Guest Post and Giveaway: To Love and to Cherish by Addison Albright

We’re so pleased to welcome author Addison Albright to The Novel Approach today, on the tour for her latest novel To Love and to Cherish. She’s here to talk characters and plot, and there’s also a giveaway, so be sure to check out the Rafflecopter widget below.

Welcome, Addison!

Which Comes First, the Characters/Personalities or the Plot?

Which comes first, the characters/personalities or the plot? For me it’s a little of each, probably leaning heavier on the characters and their personalities. The details of the plot emerge from those characters as I write them.

The overreaching story arc is a backdrop for the characters that doesn’t (usually) change much as I write. That story is only a vague plan in my mind when I start writing, and the characters are what makes the story what it eventually becomes.

In To Love and To Cherish, Nash is a man who is reasonable and caring at his core, but highly disillusioned by recent events in his life. How he reacts, and decisions he makes are all the result of who he is on the inside. Change any aspect of his personality, and the way he responds to what life throws at him will be altered accordingly. Transform the character, and the story morphs with it.

At least it should, since a character’s behavior should fit his personality. As a writer I don’t feel it’s my job to make readers feel they would react as the character on the page does, but only to convince them that the character would.

I suppose this better answers the question “which is more important,” rather than “which comes first,” but the two are tied together in my mind. The basic background plots of many stories are similar. What sets them apart are the details, and the details are driven by the characters’ personalities.

About the Book

Title: To Love and to Cherish
Author: Addison Albright
Series: Vows: Book Three (can be read as a standalone)
Release Date: November 12th 2016
Genre: Contemporary MM Romance
Goodreads Links: The Book || The Series
Blurb: Will Nash find love again? Of course he will. Will he go about it in the usual manner? Now that’s another story entirely.

Jilted by his fiancé two weeks before their wedding, Nash Marino’s outlook on life in general, and love in particular, is jaded. After months of couch-surfing, Nash is fed up. He’s sick and tired of his living conditions, worn out by the demands of his nursing job, and despairs of ever finding love again. In fact, he doesn’t think he’s capable of true love. Monogamy, commitment, companionship, and regular sex…that’s all he wants, and the sooner, the better.

When Nash crosses paths with a like-minded man who’s also in need of a live-in nurse for a beloved relative, Nash figures all his problems are solved. Matters are complicated by a freak accident and amnesia. When Nash’s marriage of convenience scheme is muddied by notions of love after his memory reboot, will their plans go awry, or will Nash’s new outlook on life be just what the doctor ordered?

Buy the Book: JMS Books || Amazon US || Amazon UK || Kobo || All Romance || OmniLit

About the Author

Addison Albright lives in the middle of the USA with three peculiar cats. Her stories are gay (sometimes erotic) romance, and tend to be sweet man-love in contemporary settings. Her education includes a BS in Education with a major in Mathematics and a minor in Chemistry. Addison loves spending time with her family, reading, popcorn, boating, french fries, “open window weather,” cats, math, and anything chocolate. She loves to read pretty much anything and everything, anytime and anywhere.

Website || Facebook || Twitter || Goodreads

The Giveaway

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Follow the Tour

November 7th: Hearts on Fire | Books Laid Bare Boys
November 8th: The Purple Rose Tea House | Nerd Girl Official
November 9th: Joyfully Jay
November 10th: Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews | Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words
November 11th: The Novel Approach
November 14th: Drops of Ink
November 15th: Tharandian Thoughts | MM Book Escape
November 16th: Socially Awkward Book Nerd
November 17th: Slashsessed | Diverse Reader
November 18th: Nell Iris | My Fiction Nook
November 21st: A.L. Boyd
November 22nd: Embrace the Rainbow
November 24th: Velvet Panic
November 25th: Making It Happen
November 28th: Bonkers About Books
November 29th: Iyana Jenna
November 30th: All in One Place
December 1st: Bayou Book Junkie | Loving Without Limits
December 2nd: Alpha Book Club