Interview with Natalie D. Richards

Gone Too Far
by Natalie D. Richards
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Release Date: January 6th 2015

Synopsis:

Keeping secrets ruined her life. But the truth might just kill her.

Piper Woods can't wait for the purgatory of senior year to end. She skirts the fringes of high school like a pro until the morning she finds a notebook with mutilated photographs and a list of student sins. She's sure the book is too gruesome to be true, until pretty, popular Stella dies after a sex-tape goes viral. Everyone's sure it's suicide, but Piper remembers Stella's name from the book and begins to suspect something much worse.

Drowning in secrets she doesn't want to keep, Piper's fears are confirmed when she receives an anonymous text message daring her to make things right. All she needs to do is choose a name, the name of someone who deserves to be punished...

Hello Natalie! We are super excited to have you once again in our FFBC. 

I can’t tell you how happy I am to be back! You guys are hands-down the best at blog tours. I’m so honored to be working with you again!

Gone Too Far is a story about a photographer, Piper, who sees the ugly truth of her high school. After she finds a book of student sins, and one of her classmates dies under mysterious circumstances, Piper receives an anonymous text inviting her to make someone pay. But her vigilante justice turns into a deadly game, one where winning is a crime and losing could cost her life.

Oh, wow. So many things I researched for this one have probably landed me on a government watch list. LOL! I’ll say the weirdest thing I researched was what sporting equipment would be suitable as a weapon. LOL!

Artsy, free-spirited, strong, smart…and mistaken. ;-)

“Because if I want to see the truth in this world, I can’t be a girl who hides.”

The scenes at the basketball game. Every single thing in the books tied together in those scenes and they were super intense to write. I could barely breathe and I was leaned forward so far, I was about to launch out of my seat. 

Remember how I said every single thing in the book tied together? Yeah, well, that’s rough. ;-) Truly, the whole thing was like a giant knitted quilt. If I tugged on one piece of yarn, things snagged and unraveled all over creation. It was all super tangled. 

The thing is, I’d like to say I’d be the smart girl and I’d go straight to the authorities, but when it’s your friends that could get hurt and when you know someone else might interpret things worse than they were meant, turning something like that in feels like a tall order. I might not have been strong enough to do it. I might have chosen to hide it. Piper hides things too. She means well, but does wrong and this was a very intentional, conscious decision on my part. Piper is a good person, but she makes some really bad choices. That’s the sad reality, isn’t it? We all make mistakes, and we all make a few big ones. Avoiding mistakes is good, but learning what to do AFTER mistakes is every bit as important in my opinion.

I don’t know who to include and who to cut, but man I loved these characters, so most of them are in here!!

Tate – Colton Haynes

Jackson – Bob Morley

Connor – Dayo Okeniyi

Hadley – Caitlin Stasey

Aimee – Kat Graham

Tacey – Adele (I know, not an actress, but this is EXACTLY how I picture Tacey)

Manny – Max Thieriot

And then…

Nick – Grey Damon

Piper – Zoey Deutch

After giving it WAY too much thought, I think the song that works best in lyrics, theme, feel, etc. for Gone Too Far is a Mr Ms song called Hurricane. I listened to it loads while writing the book and highly recommend it as a mood prep.

Oooh, cool question. Well, many early reviewers have told me it’s a book that keeps them up, so don’t start it too late at night? And on that note, maybe your favorite caffeinated Starbucks beverage might be in order. I like four-pump mochas or peppermint mochas if you want a recommendation! ;-) Then you’ll need a salty to go with the sweet – and if you really want to channel my experience writing the book, that means you’ll have sushi with your Starbucks. Every time I look at Gone Too Far, I will think of a particular tuna roll from my favorite local sushi joint! 

I honestly can’t think of a film that has secrets similar to the ones in Gone Too Far, but I do recommend a couple of older ones – the Usual Suspects (for the greatest twist/surprise secret reveal ever!) and Crazy, Stupid Love which has so many adorable secret connections. Loved that flick!

My third novel with Sourcebooks is tentatively slated for release in late 2015. It’s called My Secret To Tell and it’s about a small town trio of friends, one of whom is accused of a terrible crime that he didn’t commit… Or did he? ;-)

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At seven, Natalie D. Richards wrote about Barbara Frances Bizzlefishes (who wouldn't dare do the dishes.) Now she writes about awesome girls, broody boys, and all things dark and creepy. Natalie lives in Ohio (Go Bucks!) with her techno-wiz husband, three amazing kids, and a seventy pound dust-mop who swears he's the family dog. Her psychological thriller, Six Months Later, will be released in October 1, 2013 by Sourcebooks Fire. Until then, you'll probably find her writing her next book or trying to wade through the towers of dog-eared paperbacks that have taken over her bedroom.

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