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WORK TITLE: Most of All You
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://www.miasheridan.com
CITY: Cincinatti
STATE: OH
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
https://www.facebook.com/miasheridanauthor/
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Married; children: five (one deceased).
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Mia Sheridan lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, with her husband and four children and writes popular romance novels. Most of All You: A Love Story follows the story of Crystal, whose mother died when she was young and whose father never wanted her at all. She strikes out on her own at age eighteen and becomes a stripper, earning her own way in the world. Then she meets Gabriel, whose childhood stories equal and exceed her own. He was kidnapped and held for many years in grim circumstances before eventually escaping. He did not emerge unscathed.
A Publishers Weekly reviewer found the premise “sappy” but even so thought that “readers who like seeing lost souls find each other and emerge stronger may enjoy it.” Online at Ana’s Attic a contributor commented that in this “slow-burn romance” Sheridan has “wowed … with another emotional powerhouse of a read.” The reviewer concluded that Most of All You is a “beautiful tale of healing, growth, finding one’s true self, and of course love” and called it “unique, quiet and soft, emotional gem with a subtle message.” A reviewer online at Smexy Books confessed that the book “gutted me.” The critic pronounced it a book with “much depth” and called the “author’s voice … outstanding.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Publishers Weekly, September 11, 2017, review of Most of All You: A Love Story, p. 50.
ONLINE
Ana’s Attic, https://anasattic.com/ (October 16, 2017), review of Most of All You.
Mia Sheridan Website, http://miasheridan.com (March 20, 2018).
SmexyBooks, http://smexybooks.com/ (October 17, 2017), review of Most of All You.
Mia Sheridan is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author. Her passion is weaving love stories about people destined to be together. Mia lives in Cincinnati, Ohio with her husband. They have four children here on earth and one in heaven. Mia can be found online at www.miasheridan.com or www.facebook.com/miasheridanauthor.
Mia Sheridan is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author. Her passion is weaving true love stories about people destined to be together. Mia lives in Cincinnati, Ohio with her husband. They have four children here on earth and one in heaven.
Q: Do I need to read your books in order?
A: No. All my books are standalones with no crossover storylines or characters. The only exceptions are Finding Eden which is the second part, and conclusion, to Becoming Calder (together, the two books make one complete standalone story), and Leo's Chance which is the hero's POV of Leo and just an extra.
Q: Why do you call it "The Sign of Love Collection?"
A: My Sign of Love novels each represent a sign of the zodiac in some way (through a legend or a trait described at the front of each book). So far I've done Leo and Leo's Chance (Leo), Stinger (Scorpio), Archer's Voice (Sagittarius), Becoming Calder and Finding Eden (Aquarius), Kyland (Taurus), Grayson's Vow (Libra), Midnight Lily (Virgo), Ramsay (Aries), Preston's Honor (Gemini), and Dane's Storm (Cancer), releasing as an Audible Original in March, and as an ebook/paperback in August.
Hi there! Because I’ve been receiving many messages about Grayson’s Vow from readers, I thought I’d answer some of the most commonly asked questions (plus a few extra) right here! (Grayson’s Vow, A Sign of Love, Libra is now available on all platforms).
Q) “Mia, the setting in Grayson’s Vow is so beautiful and was almost another character in your story. Have you ever been to Napa? I want to book a trip there now. Katy M.”
A) Thanks, Katy! Yes, actually, I have been to Napa and it’s a special location for me as it was the first trip I ever took with my then-boyfriend/now-husband. We actually stayed at the Bed & Breakfast I mentioned in the book, The Beazley House (highly recommended if you do end up going there!). And yes, I felt the same way—Napa Valley has such a dream-like, romantic quality to it with its misty-morning vineyards, castle-like wineries, fall fields of vibrant yellow mustard seed flowers, mountain backdrops, and hot air balloons floating in the skies above. It’s truly a fairytale location (not to mention the best part of all: the wine!) and I absolutely fell in love with it all over again while writing Grayson’s Vow.
Q) “I absolutely adored Kira and she’s my new favorite heroine of yours! Probably my favorite heroine of all time! She was hilarious and slightly crazy but also so compassionate and so full of heart. Do you have a favorite heroine? Dorothea V.”
A) Hi, Dorothea! Thank you! I’m so glad you loved Kira. I usually say my favorite characters are the ones I’m currently writing, as I’m spending so much time in “their” heads at the moment. But, Kira absolutely has a very special place in my heart and although Grayson’s character came to me first, I knew I had to create a very special (and different) type of
heroine
for him. With that in mind, Kira came to me immediately and very strongly—someone who was brave, and also so filled with fun and vibrancy that she was a) not afraid to poke at Grayson and b) slightly crazy enough that she kept Grayson completely unbalanced and he forgot to be the cold, detached man he had become. I knew she had to be a girl who kept him half out of his head most of the time (in a myriad of ways) because that was the only way he’d let his guard down enough to allow himself to love someone.
Q) “Grayson’s Vow was wonderful! My heart was so full of love and hope at the end – that’s what your books always do for me. This book had a little bit of a lighter feel than some of your others and I didn’t expect to laugh as much as I did. That was awesome and you do it really well! Will you write more books like this? Jamie B.”
A) What a great compliment! Thank you, Jamie! I absolutely set out to write Grayson’s Vow with a lighter, less tragic feel than some of my others. And after writing five heavy books in a row, I needed Grayson and Kira, and especially Kira’s crazy antics! And although
hopefully
the story causes the reader’s heart to race in spots, and many emotions are felt, this is not a book where you should expect an “ugly cry.” It’s a book where, hopefully, you are immersed in a journey, flip the pages quickly to find out what will happen next, feel for the characters, laugh, tear up here and there, and close the book with a smile on your face, feeling full and complete. There have been very difficult, emotional times in my life where I needed an escape, but I needed to know that what I was escaping into wasn’t going to destroy my emotions any further than they already were with something I would dwell on or couldn’t recover from fictionally (am I the only one this happens to?). Creating something to fit that bill was my intent with Grayson’s Vow.
Q) “Hi Mia, I loved Grayson’s Vow! It’s my top read of 2015 so far! I love that it’s almost an upside down fairy tale. Did you do that on purpose or did it just happen naturally? Thanks! Lisa M.”
A) Thanks, Lisa! I love how you put that – an “upside-down fairy tale!” That’s a great description and although I didn’t work that into the plotting of the story initially, once Kira first described Grayson as a dragon (instead of the prince she had first thought him to be based on his looks), the theme kept rolling from there, and I had some fun with it. But yes, this is not a story of the prince and the princess, but rather a sassy little witch and a judgmental dragon. And in this story, the heroine is the one who saves the day.
Most of All You
Publishers Weekly. 264.37 (Sept. 11, 2017): p50+.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Most of All You
Mia Sheridan. Forever, $14.99 trade paper
(352p) ISBN 978-1-5387-2734-8
In this gimmicky romance, bestseller Sheridan (Archer's Voice) unites two individuals who have experienced so much tragedy that their combined anguish may exhaust the reader. Ellie lost her beloved mother at an early age and was foisted on a father who had never known she existed and preferred it that way. Escaping at 18 from his insufficient protection, she is now a beautiful but wary young woman known as Crystal. While working as a stripper (Sheridan emphasizes that she had no choice but to pursue this career path), she has developed the necessary shell to survive. Then preternaturally handsome Gabriel appears in the strip club and makes an unusual request: he wants to hire Crystal to help him tolerate being touched so he can have a relationship with a woman. Gabriel's backstory is as horrific as hers: he was kidnapped as a child, locked in a basement, and tortured for years until he managed to kill his assailant to escape. Somehow, he has achieved a fairly normal adult life. Crystal is initially unwilling to participate in his experiment, afraid of being made to experience feelings herself, but circumstances force her to rely on Gabriel, and they fall in love quickly. Gabriel is brave and wants to move forward with his life; Crystal struggles with doubt and does not believe she deserves anything good. This novel often reads like a sappy, overwrought TV movie, but some readers who like seeing lost souls find each other and emerge stronger may enjoy it. Agent: Kimberly Brower, Brower Literary. (Oct.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Most of All You." Publishers Weekly, 11 Sept. 2017, p. 50+. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A505634915/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=e2b28c94. Accessed 19 Feb. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A505634915
Book Review – Most of All You by Mia Sheridan
10/16/2017
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Most Of All You by Mia Sheridan
Standalone Contemporary Romance
As always, Mia Sheridan wowed me with another emotional powerhouse of a read in Most Of All You. Most who know me know I don’t love the ugly cry books, but this was emotional with a hopeful feel all the way through and I loved every slow-burn second of it.
Crystal has had a horrible childhood and supports herself my stripping. Her heart has been hardened over the years and her self-esteem shattered. She doesn’t have hopes and dreams, she just barely gets by, day to day. One evening, she notices a man in the audience that doesn’t belong in a place like that. He’s somewhat familiar to her.
Lost boy. The words moved through my mind as if someone had scribbled them there. His name was Gabriel Dalton, and he’d gone missing when he was a kid. It was a big-time national news story when he escaped his kidnapper and came home.
Gabriel is a strong man who has made a great life for himself despite having been held captive for years. He just has one more hurdle. He can’t stand to be touched. He came to Crystal’s place of work in the hopes of finding someone to help him, and he saw something special in Crystal.
“The thing is, because of my history, which it sounds like you know a little bit about, I, uh, find it difficult to tolerate…closeness.”…
“You can help me practice being touched by a woman. Getting comfortable with someone in my personal space.”
Crystal (aka Ellie) has taught herself how to escape in her mind. But that’s not what Gabriel wants to learn.
“I want to stay present. That’s what I need you to help me with. Staying.”
After almost an entire life with no love and nobody to depend on, a lifetime of hurt, Crystal couldn’t open herself up to this guy who makes her feel exposed and vulnerable. Gabriel’s outlook on life is hopeful and positive, despite his horrific past.
Sometimes we wore such hurtful, limiting labels in this life, whether they’d been assigned by others or by ourselves. I’d felt damaged and ruined once, but I didn’t anymore. I was still a work in progress, but I wasn’t a victim. I was a survivor.
And Crystal was more than just a stripper. More than just a girl who took off her clothes for men. I knew she was. I’d seen it in her eyes.
When circumstances force them together, feelings develop. It’s not easy for either of them. Ellie can never trust herself to love and not be devastated by that love.
“He needed someone warm and caring. Someone who would nurture him and piece back together the broken parts. Someone who would look in his eyes and be his calming spirit. I was not that girl…”
Gabriel was so surprisingly dominant and alpha, but in a soothing, calm way, if that makes any sense. Like he can just take it all away and take care of you, but he never, ever tried to control her. He knew what that was like. He just wanted to help her.
“our hearts—aligned in such a way that we were meant to heal each other.”
Most of All You was a slow-burn romance, and I’m so glad it took it’s time. There was no insta-love, though there was a spark right from the start. They really got to know each other and they each made each other better for it.
“I don’t mind chasing you, Ellie. Just let me catch you once in a while.”
There is so much more to this story. What Gabriel did for a living, his attitude towards life, his positive outlook all made him one of the most special characters I have read about. And Ellie had such a thick, deep coat of armor, I truly enjoyed watching her change and grow and find her true self through the storyline.
Likes:
A slow-burn romance that never seemed rushed.
A broken man with one of the most positive attitudes.
I loved what Gabriel did for a living, it was a metaphor for the story.
It showed how learning to love yourself is a hard journey but a must before you can open your heart to another’s love.
Mia Sheridan just has this soft, magical way of writing. The emotions don’t really punch you in the face, just gently push you in the right direction until you end with tears gushing everywhere.
Sigh…did I say I loved Gabriel? He is soft and vulnerable yet alpha and take-charge.
Dislikes:
At times, it may have been a little on the slow side, but in some ways, that added to the beauty.
The Down and Dirty:
Most of All You was a beautiful tale of healing, growth, finding one’s true self, and of course love. It’s a powerful, emotional story that never rushed itself. I completely fell for the soft yet strong Gabriel and his positive attitude and I loved watching Ellie’s growth throughout the story. I loved how it demonstrated that having support is so important to get started, but ultimately you need to find a way to love yourself before opening yourself to others. Once again, Mia Sheridan wrote a unique, quiet and soft, emotional gem with a subtle message.
Rating: 4.75 Stars (why not a 5? I reviewed this about a week after reading and found the story didn’t stick with me as much as I thought it would), 3 Heat
Review: Most of All You by Mia Sheridan
October 17, 2017 By Mandi 4 Comments
Most of All You by Mia Sheridan
Released: October 17, 2017
Contemporary Romance
Forever
Reviewed by Mandi
This book pretty much gutted me – and I’m not one to use that term a lot. The author deceives you into thinking she is giving you a very broken hero, and a heroine who is going to help him find himself. Instead, you start to learn how absolutely vulnerable the heroine is, and this book is more her journey of rising out of the black pit of despair, and enjoying the sunsets and rainbows…and absolute true love.
Our heroine’s name is Ellie, but her stripper stage name is Crystal, if you happen to see that name in any of the quotes I include. She doesn’t tell Gabriel her real name until later in the book. When Ellie was young, her mother died and Ellie was left with her father, who didn’t even know she existed. Abused until she graduates high school, Ellie flees her father’s home and with no money, and turns to stripping. This slowly dries up her soul. She grits her teeth and lets the men do whatever they want to her, so she can pay rent and buy food, but she has become a robot of sorts. She has completely lost herself, and has buttoned up her past abuse and grief extremely tight.
Gabriel was kidnapped at the age of 9 and held for six years in a basement before killing his captor and escaping. We don’t get a lot of details about what he endured those six years, but you can assume abuse as well. His story is even more heartbreaking that his beloved parents died in a car accident, one year before he escaped. (my heart). Now as an adult, he can’t handle anyone touching him. He is an extremely talented sculptor, and makes pieces from the quarry his brother and himself own and run. Gabriel still lives in his hometown, and still gets stared at every time he goes out in public – and whispered about as being “that kid” who got kidnapped. He has become a bit of a recluse, living at home with his brother. When a grad student named Chloe contacts him and asks for an interview for her thesis paper that involves that long-term effect on kids who have been kidnapped, Gabriel decides to grant a rare interview. He also sees a picture of Chloe, and finds her attractive. He decides it’s time to learn to touch someone, so maybe he has a chance to flirt with Chloe when she comes out for the interview.
He heads to the local strip club, where he sees Ellie on stage and makes a bold proposition – he will pay her to innocently touch him. Like – just on the hand.
“The thing is, because of my history, which it sounds like you know a little bit about, I, uh, find it difficult to tolerate…closeness.” Two pink spots appeared on his cheekbones. Was he blushing? God, I didn’t even know men could blush. As if my opinion of him mattered somehow. Something small and warm moved through me, something I had little idea how to identify.
She is desperate for cash as her car has broken down and agrees. It doesn’t go well.
“I can teach you what I do when someone gets close to me. I remove myself completely, and it makes it bearable.” She bit her lip, her brow furrowing as if considering something. “I think I can teach you how to do that.”
My body stilled as I stared at her. Her words caused my heart to ache. Oh God. “That’s not what I want, though. I know how to remove myself. I know how to do that. I want to stay present. That’s what I need you to help me with. Staying.”
But when Ellie is horribly assaulted, and needs round the clock care, Gabriel is there with his home open to her. These two very broken people are forced into close proximity, and an endearing, rip-out-your-heart, love story unfolds.
There is so much that goes into this story. The way Ellie has been treated by men her entire life has shaped who she is today. It’s not good. They’ve used her and abused her and her spirit is broken. She has so much pain welled up inside – it’s completely heartbreaking. And throughout the book, she is still treated like shit. Not by Gabriel, but others. There is even a father figure to Gabriel who I really liked- and at one point Ellie asks him why he is being so nice to her, and his response is – because he trusts Gabriel. Nothing to do with Ellie. I just wanted to punch every man in the face.
How much can one person get beaten down (both figuratively and literally) and keep going? She doesn’t always treat Gabriel nicely – but her words are her only defense. Ellie is smart too – she knows Gabriel wants to fix her – and it’s that transition of her absolutely refusing anything from him, to falling in love with him and giving him everything, that is so well done in this story.
“Just coffee, that’s all I want.” Just to see you smile.
“That’s not all you want. You want to save me from my intolerable life of pain and misery.” She put a hand on her chest in overdone drama. “I’m not a project, and I don’t want your help.”
“I’m not here to fix you, Crystal. I just want—”
“What do you want?”
I let out a sigh, running my hand through my hair. “Just to talk. I like you.” God, could that sound any more lame? I wanted to grimace at my own feeble attempt to sway her.
She stared at me for a moment, something flickering behind her eyes that I wasn’t sure how to read. Whatever it was, she was fighting it. That cynical smirk curved her lips, but there was something shaky about it. “Don’t they all?” She stood straight, letting out a tired-sounding exhale. “That’s just sexual attraction, Gabe. You’ll get over it.”
Gabriel goes from the one who needs help with touch, to the one who every so slowly nurtures Ellie’s soul back to health. And I’m not saying Gabriel, a man, cures Ellie of her dark spirit. She takes time for herself and does that just fine on her own. But it’s Gabriel who gives her the push – and a foundation to love herself again.
“You can’t fix me, you know.”
She’d said something similar to me at the Platinum Pearl and I’d questioned my own motives. But looking at her now, I knew that had never been my intent. I wanted her to heal, and I hoped I could be a part of that. But no one could fix anyone else. We could only fix ourselves. “No, you’re right. I can’t fix you.” I can only love you. And I truly want to try.
Because Ellie comes to live with Gabriel injured, he is kind of forced (although 1000% willing) to touch her. He has to help feed her and dress her and after a while, the touching isn’t even a thing anymore.
There is so much depth to this story – that my rambling won’t do it justice. So I’m going to say – read this. Ellie is horribly assaulted outside the strip club and there a flashback of her being sexually abused as a teenager – so keep that in mind if that is a trigger for you.
I found this author’s voice to be outstanding. Her character development, the entire arc of the story, the darkness matched with all the hope. Maybe the final climatic scene was a little overly dramatic – but I’ll totally overlook it!!
I’m completely in love with this story.
Grade: A