Blog Tour: Interview with S.L. Scott - Naturally, Charlie

Welcome to our stop on the Naturally, Charlie blog tour for S. L. Scott. The blog tour is hosted by The Readiacs. 

S.L. Scott Links: Web • Goodreads • Facebook • Twitter

About this author: S.L. Scott is a former high-tech account manager with a journalism degree pursuing her passion for telling stories. She spends her days escaping into her characters and letting them lead her on their adventures.

Live music shows, harvesting jalapenos and eating homemade guacamole are her obsessions she calls hobbies.

Scott lives in the beautiful Texas hill country of Austin with her husband, two young sons, two Papillons and a bowl full of Sea Monkeys.

Naturally, Charlie is Scott's debut novel.

She welcomes your notes at sl@slscottauthor.com.

---

Once Upon a Twilight Interview – S.L. Scott Naturally, Charlie

OUaT: Can you share a little of your current work with us?

I’d love to. My book Naturally, Charlie is the tale of two Charlies (Charlotte and Charles) who fight their own fates to discover their destiny. They are set out on one path and when their paths intersect several times they finally get the message that maybe this person is meant to be in my life. Here’s an little excerpt:

“Did you know you have a bull’s-eye on your chest?” He lifts his gaze from my chest to my eyes as he takes a bite of the saucy noodles.

“Oh,” I say, looking down at my T-shirt, “it’s from college. My roommate has one, too. We made them as an experiment.”

He chuckles. “I’m sure you proved your hypothesis true if the experiment was to draw every guy’s attention straight to your breasts.”

I cover my mouth with my hand so it doesn’t get ugly when I burst out laughing. After catching my breath, I ask, “So it worked?”

“One hundred percent, baby. By the way, you don’t need a bull’s-eye to get a guy’s attention.”

“Are we still talking science here?”

“Maybe chemistry.”

OUaT: Do you have to travel much concerning your book (s)?

No, but I’d love to. I’d also love to visit some of the places in the book. I would like to have a drink at the Subway Inn in New York City and see the inside of the churches. I’d like to meander the aisles of the Barnes & Noble at 82nd & Broadway which is used towards the end of the story. A dream would be to have my books in that store.

OUaT: Any recent appearances that you would like to share with us about/any upcoming ones?

Yes. I will be at the Texas Book Festival with Naturally, Charlie on October 27th and 28th. This is exciting for me to have the book there because it’s before the official release date, so it will be the first time sharing the book with the public. This whole experience is surreal so I’m sure that one will be too.

OUaT: What is your work schedule like when you’re writing?

Obsessive. When I’m writing it’s crazy. The story and characters consume me and every free minute I have is writing. I wake up early and stay up late just to squeeze more writing time in. Writing is my passion so it feels good to be doing it.

OUaT: Do you have any suggestions to help me become a better writer? If so, what are they?

Write for yourself. Don’t let others expectations and opinions guide your story. That’s their story and let them write it. Follow your heart and write the story that was meant to be and that you envisioned.

OUaT: What books have most influenced your life?

Pride and Prejudice, The Twilight Saga, and chick lit. Pride and Prejudice because the prose is beautiful and every word feels important and necessary. It’s a great love conquers all story.

The Twilight series because it was in first person and I felt every emotion Bella had through the words. I loved the destiny aspect of the story. They were always meant to be together. I’m a hopeless romantic and that series speaks volumes to that side of me. It’s a great love story. The timing was right in my personal life when I first read the series and I started writing again three days after I set Breaking Dawn down. It was serendipitous.

Chick lit (even though this category of books is now contemporary romance by publishing standards, I still see the category a viable one) showed me that my writing has a place. It can be humorous, and fun, and real, and the characters can be flawed. Females can be leads in books and strong, opinionated, have great girl friends, and drink cocktails without shame.

OUaT: What new author has grasped your interest?

Tammara Webber – she writes in a style I like to read which is modern and more how we talk. It’s how I write so I relate that way. It’s a more casual style of writing and she uses adverbs. I have a great love affair with adverbs though I always end up eliminating more than 50% of the ones in my manuscripts. So if you see one, it’s because it was the best way in my opinion to convey the message I was sending.

OUaT: Do you see writing as a long-term or short-term career?

I will always write. I always have written. I want to make it my full time career.

OUaT: Which of your characters is your favorite?

I have an odd attachment to all of my characters even the more evil ones. They live inside of me and I feel their emotions so it’s hard to say which is my all time favorite. Right now I’m still in love with Veronica in Naturally, Charlie. I won’t give away too much, but she was a delight to write. I love that she says what she thinks and lives life to the fullest. She’s vivacious.

OUaT: Quiet and Loud. I’m more of a loud girl, what about you?

Loud although I con myself into thinking I’m more the quiet type. I’m not though, I must confess.

OUaT: Crayons or Markers?

Markers. They are more solid and I was always a messy crayon user. My sister’s pictures were always so perfect and pretty. Mine – not so much.

OUaT: What’s your favorite word? 

Whimsical. It makes me happy when I say it or see it.

---

Naturally, Charlie
Author: S. L. Scott
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Chick Lit
Released: November 1st 2012
Publisher: The Writer's Coffee Shop Publishing House
Available: Amazon • BN.com • IndieBound

Summary: Twenty-five year old Charlotte “Charlie” Barrow is caught between her old life and the one she is beginning to build when she crosses paths with a handsome stranger on the subway. Not looking for romance, she closes her heart off to the possibilities of love. With a knack for mishaps, Charlie maintains her sense of humor while befriending the kind stranger who seems to be there at all the right times.

New York freelance writer, Charlie Adams, is forging his own path beyond the expectations of the society circles of his childhood. Rejecting family money, and fast-lane friends, he is snubbed by his family as he follows his own compass to a life more extraordinary.

Through a coincidence of events, they come to rely on each other for comfort. This is the tale of two Charlies learning to trust again while fighting their fates to create their own destiny.