EVERYTHING I LEFT UNSAID (Everything I Left Unsaid #1) by M. O’Keefe-Review and Interview

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date October 13, 2015

I didn’t think answering someone else’s cellphone would change my life. But the stranger with the low, deep voice on the other end of the line tempted me, awakened my body, set me on fire. He was looking for someone else. Instead he found me.

And I found a hot, secret world where I felt alive for the first time.

His name was Dylan, and, strangely, he made me feel safe. Desired. Compelled. Every dark thing he asked me to do, I did. Without question. I longed to meet him, but we were both keeping secrets. And mine were dangerous. If I took the first step, if I got closer to Dylan—emotionally, physically—then I wouldn’t be hiding anymore. I would be exposed, with nothing left to surrender but the truth. And my truth could hurt us both.

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REVIEW: EVERYTHING I LEFT UNSAID is the first installment in Molly O’Keefe’s contemporary adult Everything I Left Unsaid erotic, romantic suspense duology focusing on Annie McKay and Dylan Daniels.

Told from first person point of view (Annie) and third person perspective (Dylan) EVERYTHING I LEFT UNSAID follows Annie aka Layla on the run from her abusive husband, arriving in Carolina from the Flatlands of Oklahoma. Layla is hiding and working in a run down, trailer park to escape her life and the man who has all but destroyed everything she has ever loved. Enter the mysterious Dylan Daniels, a former NASCAR driver, and the man who will be the focus in all of Annie’s fantasies and dreams. When Annie answers a lost cell phone, she will inadvertently becomes part of Dylan’s life, but Dylan wants to remain anonymous, and Annie becomes a distraction that he isn’t willing to give up.

A good portion and the foundation of the storyline follows Annie and Dylan’s phone Sex and text messages. Not having yet met face to face with Annie, Dylan and Annie’s relationship is sexually aggressive and suggestive with Dylan instructing Annie in the ways of pleasuring herself and talking dirty on the phone. Annie is an innocent; inexperienced; and naïve. Dylan is an enigma with a dark past, and an even darker present. What little we know, leaves us wanting more. Most of the $ex scenes are limited to phone $ex; their physical intimacy has an expiry date when Annie decides she doesn’t want or need Dylan’s help.

EVERYTHING I LEFT UNSAID has a large ensemble cast of characters from the Flowered Manor Trailer Park and Camp Ground: Joan the stripper who hides her true identity from those around; elderly Ben whose past is mired in dark and dangerous secrets; Kevin the trailer park manager who hires Annie for maintenance and clean up; and Tiffany, a young mother in an abusive relationship.

The world building focuses on the lives of the people at the Flowered Manor Trailer Park and Camp Ground; Annie’s need to keep ahead of her past; and Dylan’s hermit existence upon the mountain he works and owns.

EVERYTHING I LEFT UNSAID ends on a cliffhanger that leaves many unanswered questions about the how and why. Dylan’s life is revealed a little at a time, but our leading hero has secrets that he doesn’t want anyone to know. EVERYTHING I LEFT UNSAID is a story of mystery and suspense; flawed, impassioned characters with heartbreaking stories and tragic lives but saying that the storyline barely scratches the surface of the truth. EVERYTHING I LEFT UNSAID leaves you wanting more-right now !

Copy supplied by the publisher through Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

TRC: Hi Molly and welcome to The Reading Café.

We would like to start with some background information. Please tell us something about your self?

Molly: Well, I’m a romance novelist by day and an ass-kicking vigilante at night? Actually, I’m a mom and romance novelist by day and exhausted at night. No time for ass-kicking vigilantism. I’ve written 30 books for Harlequin and Bantam over the last fifteen years.

I have two great kids and a lovely husband. We live in Toronto, Canada.

TRC: Who or what influenced your career in writing?

Molly: I’ve wanted to be a writer since I was a kid. And a romance novelist since I was about fifteen years old. I’ve been incredibly lucky over the years to meet mentors, teachers and friends exactly when I needed them. And all along I’ve had hundreds of amazing books to inspire me.

TRC: What challenges or difficulties have you encountered writing and publishing your stories?

Molly: Well, this business is both a challenge and a difficulty and an opportunity – often all at the same time. I find the largest challenge I have is in my own head. Staying motivated, not comparing my career to other author’s careers. Keeping my head down and getting the work done and constantly and consistently finding joy in the process and work.

TRC: Would you please tell us something about premise of EVERYTHING I LEFT UNSAID-the first book in the series of the same name?

Molly: Well, it’s a dulogy – the first book ENDS ON A WICKED CLIFFHANGER – so be warned!

It’s about a woman on the run from her abusive ex-husband. She ends up in a trailer park in the middle of nowhere and finds a ringing cell phone that had been left behind by the previous tenant. She answers the phone and begins a dangerous and sexual relationship with the man on the other end.

The characters don’t actually meet for a huge portion of the book – so it’s all done through phone calls and texts.

TRC: Are any of the characters based in reality or a mixture of real and fiction?

Molly: Well, the hero is HEAVILY inspired by the delicious actor Tom Hardy!

TRC: How many books do you have planned for the series?

Molly: Well there’s Everything I Left Unsaid, The Truth About Him and then at least two more. Possibly more.

TRC: How do you keep the plot(s) unpredictable without sacrificing content and believability?

Molly: It’s a matter of very carefully leaving hints so that when a big twist happens the reader is totally surprised and can still believe it.

TRC: There is a fine line between romance, erotic, and erotica in many of today’s popular contemporary fiction. What do you believe accounts for the differences between the sub-genres in today’s romantic stories?

Molly: That’s such a great question! When I started writing Everything I Left Unsaid I thought it was going to be just like my other books but with this really sexy premise. But then as I started to write it – everything was just…sharper. More dramatic. The language – the POV’s….so that’s one difference.

As for the erotica – I think the more crucial the sexual relationship is to the storyline and the characters development and arc – the more erotic the romance. And then it’s a matter of making those scenes as charged and unpredictable as possible.

TRC: Do you believe the cover image plays a deciding factor for many readers in the process of selecting a book or new series to read?

Molly: Absolutely. Lots of readers – myself included – pick up books on the amazing covers alone. I’ve found so many great books because of it. I’ve been burned too, but it’s a gamble I love taking!!

TRC: The mark of a good writer is to pull the reader into the storyline so that they experience the emotions along with the characters. What do you believe a writer must do to make this happen?

Molly: I think it’s a combination of a lot of things – for me it’s a matter of making the characters as human as I can – which means real and relatable flaws. Slick, perfect characters are a total turn-off for me.

After I come up with my characters and make them as three dimensional as possible – then it’s a matter of showing the characters to the reader.

I think as writers write faster and faster – we’re getting told so much about the story and the characters. We need to get back to that immersive showing rather than the slick telling.

TRC: Many authors bounce ideas and information with other authors or friends and family. With whom do you bounce ideas?

Molly: I’ve had a crucial group of writer friends since the very beginning of my career. I would be LOST without them.

TRC: Would you like to add anything else?

Website: http://www.molly-okeefe.com/

Instagram: https://instagram.com/mokeefeauthor/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MollyOKeefeBooks

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1657059327869189/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MollyOKwrites

LIGHTNING ROUND

Favorite Food –The steak and a beautiful salad

Favorite Dessert –chocolate cake

Favorite TV Show –oh, so hard. Currently obsessed with Scandal and The Walking Dead but all time favorite is West Wing.

Last Movie You Saw in the theater- Yikes it’s been ages. But we just watched the 3rd Harry Potter movie. Huge hit at my house.

Dark or Milk Chocolate –Dark

Secret Celebrity Crush Not- so secret – Tom Hardy

Last Vacation Destination –ha – we JUST got back from three weeks in a campervan in the UK. Though – it was so intense I’m not sure it counts as a “vacation”

Do you have any pets?- A dog named Daisy and a lizard named Pip.

Last book you read- oh I am LOVING A Madness So Discreet. Dark and scary and mysterious. LOVE IT!

Pet Peeve- hmmm… I can’t think of one specific thing which probably means I have seven million. But I really hate it when people don’t help. No matter how big or small I think we can all help out.

TRC: Thank you Molly for taking the time to answer our questions. Congratulations on the new release. We wish you all the best.