Blog Tour: Demanding Ransom by Megan Squires

In case you've missed all of my posts, tweets, reviews and such, I am a huge fan of the New Adult genre. With her stunning contribution to it, Megan Squires, is definitely an author to watch. I recently had the chance to interview her, and here's what she has to say:

~The Interview~

1.How did you get the idea for Demanding Ransom?

I was in the middle of a photoshoot (I’m a photographer by day, writer by night) and the guy I was photographing said that he was training to be an EMT. I instantly thought how that job must be so hard, but also, pretty darn cool. I did some research and found out that there’s a difference between EMTs and paramedics (I probably should have know that) and decided to make Ran a paramedic (there’s a scene in the beginning where he gives Maggie an IV, and apparently only paramedics can do that—though the laws are different in each state).

Everything with the storyline sort of snowballed from there, but it’s definitely centered around Ran “saving” Maggie in several ways:  physically, emotionally, and relationally. For most of my books, I’m one of those fly by the seat of my pants writers, so the plot usually comes to me as I write. I was just as surprised by the plot twist as everyone else! I honestly didn’t plan for it, but it works into the story so well and everything comes full-circle.

2. I’m often curious how writers decide on names for their characters. How did you come up with Ran and Maggie?

I usually look at baby names websites when coming up with my characters names, and when I saw Ransom, I knew it was absolutely perfect. I love finding names with meaning (every one of my characters in the Outlier Chronicles series has a name that represents something) and I love that Ran’s name was an actual word: ransom. That word is full of so much meaning and depth, and surprisingly, as we find out, so is Ran.

Because Ran’s name was so unusual, I wanted my female lead to have a more common name. I loved the name Maggie because it’s a nickname so it feels intimate on some level, and it has the right amount of youth and adulthood in the sound of it if that makes sense. Since this is a coming of age sort of novel, I wanted a name that fit that genre.

3. What are you working on next?
I’m finishing up my current work in progress, The Rules of Regret. I find that I really love writing college/coming of age types of stories where the protagonist is on a journey of self-discovery. This one is definitely that. Darby deals with a lot of questions as to how to make your life really matter. How to leave your mark on the world when all is said and done. How to be remembered for something. And of course there’s the charming camp counselor, Torin, that she meets while on this journey.

Finish the sentence:

4. If I won the lottery, the first thing I would do is …
Build a reading/writing room. I have dreams of walls filled with books and those sliding ladders you have to use to get to the top shelf. Like the one in the Beasts castle—that’s what I would build.

5.If I could only eat one food for the rest of my life it would be …

Sushi. We are so lucky to have so many great sushi restaurants here in California. I’m pretty certain I could easily survive on the Fair Oaks roll for the rest of my life.

6. The next book I’m going to read is …

That is a tough one since my TBR list is too long to even count. The next book I’m anxiously awaiting the release of is Losing Hope by Colleen Hoover.

7. My next project is …

Finishing up The Rules of Regret so it can release late August/early September! I can’t wait!

~About the Author~

website, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads

Megan Squires lives with her husband and two children just outside of Sacramento, California. A graduate from the University of California, Davis, Megan is now a full-time mother, wife, and dreamer – though her characters don’t often give her much opportunity to sleep.

~About Demanding Ransom~

Sometimes life takes things away from you. In nineteen-year-old Maggie Carson’s case, it’s taken more than its fair share.

Determined to move forward, Maggie embarks on her first year of college, hoping to finally put her past behind her, exactly where it belongs.

But that’s hard to do when the present is just as difficult. And even harder when someone like Ran, the gorgeous paramedic that keeps crossing Maggie’s path, challenges her to face things head on, rather than bury them like she always does.

Ran hasn’t had a perfect life either. But there’s something different about him, and something different about the way he makes Maggie feel. Maybe meeting Ran is life’s little gift for Maggie—a sort of consolation prize for enduring everything she's had to go through.

But things don’t come easy for Maggie. Why should love be the exception? And just when everything starts to settle, it’s all turned on its head once again.

If there is one thing Ran has taught Maggie, it’s that you can’t sit on the sidelines of your own existence. When life takes something that’s yours, you have every right to demand it back.

Only for Maggie, that is easier said than done.

Get a copy today at: Amazon 

Note: Demanding Ransom is a New Adult Romance with non-explicit sexual content.

~The Giveaway~

a Rafflecopter giveaway

~The Tour~

Monday, June 24th - Just Reading For Fun
Tuesday, June 25th - Nose Graze
Wednesday, June 26th - The Irish Banana
Thursday, June 27th - Proserpine Graving Books
Friday, June 28th - The Bookswarm

Monday, July 1st - Bewitched Bookworms
Tuesday, July 2nd Supernatural Snark
Wednesday, July 3rd - Krista's Dusk Jacket
Thursday, July 4th - Basia's Book Shelf
Friday, July 5th - Caffeinated Book Reviewer

Monday, July 8th - Rose's Book Corner
Tuesday, July 9th - Confessions From Romaholics
Wednesday, July 10th - Xpresso Reads
Thursday, July 11th - The Book Cellar
Friday, July 12th - Selkie Reads Stories