Blog Tour, Exclusive Interview & Reviews: MINE by Katy Evans

KE: Hey Dawn and Abby! Thank you so much for having me over, it is a real pleasure to be here!

UAN: Let’s get started…

Was Mine always intended to follow-up Real, or was Real originally a stand alone? (We can always use more Remington!)

KE: Real was originally a stand alone. But when I finished the story and Remy gave me his wonderful POV, I just couldn’t leave it at that. I had to know more. How would they make it work? How would things work out between them? What were the things on his mind in so many of the scenes in Real? So, I decided I needed a sequel (MINE – Nov 5), and also a story where I could get to see and live his thought processes (in REMY – Nov 26). I can’t wait to share both!

UAN: What has your reaction been to Remy Fever?  It seems we all have it!!

KE: Since I’m as in love with him as Brooke is, I wholeheartedly approve. Sometimes I get that wicked little sense that we’re all back in high school, crushing over the same guy. It’s fun and exciting, as it always is to find that you can talk to someone about something you deeply love!

UAN: On a more serious note, can you talk a little about why you chose to write about Bipolar disorder?

KE: I have a friend with BP. I admire everyone who rises above this condition, and I admire all the loved ones with them who stay by their side, with support and understanding. It’s not easy for anyone involved. But like I’ve said before, I do believe there is a light in the dark, and I hope everyone who has any form of mental illness will find theirs.

UAN: An interesting quote for us was,  “Everyone who has ever been sick or has ever been on medication long-term knows that when you fix one thing chemically in your body, you give something else up.  Look at the list of side effects.  There is no magic pill for health.  We are works in progress, and health is not a static place.  It is a goal that is always moving and needs to be chased, daily and forever.”

This is a unique perspective that holds merit.  We think a lot of people would think that Remy needs medication.  Have you had much controversy with this?

KE: I’m sure there are people with varying opinions, and that is quite all right. He’s not trying to make a political statement, or stating that he is right. It’s his and Brooke’s love story, and I wanted to tell it as they told it to me.

I have become aware of varying types of mental illness being a part of  a part of many people’s lives, and I really admire how human beings can rise above it and become stronger, better, kinder.

A friend was told, “take these pills” and when she​ asked, “What else can I do doctor? Please? Please tell me?” I remember the answer they gave her was, “Nothing. You can’t do anything to stop it.”

To tell someone that they no longer have control of their body and that they can do “nothing” is something I can’t fathom. You have to have choices.

The same goes for Remy. He may, in the future, decide (with Brooke) to make a different choice. That’s quite all right too. We are human beings, ever in motion, always chasing something—our health, love, jobs, improvement. A decision one day may prove wrong the next, and an adjustment can be made. That’s the beauty of it. We are not immovable, we are flexible, adaptable, ever wanting to be better, stronger, faster, happier. 

UAN: We love that Brooke finally gets it.  She is in love with someone who has Bipolar.  In Mine, we deal with her insecurities just as much as we see her inability to accept his disease.  Can you talk about why you decided to have Brooke react to his mental illness the way you did?

KE: Brooke wanted me to challenge her in this book, even if Remy seemed to be against it. He was really not happy with me with the way I tested her, but I had to be sure that she would be able to handle Remington, the good and the bad, all of the perfectly imperfect. I already knew he would do anything for her, but I wanted her to show me how much she loved him and I wanted her to show me that she fully understood what it would mean to have his love. Its not easy for any of us to watch people we love suffer. She is not afraid of his condition, but she’s afraid of him being vulnerable because of it—she’s protective of him, just like he is. I think she’s human and imperfect too, and yet she is all he needs and wants, and vice versa. I love them so very much.

UAN: And Pete, gah ! We wanted to smack him.  Do you think he always had Remy’s best interest in mind?

KE: Yes, I really do. In REMY we get to see how it all went down, and I do feel that Pete and Riley are really protective of Remy. Brooke left him, and what they got to see in the hospital broke their hearts. The last thing they wanted was for Remy to keep pining after her when she’d left him like that. So they thought they were protecting him. They definitely thought they’d be able to get Remy to get his groove back—but ahh, they forgot Dark Remy is the one who almost died for Brooke. Dar​k Remy loves her as hard as Blue Remy and maybe even more violently because she’s his one and only anchor.

UAN: Thank you, Katy, for sharing more of Remy and Brooke with us and all your readers! What can we expect next? More of Remy and Brooke or are you working on another project?

KE: Thanks so much for having me over! Next we have REMY, my favorite. I just loved being in his head, watching him and Brooke in the present, then reliving some important Real and Mine scenes in his POV. Very enlightening stuff! Next we have the stories of Brooke’s friends, Pandora and Melanie, and after that I do have two books planned which I will later tell you all about. I can’t wait!!

UAN: We loved having you here, Katy! Thank you!