Foreplay by Sophie Jordan - A Fun Q&A!

FOREPLAY

The Ivy Chronicles

New York Times Bestselling Author Sophie Jordan Enters the “New Adult” Arena

With a Sizzling New Novel About Ivy League Co-Eds Behaving Badly!

New York Times bestselling author Sophie Jordan has made a name for herself writing sweeping, passionate historical romances; fiery, angsty, impassioned Young Adult novels; and even   paranormal books as “Sharie Kohler.” Now the multi-faceted wordsmith is branching out into New Adult, an emerging genre focused on 20-somethings facing adult challenges and relationships – and indulging in scandalous sexcapades – for the first time ever!

FOREPLAY, (William Morrow, 11/5/13, ISBN 9780062279873, $13.99; e-ISBN 9780062279880) is the first in a new series about young co-eds finding themselves at a prestigious Ivy League university (one which boasts a vaunted higher education amidst furtive whispers about a kink club somewhere on campus…).

Pepper isn’t the type of girl you’d find socializing with the college kink crowd.  She’s only been kissed once, and she’s been in love with her best friend’s brother for longer than she can imagine.  But Hunter has never seen her as more than an honorary little sister…and it’s time for that to change.

FOREPLAY, page 2

With the help of her two suitemates, Georgia and Emerson, Pepper embarks upon a lifestyle makeover. New clothes, new hair, new attitude.  She’s going to find herself a man who’ll teach her how all about the art of seduction, in hopes that a sexy new image will finally make Hunter pay attention to her.  When Pepper sets her sights on bartender Reece Mulvaney, who has a reputation for sleeping around, she’s shocked when he turns out to be nothing like the playboy she expects.  Reece is dangerous and dark, with a troubled past, and wants a lot more out of a relationship with Pepper than a mere hookup or two. 

Soon, what began as a lesson in attraction turns both their worlds upside down, showing what can happen when two lovers surpass mere foreplay and discover the heart of something real…

FOREPLAY

The Ivy Chronicles

By Sophie Jordan

William Morrow

On-Sale 11/5/2013 

ISBN 9780062279873, $13.99

e-ISBN 9780062279880

Sophie Jordan took her adolescent daydreaming one step further and penned her first romance in the back of her high school Spanish class. This passion led her to pursue a degree in English and History.

A brief stint in law school taught her that case law was not nearly as interesting as literature - teaching English seemed a natural choice. After several years teaching high school students to love ANTIGONE, Sophie decided it was time to pursue her long-held dream of writing. Two years later, she landed her first publishing contract.

Her first book, ONCE UPON A WEDDING NIGHT, was a 2006 Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Nominee for Best First Historical. Her second novel, TOO WICKED TO TAME, released in March 2007 with a bang - landing on the USA Today Bestseller's List. A few books later marked her first appearance on the New York Times bestseller list with the release of IN SCANDAL THEY WED.

And as if she's not busy enough, Sophie writes young adult fiction and contemporary paranormals. Sophie resides in Houston with her family and loves to hear from readers. To learn the latest information about Sophie and her books, follow her on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/sophie.jordan.980) and Twitter (@soverysophie), and visit www.sophiejordan.net.

INDULGING IN A LITTLE FOREPLAY…

A Q&A With Author Sophie Jordan About Her Newest Novel!

First romance, then YA…now New Adult.  Your writing is incandescent in every genre…but is this newest literary move aimed at bridging your audiences?

It really just seemed a perfect fit. Romance is part of everything I write … be it YA or adult romance. How could I resist writing in this new genre? Especially since some of the most exciting experiences in my life happened in my early twenties – that’s when I first fell in love. Everything was so intense and emotional then. It was easy to remember and channel that period of time.

Pepper, the protagonist of FOREPLAY, and Reece, one of her love interests, both have very damaged pasts.  Is this one of the key tenets of the emerging “New Adult” genres – along with dramatic characters, larger-than-life situations, high drama and searing sensuality? 

I’m not sure whether it’s a key tenet of new adult or rather that it just makes for great conflict within a romance story. Life is messy and the happily-ever-after is that much more cherished when the characters have overcome a lot to get there.

Love triangles.  There’s got to be a love triangle?  This also seems the case in Young Adult…Do you see this trend moving towards adult romances as well?

I’m on the fence about the love triangle. I don’t think it needs to be there just for the sake of having one, but as mentioned it’s very prevalent in young adult. And that’s totally realistic. In my opinion, it’s natural for a teenager, and someone in their early twenties, to be on the fence about who they’re going to commit to forever. I’m less inclined to enjoy a love triangle with a heroine that’s older … say in her thirties. She should know herself better. I’m less patient about her flip-flopping between two guys. 

That said, it just depends on the story you’re trying to tell … there’s a “mini-love triangle” in FOREPLAY because once Pepper meets Reece, the reader knows he’s her guy. Even if she doesn’t know it … or she does, but it’s just buried waaaaay deep down. ;)

Tattoos.  Also an emerging trend in romance and New Adult – tattooed bad boys.  Why are these sexy, of-the-moment bad boy heroes on the rise?

I think taking a seemingly dark hero and redeeming him through love has always been popular. A broken, tattooed bad boy from the wrong side of the tracks isn't that different from the paranormal vampire/werewolf/fill-in-the-blank hero. It's a very uncertain world, and there is something hopeful about a love story between two unlikely people. Sure, readers want to escape into the fantasy -- and while these tatted heroes are sexy and cool, they're also human and accessible. Readers want to believe ... and feel hope. This is the power behind romance novels. It's what drew me to reading them and it's why I write them today.

In FOREPLAY, we hear whispers that “Dartmore” College is secretly home to a very undercover “kink club”…the type of illicit activity that heroine Pepper (Last Name?) would never indulge in.  Will future heroines in the “Ivy Chronicles” series venture behind these closed doors, and engage in some illicit extracurricular activities?

The kink club is part of the “frame-work” for the Ivy Chronicles. I came up with the idea when I learned that several Ivy League schools do in fact have university sanctioned kink clubs. This served as all kinds of fodder for the imagination.

In FOREPLAY, Pepper learns of the existence of a campus kink club. More about the club will be unveiled through the series. Pepper’s suitemates, the heroines of the future Ivy books, just *might* venture beyond its doors…

So the steam level is definitely going to increase as the Ivy Chronicles progresses?  Because the scenes between Pepper and Reece are pretty spicy already!

Yes, I think the steam level might get a tad hotter. It’s all about pushing characters into uncomfortable situations where they can learn more about themselves. Not to mention, I just love writing sexy stories … almost as much as I love reading them.

What’s next for the multi-talented Sophie Jordan?

Well, I’m working on the next Ivy book right now (TEASE) and having lots of fun pushing Emerson outside her comfort zone … and up to the doors of the campus kink club. ;) TEASE is schedule to release in June 2014. My next young adult novel, UNINVITED, is scheduled to release in January of 2014. It’s another project where I tried to push boundaries. Pitched as The Scarlet Letter meets Minority Report, it’s a chilling story of a teenage girl who is ostracized when a genetic test proves she's destined to become a murderer. Oh, yeah … and it’s a romance, too. ;)