I’m excited for you to meet author Rayna York today on my blog, especially because her young adult romance The Right Kind of Unexpected releases on June 18! It’s available on Amazon.

Tess hasn’t experienced many kindnesses in her eighteen years. When her boyfriend abandons her at a small-town gas station, it’s just one more crappy event to add to the pile. Without a car, money, or cell phone, her options are limited, and calling her parents isn’t one of them. So when the family that owns the business throws her a lifeline, she grabs hold. Because even the worst situations can have a silver lining, and this one is a town called Jasper Creek, a diner everyone calls Earl’s, and a young mechanic named Colten Reed.

Rayna York’s standalone novel gives readers the small-town romance they crave with enough feels to make the heart sing. It’s the perfect feel-good, summer romance.

My Review of The Right Kind of Unexpected

I want to spend summers in Jasper Creek with Colton’s family! This was such a heartwarming romance, and I was rooting for both Tess and Colton to end up together. Colton was so attractive in personality (and physique).  I really loved the voice and character of Tess, and I especially appreciated her ability to perceive others who were also hurting and in need of love and to look out for them. I loved her relationship with the cantankerous Jeb. I also loved the friendship between the three girls and the message that first impressions are not always right. Highly recommend!

Meet Author Rayna York

Kathy: The place is so real in Jasper Creek. Did you visit or spend summers in North Carolina?

Rayna: No. I have never spent summers in North Carolina. Jasper Creek was based on small towns I was familiar with as a teenager growing up in Ohio. When writing the novel, I googled the different terrains in North Carolina and placed my imaginary town near a larger city that wasn’t fictional.

Kathy: The backstories were very well done in The Right Kind of Unexpected, and their scars from previous relationships really increased the conflict between Colton and Tess. Do you have any advice for creating those conflicts and back stories?

Rayna: Good question. I would emphasize the importance of knowing your characters well before writing the first draft. It will save you a lot of rewriting later on. Sometimes I know the character backstories ahead of times, but not always. I don’t plot, so everything that happens in the novel happens organically through the characters dialogue. They create their own conflicts, based on their personalities and backstories, from the situations they’re presented with.

Kathy: I especially appreciated her ability to perceive others who were also hurting and in need of love and to look out for them. I loved her relationship with the cantankerous Jeb. Was there anything that inspired that story?

Rayna: Not at all. That character showed up one day when I was writing. He interjected himself into the story and became one of my favorites, his story developing as I wrote.

Meet the Author Rayna York and Her Thoughts on Writing

Kathy: What’s your writing routine? Are you a pantser or a plotter?

Rayna: My writing routine is breakfast, clean the house, workout, have lunch, then write from one to four in the afternoon. If I am in the final stages, editing or in reader mode, I will spend four to six hours a day working, but I never forgo the workout. I need it to wake my brain up.

I’m a pantser all the way. I tried to semi plot my latest first draft, thinking I would write out the entire story in a couple of days, giving me a baseline for everything to follow. It was hell. I was trying to guess what they would do instead of them doing it naturally, if that makes sense. As I said before, my novels progress on their own thru my characters dialogue.

Kathy: This is your third book. Do you have to read your books in order?  And do you feel more assured now as a writer? Was this easier or harder to write than the first and second ones?

Rayna: All my novels are standalone works. I know that having a series is more profitable, but when I finish my manuscript, I don’t want to live with those characters anymore. I’m done with them—really done. As far as being more assured as a writer, I think I’ve accepted I can only be as good as the time I put in, and that every time I write, my skills progress. I’ve also gotten past the imposter syndrome. That went away after the first novel. I am who I am. I may not be for everyone, but I accept myself as a writer, regardless.

My Favorite Question: If you could choose five writers to join you for a dinner party, who would you invite?

Kathy: And my favorite question: if you could choose five authors to join you for a dinner, who would you choose?

Rayna: James Patterson. Nora Roberts, Nicolas Sparks, Colleen Hoover, Penelope Douglass (because I’m curious how that woman’s mind works) and Brigid Kremmerer.

Kathy: That would be an amazing dinner party. Thanks so much for joining me on my blog!

Let’s Talk

Where do you spend your summers? I spend most of my summer by a beach, but New York City has so many great summer events that it’s fun to experience those as well.