AUTHOR INTERVIEW & GIVEAWAY - SAMANTHA CHANDLER, DEDICATED UNDENIABLY TO YOU

Welcome to FLY HIGH! Samantha. Thanks for accepting my invitation to tell us about yourself and your new novel. My first question is, what made you finally decide to sit down and write Dedicated Undeniably To you?

 First of all, let me thank you for inviting me, Maria Grazia. Then, my answer to your question: I wrote the novel because I read all of Judith McNaught's novels and ran out.  So I started writing to see if I could come up with a story that would make you fall in love with love, laugh and wonder about another time and place.  

What about telling us something more about yourself? 

Samantha Chandler is my pen name. It's composed of my niece's name Sammantha (two mssss) and a chandler is a person that makes candles ...which I do. I have a company called S.ENT and I hand-pour soy candles...Although, I am an architect and the design director for a firm in Miami. I design high rise modern buildings very modern...but my heart is somewhere in 1819...go figure....If you like architecture visit thefullertongroup.com and look for Daisy Sanchez-Fernandez - my designs include the buildings called - Capital, Reforma, Everglades, Ocean Palms, Soliel....

What is your favorite genre as a reader? 

I love historical romance. Primarily because the hero always admits to being in love and places his lady as queen of his life...a bit naive I guess for this generation, but my grandfather and grandmother were married for 50 years and he told me that a man should treat his wife as the queen of his home and that kind of stuck to my brain particles...lol

What influenced you the most when you started writing? 

My influence was what I like to call the "art of misunderstandings". The truth is either black or white but in between black and white there is alot of gray and there in lies a story. I also loved Shakespeare's comedies..."all the world's a stage" inspired the staged presentation to the parents announcing the "new" wedding, every man truly does have his or her role.

Did you plan to write a sequel or prequel for your debut novel? 

I am actually writing  Remind Me Forever.  I have been asked to write Alex and Amanda's story - prequel - and in Remind Me Forever there will be cause to write again I hope.

Great! Could  you anticipate something  to us without giving away huge spoilers?

The next book is the story of Pierce and Laura...You can't let "coward" be the last impression she has of him, therefore he is on his way back and have no doubt, he is coming for her.  In Remind Me Forever there will also be the introduction of the OMG Society inspired by none only than the Duke of Blackwell himself.

Do you usually listen to any music while writing? 

That's funny you should ask because, no, not for Dedicated Undeniably To You, but for the sequel Remind Me Forever I find lyrics that inspire me all the time...currently it is Make Me Feel Your Love by Adele - I also listen to country music, there's always a challenging love story to be found there....someone's done somebody else wrong...I Told You So by Randy Travis is also a good one for Remind Me Forever.

A title is a very important part of the book. How did you choose yours? 

I really like it. Most romance novels that feature the regency period explain marriage as a "duty" on the part of the titled lord.  I wanted to challenge that "duty" by the orchestrated power of Fate. The challenge was coming up with the title to support the acronym and the concept. So I thought who doesn't want someone Dedicated Undeniably To You... The next book only has special meaning for me... RMF  are the initials of my youngest son.  The eyes on the cover of  Dedicated Undeniably To You  are my oldest son. They are both my inspiration for pretty much everything.  Isn't that the definition of MOM anyway. In a way that is why it was easy to write about Amanda, Christopher and William although my boys are 17 and 20. Hopefully a ways away from marriage...lol 

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions, Samantha. A final message for the readers of FLY HIGH? 
Thank you for taking an interest in a debut author.  My message has to do more with challenging yourself than with promoting my novel.  I never thought I would enjoy writing as much as I do.  It is totally intuitive. When I am in front of the computer and writing it is as if a movie were playing out in my mind. Who knew???  Therefore, I challenge everyone to not be afraid to try something new even if it is outside your current comfort zone. The rewards will outweigh the regrets of not trying and you might find satisfaction in something that you only had selected to imagine.

The Book

Fate does love good choreography, so while reading Dedicated Undeniably To You listen to the waltz metaphorically danced by the concepts of love and marriage. Is marriage really the duty of each man or is it an emotional and soulful dedication that undeniably belongs to one special lady? 

Fate has plans for Lord Christopher Jared, the future Duke of Darenth. Although he proclaims that the notions of love and marriage are truly lost on him, the time is drawing near when his resolve will be put to the test. He will soon learn that the contractual obligation to marry as established by his father will not be what changes his life.  What will alter his world will be the force of his own heart that has willingly underestimated the power of falling in love happily ever after.

Dedicated Undeniably to You is available at Amazon  or through Barnes and Noble, Xlibris bookstore and ebook store by Sony reader.

The Author

Samantha Chandler (born Daisy Sanchez) lived in her hometown of Tarrytown, New York until the age of 11. At the age of 11 her family decided to move to Florida and Miami has been home ever since. She studied architecture at the University of Miami and is currently a Senior Associate and the Director of Design for a prominent architectural firm in Florida for close to 20 years. She is responsible for building designs that grace the local as well as international skylines. She married young and had two sons James and Ryan, who live with her in Miami along with Cash their american bull dog.

So how did a design director with a Bachelor's in Architecture write her first  romance novel? It is her interpretation that architecture and writing are both products of design and both are her passion. As a fan of the Regency Period, concepts and images of this genre became memorable through countless stories.  So it was an easy decision to write and choose to belong to England circa 1819. The battles between the obligation for a man to marry and the unavoidable love match that most women search for became a reoccurring theme that challenged the writing of her own story titled, Dedicated Undeniably To You.  The title an acronym for the concept of marriage as a duty is the basis for the love story.

Self published works include a children's book titled, "Mama what can I give Santa Claus?" illustrated by her own ribbon of sketches that portray the story of a little boy trying to give a gift to Mr. Claus and a poem book titled, "Have you ever asked the wind a question?" which is illustrated by the art work of her youngest son Ryan making it one of her most treasured collaboration.

She is also working on the second book in the D.U.T.Y Series. Stay tuned!

Visit Samantha Chadler’s website

GIVEAWAY DETAILS

Leave your comment + e-mail address to enter this giveaway contest to win a signed paperback copy of Samantha Chandler’s Dedicated Undeniably to You. The contest deadline is July 31^st and it is open worldwide.