Betrayed, heartbroken, and determined to save her family, Tessa Carson refuses to give in to Tristan Walker’s pleas for forgiveness. But her own awakening psychic gift won’t let her rest until she uncovers the truth about her family and her past. And Tristan is the only one who can help her sift through the secrets to find the truth hidden in all the lies…
I’m super excited today ‘cause I have the privilege to interview two of my favorite characters from the Run To You series. Tessa and Tristan are here to spill some secrets! Well… secrets that can be known of course. Wouldn’t want to make any spoilers to you guys!
Welcome guys!
So Tessa could you describe Tristan to our Book Addicts?
Tessa: Tristan’s kind and supportive. Patient and devoted. He’s got these deep blue eyes, and broad shoulders, and brown hair that turns gold in the sun. After spending the past eight years on the run, it took me a long time to trust him. But he makes me feel safe for the first time in my life.
And you Tristan… Can you describe Tessa?
Tristan: Her eyes were the first thing I noticed about her. They’re bright green with flecks of blue, gold, and purple. Like wildflowers. And her hair is the color of honey. I knew something was scaring her, that she was keeping some dark secrets. She tried to be invisible at first, so no one would notice her—but there was no way she could ever be invisible to me.
How would you describe your relationship?
Tristan: Our relationship has always been about trust. Gaining trust, losing trust, then gaining it again. We may have our problems, but I can honestly tell you that I’ve never been happier since I met Tessa. And she’s never been happier either. We belong with each other.
This one’s for you Tessa, what’s it truly like to be in a family with superpowers?
Tessa: My mom, brother, and sister are psychokinetic, which means they can move things with their minds. Items are always flying around the house by themselves. My dad is a remote viewer: he can see through other people’s eyes. So there’s no privacy, because my dad can watch us at any time, even when we’re not home.
As for me, well, I’m the only one in my family without a psychic power. Because of that, my parents and siblings treat me like I’m breakable. They over-protect me instead of letting me help defend against the killer who’s hunting us. I’m upset that they don’t think I can help, but mostly I’m grateful for their powers, because they are the only things keeping us alive.
If you guys could choose to have one superpower, which one would it be?
Tessa: The ability to automatically know when someone is lying.
Tristan: The ability to go back in time and change the past.
Okay guys, I’m dying to know more about you and I bet our readers, too. So, I’m going to ask you some quick questions to each of you, okay?
- Favorite Movie?
- Tessa: Say Anything.
- Tristan: The Avengers, Dark Knight, X-Men - any of the superhero movies.
- Favorite Song?
- * Tessa and Tristan answer at the same time*: ‘Wildflowers’ by Tom Petty.
- Favorite TV Show?
- Tessa: Any show that features a normal family with normal problems like Modern Family and The Middle.
- Tristan: Any sporting event, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, Firefly, and Doctor Who.
- Favorite Hobby?
- Tessa: Cooking. And jogging, especially with Tristan.
- Tristan: Jogging with Tessa, sports, and eating anything that Tessa cooks.
- Favorite Sport?
- Tessa: Jogging.
- Tristan: I like all sports, but I ski, run, and play tennis, and I coach peewee soccer and baseball.
- Favorite thing to do?
- * Tessa and Tristan answer at the same time*: Kiss.
Your perfect date with each other would be…?
Tristan: Our first date was perfect. Making a pizza at my place, then watching a movie.
Tessa: I have to agree. But we were too busy kissing to finish watching that movie, weren’t we?
Tristan: *grins wickedly* Yep.
Tristan, did you think that you would fall for Tessa? What made you fall for her?
Falling for Tessa was definitely not part of the plan. But she has these beautiful eyes… and she had this inner strength that I could see, even though her family couldn’t. I just wanted to put my arm around her shoulders and keep her safe. The more she opened up to me and the more she trusted me, the more I loved her.
Could you describe your incredible story in three words?
Tristan: Three words? No. But I can do it in five - Danger, deception, betrayal: true love.
Your story blew my mind. Completely. And I have to confess that I have mixed feelings: I want to read more about you, but I like the ending of the “first part” of the series or Book 1. So… what’s next for you two? Can you give us crazy fans a hint?
Tessa: The ending of Book 1 is not the ending of our story, so please keep reading! Our adventures pick up right where Book 1 left off, but it’s not an easy road for us. Undeterred by a psychic’s premonition of my murder, I’ll do anything to find my missing brother and sister. But my biggest obstacle may in fact be Tristan, who will stop at nothing to keep me safe.
Okay. Thank you guys for letting me interview you and hope to read more about you in the near, near, near future. I’m going to leave to talk to Clara and leave you two lovebirds together.
Book Addicts! Now we have with us the author of the series, Clara Kensie.
Hi Clara. Could you tell our Book Addicts who haven’t heard about your series, what Run To You is all about?
RUN TO YOU is a super-romantic thriller for young adults about a family on the run from a deadly past, and a first love that will transcend secrets, lies, and danger. It’s a two-book series published by Harlequin Teen. It’s Harlequin Teen’s first serial, with each book releasing in three parts. Here’s a little bit about Tessa and Tristan:
Hunted by a telepathic killer hired by the government, sixteen-year-old Tessa and her family have fled home after home, hiding behind aliases to survive. Her scars from the killer’s first attack are more than just physical, and as the only member of her family without a psychic ability, she lives a life of secrets, lies, and fear. She runs from the things that scare her, both literally and figuratively, until she realizes the only way out is to run toward them head-on.
Tristan is the carefree and confident boy Tessa meets on the jogging path when her family moves to their latest hideout. Their attraction is undeniable, but she runs from her feelings for him—after all, their entire romance would be a lie because she can’t even tell him her real name. But Tristan’s patience, support, and devotion are irresistible to her. Tessa says, “He smelled like soap. Fresh and light, like he’d never had a problem big enough to weigh him down.” And that’s absolutely correct—until he meets Tessa. Now all he wants to do is keep her safe, even if it means revealing some shocking secrets of his own.
How did you come up with the idea for Run To You? Was it difficult to write?
RUN TO YOU was the first book I ever wrote. I’d always wanted to write a book—I took creative writing classes in high school and college—but I never had the discipline to sit down and do it. A few years ago I decided to give it another try. I made a list of things I wanted to include—I wanted it to be young adult, I wanted it to be a thriller, I wanted it to be a romance, and I wanted my characters to be psychic. But I was coming up empty for a plot.
A few days later, I was pulling out of a parking space at the grocery store, and a bunch of “what ifs” popped into my head: What if a teenage girl is the only non-psychic member of her family… and what if they flee from place to place with different identities in each location… because… they’re on the run from a telepathic killer? And then what if she meets a boy…
I went home and wrote the story in, like, two months. It just poured out of me. No planning or plotting—I just wrote it straight through. 186,000 words. The only reason I pursued publication was because I felt I needed to justify all the time I spent writing it. Ha! Of course, I soon discovered that my masterpiece needed major, major revisions, and those revisions took years longer than the two months it took to write the original draft. I cut 100,000 words and re-wrote almost all of the 86,000 words that remained. I wrote the first word of RUN TO YOU in November 2009, and it was published by Harlequin Teen in February 2014 as their first serialized novel.
Writing the sequel was much faster. I learned a lot while writing the first book, so it took me less than a year to write and revise the sequel, which, like Book 1, is a three-part serial.
What would you say is the best and the worst thing about Tessa? And Tristan?
My favorite thing about Tessa is that she is realistic and relatable. If I was in her place—the only member of a family without a psychic power, fleeing home after home while being hunted by a killer hired by the government—I would have the same reactions to her situation as she does. And I think most people would too. My favorite thing about Tristan is that he is the boyfriend I wanted to have when I was in high school. Kind, supportive, devoted, generous, charismatic… with maaaaybe a little bit of a dangerous side to make him exciting.
The worst things about them? I have thought about this question for several hours, and I can honestly tell you that I don’t know. I love them both so much that I can’t think of a worst thing about either of them. I’m not saying they are perfect—that would make them boring. Neither of them are perfect, but they strengthen each others’ weaknesses. They’re perfect together.
If you could define Parts 1, 2 and 3 of the Run To You series with one song, which one would it be?
‘Wildflowers’ by Tom Petty. The lyrics are beautiful, and so fitting to Tessa and Tristan’s story. That’s why I chose it as their theme song, and I mention it often in both books.
I have to confess that some lines from the story wowed me. Do you have a favorite quote from Run To You?
“Us,” he said. “You and me.”
And my heart echoed in rhythm:
Thump. Thump-th-thump.
I have custom necklaces with this quote on it to give away as prizes to my fans. Keep reading to find out how you can win one!
There were also some pretty intense scenes in the story. Which one would you say is your favorite one?
I don’t want to give anything away to the people who haven’t read it yet, so I will have to be vague. My favorite scene is in Part Two: Second Glance, when Tessa angrily confronts Tristan and tries to provoke him into a fight, and his refusal to fight just makes her angrier.
I know you have seen my dream cast for Tessa and Tristan. But imagine that we get to see the Run To You series on the big screen, (*crossing fingers way too hard*), who would you choose to play your characters?
I love the dream cast you picked for Tessa and Tristan! Here’s mine:
Tristan, the charismatic, devoted hero:
Brenton Thwaites
(The Giver, Maleficent)
Tessa, the guarded heroine with lots of secrets:
Taissa Farmiga
(The Bling Ring, American Horror Story)
Jillian, Tessa’s rebellious big sister:
Sasha Pieterse
(Pretty Little Liars)
Logan, Tessa’s rational little brother:
(Percy Jackson, The Perks of Being a Wallflower)
Wendy, Tessa’s distressed mom:
Nina Siemaszko (West Wing)
Andy, Tessa’s careworn dad:
Jeremy Davies (Lost, Justified)
Dennis Connelly, the villain:
Ed Harris (too many movies to list)
And the whole dream cast together:
We also want to know a little bit more about you, so I’m going to “steal” the quick questions I did to Tessa and Tristan and ask them to you:
- Favorite Movie? Can I name more than one? My favorite movies are those that I can watch over and over and never get tired of them. I love singing and dancing movies, so my favorites are Pitch Perfect, Center Stage, Moulin Rouge, Billy Elliot. I also love Clueless, The Cutting Edge, Bring It On, Say Anything, Saved!, Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World. If I was forced to limit my to one favorite, I’d have to say The Princess Bride.
- Favorite Song? This is a hard one to narrow down too. I like just about every kind of music, and I especially love anything I can sing along with. I’m always singing. I listen to songs from Glee and Pitch Perfect all the time because I like to sing along with them. Favorite songs: I love ‘Wildflowers’ by Tom Petty for sentimental reasons. ‘Defying Gravity’ from the Wicked soundtrack and ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ by Queen are my go-to pump-me-up songs. My latest favorite band is She and Him.
- Favorite Book? Again, impossible to narrow down to just one. Would you settle for a favorite author? Stephen King. The Stand is my ultimate favorite Stephen King book, and Carrie and Firestarter were big influences on the psychic elements of RUN TO YOU.
- Favorite TV Show? Veronica Mars, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Gilmore Girls will always be my favorite TV shows, even though they are no longer on the air. Currently, I don’t have a lot of time to watch TV, but I make time to watch Parks and Recreation, Orphan Black, True Blood, Shameless, Boardwalk Empire, and Game of Thrones.
- Favorite Hobby? Reading and writing, of course. I also like to paint.
- Favorite Sport? None. My interest in sports is less than zero.
- Favorite thing to do? Read. My dream vacation would be to hide away in a cozy cabin in the woods with my Kindle. I would do nothing but read for a week.
What’s next for you?
I’m currently revising my next manuscript, a dark, dark, dark YA contemporary about a girl who returns home four years after being abducted, and must heal her broken family as well as herself. After that, I’m revising a YA mystery-thriller that’s heavy on romance and magical realism, about a girl who must find the person who killed her in her most recent past life before he kills her again in this one, and a boy who is racing to clear his incarcerated father from a murder conviction before his execution date.
Something you would like to say to our Book Addicts?
For your convenience, here’s a handy-dandy summary of the RUN TO YOU serial titles and release dates:
RUN TO YOU BOOK 1 (available now)
Part One: First Sight
Part Two: Second Glance
Part Three: Third Charm
RUN TO YOU BOOK 2 (available for pre-order, releasing July 2014)
Part Four: Fourth Shadow (July 7)
Part Five: Fifth Touch (July 15)
Part Six: Sixth Sense (July 21)
Find RUN TO YOU at your favorite e-tailers, including:
Well, you now know everything about Clara and her characters. We'll anxiously *bitting my nails right now* until BOOK 2 also known as Part Four, Part Five and Part Sixth comes out and we get to read more about Tessa and Tristan.
Thank you Clara for this opportunity and for coming with your characters to celebrate our blogoversary. I am really happy that I got the chance to read the Run To You series and that I also had the chance to virtually met you.
The pleasure was all mine, Patricia! You have a fantastic blog, and this interview was so much fun. Congratulations on your first blogoversary!
Wildflowers by Tom Petty
Closer by Tegan and Sara
Heavy Feet by Local Natives
High Above a Grey Green Sea by Colin Stetson
Heart in Your Heartbreak by The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
In Your Eyes by Peter Gabriel
Run by Ellen and the Escapades
Things that Scare Me by Neko Case
Demons by Guster
Porcelain by Moby
Secrets by OneRepublic
Dance With the Devil by Breaking Benjamin
Pretty Girl (The Way) by Sugarcult
Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) by Marilyn Manson
Undisclosed Desires by Muse
Wicked Game by Gemma Hayes
Clara Kensie grew up near Chicago, reading every book she could find and using her diary to write stories about a girl with psychic powers who solved mysteries. She purposely did not hide her diary, hoping someone would read it and assume she was writing about herself. Since then, she's swapped her diary for a computer and admits her characters are fictional, but otherwise she hasn't changed one bit.
Today Clara is the author of romantic paranormal thrillers for young adults. Her first book, RUN TO YOU, a super-sized three-part serial from HarlequinTEEN, begins February 1 2014 with weekly releases. The sequel, also a super-sized three-part serial, begins June 1 2014.
Her favorite foods are guacamole and cookie dough. But not together. That would be gross.
To celebrate our Blogoversary, Clara is giving away some amazing goodies:
Win (1) custom Run to You necklace with a quote from the book or a Run to You "getaway bag" (US Only)
Win (1) of Clara Kensie's books: either BOOK 1 (Part 1, Part 2 & Part 3) or BOOK 2 (Part 4, Part 5 & Part 6) once it comes out (INT)
Stealing Third
Marta Brown grew up in the Pacific Northwest and was a teenager when Doc Martens, Pearl Jam and flannel were the norm and Dylan loved Kelly forever. (Beverly Hills 90210 shout out) 
