Samantha Young Interview - A Cosmic Kind of Love ~ JeanBookNerd

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Samantha Young is a New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author from Scotland. She’s been nominated for several Goodreads Choice Awards. She writes adult contemporary and paranormal romance, YA urban fantasy and YA contemporary fiction. Currently published in 31 countries, Samantha is a #1 international bestselling author.

When/how did you realize you had a creative dream or calling to fulfill?

I was very young and I’d just read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. Now, I doubt that I knew then I had a creative calling but I did know I wanted to experience more stories like that book and one way to do it was to write my own. I dreamed of being a writer from that moment on and it never waned until I was compelled to pursue it in my early twenties.

Beyond your own work (of course), what is your all-time favorite book and why? And what is your favorite book outside of your genre?

My favorite rom-com of all time is Dating-ish by Penny Reid. It’s hilarious, emotional, poignant, slow-burn steamy goodness! My favorite book outside my own genre is The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood.

Tell us your most rewarding experience since being published.

Receiving messages from readers in war zones reading translations of my books. They contacted me to thank me for providing them with escapism during air strikes and curfews. I’ve never been so moved or humbled in my life.

If you could have written one book in history, what book would that be?

The Hunger Games. It’s such a simple but clever use of history to write a futuristic dystopian series. I wish I’d thought of it!

Why is storytelling so important for all of us?

I think it’s partly like any form of entertainment, stories take us outside of our own lives for a while and provide us with escapism and perspective and education. But I think most importantly stories connect us. They make us feel less alone. We find things we can relate to in characters that maybe we haven’t found in real people. Or seeing ourselves in a character can give us the courage to share our emotions with others because a book has helped us realize we aren’t alone in this thing called life; that so many of us are dealing with the same worries and insecurities and baggage. Seeing ourselves in characters, and then seeing those characters find happiness, is hope captured between the pages

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Can you tell us when you started A COSMIC KIND OF LOVE, how that came about?

I am equal parts fascinated and terrified by space. So now and then I like to read astronaut autobiographies. I was reading Limitless by British astronaut Tim Peake when out of nowhere I realized that I hadn’t read a romance about an astronaut. And astronauts are singular kind of people. They are fascinating! Such intelligent, strong, capable, practical, problem solvers and usually packing a seriously good sense of humor and impressive self-awareness. I knew an astronaut would make an excellent hero. Just that spark of an idea opened up the flood gates until A COSMIC KIND OF LOVE came pouring out.
What was the most surprising thing you learned in creating your characters?

TEN RANDOM FACTS ABOUT A COSMIC KIND OF LOVE

1) The heroine Hallie’s people pleasing ways get her into hilarious situations like impromptu singalongs at weddings to cover up the amorous sounds of a very loud bride and groom.
2) The hero Chris Ortiz reached the rank of Captain in the Air Force as fast as it is possible to do so! So smart and strong and capable that one. And sexy ;)
3) Chris’s Aunt Richelle has an Old English Sheepdog Bandit who gets Hallie into trouble in a scene that made me cackle laugh when I wrote it. Readers will have to read the book to find out why!
4) Hallie’s best friend Althea is the friend everyone should be so lucky to have.
5) Before I became a writer, I wanted to be an event planner like Hallie, but specifically for Historic Scotland because I loved that our medieval castles etc, would be the location of the weddings/events.
6) I don’t have a background in the sciences so I did a ton of research for Chris’s backstory. It involved more than watching Hidden Figures and The Martian a million times. Though, I did do that too.
7) There’s a scene in the book set in Mexico that is an homage to my own experience in Mexico.
8) Hallie, I hope, represents a lot of people and I think readers will feel seen by her journey to prioritize and believe in herself.
9) I may have shouted FINALLY at the screen when I wrote the first steamy scene between Chris and Hallie. This one is slow burn, folks!
10)A COSMIC KIND OF LOVE is dual POV so readers will get to enjoy both Chris and Hallie’s perspective as they fall in love.

Writing Behind the Scenes
There was a lot of research involved in writing

What is the first job you have had?

I worked at a bakery at the weekends when I was in high school.

Best date you've ever had?

There was nothing fancy about it, we just talked about everything and nothing all night, and it was the best.

What is the first thing you think of when you wake up in the morning?

Coffee

What is your most memorable travel experience?

I have a few but visiting New York and Boston with my best friend was extremely memorable. I fell madly in love with Boston.

What do you usually think about right before falling asleep?

Honestly, I’m usually thinking about the book I’m currently writing lol.

Space is the last thing an event planner and an astronaut need in this charming new romantic comedy from New York Times bestselling author Samantha Young.

When event planner Hallie Goodman receives party-inspiration material from the bride of her latest wedding project, the last thing she expects to find in the files are digital videos from Darcy’s ex-boyfriend. Hallie knows it’s wrong to keep watching these personal videos, but this guy is cute, funny, and an astronaut on the International Space Station to boot. She’s only human. And it’s not long until she starts sending e-mails and video diaries to his discontinued NASA address. Since they’re bouncing back, there’s no way anyone will ever be able to see them...right?

Christopher Ortiz is readjusting to life on earth and being constantly in the shadow of his deceased older brother. When a friend from NASA’s IT department forwards him the e-mails and video messages Hallie has sent, he can’t help but notice how much her sense of humor and pink hair make his heart race.

Separated by screens, Hallie and Chris are falling in love with each other, one transmission at a time. But can they make their star-crossed romance work when they each learn the other’s baggage?

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