Tour!! Review of Tragic by J.A. Huss, an Interview with the Author

Genre: Adult Fiction (Contemporary Romance) *Mature Content* Recommended for ages 17+ due to sexual situations and language usage

Date Published: May 15, 2013
Publisher: Self

The Blurb:

Rook Walsh is TRAGIC

Because life so far – just sucks. Some girls get parents. Rook got the foster care system. Some girls get Prince Charming. Rook got an abusive frog. Some girls get lucky…

Rook got a second chance.

And she took it. Because when fate throws you a bone – you grab it with both hands and run.

Antoine Chaput knows the minute he spies Rook in his photography studio that she’s got The Look. The dark and desperate look he must have to land the exclusive TRAGIC media contract.

Rook is paired up with top model, Ronin, and he’s everything her abusive ex-boyfriend wasn’t. Patient, gentle, happy, attentive, and sexy! He knows exactly what to do to make Rook blush for Antoine’s camera.

Rook’s luck changes in an instant and suddenly she’s the darling of the modeling world. It’s a dream job to go with a dream guy and all she has to do is look pretty and follow directions. But there’s always a price to pay – and Rook is about to get the bill.

New Adult Contemporary Romance *Mature Content* Recommended for ages 17+ due to sexual situations and language usage.

My Review:

Tragic is the first book in the Rook and Ronin series by J.A. Huss. From the very beginning, Rook's story is compelling and she had me rooting for her. I'm not so sure about Ronin yet. I think he has a lot of growing up to do. There were times I just loved him, and others where I wanted to kick him in his knee caps. I briefly favored Spencer as a love interest for Rook. Although the jury is still out on him too, as he was seen very little in the book so I don't feel like I know him well enouhg yet. Plus, Ronin's name is in the series title itself, so I think he'll be around awhile.*wink* I have high hopes for Ronin though. He has a good heart. I think he just reacts before thinking sometimes. And boy, does he get Rook's blood flowing! He gets the reader all hot and bothered too! Phew! The author knows how to keep the anticipation at a high level, and she's very good at it! Tragic had me hook, line, and sinker. Even though this is only the first book, I've already added this series to my mental list of guilty pleasures.

The ARC of Tragic by J.A. Huss was provided to me by the Xpresso Book Tours for review. The opinions are my own.

The Book Trailer:

I'm excited to have J.A. Huss with us today to answer a few questions for us on our stop off the Tragic Tour!

How long have you been writing?

I’ve been writing fiction for about a year and a half and non-fiction for about six years.

What inspired you to write Tragic?

TRAGIC was a fluke.  I was looking at stock art, trying to find a smexy picture of lovers to use as a cover for another book, and I started wondering if the passion in some of these images was real or whether or not they were faking it.  I thought I could tell the difference, you know? Like the passionate ones weren’t faking it, but really feeling it and that’s what made those pictures stand out from the others.  So I decided to write a story based off that premise.

Did you plan for it to be a series?

Yes.  I knew Rook had issues to deal with from her past and I thought it was unreasonable and unrealistic to expect her to do that in one book. I wanted to give her time to figure out who she is, make mistakes getting what she thinks she wants, then learn from them and make new mistakes. Life is a process and I wanted Rook’s character arc to follow this process.

Which of your characters do you relate to most and why?

Rook.  I’ve been Rook.  I escaped a very bad relationship by moving to a new city with two kids. I didn’t get a modeling job out of it, but I did get a master’s degree.  

What is a secret about you that nobody else knows?

Secret that no one knows, that’s tough. I don’t think I have any of those! But I’ll tell you something most people don’t know – I’ve seen Metallica in concert five times. 

If your real life was a fictional book, what would you, the main character, be like?

It really depends on what life stage I was in.  I’m very mellow and easy going now, but I wasn’t always like this. My life could make up a whole month’s worth of Lifetime Movie of the Week docudramas. It’s been a crazy ride.

What book have you read too many times to count?

Woken Furies by Richard K. Morgan. I can almost recite this book in my sleep.

What is the best piece of writing advice you ever received?

If you want to pay your bills as an author, write what people want to read.  Also, write a crapload of books.  Even if the first ten suck, you get better with each one and you never know which book will appeal to a large audience. And one more… try not to read the bad reviews.  Most of the time it’s not personal, but writers always (ALWAYS) take it personal, so it’s better to just avoid those. And if it is personal, really avoid those. Don’t sic your street team on them! ;)

If you could hop into the life of any fictional character, who would it be and why?

Cinderella, for all the obvious and shallow reasons.

What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books?

Well, for TRAGIC, I think I learned that I like writing humor.  This book has a few funny parts that I love and my SF series is very dark, so it was a nice change for me.  Also, sexy scenes don’t always have to have sex in them. 

What do you like to do when you're not writing?

Read mostly, but I like watching movies and wasting a bunch of time on Facebook and Twitter, too! 

Are any of the things in your books based on real life experiences or purely all imagination?

A little bit of both.  Obviously a lot of my science fiction stuff is made up, but there are lots of places that are real, even in that series.  Most of TRAGIC is just made up, but there are a few things in there based off my own experiences.  

Thank you for stopping by!! It was great chit chatting with you!

Thank you for having me on your blog today and I hope you enjoyed the book!  :)

About the Author:
J. A. Huss likes to write new adult books that make you think and keep you guessing. Her favorite genre to read is space opera, but since practically no one reads those books, she writes new adult science fiction, paranormal romance, contemporary romance, urban fantasy, and books about Junco (who refuses to be saddled with a label).

She has an undergraduate degree in horses, (yes, really–Thank you, Colorado State University) and a master’s degree in forensic toxicology from the University of Florida. She used to have a job driving around Colorado doing pretty much nothing but shooting the breeze with farmers, but now she just writes, runs the New Adult Addiction and Clean Teen Reads Book Blogs, and runs an online science classroom for homeschoolers.

To learn more about J.A. Huss and her books, visit her website.You can also find her on Goodreads, Facebook, and Twitter.

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