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Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Blog Tour: Guest Stop with Lauren Kate, Author of Fallen

Welcome to today's stop on the Lauren Kate blog tour! Lauren is the debut author of the novel, Fallen, a tale of forbidden love and fallen angels. In Fallen, a seventeen year old girl named Luce falls in love with a Daniel, the highly intelligent and mysterious boy she meets upon being sent to reform school.


What’s the deal with bad boy appeal?
by Lauren Kate

One of the best questions I’ve gotten from a reader so far is whether I believe the kind of love I write about in Fallen exists in the real world. I like this question not only because it allows me to gush about my own experience finding love (my husband I just got married this summer, and writing Fallen and planning our wedding happened simultaneously, so love was—and still is!—definitely in the air). No, the main reason this question stayed with me was because it was asked at a book signing—right after I gave a reading of a particularly unromantic scene between Luce and Daniel. A scene in which they argued, she stammered, he took off to brood! Okay, it was sexy brooding, I’ll give you that, but still. What this reader was responding to wasn’t the open, honest, everyday kind of love that I have with my husband. It was the forbidden stuff.

So what is it about forbidden love, bad boys (or girls!), and crushing on the unattainable that gets us so wrapped up? I think the answer has a lot less to do with the object of our affections, and a lot more to do with us. Because we could never all agree on universal bad boyism. You know what they say: there’s no accounting for taste. I happen to have a thing for motorcycles. That may be toally unappealing to you. I once heard a friend vow to “never again date a guy who wears gloves,” because she liked them “rugged.” Gloves-as-a-turnoff would never even cross my mind, but to this day (at least to my knowledge) my friend has stuck to her word.

What I mean by all this is that the road to forbidden love—or any kind of love—looks different to us all, so we each find it using a different map. What feels dangerous, challenging, or thrilling to one person is either too much or not enough for the next.

Thinking about that reader’s question about finding love in real life, I finally realized that she wasn’t responding to the way Daniel blew Luce off in the scene—but to the way Luce felt about it. Slightly stung, but overwhelmingly exhilarated. Challenged. Hungry for more. He unlocked something inside her, made her feel the way no one had before. How he did it is impossible to explain (and it’s better not to try). Anyone who’s been in love knows exactly what I mean.

The other day, I got another great question from a reader: Can two people really be in love if they aren't even friends? Doesn’t true love stem from friendship?

I understand why she was asking this, and I appreciated the chance to get to answer it. So many love stories seem to skip the friendship stage, don't they? There's tension and drama and arguing and all sorts of things that make for good page-turning storytelling--while all the while, readers are crying out for some of those more down-to-earth elements that make us feel like we are really invested in a relationship.

I think that friendship is one of the most important aspects of love, but I wouldn't stay that true love always stems from friendship. Of course, it can, but I don't think camaraderie is the only possible origin of love. When I met my husband, I was instantly drawn to him, instantly attracted to him—and instantly intimidated by him. Yes, he was a bad boy. And we weren’t really friends until after we started dating. At the beginning, before I considered him a friend, I didn’t love him the same way I do now (see above), but I was still “in love” with him. When our friendship came easily after that, I knew that this was it.

I have friends who groan about my hopelessly romantic advice on relationships. I’m probably the least likely person ever to say, “he’s just not that into you.” To me, forbidden love is exactly the kind of thing worth striving for. Not because it always works out, but because it’s worth the effort. Falling for someone off-limits or hard to get is a kind of emotional endurance training. Whether you get the guy or not, in the end, you’re left with this polished, stronger, sharper you.

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, I wish you good luck in finding your perfect bad boy. Extra points if he’s driving a motorcycle and not wearing gloves…


Thanks for stopping by Lauren. Be sure to visit Bitten by Books for Lauren's next tour stop!






Lauren Kate recently finished her M.A. in Creative Writing at UC Davis, where she also teaches. She lives and writes in an old farm house in Winters, California. Her first novel, The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove goes on sale one month before Fallen.

Visit Lauren's Official Website and Blog

52 comments:

strange_candy said...

Those are some really good questions from your readers. I've always wondered about those sorts of things too. Your advice is good too.

Shy said...

I've read a lot of descriptions about this book, but this is the first time I read on the in depth concept behind it. A very good interview and I definitely hope to read to book myself soon =)

FlyFreeMyBooks said...

Great post Lauren. Thank you for sharing. I have heard great things about this book. And I have to admit, the cover is abolutely captivating! That alone makes me want a copy!

Bingo said...

What an interesting and LOVEly post Lauren Kate wrote...a newly wed...of course she has great ideas about romance...can't wait to read this one...I entered and this is my comment on the post but not sure it belongs here???

pepsivanilla said...

This is a very interesting post! Bad boys vs. friendship before falling in love. Thanks for the post :)

Llehn said...

I agree that friendship is definitely one of the most important aspects of love. At the end of the day, you always need something more solid and real to fall back on when the initial spark is gone.

Bidisha said...

You hit the mark with that question. Forbidden love is so in these days, it's time a writer explained why the MC always falls in love with the wrong person. Personally, I'm a sucker for forbidden love stories, and I have to say, this post is fantastic!

mariska said...

wow, this is the first interview about Lauren that is so deep : ) I love it.

I read so many reviews about this book, and i'm so in intrigued !

Tales of Whimsy said...

Love the post! & the Valentine's advice :)

YellowBanana said...

Oooh, I think this interview gives a bigger insight into Fallen, and I have to say at first I was also a bit like 'but they barely know each other, so how can be be in love?' but this definitely convinces me of Daniel and Luce's love for each other :)

Great interview!

cait045 said...

I love the book trailer!

Margay Leah Justice said...

The more I read about this book, the more I want to read this book!
Margay

InfinitePlaylist said...

I love the trailer for this book and Lauren Kate looks really beautiful on that photo, hope she and her fiancé will have a grand wedding!

Erin said...

WOW! What a great post!! I enjoed reading!. My sister just read this book and loved it. I really need to dig into it.

Thanks for sharing!

elaing8 said...

Great post,thanks for sharing.
Love this cover and enjoyed the trailer

Coistycat said...

The more i read about your book the more i really need & want to read it.

I love how you say you felt intimidated by your husband when you first met, i have never heard anyone say that before, it must have been a strange mixture of feelings that obviously work.

Miss Haley said...

I really enjoyed this post... i did find it funny about the glove turn-off. i knit, so if I made my boyfriend a pair of gloves, it would be upsetting if he didn't wear them ;)

Unknown said...

It is always fun to hear other peoples interpretation of love, writer or no. For me I experienced the bad boy lust very young, but was reluctant to commit to him. I was introduced to my husband (who was less bad than me) and it just felt right and safe. I guess at that time in my life danger was familiar but safe was necessary.

I shocked him with my motorcycle jacket and combat boots. I was also reading IT and he ask if I really read books. That silly boy, has become a fabulous husband of 13 years.

justpeachy36 said...

I am really looking forward to reading this one. I have tried to win it several times.

Emily said...

I cannot wait to read this book! I loved hearing the background behind the book, thanks for the post!

doreen lamoureux said...

First of all, congrats on your marriage.
I love your review and I really want to read this and you know, it's facinating that you were getting ready to marry and writing this at the same time. I know I will remember that when I read this book.
I am engaged and everyone always comments on how much we show our love to eachother. We really are just two romantics.

dorcontest at gmail dot com

Bere said...

Wow this post was great. I really
enjoyed reading it. The questions
were very good, and I loved your
answers Lauren.
I really can't wait to read this book.
The trailer looks really amazing!

Unknown said...

Hi Lauren :)
Thank you for the guest post here. I enjoyed your take on love, forbidden or otherwise. Thank you for sharing!

Marilu said...

Thanks for the post! I enjoyed reading it. Great questions from your readers, and great answers! I look forward to reading Fallen!
lovemykidsandbooks AT gmail DOT com

Russell Turner said...

As a self confessed "bad boy" rarely does a love story float my boat but find this curiously alluring.

So Many Books, So Little Time said...

I'm a sucker for a forbidden love story. there's nothing like it!

So Many Books, So Little Time said...

I'm a sucker for a forbidden love story. there's nothing like it!

Cherie J said...

Wonderful post! I think what makes forbidden love so exciting is because it is not easily attained.

Bookish in a Box said...

Wow, I really enjoyed this explanation, especially as it relates to YA books. I especially like the conclusion: "Whether you get the guy or not, in the end, you’re left with this polished, stronger, sharper you." That's a good thing to keep in mind.

Emily said...

Great post! I love me the bad boys ;)
Can't wait to read Fallen.
Thanks!

donnas said...

Very interesting. Thanks for posting. Congrats on the release!

Melanie (@AudiobookMel) said...

I have been waiting for this book from the library. The list is pretty long. I cannot wait to read it.

EVA SB said...

Why is it girls always love bad boys?
I had to give them up because I couldn't stand the drama but I still love reading about them!

Unknown said...

I love the guest post.
Bad boys do have a certain appeal. Maybe that also stems from everyone still expecting girls to be good.

bookaholic said...

Thanks for such a wonderful guest post!
A confused question with a universal appeal-Why are bad boys so irresistible?;)
This book has been on my wishlist for a painstakingly long time..I so want to read it! Para has now become normal for me!!!!

Unknown said...

I've never really had a thing for bad boys...

Jen at Introverted Reader said...

Great post! I can see the appeal of bad boys, but realistically, they were never for me. My husband and I were friends first, and I'm so shy, I think that's the only way it could ever have worked for me. I seriously spent one first date (not with the now-hubby) running to the bathroom from nerves! TMI? Probably. But with a friend, the dating was just a natural extension of that, and we've never looked back.

I'm looking forward to reading your book!

Tammy said...

Great interview! It makes the book that more interesting to read when you can get a back story on the author. I would love to win a copy of here book.

Dovile said...

I'd really like to read this book!

spamscape [at] gmail [dot] com

Sharli said...

I' definitely attracted to bad boys and I agree with you, the fun and excitement are worth it.
But if not, you can just read about them :P

Thanks for the interview! It was great!

Bani said...

That was nice to read. Somehow knowing that author was in love and experiencing the all the depth of emotions makes me all the more interested in reading Fallen- kind of makes the romance seem like it might be more intense and believable.

b + j = calculus said...

great thoughts and answer to the question... why do we love bad boys...

skyla11377 said...

Awesome Blog Post Lauren What You Said About Bad Boys Really Struck A Cord With Me. It Is Kool To Be Able To Feel A Kinship To Your Characters. I Have Read A Ton Of Reviews On This Book And I Am So Interested In Reading It.

rem said...

Awesome blog post Lauren.
I'd really like to read this book!

Nancye said...

Great post! The details you gave were just enough to whet my appetite to read this book while not giving out any "spoilers"!

nancyecdavis AT bellsouth DOT net

Anonymous said...

After reading this I feel like I must read "Fallen"!!

Ladytink_534 said...

There's just something about the "perfect bad boy". MMM!

dsandyboy said...

I look forward to reading this book.

dsandyboy@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

congratulations. walkerd@primus.ca

Unknown said...

I bought the book and it seemed pretty good but then I lost it I left it in my locker and when i came back it was gone but the chapters i read were really good.
Elizabethcerna2011@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

Sounds great!
valiantice@hotmail.com

CherylS22 said...

I enjoyed reading this guest post. I think you are right as to what defines a bad boy & that it is different for everyone. For me, it's the long-haired tattooed rock star!