Guest Post and Giveaway: Author Leighton Summers

Today we're happy to have author Leighton Summers here answering a few questions about her writing habits and favorite books and television shows.  Ms. Summers is the author of Stupid By Choice.  My questions are in bold.

What are your favorite places to visit for inspiration while writing?
 Thank you so much for having me as a guest on your blog, and for letting everyone who reads it know about my new book, Stupid By Choice.  It took me four years to write this, my first novel, and though I’m glad I finally finished it, it was not an easy task.  I was very fortunate to be encouraged by my husband and some good friends to keep working on it, even when I wanted to give up (which was often!).  I was also very fortunate to have been able to write it while visiting some of the most beautiful places in the United States, for I was born into (and still live in) this same kind of upscale, privileged world the book is set in and I move around quite a bit.  And though this book is pure fiction, I admit it helped me to stay inspired as I traveled to various places over the years while writing, for I was always surrounded by interesting people and situations wherever I went. 

Your request of wanting to know my favorite places to write in for inspiration really made me think of my most ‘favorite’ ones overall, and here are my top 5:
1.  Manhattan
2.  Newport, R.I.
3.  La Jolla, CA
4.  Beverly Hills, CA
5.  Palm Beach, FL

(All of these places have lots of interesting happenings and situations that create both tears and laughter constantly.  You honestly can’t help but be inspired as a writer when you’re in any of them!)   

When you’re not writing, what are your favorite books to read?

That’s easy!  My 5 favorite books are:
1.  The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
2.  Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe
3.  The Gold Coast by Nelson DeMille
4.  Earlier works of Danielle Steel
5.  Earlier works of James Patterson 

These books and writers have all influenced and inspired me because of their fabulous writing.  And I really enjoy reading about stories set in upscale worlds. 

What are your favorite TV shows to watch?

Another great question, for like everyone I also need some “down time” just to escape at times, even in my busy world of constant parties, galas, and traveling.  (Yes, you actually do need a break from that sometimes and just want to stay in, order take out or room service, and watch a little TV!) 

Here are my top 5 favorite television escapes:
1.  The Food Network (Especially Bobby Flay because he’s so creative and very likeable.  I can also totally relate to his southwestern cooking style because I’m from Texas.)
2.  CNBC/CNN (Mostly all the financial news programs, for I always like to know how the stock market is doing, and I love watching Anderson Cooper.)
3.  Wheel of Fortune (I think it’s really fun to try and figure out the sayings and phrases, and I like seeing what Vanna is wearing!)
4.  Melrose Place (The original one, not the remake version.  I love the whole “nighttime soap opera” aspect of it!)
5.  Sex in the City (I love the main character of Carrie Bradshaw and all the dating dilemmas, clothes, shoes, and shopping that goes on.)


Great lists, Ms. Summers!  Want to know more about Stupid By Choice?  Here's a summary:
 
Stupid By Choice centers around Melanie St. John, a beautiful, smart, rich Texan daddy’s girl born to a bold, high-powered lawyer in the oil business who helps her grow into someone who is both worldly and capable.  But once she leaves college and enters the privileged world of dating highly sought-after “men of leisure,” Melanie is catapulted in and out of the wealthiest places on the globe by some of the most handsome, spoiled, sought-after, jet-set playboy bachelors in the elite social circles of Texas, Monte Carlo, Manhattan, Newport, and Palm Beach. 

Melanie truly hopes to find true, lasting love, get married, and start a family with one of them, but these mostly destructive love affairs soon become a dynamic exploration of wealth and love, with all the highs and lows.  And to complicate matters she is surrounded by her older, free-wheeling, wildcat sister (and her sister’s exotic but destructive best friend) as well as her own two completely opposite best friends, and each of them also hopes to find their own Prince Charming—which all only adds to the competition, adventures, and scandals.  But throughout each relationship Melanie explores the deeper, more prevalent themes of family, friendship, love, intimacy, betrayal,  motherhood, and most of all, inner strength.

Stupid By Choice on Goodreads, NetGalley, Website
 

Fill out the form below to enter to win an e-copy of Stupid By Choice!
Anyone can enter to win, and this giveaway is open internationally.  The winner will be notified via email and has 72 hours to respond and claim their prize.  Giveaway runs from 7/2/13 to 7/22/13.

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