The adventurous journey of Kaye and Samuel continues! Congratulations to our friend, Sarah Latchaw on the release of her 2nd novel, Skygods, which happens to be the sequel to Hydraulic Level 5!
Synopsis
Kaye Trilby and her ex-husband, world-famous author Samuel Cabral, vowed to fight for their rekindled love in rain or shine. They didn’t realize they’d be caught in a deluge so quickly.
A near-fatal skydiving accident shows Kaye how her reckless behavior affects the ones she loves. But while she knows Samuel is afraid to lose her again, she isn’t ready to give up the thrill of the wild backcountry.
Something darker is slipping into Samuel’s mind, though. Just as all of Hollywood is bracing for his blockbuster book-to-movie adaptation, his polish seems to be deteriorating. When he appears on Kaye’s doorstep late one night in a rumpled tuxedo, erratic and agitated, it seems that romance with her ex might be her biggest leap yet. A string of failed relationships has pushed Samuel to the brink, the fall-out leaving him in a dark place—a place where Kaye is powerless to help him. She is reluctantly drawn back into Samuel’s glittering and backbiting world of celebrity, all the while clinging to the steadfast peaks of home.
Can Kaye risk her heart with Samuel a second time? Will they ever find their blue skies?
Wishing author, Sarah Latchaw, the best of luck with her newest book! And wishing YOU luck if you decide to enter this awesome giveaway contest! It’s chock full of great prizes!!!
You can download your Kindle copy of Skygods via Amazon TODAY and, if you’ve yet to read Hydraulic Level 5, HOT TIP, get it on it now, while it is only 99 cents!
We revealed the cover of Hydraulic Level Five here and provided a thorough review here. We’re so glad to be back with an interview with the story’s author, Sarah Latchaw, and appreciative that she reached out to us to offer up more of her time!
We hope you’ll enjoy the interview as much as we did!
1. Kitt always wants to know… How did you celebrate when you got the news that HL5 would be published?
This is a funny story. I actually found out I was expecting around the time we were finalizing a contract. Hubs, dear son and I were in New Orleans at the time, and I had horrible morning sickness. So I spent the entire week watching my guys eat at these fabulous restaurants in the French Quarter while I choked down bread and prenatal vitamins. I had a celebratory pack of crackers and a ginger ale! The craziest instance was emailing Omnific right after we signed and telling them, “oh by the way, I’ll be having a baby right around the time we want to release the book.” They were extremely understanding and happy for me, though, and adjusted the date accordingly. (A/N: Belated congrats!)
2. Lisa always wants to know… Is there any significance to the names you chose for the main characters?
Aspen Kaye Trilby: Aspens abound in Colorado, these delicate but hardy mountain trees. I wanted Kaye to have a hippie-ish first name as a reflection of Tom and Gail’s parenting style—something from which she tries to distance herself. Her first name is endearing to Samuel, but Kaye dislikes it. It’s also a reminder that Kaye is Samuel’s home—his “Colorado roots”.
I wanted to give Samuel Caulfield Cabral a name that reflects both of his heritages—the English and the Hispanic. Outside of the United States, Latin countries use two surnames: usually a paternal and a maternal. For Samuel, his parents’ “legacy” hangs over his head. His eventual use of both names when publishing his books represents his acceptance of who he is and where he comes from. He cannot reject what is in his genes, so he has learned to live with it.
3. How much input did you have in the cover?
Omnific has the final say on a cover, but they were very considerate of my thoughts and opinions, and involved me in the design process. I am no designer—you wouldn’t want me producing a cover! And what they gave us is lovely and crisp, and insightful. The water looks like glass or crystal, and is meant to represent a single moment or drop in time—that one instance in which everything changes.
4. Do you have favorite authors and/or books that have inspired you?
I read all the time, and just about anything. Of course I enjoy romances as long as they have a good plot and decent writing. Stories that I can connect with emotionally—stories about redemption, forgiveness, love—if they really grab me, I’ll buy a hard copy for my bookshelf.
Jane Eyre is probably my most-loved book. Growing up, my favorite book was the moving Christy by Catherine Marshall and Anne of Green Gables—they still hold a special place in my heart (that, and the Babysitters’ Club!). I enjoy allegory like Calvino’s Invisible Cities—interpreting its meaning is like piecing together a complicated puzzle. I love plot-heavy women’s lit, travel writing like Bruce Chatwin’s In Patagonia, creative nonfiction such as Daughters of Britannia and Devil in a White City. There’s Tolkien, Edgar Allan Poe (in small doses—anything larger is depressing), The Phantom of the Opera. Yep, just about anything!
5. What previous writing experience did you have? Did you always want to write, or was this a new venture for you?
My first foray into creative writing was actually Phantom of the Opera fanfiction. I found out I was a decent creative writer but needed to learn technique, so I decided to study it in grad school. My thesis was a collection of travel writing vignettes and poems set in Israel and Palestine in 2000, the year before 9/11. In addition to fiction writing, I freelance and have written about a ton of different topics, from summer camp to WWII vets to Smithsonian travels. It keeps me well-rounded.
6. Regarding the story, have you had the chance to experience any of the extreme sports that you’ve written into the story?
We don’t get a lot of extreme sports in Iowa, but I’ve had a chance to do some things here and there. One specific scene based in real life is the whitewater trip in the opening chapter. My sister (who lives in Colorado) and I rafted Glenwood Canyon with the guys in early May, just as the mountain snow was making its way into the Colorado River. It was crazy cold with wild rapids. Em and I actually ducked out at the Shoshone stretch and let the insane men tackle the rapids. We walked along the bank and watched with horror as their kayak was swamped. My sister’s now-husband didn’t surface for a long time; it was scary. My brother-in-law and I did try to surf a hydraulic in a play park. It overturned our kayak, and the coldness of the water knocked the breath right out of my chest, even with wetsuits.
7. According to your website, there will be a sequel called Skygods! Can you give us a hint as to what direction the story will take?
Sure! The second book delves deeper into mystery of Samuel’s life in the years after he left Kaye for New York. It also explores his unalterable realities, and whether he and Kaye can make a go of it. Kaye tries to be strong, but she has some real hang-ups of her own.
8. If you sold the movie rights to your book, who could you see in the roles of Kaye and Samuel?
Oh fun! I had a hard time finding a good fit for Kaye. She’s on the short side, has a lot of freckles and curly hair, which you don’t see a lot of in Hollywood. The closest resemblance would probably be Kristen Bell or a blonde Natalya Rudakova (except she’s 5’10”). Maybe your readers can help me find my Kaye.
Samuel is Gael Garcia Bernal, no doubt. I came across some clean-cut photos of him and I thought—holy cow, this is how I pictured Samuel as I was writing him!
He has these gorgeous angles, but sensitivity in his eyes and mouth. He’d be a tad old to play Samuel now, but meh. He could be both the enigmatic writer and the boy next door. (A/N: We agree!)
9. Are you working on any new projects you can share with us?
Right now I’m in the thick of edits for Skygods. I have three brand new books plotted—part of a women’s lit/romance series I’d like to do with my beautiful home state of Iowa as a backdrop. I was listening to Dar Williams’ song “Iowa” and thought, I’ve really got to turn this into a novel. I’m also debating whether to continue Kaye and Samuel’s story in a third book—not being coy, I really haven’t decided yet. An answer will probably come to me when I’m finishing up Skygods. (A/N: We’re practically neighbors! But as a born-and-raised Illinois fan, we may not be able to be friends. lol -Lisa)
10. The cover reveal for Hydraulic Level Five is one of our most popular posts to date. It’s clear you have a loyal following, including us. Do you have any book signings/appearances coming up so fans can get out and meet you?
Nothing is set in stone, but we’re looking into a couple of appearances, possibly Colorado ;). Unlike poor Samuel, I’m sure I won’t have a riot on my hands! If I have any events to share, they’ll be on my Facebook page: Author Sarah Latchaw, and my website: sarahlatchaw.com. I also frequent twitter @sarahlatchaw, so look for me there!
IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM THE AUTHOR
Speaking of Colorado, the small town of Lyons, the hometown of Hydraulic Level Five, has been devastated by recent flooding. The author is working with Omnific to help raise money for relief efforts:
It is difficult to do nothing. That’s why, this weekend, Omnific Publishing has generously agreed to give 50 percent of all Hydraulic Level Five proceeds to help with the Front Range flood recovery effort. Saturday, Sept 14—Sunday, Sept 15, for every book purchased, HALF will go to the Foothills United Way Flood Relief fund.
Please pass the word. Please share with a friend, or two, or ten. Give to the Foothills United Way. Let’s let the towns afflicted by this devastation know we’re behind them!
Thanks again to Sarah. We wish her continued success with her first novel and look forward to the sequel! And thank YOU for joining us in supporting Sarah and the relief efforts in Colorado.
All of us wanted to read this ARC from Omnific Publishing, but Chick Lauren flew faster – and clipped more wings – in order to get the chance. 😉
At the end of Hydraulic Level 5, I found myself wanting to refer to author Sarah Latchaw as an “unholy cliff-hucker.” The creative curses that fall from protagonist Aspen Kaye Trilby’s lips are still stuck in my head, and I wish I had more to read. Hydraulic Level 5 was a twisty-turny road filled with hope and the fear of hoping too much. Even though I’d already read the original fanfiction version of the story, I was sucked right back into this new update…and hard!
Hydraulic Level 5 is a story within a story, a double-edged sword for an author. When executed properly, the jumps between each story can be a revealing look at another aspect of the world in which the reader is immersing herself. When not done successfully, the reader can find themselves confused, irritated, or just plain lost. Thankfully, the latter isn’t a problem in Hydraulic Level 5, as it’s definitely an example of a successful story-within-a-story setup.
The prologue starts us off with the world of the Water Sirens, a wildly popular book series written by author Samuel Caulfield Cabral. Sam is a successful author and playwright who even dabbles in a little Spanish guitar. He’s also the ex-husband of the story’s protagonist, Kaye Trilby. But most of that background can be gleaned from the story’s synopsis, so none of that was a surprise. What is striking, however, is how well Latchaw manages two different writing styles to present both the bigger story and Samuel’s words.
“Samuel’s” writing is poetic and philosophical. There is an interesting and intriguing cadence to “his” writing that stands tall against the overall flow of Hydraulic Level 5. Though the prologue pulls us into the world Samuel created for his book series, the rest of Hydraulic Level 5 intersperses chapters that tell a heartbreakingly different story. These chapters give you glimpses into the past of a boy and a girl who seem, in many ways, destined to love each other, although we don’t yet know where this fits into their present.
The bigger picture tells us about “today” in the lives of the characters. Wedding preparations for Danita, Kaye’s straight-talking best friend, and Angel, a goofy and fun-loving pilot, form the center of the story that brings together a cast of characters that will keep readers on their toes. Angel’s brothers, Hector and Santiago, lead adventure excursions and are joined by a hippie-style, VW Campervan-driving Cassady who has caught the eye of Molly, Kaye’s business partner and the third “Musketeer” of the ladies in the group.
The group of friends find themselves signed up for numerous extreme adventure trips, like surfing hydraulics and hitting class 5 rapids. They tell stories about going skiing, hiking, camping, repelling, spelunking, and cave climbing. They even take a group bachelor/bachelorette trip on a skydive jump. It’s the way of Colorado, or so Kaye explains. Surrounded by mountains and wilderness, extreme adventure is just what you do.
For someone who has only rock climbed in an indoor center, taken a guided whitewater rafting trip on a river with extremely easy rapids when I was about 13, and probably wouldn’t ever consider jumping out of a plane, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to commit myself to a world of extreme adventure sports, but the references are clear enough for even a novice like me to understand. Each chapter is titled with a reference to whitewater rafting and includes an explanation of what that term means. Not only did these references not interfere with my understanding, but I even learned a little something along the way!
The core group of characters in this story is supported by a cast of relatives and acquaintances that help to fill out personalities and showcase the relationships within the story. Kaye’s mom and dad, a farmer and a hippie baseball coach respectively, add a sense of whimsy and humor in their parenting styles, while the Cabrals, Sophia and Alonso, paint a picture of a much more traditional family, one immersed in Hispanic culture. Danita and Samuel, though technically cousins, are raised as siblings by Sophia and Alonso, and are part of a close-knit family that accepted Kaye and Angel as surrogate children early on. Through Samuel’s writing, we see stories of the four growing up together, particularly Samuel and Kaye…the beginning of their story.
In the narrated chapters, we’re thrown into a much different world, where Samuel and Kaye are ex-spouses, pulled apart by Samuel’s exodus to New York City to “find himself.” They have spent seven years apart, and it’s only because of the impending nuptials of a sibling and best friend that they’re pulled back into the same universe. And that universe gets turned on its head when the two finally come back together. But, to find out exactly how things get all turned around, you’re going to have to read for yourself. Although, you won’t get all of your answers, or at least not yet.
While reading, I didn’t even realize, as sucked into the story as I was, that my Kindle app was telling me I was 97% through the story, and I was nowhere near a resolution. Yes, I’ve read the original fanfiction version and, in theory, know where the story is headed. However, the world created in this re-write pulled me in so fully that when I read the words “Read on for a preview of the sequel,” I almost threw my tablet across the room because I didn’t want the story to be over. These characters have so much further to go, and I cannot wait for the release of Skygods to get me the answers to the questions I have – especially those answers I’m daring to hope for, despite my fears for their tumultuous journey.
I spent two days totally immersed in this story and found myself falling in love with characters that I’d once known but were now different. I found myself both rooting for Samuel and Kaye, together and on their separate journeys, as well as wanting to throttle them both throughout the process. Hydraulic Level 5 grabbed me and pulled me in, and I gave myself over to the story, not wanting to put it down, even after I’d gotten to the end. Highs and lows, laughing and crying, frustration and elation… I went on my own extreme adventure, one that left me breathless and calling Sarah Latchaw by some of her very creative curses for cranking up the emotional level and leaving me wanting to take it even higher.
Available 9/3/13
Synopsis:
How does a woman get over her one great love? With whitewater rafting, bluegrass, and a touch of revenge…
Kaye is an extreme sports addict with a kind heart and an axe to grind with her childhood sweetheart and ex-husband, renowned writer Samuel Caulfield Cabral. While Samuel enjoys a celebrity life in New York, Kaye remains in their hometown of Lyons, Colorado, running her PR agency and chatting daily with Samuel’s family, the beloved Cabrals—first-generation Mexican-Americans who have embraced Kaye as their own.
But when Samuel returns for his sister’s wedding with his new love interest, stunning editor Caroline Ortega , the gloves are stripped off. Kaye is determined to unearth the reasons behind the death of their marriage and why two people who lived to love each other were driven apart.
She discovers startling revelations about Samuel, about life…and about herself.
We’re excited to be taking part in the cover reveal for the publication of this much-loved former fanfiction story! To all the long-time fans who will be celebrating along with us and to the new fans that will be discovering this amazing story and author for the first time, we bring you . . .
How does a woman get over her one great love? With whitewater rafting, bluegrass, and a touch of revenge…
Kaye is an extreme sports addict with a kind heart and an axe to grind with her childhood sweetheart and ex-husband, renowned writer Samuel Caulfield Cabral. While Samuel enjoys a celebrity life in New York, Kaye remains in their hometown of Lyons, Colorado, running her PR agency and chatting daily with Samuel’s family, the beloved Cabrals—first-generation Mexican-Americans who have embraced Kaye as their own.
But when Samuel returns for his sister’s wedding with his new love interest, stunning editor Caroline Ortega , the gloves are stripped off. Kaye is determined to unearth the reasons behind the death of their marriage and why two people who lived to love each other were driven apart.
She discovers startling revelations about Samuel, about life…and about herself.
We’ll be bringing you more news about this book and this author in the days ahead! In the meantime, be sure and visit Sarah’s website and get signed up for email alerts.
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