First Crush, Last Love by Elizabeth McKenna (Interview & #Giveaway)

On Tour with Prism Book Tours

Book Tour Launch for
First Crush, Last Love
By Elizabeth McKenna

Author Interview

What is your motivation behind FIRST CRUSH, LAST LOVE? Why did you want to write it?

FIRST CRUSH, LAST LOVE started out as a fictional memoir. Throughout the various bad times I have faced, I often mumbled, “This will make a great book someday.” I wrote this story to exorcise the demons in my head. It took four long years to finish, and there were times that I thought I wouldn’t reach the end, but then a lucky thing happened – the characters took on their own identities and their storylines evolved away from my life. Some scenes are still true to my past, though it is not important which ones. I will tell you that I did obsess over a boy throughout high school. I did move on and marry someone else, which ended in failure. And, just like Jessie, I did marry that high school crush, and we are living happily ever after.

What do you hope readers take with them after they’ve read it?

I hope they, for a moment, remember how bittersweet love can be - especially that first love. I hope they are reminded that a bad relationship has to be ended, no matter how insecure you are, and I hope that the belief that things will get better is reinforced in the reader's mind.

Do you have a favorite scene that you can share with us?

I would say the first scene in chapter two is a favorite because I think anyone who survived high school can relate to it. The scene almost word for word happened between me and my husband when we were sixteen. To this day, I can feel the angst that I felt that night as if it just happened. In the scene, Jessie thinks FINALLY Lee romantically likes her - not just as a friend. Then his ex-girlfriend comes along and crushes Jessie's moment of happiness.

If you could sum the book up in one sentence, what would you say?

FIRST CRUSH is about the angst of high school, the grief of a failed relationship, and the happiness of true love.

Share something about you that is unique - maybe about how/where you write... or favorite snack foods?

I struggle every day to sit down and write. I literally fear doing it. I have to force myself to open my work in progress and start typing. Once I get going, though, I'm OK and get lost in the world I'm creating. It just takes a huge amount of effort to reassure my brain that everything is OK and I can do this.

First Crush, Last Love
by Elizabeth McKenna
Contemporary Romance
Paperback & ebook, 314 pages
August 1st 2017

Back in high school, Lee Archer made Jessie Baxter’s cheeks flush and her heart race. But the popular athlete never wanted to be more than just friends. Ten years later, after a failed marriage and with her journalism career on shaky ground, Jessie’s come home for her high school reunion—and Lee still has the power to make her knees weak and her pulse pound.

Lee’s teenage years were filled with more trauma and drama than anyone guessed. Though his damaged past has helped make him a successful police detective, it’s hurt every relationship he’s tried. But seeing the grown-up, stunning Jessie might just change his commitment-phobic mind.

Jessie’s psycho ex-husband had her convinced no one would ever love her, but Lee is ready to step out of the friend zone and into her heart. Can she learn to trust again before she loses her chance to turn her first crush into her last love?

Elizabeth McKenna’s novel will have you remembering the angst of high school, the grief of a failed relationship, and the joy of finding true love at last.


Tour Schedule

About the Author


Though Elizabeth McKenna’s love of books reaches back to her childhood, she had never read a romance novel until her sister gave her the latest bestseller by Nora Roberts. She was hooked from page one (actually, she admits it was the first love scene). With the urging of her children, she decided to write her own Happily Ever Afters.

Elizabeth lives in Wisconsin with her understanding husband, two beautiful daughters, and a sassy Labrador. When she isn’t writing, working, or being a mom, she’s sleeping.


Tour Giveaway


- 1 winner will receive a $15 Amazon gift card and ebook of Venice in the Moonlight
- Open internationally
- Ends April 25th

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