Synopsis:
When eighteen-year-old American Amelia Beauchamp arrives in Honolulu for an extended stay on her family’s yacht, the only thing she has on her mind is conquering her fear of water and hopefully—for once in her life—making a few friends. The last thing she expects is to fall for cocky surf instructor, Kody Murdock.
Twenty-two-year-old Kody has fled Australia. Kody’s not looking for love, he’s not looking for a hook-up, he just wants to surf. But when pale, awkward Amelia comes walking down the beach he can’t help but think she’s kind of adorable. The pair strike up a complicated friendship.
Can these two people from different worlds find a way to interact without strangling each other? And what, or whom, is Kody running from?
A surfer romance told through text messages and emails, ALL AT SEA will appeal to fans of Meg Cabot's THE BOY NEXT DOOR and Alyson Noel's LAGUNA COVE.
Ask Pepper
Is ALL AT SEA’s dreamy love interest, Kody, based on someone in real life?
I like to surf myself, and that means I get to spend a fair bit of time with surfer guys. (I know. Poor me, right?) And yes, I have had relationships with a few Kodys. He is an amalgam of my favourite boyfriends. I think if any of them read it (and I really don’t think they are going to read this kind of book) they might recognise themselves and have a giggle. I hope so anyway. It is an affectionate portrait.
I travel a lot, and that means my relationships tend to break up because I have to go rather than because it wasn’t working out. I think that makes me qualified to write novels about summer romances. It’s the best way to break up, in my opinion, because he’s always perfect in your memory.
Who inspires you?
I love Nikki Van Dyk the Australia woman surfer. I also love Torah Bright the Australia woman snowboarder. Yes, there’s a theme emerging. I am a big supporter of women in sport – particularly Australian women because I spend so much time there.
There is also an Australian woman scientist called Elizabeth Blackburn who discovered telomeres. I don’t know if I can explain it very well, but if you live in an unhealthy way in your body and your mind then you have short telomeres, and you get sick more often, and if you live in a healthy way in your body and your mind you have longer telomeres and you are less likely to get cancer and that kind of thing. Of course it makes sense, because that’s what we all know to be true, but she discovered why. I believe in clean eating and I try to make yoga and meditation part of my every day, because I want to be able to make the most out of my time on this planet. It was useful to me to see good science backing up my lifestyle choices.
What types of books did you read as a child and teen?
My parents were marine biologists so I spent a lot of time running along the decks of various research vessels. Space being at a premium, our possessions pretty much consisted of whatever we could stuff into our suitcases. But my mother always made room for books. (It was the early 2K’s so I missed the e-reader explosion by a few years. I suspect having a loaded-up Kindle would have made life a lot easier!) Anyhow, being homeschooled for the most part, I read a lot of nonfiction, biographies, textbooks but also the fiction classics. The Secret Garden, Little Women, all of the Dickens’ novels. I loved most of them, read them over and over, but I have to admit, a few were slogfests. (Catcher in the Rye…Zzzzz…) Sometimes you just need a fun escape.
Is there a romance novel that stands out?
I think one of the most eye-opening moments for me as a romance reader was when I stayed with extended family in rural Ohio one summer when I was fourteen. Twilight had just taken off and my cousin Heather was obsessed. She knew every word and read it aloud to me into all hours of the night. I’m not going to lie…when I wasn’t rolling my eyes, there were times I was strangely swept off my feet. After that, I started looking for upper YA/NA books more suited to my feminist sensibilities. Judy Blume’s Forever, of course, being the gold standard, and then certain titles by Malindo Cho and Maureen McCarthy. About a year ago, I decided to try my hand at writing a romance novel myself. And so...here we are. ;)
Author Bio:
Pepper Ellison was born in 1991 on a Royal Navy ice patrol ship stationed near Ross Island along the coast of Antarctica. Currently, she divides her time between Waipahu, Hawaii and Sydney, Australia. She has worked as a marine science research assistant, specialising in sea mammals, a brand ambassador for a craft beer company, and most recently, a Harley-Davidson joy-ride driver out of Kings Creek Station in Central Australia. She is a keen surfer and gymnast. ALL AT SEA is her first novel.
Visit Pepper online at www.pepperellison.com and on Twitter @pepperellison
Makes me want to hit the beach.
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