energy into her friendships and the pursuit of her own goal of becoming a chef. Just when she finally feels like she's on the right path, he comes back to town.
Colin knew breaking up with Briana before leaving for college was the right thing to do. He was determined to leave small-town life behind forever, and that included his high school girlfriend. But when a sports injury puts him on the sidelines, he's forced to return home. Seeing Briana again brings back a lot of memories, and Colin wonders if he made the right decision. It doesn't take long for him to realize he wants her back, and this time, he wants to make it last.
The Story Behind Make It Last
- Make it Last is set in a small town in Texas. I chose not to give
it a name, because I wanted people to be able to imagine it their own way. I
lived in a small Texas town for three years growing up, so it's based off of
that place.
- I did a poll on Twitter for sexy male names when I was writing my
YA Contemporary Fantasy, and ended up using Levi for the male lead in that.
Colin was their second favorite, so I used that name for this one.
- I was listening to a lot of Country music this summer, which is
what made me decide that I wanted to write a romance set in a small country
town. I wrote the first couple of chapters, then sent it to my friend, Raine
Thomas, to see if she thought I had a good concept or not. She told me to keep
writing.
-
Make it Last was going to be a stand alone book. Then I started writing Kent and
Rich and knew I wanted to find out more about them.
- I have always been a huge Nora Roberts fan and love her trilogies.
I love how all three books feature all of the characters, but each one focuses
on one of the love stories. That is what I am doing with the Friends &
Lovers Trilogy.
- The first sex scene I have ever written is in Make it Last. I
blushed like crazy while writing it. :)
- During the initial draft, Make it Last was called, Something New.
Once I got further into the story, it didn't fit any more.
- The other title choices were This Time Around, Second Chance Love,
and Possibilities. You can see why I decided on Make it Last, lol.
- Once I decided on the title, I knew what the last line would be. I
also knew that I would want to do the same with the other two books as
well.
Thanks, Bethany, for sharing these cool facts about your book. I'm looking forward to reading Make It Last in the very near future!
Purchase Make It Last at:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords
Bethany Lopez was born in Detroit, Michigan, and grew up in Michigan and San Antonio, Texas. She went to High School at Dearborn High, in Dearborn, Michigan, which is where she has set her Young Adult novel. She is married and has a blended family with five children. She is currently serving in the United States Air Force as a Recruiter in Los Angeles, California. She has always loved to read and write and has seen her dream realized by independently publishing her contemporary Young Adult series, Stories About Melissa. Ta Ta for Now!, xoxoxo, and Ciao are available now. Bethany is currently working on a Contemporary Fantasy YA and a Contemporary New Adult Trilogy.
I really like the cover, the title and the blurb for this - I love the idea of teenagers re-visiting their relationship. The info was great too, I think the final title is a good choice and Colin is a great name :)
ReplyDeleteThank you! :)
DeleteThank you so much for the post, Andrea!
ReplyDeleteAwesome post!! I need to get this book. It sounds so good. I love the background info on how the book came to be.
ReplyDeleteBethany did a great job with this one. I like her Melissa series, but it is definitely clean. MIL is definitely a bit racier. I'm pretty sure I was one of the ones who said I loved Kent and Rich after this one. I'm glad she's making it a series. I've read Kent's and I liked it even more than this one. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for Beta Reading it for me, Autumn. I really appreciate your input! :)
DeleteI love the interview!
ReplyDeleteGreat interview! Put this on my TBR when I first saw it, looking forward to reading it:) Love that writing your first sex scene made you blush, aww and haha. The first one I ever wrote barely had any explanation because I was too embarrassed. Told my computer to stop looking at me while I was writing it, lol!
ReplyDeleteMegan,
DeleteHaha! My boss said he was going to download it and read it, I must have turned 3 shades of red and begged him not too.
I'm looking forward to reading this book! And I loved the interview! =)
ReplyDeleteOh these facts that Bethany shared with us are just brilliant! I love how all these little bits a pieces came to you when writing this book. Thanks for sharing this post with us Andrea! :)
ReplyDeleteI recently won a copy of this and am dying to crack it open *eyes TBR pile wishfully*
ReplyDeleteI liked this one but I wish it was a little bit longer. There was a particular truck scene I liked ;)
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a sweet and sexy read. I really want to get it! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun guest post! I love learning all those little kinds of facts and this book sounds so good.
ReplyDeleteI was reading this when sickness struck my life. MUST get back to it.
ReplyDeleteValerie
Awesome interview. This looks so good. Thanks for sharing! :)
ReplyDeleteI like when authors do series like this, books that are really companions but where you see familiar characters in each one. Yeah, I would blush like crazy if I were to write a sex scene!
ReplyDeleteI love books set in small country towns!
SO cool. I love stories about how titles and endings and more come together...
ReplyDelete