AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY: A child of divorce and abuse, E L Irwin found escape in reading and writing, and through the school of hard-knocks, learned to be a fighter. She’s a self-described romantic-rebel who wears her heart on her sleeve and tends to shoot from the hip on subjects that matter. She enjoys riding horses, wearing heels, shooting her XD.40, tattoos, and of course, a good book and hot coffee.
E. L. Irwin, Author of Out of the Blue
Title: Out of the Blue
Author: E. L. Irwin
Publisher: CreateSpace/Self
Publication: November 17th 2014
Cover Rating: 4/5
Let me first start off by saying I am not a fan of horses. They are cute and everything but something about them in books just throws me off. With that being said, the fact the the main character is a horse trainer kind of made me question how much I would really like the book. Fortunately, the horse aspect didn't effect me at all really. I was too focused on the relationship between Katybeth and Asher to let anything get in the way. But I do know a few people that love horses who I will be recommending this book to.
I enjoyed the duel perspectives. I normally love books with more than one characters POV. But sometimes it just isn't right for certain books. However, It was right for this book. The authors writing style was really amazing. She could probably have a conversation with a brick wall and it would actually talk back. The characters were well rounded and the development of characters and relationships wasn't rushed. No insta-love here.
There are a lot of emotions that are put into and given out by this book. The bond between Katy and Asher is amazing. It is something that most people would love to have. But they can only get so close...
I tend to get really shy around sexual scenes and stuff like that. This book is very clean. I only got shy maybe once of twice. I enjoyed that the book focused more on PLOT rather than the characters sex life. But there was definitely a lot of religious views that were responsible for the cleanliness of the book. Religion in books normally bothers a lot of people but I just took it with a grain of salt and kept reading. Please do keep in mind that if you don't like reading about religion then this won't be a good book for you.
I will be honest, I didn't completely love Asher. Just something about him made me not want to like him. He was a great guy and if Katy can love him then I should be able to as well. Maybe it's the fact that he's an ACTOR. I don't think he is acting with Katy but he just doesn't seem like he's being entirely himself. The fact that Asher is an "actor" and he isn't a complete jerk-wad proves that people are sometimes too quick to judge but then again it could all be an act. Who knows.
Either way I hope there is a second book so we can see if Katy and Asher stay together.
Overall, I gave the book 4.5/5 stars.
1) What made you decide to write a book?
Well, I'm an avid reader, always have been. Reading was how I escaped from the reality of a tumultuous childhood. So story-telling has come easy for me. In all honesty, I hated school, and so did poorly in it, but I had an English teacher who let me write short stories for extra credit to bring my grade up.
And, with Out of the Blue, that kind of came about by accident. I used several personal experiences when I wrote it, and originally I was just messing around. I'd had this dream conversation, the one where Kate and Asher first meet, where she insults him -- the funny part is, I actually did that, said that, to a guy who took my place in line at Orange Julius. My experience didn't turn out as well as Kate's, LOL. But, the story just came about from there, from that conversation. By the time I had a completed first draft, I was curious how my word count would compare to other books. So, just for kicks, I Googled the word count for Twilight and found that I had just about the same number of words. I was like, "Holy crap; I've written a book!"
2) What inspired you to write about Katybeth and Asher?
Like I mentioned above, it was that snarky conversation Kate has with Asher that began their story. I knew her name would be Katy and that he would call her Kate. I did some research for names and meanings and liked Asher. It's Biblical, Hebrew. And, it means Happy, or Blessed. I liked that.
I also like stories with strong, Alpha-type men, and strong women who aren't afraid to stand their ground. I also thought it would be fun to have those two meet in such a random way and that they'd be from two completely different worlds, and have their own misconceptions about each other. I've personally dealt with stereo-types based on looks and this was my way of dealing with that.
3) Do you like horses?
I LOVE horses. Seriously. The smell of a horse, the creak of saddle leather, the feel of a horse under me -- it's one of my most favorite things. I never did professional riding, but I did tend to ride those animals that needed an attitude adjustment.
4) Was it hard to write a clean book?
Yes, and no. I wanted to write a book that was realistic. My childhood was an interesting one. My parents divorced when I was very young and then they raised me very differently. On one side, I was told that sex was for marriage only and basically for procreation and that was it, then on the other side, I was encouraged to explore that realm to its fullest. Sex, for me was a very confusing subject when I was growing up. My plan had been to remain a virgin until I married, but I made some stupid mistakes and that didn't happen. Most, if not all, of those mistakes came about because I wasn't prepared to deal with sexual attraction in a wholesome way. So, as a woman who went through years of guilt and self-doubt and misunderstandings, and as a mom to a young woman now, I wanted to write something that hit all those spots. Something that was safe for my daughter, her friends, and the youth I work with. If I could, or can, encourage someone else who maybe struggles the way I did, then maybe this might help them.
My only difficulty was in the temperature. I didn't want unrealistic where Kate and Ash barely held hands, experienced no passion, or attraction, and then magically got married, but then again I didn't want to write a "how-to" course on sex either. It was a fine line I had to walk, or write.
5) Would you date a guy like Asher?
YES!!!! He's my ideal guy. I'd love for my daughter to meet someone like him. Not his looks -- though that would be nice -- but his character. I think his character is the most attractive thing about him.
6) Did you ever think you would be an author someday?
No. Never. It never crossed my mind until it had occurred to me that I'd written a book. I'm a high school graduate. No college. I'm a stay-at-home-mom who homeschools her 3 kids. I've had people look down on me like I'm home because I couldn't do anything else, because I wasn't good enough. I stayed home by choice, because I wanted to be there for my family. That was important to me. Writing is just a sweet perk that I've been able to do as well. And, I love it. I wouldn't trade my life for the world.
7) Is Out of the Blue a stand alone book?
No; I have plans to write Candi and Gina's story. Right now I'm working on another NA book called, The Lost and Found, then I have a NA fantasy trilogy, called Between Earth and Eden that I'm working on, and then I plan to get the second Out of the Blue book written, and the title for that one, at least right now, will be, Shades of Blue.
