Layers
Sigal Erhlich
According to Hayley love is a subject of ridicule, a myth created by hopeless romantics.
When Hayley makes a resolution to declare her loose lifestyle era R.I.P, it’s all good in theory…
That is until she meets Daniel Stark, a well-respected, mid-thirties business man who is known for his short temper, lack of steady relationships as well as his strict preserve of his private life.
Opinionated, sharp tongued Hayley accidently steps into his office leaving Daniel resolved to put Hayley in her place and have her in his bed.
Both Hayley and Daniel can’t avoid the immediate instigation of the attraction between them.
In a unanimously agreed upon verdict by Hayley and her two best friends, Ian the gay self-absorbed, aspiring model and Natasha the witty, borderline neurotic soul mate, Daniel Stark is to be Hayley’s pure physical attraction, emotions aside era closure.
Will it indeed be a closure, or a beginning to something neither Hayley nor Daniel ever bargained for…
A couple weeks ago I reviewed this book (link below) and I absolutely loved it. I gave it a five star rating, actually. The author, Sigal, is such an awesome and nice person that I also consider myself lucky that I got an interview out of her, too! So here is the interview today - along with a giveaway Sigal is offering. There are two prizes, and both are international!! Enjoy the interview, and good luck everyone!
Hello Sigal!! Thanks for taking the time to visit with me. How are you today?
Thank you, Liz. I couldn’t be happier, I’m here! Seriously, it’s such an honor being here, I absolutely love your blog.
Thank you so much!
Ok, so I read Layers and I loved every minute of it. But what can you tell our readers today about the story if they only had the blurb to go on?
I’d say that Layers is a sweet love story, a lighthearted one that’s mostly fun, even during some of the angsty parts. I believe that Layers has a certain uniqueness as it centers on real life, and characters with real life dilemmas. But what truly makes Layers what it is are the characters, all of them.
Daniel and Hayley definitely had some ups and downs in their relationship, and you did a great job of bringing the reader along for the ride. But what was the inspiration for this story?
It would be a mixture of several ingredients. First and foremost, my desire to write something that I’d like to read. I wanted a story in which the characters actually had a relationship rather than the good ol’ push and pull game/ tension till the very end. Combine that with a great love for the sea, surfing, tattooed hotties, and sassy people with a touch of madness, and you’ve got Layers.
Inner Core, which is the second book in the Stark series, comes out in January. I need to know what’s going to happen!! Can you give us any hints?
Now that would be telling.
But for you…
Firstly, every one of the characters gets to grow and have his own little story, including Tasha and Ian of course.
Daniel’s and Hayley’s relationship will have to overcome some major obstacles, some that will be “deftly crafted” by them both, and some that will be thrown at them by… life.
I think that the following words by the one and only, Mr. Stark, can give an idea of what to expect.
“And anyway, normal Hales, can never be truly amazing.” He smirks again. “Let me ask you something.” He resumes, looking at me with his utmost bad boy stare. “You sure you want to tame me?”
Author’s note: “Normal” it’s not going to be. *rubs hands together* ooooh! I can't wait!
So we all know that authors go through tons of edits and revisions on their books. Is there something that didn’t make it into Layers that you can tell us about?
Oh yes, there is, I had quite a long internal debate about that one and with the advice of my amazing editor, it eventually stayed on the editing floor. It’s a scene with some “colorful” lady hitting on Daniel right under Hayley’s nose. The reason it didn’t make it to the book was that Hayley’s reaction was quite out of character. Though the ending of the scene is still one of my favorite ones. See for yourself…
“One,” he kisses me. “I love you jealous, you look sweeter than ever. Two,” he covers my mouth with another chaste kiss. “Given the very recent incident I can now without a doubt state,” he chuckles. “There’s more than one, what was it you called me back then?” he pauses for a second, putting on a great show of thinking. “There’s definitely more than one psycho in our duo.”
Reading your bio is pretty impressive; you’ve lived in several places around the world. How do you think that shapes your voice as an author?
I think it has a great influence on my writing, style, and my ideas. I speak several languages, each very different from the other, which offer such a great variety of idioms and ways to say things. I also believe that the countries I’ve lived in and visited, the people I’ve met, contribute so much.
An author’s voice comes from his view, his perspective on the world. The soul of a story comes from within, even in fiction, so the greater experiences and characters you have stored in your mind, the greater the selection you have to base your stories upon. Now, that came out a bit too philosophical, no?
Philosophical or not, I totally agree :)
What is a day in the life of Sigal like?
Liz, as glamorous and thrilling as they come. Can you just imagine how exhilarating it’s to go from writing a steamy scene to changing a bio-hazardous diaper? Living life to the extreme, that’s me.
I’m a mother of three, I guess that kind of covers it… I mostly play house by day time and transform into a writer at night. I write every single night till very, very late. I have three completed novels that were written in approximately a year and some, so there’s a whole lot of writing going on.
Excellent, I can't wait to read them!
When you sit down to write a book, do you plot it all out or do you let the story shape itself as it goes?
Definitely the story takes shape as I go along. I usually have a very general idea of what the book is going to be about but as I sit down to write, so many thing influence the plot. It hardly ever stays as I’ve originally set it up to be in my mind. I mainly let the characters lead the way, the more they evolve, the more the story develops.
Now, on the subject of writing, I love your writing, yep, read all posts on Nobody Asked Me. Ever thought about co-writing? *winking*
*blushes* awww shucks. Thank you so much! I've tried writing in the past, and I have the stunning ability of never being able to end a story!
Do you have any other projects in the works you can share with us?
My third novel, Leaving Me Behind which is in fact the first full novel I’ve ever written. I set it aside a while ago, knowing that I’ll come back to it someday. It needs to undergo major TLC, which I plan to dive into right after the release of Inner Core.
Leaving Me Behind is about a 30 something who’s fed up with her life, and takes a decision to leave it all behind. She moves to a coastal town in Spain in order to really start living. Her grand plan is to enjoy life while breaking her many strict rules. During the voyage she takes to get to know the new country and herself, she maintains cyber therapy sessions with her questionable shrink. When she finally begins to enjoy her new life, she meets someone that leaves her questioning everything she thought was right.
This book incorporates two of my favorite things, traveling in general and Spain in particular.
Ok, something a bit easier, now? How about “Favorites”?
Favorite Vacation Spot: Without a doubt, Barcelona. I’ve visited Barcelona many times already, but I can’t seem to get enough of this city. Everything about the place is so vivid and colorful, the people, the language, the ambience.
Favorite Dessert: Ben and jerry's chunky monkey, and the more the merrier.
Favorite Music Group/Singer: Snow Patrol, Gary Lightbody. Gary has a voice that’s just makes me melt inside a little each time I hear him.
Favorite Book: Oh, there are so many. I’ll go with my favorite this year, Tangled by Emma Chase. I truly think Emma is a genius.
Favorite Fictional Villain: The one and only, my secret crush, The Joker.
Ok, that should do for now, Sigal. Thanks so much for joining me today! It was great talking to you, and I can’t wait to read Inner Core!
Thank you for having me here and being as awesome, isn’t she one of the coolest bloggers around people?
What is a day in the life of Sigal like?
Liz, as glamorous and thrilling as they come. Can you just imagine how exhilarating it’s to go from writing a steamy scene to changing a bio-hazardous diaper? Living life to the extreme, that’s me.
I’m a mother of three, I guess that kind of covers it… I mostly play house by day time and transform into a writer at night. I write every single night till very, very late. I have three completed novels that were written in approximately a year and some, so there’s a whole lot of writing going on.
Excellent, I can't wait to read them!
When you sit down to write a book, do you plot it all out or do you let the story shape itself as it goes?
Definitely the story takes shape as I go along. I usually have a very general idea of what the book is going to be about but as I sit down to write, so many thing influence the plot. It hardly ever stays as I’ve originally set it up to be in my mind. I mainly let the characters lead the way, the more they evolve, the more the story develops.
Now, on the subject of writing, I love your writing, yep, read all posts on Nobody Asked Me. Ever thought about co-writing? *winking*
*blushes* awww shucks. Thank you so much! I've tried writing in the past, and I have the stunning ability of never being able to end a story!
Do you have any other projects in the works you can share with us?
My third novel, Leaving Me Behind which is in fact the first full novel I’ve ever written. I set it aside a while ago, knowing that I’ll come back to it someday. It needs to undergo major TLC, which I plan to dive into right after the release of Inner Core.
Leaving Me Behind is about a 30 something who’s fed up with her life, and takes a decision to leave it all behind. She moves to a coastal town in Spain in order to really start living. Her grand plan is to enjoy life while breaking her many strict rules. During the voyage she takes to get to know the new country and herself, she maintains cyber therapy sessions with her questionable shrink. When she finally begins to enjoy her new life, she meets someone that leaves her questioning everything she thought was right.
This book incorporates two of my favorite things, traveling in general and Spain in particular.
Ok, something a bit easier, now? How about “Favorites”?
Favorite Vacation Spot: Without a doubt, Barcelona. I’ve visited Barcelona many times already, but I can’t seem to get enough of this city. Everything about the place is so vivid and colorful, the people, the language, the ambience.
Favorite Dessert: Ben and jerry's chunky monkey, and the more the merrier.
Favorite Music Group/Singer: Snow Patrol, Gary Lightbody. Gary has a voice that’s just makes me melt inside a little each time I hear him.
Favorite Book: Oh, there are so many. I’ll go with my favorite this year, Tangled by Emma Chase. I truly think Emma is a genius.
Favorite Fictional Villain: The one and only, my secret crush, The Joker.
Ok, that should do for now, Sigal. Thanks so much for joining me today! It was great talking to you, and I can’t wait to read Inner Core!
Thank you for having me here and being as awesome, isn’t she one of the coolest bloggers around people?
LOL There you go making me blush again, thank you!
By teen age, Sigal already lived in three different continents where she was lucky enough to experience and visit varied places, meet unique people, which only helped fuel her overly developed imagination. Currently, Sigal calls Estonia home where she lives with her husband and three kids.
Not exactly sure where they will end up next…
When she is not hiding in her office, writing, she enjoys music, reading and taking care of her little clan.
With a great believe in "don’t wait for things to happen - make them happen," she enjoys anything exciting life has to offer.
Not exactly sure where they will end up next…
When she is not hiding in her office, writing, she enjoys music, reading and taking care of her little clan.
With a great believe in "don’t wait for things to happen - make them happen," she enjoys anything exciting life has to offer.
Find Sigal Online
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