I SEE LONDON by Chanel Cleeton (Guest Post/Giveaway)

My Inspiration for I SEE LONDON
By Chanel Cleeton


The story behind I SEE LONDON has been in my head for almost ten years. When I was seventeen years old I moved to London to attend an international university. It was an incredible, life-changing experience. Like my heroine, Maggie, I’d lived a pretty sheltered life up until that point. I was born in a relatively small town in Florida. I lived there until high school when I moved to a suburb of Orlando, which was a big adjustment, but nowhere near prepared me for the excitement of London.

Moving across the ocean was a huge risk but it was also an enormous opportunity. One that ultimately was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. As soon as my plane touched down in London, I was in love. I don’t know what it was about London, but from the beginning it just felt like home. Every day was a new adventure. I was surrounded by people speaking different languages. I was constantly trying new foods and exploring new places. 

London is such a mix of rich history contrasted against a bustling metropolis. It was easy to feel like I was caught between two time periods. At times I felt like I was back in the seventeenth century—surrounded by gorgeous architecture and the quiet elegance of Hyde Park. Other times I was surrounded by bright lights and the noise of snarling traffic in an overwhelming modern city. It’s such a city of contradictions. Perhaps that’s why I loved it so—it was impossible to get bored.

Attending an international university was also an incredible experience, independent from all that London had to offer. I learned as much from my classmates and their life experiences as I did from my professors. It was an amazing opportunity to learn more about other cultures and in doing so I found that I learned so much more about myself. 

When I started writing I SEE LONDON I knew I wanted to explore the theme of coming of age in a setting where you’re a fish out of water, learning to adapt to a completely new environment. I really saw it as an opportunity to take the central theme of New Adult—which I love so much—and combine it with the adventure of traveling to a new country and stepping outside of your comfort zone for the ultimate journey of self discovery. I found myself in London and I loved writing the opportunity for my heroine, Maggie, to do the same. 

I SEE LONDON by Chanel Cleeton

February 3, 2014

Harlequin HQN (Digital First)

New Adult Contemporary Romance

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iTunes | Harlequin | GOODREADS

Maggie Carpenter is ready for a change— and to leave her ordinary life in South Carolina behind. But when she accepts a scholarship to the International School in London, a university attended by the privileged offspring of diplomats and world leaders, Maggie might get more than she bargained for.
When Maggie meets Hugh, a twentysomething British guy, she finds herself living the life she always wanted. Suddenly she’s riding around the city in a Ferrari, wearing borrowed designer clothes and going to the hottest clubs. The only problem? Another guy, the one she can’t seem to keep her hands off of.
Half French, half Lebanese, and ridiculously wealthy, Samir Khouri has made it clear he doesn’t do relationships. He’s the opposite of everything Maggie thought she wanted…and he’s everything she can’t resist. Torn between her dream guy and the boy haunting her dreams, Maggie has to fight for her own happy ending. In a city like London, you never know where you stand, and everything can change in the blink of an eye.

This is a New Adult romance recommended for readers 17 and up.

AUTHOR BIO: 

Originally a Florida girl, at seventeen Chanel moved to London to attend an international university.  In the four years that followed, she received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees, learned how to dance, travelled through Europe, and made lifelong friendships.  Chanel fell in love with London and planned to stay there forever.  But fate intervened on a Caribbean cruise, when an American fighter pilot with smooth dance moves, swept her off her feet.
Now, a happily ever after later, Chanel is living her next adventure in South Korea.  An avid reader and hopeless romantic, she is happiest curled up with a book.  She has a weakness for handbags, puppy cuddles, and her fighter pilot husband.  Chanel writes New Adult contemporary romances and Young Adult thrillers.  Her New Adult debut, I SEE LONDON, will be released by Harlequin (HQN) on February 3, 2014, followed by a sequel, LONDON FALLING, later in the year.

Website:   www.chanelcleeton.com

Facebook:   www.facebook.com/authorchanelcleeton

Twitter:   www.twitter.com/chanelcleeton

Goodreads:   www.goodreads.com/chanelcleeton

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