Title: Keeping Claudia
Author: Suzanne McKenna Link
Series: Toby & Claudia #2
Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance
Release Date: June 1, 2017
How do you love someone whose past goes against everything you’ve ever known or trust in a future you’ve yet to believe in?
Back home in a town she once fled, headstrong Claudia Chiametti returns to the arms of the only guy ever to awaken her heart. Everything about Toby contradicts her family’s traditions and values, but she’s ready to take a chance on love.
Toby Faye is a new man, and the girl he’s long dreamed of is finally within his reach. With Claudia’s help, he’s put the past behind him. But one last secret hides in the dark corner of his past. The one that could undermine it all.
Can Claudia love him unconditionally … or will the truth cost Toby what he wants most?
Keeping Claudia is the emotional finale to the love story that began in Saving Toby, an unforgettable journey of a couple who discover the only way to love someone is with an open heart.
Falling in love is easy. Staying in love is hard.
Full length, Contemporary Love Story.
Recommended Reading Age 18+
Though part of a series, may be read as standalone.
I get really fired up when writing about emotional intimacy. That includes all personal relationships, parent to child, sibling to sibling, but nothing intrigues me quite so much as the intensity between two people who share romantic love.
When writing a book, what is your favorite part of the creative process(outline, plot, character names, editing, etc)?
I enjoy all of the stages of creating a book, but I’m most engaged during the writing part. When I’m not thinking about deadlines and worrying about trying to get it perfect, it’s amazing to just sit down and create scenes I’ve been envisioning in my head. After that, I would say the editing process is my next favorite. This is where I cut away the excess, unnecessary stuff, tighten up and polish the story. It’s exciting to see many months, sometimes years, of hard work come to fruition.
When reading a book, what genre do you find most interesting/intriguing?
I read from a plethora of genres—historical fiction, fantasy, romance and non-fiction motivational to name a few—but the stories I usually enjoy the most tend to be women’s lit with a strong central love story.
If you could co-author with any author, past or present, who would you choose?
Right off the bat I can think of two authors with completely differing bodies of work, Judy Blume and Tarryn Fisher. What young woman hasn’t read “Are You there God, It’s Me, Margaret?” and “Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing,” but did you know Blume penned a number of provocative books for older readers? Kind of blew me away, but I enjoyed reading her more mature work, too. She infuses humor with everyday reality. And after reading Tarryn Fisher’s “Mud Vein,” I became an instant fan. There’s an unapologetically realistc darkness to her characters that simply intrigues me. Pairing up with either would really be a treat for me.
Have you always wanted to write or did it come to you "later in life"?
I’ve always thought of myself as a writer. Since I’ve been able to string words together, I’ve written journals. As a teen, I enjoyed amusing my family members with short humorous stories, exaggerating my relatives mannerisms. English classes were always my favorites, and I pursued writing and literature courses in college. But, it wasn’t until ‘later in life’ that I found myself unhappy at work and finally made a decision to focus on my writing and to really go for it.
Suzanne McKenna Link works for a family of newspapers that cover events in and around the South Shore of Long Island, New York. She lives in the town of Sayville with her husband and two children.
SAVING TOBY is her debut novel. The literary love story follows the moving journey of a damaged young man and his love for a girl who might just save him. An avid interest in psychology has Suzanne digging deep into the reasons for her characters' behaviors. The native Long Islander is fascinated by the how and why of people's actions. As a result, her characters come to life on the pages.
Keeping Claudia #2
Saving Toby #1
