Author: K.E. Belledonne
Title: Daniel & Erik’s Super Fab Ultimate Wedding Checklist
Release Date: June 23, 2016
Length: 53,000 words, 188 pages
Categories: Contemporary, Gay Fiction, Humor, M/M Romance, Romance, Rom Com
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28764238-daniel-erik-s-super-fab-ultimate-wedding-checklist
Publisher: Interlude Press
Cover Artist: C.B. Messer
When Daniel gets caught up in the demands of a cheeky wedding planning app, his fiancé Erik grows frustrated with his preoccupation with adhering to heterosexual traditions. Will Daniel’s groomzilla ways give them the wedding of their dreams, or ultimately lead to their relationship’s demise?
Interlude Press: http://store.interludepress.com/collections/daniel-erik-s-super-fab-ultimate-wedding-checklist-by-ke-belledonne
Amazon: http://amzn.to/28NiV4D
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/daniel-eriks-super-fab-ultimate-wedding-checklist-ke-belledonne/1123762097?ean=9781941530825
Apple iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/daniel-eriks-super-fab-ultimate/id1114803556?mt=11
All Romance eBooks: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/storeSearch.html?referrer=55feb862851f8
Indiebound: http://www.indiebound.org/book/978-1-941530-82-5?aff=interludepress
“I think Aurora is disappointed in me.”
“What?” Erik rubbed at his eye. It wasn’t even early morning, judging by the weak light coming through the blinds from the streetlights. “Who?”
“Aurora. The wedding planning app.” Daniel lay on his back, wide awake and staring up at the ceiling.
“The wedding planning app is not a sentient being. It has no feelings or opinions.”
“I feel like she’s judging me. I’m sorry if I woke you up.”
“Oh my god, go to sleep.”
“I can’t. I’m never going to sleep ever again.” Daniel tugged the blanket higher up his chest, folding his arms over it and exhaling heavily.
“You’re being dramatic.”
“I’ve got too many things buzzing in my head. There’s too many things I’m going to forget to do.”
“I thought that’s why you had that damn app, so you don’t have to remember anything; it’s all right there saved on your tablet.”
“Yes, but I have to remember to put everything in it.″ Daniel rolled over. ″She doesn’t just know everything—”
“A: She is not a she. It is an it. B: What are we doing tomorrow?”
“Oh my god, what is the point of sharing the app calendar if you’re never going to look at it?” Daniel wailed.
“I look at it. It’s just crammed so full of everything that I have no idea what’s going on when.”
Daniel blew out his breath. ”Look, I know you don’t like the calendar. We’ve been over that, but I don’t know how else to keep track of all of these appointments and deadlines.”
“I told you, we could color-code them, or something,” Erik rolled to his side and punched at his pillow.
“Aurora doesn’t give you that option.”
“Well, it should.”
“I agree, but there’s nothing I can do about that.” Daniel bunched his pillow up under his head. “Tomorrow, we have four appointments to meet with caterers: two in the morning, two in the afternoon.”
“Why so many in one day?”
“It’s the only day we both have available this week, and I am not going to make any decisions about the food at our reception without you there to discuss it.”
“Seriously, you could just make a choice, and I’ll live with it.” Erik rolled over.
“I don’t want you to just ‘live with it,’ Erik.″ Daniel tried to keep his voice neutral, but failed. ″This is our wedding. I don’t want you to just ‘live with it.’”
“Why are you getting so worked up about it?”
“We only get one chance at this. Everything needs to be perfect.”
“You’re going to drive us both crazy, you know that, right?” Erik tugged the blankets back up over his shoulder.
“Well, then, we’ll both be crazy.” Daniel squinted up at the ceiling. He was so tired of making these decisions. Why were there so many options? Why were there so many decisions? The planning was getting on Erik’s nerves; he was getting on Erik’s nerves. Erik was getting on his nerves. They were both just a pile of irritated nerves because the to-do list didn’t seem to be getting any smaller.
Daniel’s phone chimed with another notification from Aurora.
New Private Message from: MommyMargie.
His mother probably had another ludicrous suggestion for the reception, or a passive-aggressive reminder of the hymn that she and his father had had played at their wedding, that their grandparents had had played at their wedding and that she expected to hear at his wedding. Or maybe his parents had decided to paint the living room green. Who knew?
K.E. Belledonne is a writer, editor and translator. A native New Englander, Kat spends her spare time listening to Glenn Miller records, reading history books and cheering on her beloved Red Sox. Her first novel, Right Here Waiting, was published by Interlude Press in 2015.
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/kebelledonne
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KEBelledonne
Pinterest: https://fr.pinterest.com/kebelledonne/
Blog: www.kebelledonne.com
Today I’m chatting with K.E. Belledonne about writing, life, and their current project. Welcome! Let’s talk a little about Daniel & Erik’s Super Fab Ultimate Wedding Checklist.
What inspired you to write this story?
I was giving a recently-engaged friend some advice about planning a wedding – “If you can make it to three days before your wedding and you’re still deeply in love with your fiancé, then you two are going to make it!” And my brain paused and then started spinning the story “well….what if you didn’t…”
Is there a character you feel especially connected to? Why?
I feel very close to Daniel. He’s the one who “talks” to me with the most ease. He and I have a few things in common, but for whatever reason, his voice was the most often in my head while I was writing.
What was the hardest part of writing this?
Getting the time line down was the hardest part of writing this book. I knew that I wanted to tell their early story in flashbacks, but I kept messing myself up trying to write it as “the past” and “the present”. So, I went back and actually wrote the whole thing linearly, in chronological order, and then cut and pasted (and edited) the sections into the framework I wanted.
Tell us a little about any upcoming projects.
I’ve got a few projects bubbling away in the back of my mind. I’m just dipping my feet into writing a mystery novel – a genre that I absolutely love to read! I’ve also got another book on World War II in the works, about the European war front. I’m always toying with something!
How has your life changed since becoming a published author?
Not that much! I’m still juggling what seems like 30 different things every day, though now I feel justified in giving my writing-time more weight and importance. It’s (helping) to pay the bills!
If you could take a time machine back 10 years, what would you tell your past self?
Stop worrying so much about what other people think. You don’t have to like everyone, and everyone doesn’t have to like you – and if someone doesn’t like you, it’s their problem, not yours. You are enough.
What do you hope people say about you after you’re gone?
She loved with her whole heart, every single day.
How do you choose names for your characters?
For this book, as soon as I started writing things down, I just knew Daniel’s name was Daniel Seagram Whitcomb. All the other names came out as I wrote. For other books, I do some research into historical socio-economics, because a person’s name in any particular era can really give you a lot of backstory and subtle cultural cues about them.
Where do you look for inspiration for new stories?
I don’t usually go looking for story ideas; they pop up while I’m watching a movie or a documentary, or reading, or doing research for another book. I’ve got a notebook full of ideas that I haven’t had time to write yet, that came to me while I was doing something else!
What else do you use to immerse yourself in the story (music, visuals, etc.)?
For this book, I actually have a stack of postcards and photos that I used to help me get the feel of each character. Daniel’s postcards are all brilliantly colored, some are quite chaotic, and there are many of stained glass windows. Erik’s postcards are all of the Neues Museum in Berlin, which was heavily damaged in WWII, and didn’t reopen until 2009. What was left standing, and the plaster and paint on the walls has been repaired, but not covered over, so you get these absolutely stunning rooms that feel very old, and slightly worn. It’s got a very calm, very open, very enduring vibe to it
Word Sprints!
- Plotter or pantser? Both. I start out by pantsing until I have a pretty good idea what needs to happen, and then I have to sit down and write out the plot on post-it notes and a board, or else I get absolutely lost.
- Reusable or disposable grocery bags? Reusable grocery bags! I’ve got a huge collection, and I’ve always got one tucked away in my bag!
- What are you currently wearing? Sweatshirt, jeans and my wool slippers – we’re having a freak cold snap!
- Do you have any pets? I have a 18 month old dog, who is an absolute riot. She’s my shadow, and she will do absolutely anything for a piece of fruit – she prefers apple slices to dog treats!
- What’s on your playlist? Alabama Shakes, Theo Katzman, Vulfpeck, Counting Crows, Bedouin Soundclash and Walk The Moon
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Rafflecopter Prize: Grand Prize: $25 Interlude Press gift card, 5 first prizes of an e-copy of Daniel & Erik’s Super Fab Ultimate Wedding Checklist
