Tasting Never
Never Say Never Series Book #1
By C.M. Stunich
Publication Date: December 22, 2012
"Never Ross wants to be loved.
It's that simple, but it's not that easy."
Never is a girl with a broken soul who doesn't date nice guys and can't seem to go to bed at night without crying herself to sleep. She doesn't need any complications in her life, especially not when they're attached to a man that could be her emotional twin.
Ty McCabe can't stand Never the first time he meets her. He's aware that the feeling's mutual and the two don't think they'll ever see each other again, but when fate takes a hand and puts them both in the wrong place at the wrong time, Ty and Never form a tentative friendship that opens the door on their dark sides and shows them what it's like to live in the light.
"Sometimes, the only way to go forward, is to take a few, careful steps back."
**This book is for New Adults-Age 18 & up**
Tasting Never is the first book in the New Adult series Never Say Never by C.M. Stunich. I happened upon this book while perusing different blog pages I follow on Facebook and once I read the synopsis, I knew I HAD to read it. Then I found out about the blog tour and signed up right away. I'm so glad I read this book, it completely blew me away.
Tasting Never is a gritty, raw, emotional, heart-wrenching and completely phenomenal tale. It hooked me from the very beginning and never let me go. I read this book in one sitting, just sat on my couch and laughed and cried and devoured this story. No way could I stop. I had to know if Never could find her way to the other side of her addiction. I loved every moment of it, even when I was horrified by Never's treatment of herself.
This book is a perfect blending of intrigue, heartbreak and romance. I can't wait for book 2! I highly recommend this book to those who like to really feel a story as it unfolds. C.M. Stunich has found herself a new fan in me and I am really looking forward to checking out her other work.
My Rating:
Excerpt from Tasting Never:
Ty's hot mouth is on my neck, and I find myself taking short, sharp, little breaths as I press my shaking hands to his chest. If I sleep with him again, I'll be making the biggest mistake of my life. He's the first real friend I've ever had, and I don't want to cheapen the feelings that are simmering between us. We made that mistake once before, and we survived. We've been through a lot since then, and I know that if I lose him now, I will never be whole again. Ty is my other half, lover or no, and just being around him is enough for me.
“Ty,” I say, trying my best to sound stern. Instead, my voice comes out like a butterfly, flutters against Ty's hair and swirls it gently against my lips. I moan and find that my fingers are now curled in the fabric of his T-shirt.
“Never,” he says back to me, the word like fire against my skin. In those two syllables, I hear how he feels about me. He thinks he's in love. Ty McCabe thinks he's in love with me. He doesn't say it aloud, but I can tell. Sex isn't the best way for me to show my feelings; I've abused it for far too long that it has somehow lost some of its meaning. I try to tell Ty this, but I can't speak with his lips on my throat and his hand sliding across the nape of my neck.
I run my own hands down his chest and put them beneath his shirt, on the hard plane of his belly. His muscles contract as I press my fingers into them, touching, feeling, absorbing the man, the complication, that is Ty McCabe. All the while, my mind is racing in circles trying to talk me out of this.
“Kiss me,” Ty says and it's not a question, it's a request, albeit a gentle one. His voice is softer than I've ever heard it. His words are naked, stripped of all the bullshit that's happened to him, all of the horrible things that mirror my own life. Ty and I are like twins, like two halves of the same whole. They say that opposites attract, but Ty and I are very much the same and the attraction between us burns brighter than the sun. “Kiss me,” he says again and I do.
And here is our Interview with author, C.M. Stunich:
*Can you tell us a little about yourself?Sure can! Um, well, I grew up in a pretty boring town called Eureka, CA. It's right on the coast, so it does have beautiful beaches and the world's only redwood trees, BUT it's in a place that folks call “behind the redwood curtain”. Basically this means that to get anywhere or do anything, you have two choices. Seven hour drive south to San Francisco OR six hour drive North to Eugene, OR. I think this contributed to my wanting to write. I mean, there really was nothing to do there except make stuff up. ;) Now, I actually do live in Eugene, OR with way too many cats and a strange preference for White Lily Bath Salts.
*When did you know you wanted to be an author?
I always wanted to write, but I was actually unaware that 'author' was a legit profession. Folks just didn't do that by trade. They went to college, got a degree and did a sensible job while writing on the side. Even now, there are people who are like, Huh? when I say that I'm an author. Actually, I owe it all to a friend of mine who got tired of seeing me cry over rejection letters from folks that had never even read my work, just a silly query letter. She got me into indie publishing and that was that!
*Do you like to listen to music while you write, or do you prefer the quiet?
I'm a bit of a weirdo when it comes to the 'noise factor'. There are days where I need absolute silence and days where I need chaos and energy and noise. Most often, I do listen to music, usually Pandora Internet Radio, but sometimes very small playlists with so few songs that my hubby ends up wanting to slay me over them. There's this one song by Falling In Reverse, “The Drug In Me Is You,” that I am no longer allowed to listen to. ;)
*It seems like authors break down into two groups, plotters (authors who outline and are extremely detail oriented) and pantsers (authors who are more ‘go with the flow’ and kind of fly by the seat of their pants)-which group do you fit into?Hah! I love this question. <3 I am a “pantser” for sure. I write 'notes' down, but they aren't very detailed. For example, these were the notes for my book, She Lies Twisted. Girl in hoodie, blonde hair, locker with 'necrophiliac' scrawled across it in lipstick. Has best friend, a guy, Boyd. Meets a boy named James who is dead. And then I just sat down and started writing. Sometimes I just get weird pulses of energy in my body and I just sit down and slam something out on a keyboard and go, “Dang, chick, that's some good stuff!” That's actually how I started Tasting Never. I had no idea that story was going to rip a whole through my heart and make me bleed.
*What authors have influenced you & your writing?
Gosh! Wow. All the big “urban fantasy” ladies. Kim Harrison, Laurell K. Hamilton, Patricia Briggs. These were the women that I envied and looked up to. Sprinkled amongst them are some very talented fantasy authors, namely Philip Pullman and Garth Nix. In reality though, everything I read influences my writing. There isn't a book that I've loved or hated that hasn't taught me something. Truly, if you want to get good at writing, read. And then write. Then read some more. And then write until your head explodes!
*What was your favorite book as a child?
My favorite book as a child was Witch's Cat by Ruth Chew. If you haven't heard of her, I don't blame you. She wrote children's books in the70's and 80's, most of which are currently out of print. I can hardly remember what the book was about, but I still have it to this day, and I do remember reading it until it practically fell apart. Some part of it must still reside inside of me to this day.
*If you could spend one day with any literary character, who would you choose and what would you do together?
Okay, this is a totally inappropriate question! Oh, it wasn't supposed to be? Oops. I, um, would spend time with Lynx from my book, Indigo & Iris, and um, he and I would, uh, hang out. Yeah. Next question.
*Lana and I both have an unending love for really good cheesecake; is there a dessert you can’t say no to?
OMG! Cheesecake! Where? Oh, you don't have any … Sigh. You know, Safeway (this is a grocery store in the Northwest) has the best cheesecake in the whole world. Seriously. They beat out all the local bakeries for the prize, at least in my heart. They have this sampler with chocolate chip cheesecake, chocolate swirl cheesecake, etc., etc. … Drools on computer … So, yeah, I guess I'd say there's a dessert I can't say no to!
*Can you tell us what’s next for you?
Coming up very soon, I'm releasing an adult contemporary romance novel called Broken Pasts. Shortly thereafter, I'm releasing the second book in the Never say Never Trilogy, Finding Never, and then I'm off to take over the world! Okay, well maybe not, but I do kind of want to try for the Guinness Book of World Records. I want to go for “Most Books Published By One Author In A Single Year.” I think that would be fun. I have a lot of stuff in the vault and a whole lot more floating around in my brain. It's practically an obsession – write, write, write! Stay tuned and I promise not to disappoint!
*Thank you again for taking the time to chat with us!
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C.M. Stunich was raised under a cover of fog in the area known simply as Eureka, CA. A mysterious place, this strange, arboreal land nursed Caitlin's (yes, that's her name!) desire to write strange fiction novels about wicked monsters, magical trains, and Nemean Lions (Google it!). She currently enjoys drag queens, having too many cats, and tribal bellydance.
Always a fan of the indie scene and 'sticking it to the man,' Ms. Stunich decided to take the road less traveled and forgo the traditional publishing route. You can be assured though that she received several rejections as to ensure her proper place in the world of writers before taking up a friend's offer to start a publishing company. Sarian Royal was born, and Ms. Stunich's books slowly transformed from mere baking chocolate to full blown tortes with hand sculpted fondant flowers.
C.M. is a writer obsessed with delivering the very best and scours her mind on a regular basis to select the most unusual stories for the outside world.
Ms. Stunich can be reached via e-mail or by post and loves to hear from her readers. Ms. Stunich also wrote this biography and has no idea why she decided to refer to herself in the third person.
