Spoiler-Free Q&A on Make You Feel My Love (Soulmates Saga, Book 2)

Here's a spoiler-free Q&A on Make You Feel My Love (The Soulmates Saga, Book 2).

Q:  Chasing Pavements had the perfect ending.  Why did you decide to write a sequel to it? 

A:  I didn’t actually decide to write a sequel. Chasing Pavements didn’t start off as a first in a series of books about troubled soulmates Mukti and Jamie. I had no idea what would happen to the manuscript – whether it would get published, and if it did, whether it would be successful. And even if it was, even if fans demanded one, would that be enough to warrant a follow-on book? Did these characters have another tale to tell?

Whether it be films or books, I don’t believe in releasing sequels for the sake of it. Just to find out what the characters do next. The second instalment should be a project in its own right, and it must include all the elements of a standalone novel. This includes character development. Yes, even if your protagonist underwent a great deal of growth and development in the first novel, it shouldn’t stop there. Whatever happens in part 2 should inevitably change the characters in some way, otherwise the events in the sequel are probably not worth documenting.

The sequel has to meet the standards expected by the audience, whether they have read the first book or not. You shouldn’t rely on the notion that fans of the first book will read the second one. If you're lucky, then the majority of these fans will probably buy the next book, but if it isn’t up to scratch, they will feel cheated. It might even affect how they feel about the first book. So writing a sequel to a book like Chasing Pavements isn’t a decision to be made lightly.

 Q:  How did it come about then? 

A:  The idea stemmed from a question I asked myself whilst writing Chasing Pavements. What would happen if...? (I can't tell you how that sentence ends because that would give things away; this is supposed to be as spoiler-free as possible). And that question never really left me.

I didn’t start writing MYFML until April 2011, when I listened to one of my favourite bands Travis for the first time in years. Their music gave this potential story a… background if you like, and I knew the look of the book, the colours of the setting...  ‘Love Will Come Through’ represented the beginning of Mukti's journey in this book and I wanted the song ‘Flowers in the Window’ to represent her when she gets close to the end.

Other artists, particularly Florence + The Machine, Coldplay and Bat For Lashes, helped take the story forward and I just had to write it all down. Even after I wrote it though, I still didn’t think of it as a sequel. The first book hadn’t been published yet, so there was no way I was going to talk about part 2! It was only when I let my friend read it that I thought seriously about publishing it. This was a few months after Chasing Pavements was published and I realised that Make You Feel My Love was a sequel worth releasing. I hope the readers agree.

Q:  Do you have a favourite scene or chapter in the book? 

A:  Yes, it’s the chapter called ‘Orbit’. Even though there’s no dialogue or hardly any movement, so much goes on inside the characters' heads. The whole book has been leading up to this chapter, and it’s the beginning of the segment of the story that I’d been building up to. 

Check out the cover and blurb for Make You Feel My Love below:

After a tumultuous year, star-crossed lovers Mukti and Jamie have finally resolved their personal issues and are starting a new life together in New York City. Mukti has found her calling in life and Jamie’s music career is taking off.

But as all this brings new obligations and responsibilities, their love is once again put to the test.  The sequel to Chasing Pavements unravels even more secrets and lies which threaten to split them apart forever.

Make You Feel My Love is available to download from:
 Amazon US |    Amazon UK |   B&N Nook     |   iBooks     | Smashwords

Read an excerpt at the Amazon Kindle Store here, or download the first 20% of Make You Feel My Love for free from Smashwords here.

~ What Others Have Said About Make You Feel My Love ~ 

“The plot of Make You Feel My Love is a refreshing change to the typical narratives of romantic fiction.  I enjoyed the various plot twists and the way the narrative flits between the points of view of the different characters involved.  But most of all, I loved the characters themselves.  Neha has a unique way of writing where you really empathise with the characters.  You might not always agree with the choices they make (!), but you are able to understand their points of view and you care about them all the same. 

At times, I found myself laughing out loud at their humorous conversations.  At other times, I found myself crying over their heart-wrenching sadness (yes I admit it, it made me cry!).  This story really does take you through a whole rollercoaster of emotions.

All in all, I would thoroughly recommend this book!" *****

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"Wow! I can't wait for the next book!" ***** 

 

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"Amazing book!

Exciting book that I had to keep turning the page until I finished it." *****