Today I am privileged to welcome Rebecca Rynecki. She is here promoting her book, The Secret World of Alaina Downs. She’s stopped by today to talk about her inspiration for her hot Knight in Shining Armor, Gabriel. Be sure to check out my review with more raving about Gabriel after Rebecca’s guest post. So let the take over begin…
Manspiration
Muses. Inspiration. All of those deep and meaningful concepts that push all types of artists. It could be a sign from the gods, from the heavens giving you greater purpose. Me? With The Secret World of Alaina Downs and its sequel, The Knight’s Ill-Thought Bargain, it was manspiration!
Manspiration (trademark pending per Jessica Miller- okay, no not really) does not have anything to do with men and perspiration. Don’t worry about that. It has to do with that guy, that…that man on tv or a magazine, or even some dude walking down the street. It’s that guy who can take your storyline off in a whole other direction with his swagger, a smirk, and yes…sometimes a lack of clothes. I’m not going to lie to you. It is a good image after all.
The story of Alaina Downs came to me when I was twelve. It eventually fleshed out to include the sexy, cocky, yet believable knight, Sir Gabriel, when I was fifteen. It still took uh….almost fifteen years -cough, yeah you guys were totally doing the math there- before I could finally say, “This is how I really want this character to act, to interact with Alaina. This is how the love story is going to play out.”
And why? Because of lack of manspiration of course! The plot was outlined, Alaina was a complete character, the research was done…and Gabriel was still faceless. Sure, I still had the basics but nothing that went, YES! SO THAT’S HOW YOU WINK!
Until one fateful day when I sat down to watch a movie. This dude with very dark, almost black hair was talking; the sexual undertones obvious with his almost innocent words. All of a sudden, I could see it: Gabriel surprising Alaina in such a way that she fell out of a tree, Gabriel being naughty in the ocean, the flirting…and the eventual realization that it might just be possible for these two people to fall in love.
I know you guys are dying to know who the manspiration was for Gabriel by now right? -crickets- No. It’s not that Damon Salvatore guy. I did spell his name correct, didn’t I? Nah, he’s British and has a penchant for wearing hats…kind of. He’s also does not look like a “stereotypical” knight, and that’s the whole point with manspiration. It can hit you when you least expect it. I know when I sat down to watch that movie on the SyFy channel, I wasn’t thinking, “This is where I’m going to find Gabriel!” But, I did, and it was because of that, the story really took on a life of its own.
So, thank you, Mr. British dude! Manspiration can be used in all different aspects you know, and plus…it’s just plain fun. Pssst…if you guys really want to know who the manspiration was for Gabriel, you can find hints for it on my blog. I don’t want to embarrass the poor guy…
Title: The Secret World Of Alaina Downs
Author: Rebecca Rynecki
Genre: New Adult/Fantasy
Number of Pages: 252
When Alaina stumbles into a world that she only thought existed in her mind, she is understandably a little bit freaked out. Who wouldn’t be? Characters that she had written down years ago are walking, and talking, and telling her that she is the only one who can save the princess and the kingdom of Isleen. Um…okay. As she travels down to the southern kingdom with Sir Gabriel, a really hot knight, she falls off horses, has an interaction with an evil witch, gets attacked by a sea creature, and even falls from lust into love.
Review:
The Secret World of Alaina Downs was a fantastic read. Honestly, at first I was a bit confuse about what was going on, but it’s not long into the story that you pick up what is going on. The story like the adventure in the story moves very quickly. It draws you in and propels you through the harrowing tasks that Alaina and Gabriel face. We also fall in love when Alaina and Gabriel do. Alaina and Gabriel’s love story is very cute and you can really see how through the situations they are put in and the things they learn help to push their love forward. Plus, what woman wouldn’t want her own Knight in Shining Armor to save. Make that Knight as hot as Gabriel and you can definitely understand why Alaina falls for him so quickly. Overall, I thought this was a unique concept with a love story seamlessly weaved within the pages. I would recommend this to anyone who likes a good Fantasy/Romance story. Think of it as Alice in Wonderland meets Guinevere and Lancelot.
I’d like to thank ABG Reads Book Tours for letting me host this stop and Rebecca Rynecki for stopping by and posting. For more information about Rebecca be sure to click on the links below. For more information about The Secret World of Alaina Downs you can go to Barnes and Noble, Amazon and any other book retailer.
Author Bio:
A graduate of Hollins University in southwestern Virginia, Rebecca now lives in the hills of Connecticut with her husband and young son. When she’s not working as a librarian or plotting out the sequel, she bakes, dances around the house…and sings…really badly. The Secret World of Alaina Downs is her first book.
Where to find Rebecca:
Blog: http://rebeccaryneckithequestsandperils.blogspot.com/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/BeccaRBooks
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RebeccaRyneckiAuthor
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/rebeccarynecki/
Tumbler: http://questsandperils.tumblr.com/
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEx7bPtwlPo&feature=youtu.be
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6449801.Rebecca_Rynecki