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Rachel Higginson ~ Interview & Every Wrong Reason Review

Rachel Higginson stopped by RG to talk about her new release, Every Wrong Reason and share a great sneak peak!!!

Rachel Higginson is the creator of The Star-Crossed Series, Love & Decay Novella Series, The Starbright Series, The Siren Series, Bet on Us and the soon to be released, The Five Stages of Falling in Love! She is also the co-creator of the podcast "Zach & Rachel Take Over the World."
She was born and raised in Nebraska, and spent her college years traveling the world. She fell in love with Eastern Europe, Paris, Indian Food and the beautiful beaches of Sri Lanka, but came back home to marry her high school sweetheart. Now she spends her days raising four amazing kids. In the few spare moments she has to herself, she is either reading for hours on end or writing her own stories.

RG: Thank you for stopping by RG!  We are excited to promote your upcoming release, Every Wrong Reason.
RH: Thank you for having me!! I’m so excited to be here!

RG: Can you tell us a little about Every Wrong Reason and share an Excerpt or some sort of sneak peek?
RH: Every Wrong Reason is the story of a couple on the brink of divorce. It’s the side of marriage that you rarely read about. It’s all those years after the happily ever after and wedded bliss. Nick and Kate Carter have been married for seven years when they’ve finally had enough of their miserable marriage. Kate suggests divorce and Nick doesn’t know what else to do besides give it to her. Every Wrong Reason picks up after they’ve been separated for a few months and follows the journey they take during the divorce process. It’s not what either of them expected and so much more painful than they anticipated. The book follows them as they decide if love can save them or if, after everything, they really are wrong for each other.

Here is a little sneak peek!
“Kate?” he said again, louder this time.
“Hi. Sorry. I’m here.”
More awkward moments spun by until he said, “Hey, Kate, I really want to talk to you, especially, uh, about yesterday. But I’m kind of in the middle of something. So if it’s not urgent, then I should probably let you-”
“I saw a lawyer this morning.” The words fell out of my mouth like poisonous snakes. I couldn’t keep them inside me anymore. They were infecting me… killing me. I had to get them out. I had to poison someone else too.
He let out a sound that was half growl, half huff of surprise. “A lawyer.”
“I needed to do something. I needed to get this in motion.”
He was so silent that if I couldn’t hear the background noise, I would have thought he hung up on me.
“You needed to-”
“I don’t want to fight with you, Nick. I just wanted to let you know. It was a courtesy call.” But had it been? Why had I needed to call him so desperately?  
“It’s only been six months,” he shot back. His voice was firm this time, resolute. “Kate, give it some more time.”
I ignored his plea. “If we file together... amicably then it makes the whole process easier and-”
“I’m not going to do that.”
I was so shocked by the dominance in his voice I had to sit down. “Wh-what?”
“Go ahead and do what you want, but I’m not going to file amicably.”
“Why not?”
“It doesn’t matter why. You just need to know that I’m not going to.”
I had no idea what to say to that. I was more confused than ever. Was he trying to be a pain in the ass? Was he trying to make this as difficult as possible?
Obviously.
But why? Just to piss me off? Or did he actually feel entitled to more than what fifty-fifty would get him?
Or was Kara right? Did he really not want to go through with this?
I fumbled, trying to think of something to say, “Well, you should probably get a lawyer then.”
His reply was crisp and direct. “I have a lawyer.”
After a long minute of silence I realized he hung up on me. I stared at my phone, dazed and completely shell-shocked until the bell rang and students started walking into class.

RG:  You are a very accomplished author with a wide range of novels/series.  Do you find one genre more challenging to write?
RH: Thank you so much!!! That is incredibly sweet of you. Each book I write is its own unique challenge. Sometimes when I start a book, I have to take a second and remind myself that I’ve done this before and I can do it again. But it can be daunting to say the least! That said, I think my paranormal and supernatural stories are my biggest challenges. There is so much world building involved and most of the time they are large series with several books all building to that one climactic finale. There are so many moving pieces involved that I am definitely stretched and challenged as a writer. But even as I say that, I have to admit that contemporary can be just as much of a challenge. Sometimes it’s harder to write a fully engaging story without all of the extra world building and apocalyptic circumstances. I think that’s why I genre hop so often. I love the challenges each new book and new genre brings. I love the growth process. As painful as it can be!

RG: Do you bounce between works or focus on one story at a time?
RH: I really try to bounce between works! I’m involved in several projects right now, so it would be efficient to be able to move between stories. But I seem to almost become whatever character I’m writing at the time. And it’s hard to jump between bodies and minds. (Does that sound a little crazy? Lol!) It’s just that once I’ve found my groove in a main character I become pretty obsessed with the story until it’s finished. I don’t want to leave until I’ve figured everything that’s going to happen and get the words down just right.

RG:  If you weren't a writer, what professional career would you have or want to be in? And why?
RH: I would love a career in relief work. My degree is in international studies and before I got married and started writing, I worked in several different countries dealing with everything from orphanages to tsunami relief. I would one day love to get back to that. I also love to travel! I’m the kind of person that gets homesick for places I’ve never been. :)

RG: If you could have dinner with any fictional character, who would you pick?
RH: Elizabeth Bennet. Hands down. She is my favorite heroine. I just love complicated females. And she was written so beautifully, so flawed. So very human. I love that. And I would love to sit over dinner and just chat with her about nothing and about everything.

RG:  If you had hidden cameras in your house, what super embarrassing things would be seen?
RH: Oh, gosh. I would probably die if those videos ever leaked!!! :) The most embarrassing thing would probably be how often my husband and I makeout! Ha!! Or dancing around the kitchen with my kids. Or singing at the top of lungs while I’m cleaning the house to pop music. The list could go on and on and on. Lol!

RG: If you were being taken to a stranded island and could only take one book, which would you pick and why?
RH: It would have to be Pride and Prejudice. I don’t often read books more than once. There are just way too many good ones out there! My TBR list is insane. But I’ve read Pride and Prejudice at least a dozen times. It’s the one I know I’ll never get sick of. It’s the one that is captivating every time I read it. It’s the one that will never let me go.

RG: What is your guilty pleasure where books are not concerned?
RH: Online shopping. I am the worst!!! I love shopping for my kids and my house and my husband and me! I could click through online stores all day every day. You can hardly get me to go in a real store unless it’s Target. But from my office chair, I have a serious problem. I might also have a problem with procrastinating my work. The two things might be related. :)

RG:  Last but certainly not least, can you tell us a little about your current Work In Progress?
RH: I would love to! Now that Every Wrong Reason is finished, I’m working hard on my dystopian novella series, Love and Decay. I’ll start publishing the fourth season of L&D in December, so I’m working to get most of the episodes ready to go! Love and Decay is so intense! It’s a serial, so I write each episode like a TV show. It’s about the zombie apocalypse and a dystopian government and this family of super hot, super cool brothers. And romance. It’s mostly about love at the end of the world. It’s so fun!

All the scoop on Every Wrong Reason!
EVERY WRONG REASON
by RACHEL HIGGINSON
Release Date: September 22nd
SYNOPSIS
First comes love.

Then comes marriage.

Then comes the... really nasty divorce.

Kate Carter thought she married her soul mate. She thought she had her happily ever after. But seven years into Kate's marriage, she realizes that her husband Nick is not what she wanted. He's selfish, he's oblivious and he doesn't love her anymore.

Maybe she doesn't love him anymore either.

Divorce is the only option if either of them wants to find happiness.

Kate and Nick thought they knew what they wanted, but neither is prepared for the heartache that separating will bring them. The journey they embark on is not the freedom they wished for, but a painful look at the people they've become.

At the end of it, Kate has to decide if this is really the life she wants or if maybe there's a way to salvage her broken heart.

REVIEW

“Our faults had become walls that kept the other out and our fights had scared us so deeply we would never heal.”

Rachel Higginson has proven she is the queen of delivering emotional reads.  After devouring The Five Stages of Falling in Love I decided I needed MORE of her mojo!  
So I stalked Rachel and found that she was releasing yet another emotional read - EVERY WRONG REASON.

Kate Carter is a recent thirty-something that has worked hard to secure a fulfilling career. By all accounts she has the world at her fingertips BUT (yes of course we have a BUT) Kate’s marriage is falling apart.  She married Nick after college, they bought the perfect starter home and set sail on the 2.5 kids + white picket fence lifestyle - BUT what they found was… the harsh bright lights of reality can over shine the very basic foundation of love.

Nick and Kate are truly to couple next door.  They are good, kind and caring people who lost their footing in their relationship.  It is heartbreaking how simple their life derailed.  I cried, pounded my fist and cheered for this couple on more than one occasion.  

“Behind my smiling mouth and teacher responsibilities, I was made of brittle glass and emptiness,  I was nothing by paper-thin defenses and shifting sand. "

In addition to her struggles with Nick, we are given an insight into Kate’s career and her relationship with Kara, her bff/co-worker (who I happen to have a girl crush on). This duo faces daily struggles attempting to make headway in an inner city school where poverty and poor parenting is the norm.  The relationships that Kate forges with her students are inspirational AND she does this while her own personal life is in total and utter ruins..

“There was healing in this industrial chaos.  There was a beautiful surrender to the noisy madness that felt cleansing and therapeutic.”

The story ebbs and flows with some pretty major ups and downs.  I totally felt my emotions all over the place and if I am honest I found myself evaluating how I treat people in my everyday life and hoping that I don't take one second for granted.

Every Wrong Reason represents so many of the reasons why reading is a staple in my life.  It is real, impacting and the story lingers in your mind for days after finishing the read.  I loved the characters, the chemistry and the overall flow of the story.  If you are looking for a life affirming read… Every Wrong Reason should be next on your TBR!
Rating: 5 stars!!!

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