Author R.L. Griffin -- Review and Interview

It’s my pleasure to have author R.L. Griffin to the blog! She loves to write in the New Adult genre—one of my favorites. Following her interview is my review of her novel By a Thread.

Jennifer Lane (JL): Welcome to the blog, RL! I'm psyched to meet you at the New Adult Sleepover Weekend in December. How did you get started writing?

R.L. Griffin (RLG): I've been "writing" all my life, but I wrote my first published work while I had so much free time in law school. *sarcasm*

JL: You're an attorney, correct? How do law and writing fit together?

RLG: As an attorney you have to write long boring briefs and arguments that are very dry.  I love creating people's stories and so writing gives me the ability to do that.

JL: How do you juggle working, writing, and motherhood?

RLG:  Poorly.  I don't sleep very much.  I do try to make sure I'm the best mom I can be to my son when I can.  I do work long hours so I try to make up for that on the weekends and my husband and I take turn going to all of his sport practices.  My firm is really good about letting me do mom things.  I make it a priority.

JL: What drew you to write in the New Adult genre?

RLG:  I honestly think it’s such an interesting time in your life.  You are just getting all the responsibility of adulthood and dealing with major issues, but you still don't have tons of life experiences to make great decisions all the time.  It makes for an interesting story.

JL: What's next for you?

RLG:  Tension, the continuation of By A Thread comes out August 1 and I'm already working on the third book in the series.

JL: Can't wait! Thank you for stopping by and good luck with your writing.

By A Thread by R.L. Griffin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Picking Up The Pieces

Author R.L. Griffin and I will attend the New Adult Sleepover Weekend in Savannah, Georgia in December, 2013 (more info here: http://newadultsleepover.blogspot.com). When I discovered she writes my favorite genre of romantic suspense, I definitely wanted to read her novel! And I'm so glad I did.

Stella and Jamie were student-athletes at the same university. They fell in love and got engaged, then moved to Washington, D.C. to live together. Jamie starts a career with the ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms) and Stella is about to start law school.

Things seem perfect, right?

WRONG.

When Jamie dies in a car accident, Stella falls apart. Girlfriend's definitely hanging "by a thread" as she defers law school for an alcoholic bender into depression. I was horrified when a drunk Stella responded to grieving messages on Facebook from Jamie's friends, like:

hey d-bag, Jamie probably doesn't even remmdher your name

! Jamie's roommates Patrick and Billie take care of Stella and her dog Cooper, slowly nursing her back to health. She meets a bartender named George and eventually starts living again, though it's an empty life.

Stella's so low for most of the novel that at times it was hard to find her likable. Apparently she's quite beautiful since she draws the attention of many men despite her hard, rejecting shell. (Or maybe that speaks to the old adage that we want what we can't have?) Of course I wanted to throw her into treatment for her alcohol problem. ;-)

I did enjoy Patrick, who's like a brother to Stella, as well as George. Saint George puts up with all kinds of blow-back and bitterness from Stella, but he's always there for her, supporting her. Her law-school friend Millie is fun. I loved Millie's name for the line of muscle on a fit guy's lower torso: the arrow muscle. Yeah! Fiance Jamie's character is rather unknown, which makes me wonder if there will be a sequel.

My favorite part of the story was the mind-blowing ending. I didn't see that one coming! The return to events mentioned in the prologue gave me a better understanding of Stella and the parts of the story that earlier frustrated me.

Check out this New Adult journey of healing!

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