GCC Presents: Jennifer Echols!

I'm really excited to bring you a Girlfriends Cyber Circuit interview with author Jennifer Echols. Jenn is a fellow MTV Books author, I really love all of her stuff, and consider her a personal inspiration. I can't wait to read her new one, SUCH A RUSH, and after you hear about it (or hear more about it!), I'm sure you'll feel the same way. So let's learn more, shall we?

About SUCH A RUSH:

High school senior Leah Jones loves nothing more than flying. While she’s in the air, it’s easy to forget life with her absentee mother at the low-rent end of a South Carolina beach town. When her flight instructor, Mr. Hall, hires her to fly for his banner advertising business, she sees it as her ticket out of the trailer park. And when he dies suddenly, she’s afraid her flying career is gone forever.


But Mr. Hall’s teenage sons, golden boy Alec and adrenaline junkie Grayson, are determined to keep the banner planes flying. Though Leah has crushed on Grayson for years, she’s leery of getting involved in what now seems like a doomed business--until Grayson betrays her by digging up her most damning secret. Holding it over her head, he forces her to fly for secret reasons of his own, reasons involving Alec. Now Leah finds herself drawn into a battle between brothers--and the consequences could be deadly.

Engrossing and intense, SUCH A RUSH is a captivating adventure that is sure to keep readers soaring.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Jennifer Echols is the award-winning author of multiple romantic dramas and romantic comedies for teens. She lives in Birmingham, Alabama.

THE INTERVIEW:

Q: What inspired you to write this book?

JENNIFER: I took a trip to the beach with my family, then drove to the little airport with my dad to watch the advertising banner planes take off and land. My dad is a pilot, so a lot of my childhood was spent going to airports with him to watch airplanes take off and land. But this time, when he told me the banner plane pilots tend to be very young because they need a lot of flight time to become airline pilots someday, I knew that would be my next book.

Q: The main character of my first book, I WANNA BE YOUR JOEY RAMONE, is the kind of girl I wanted to be (a rock star!), the MC of my second book has a lot more in common with teenage me. Is your main character someone you wish you could be, someone a lot like you, or your total opposite? How so?

JENNIFER: Leah is determined to become a pilot and stay a pilot, and I would be deathly afraid to take control of an airplane. But I was determined to become a published author, and I am determined to stay one. So I think Leah and I may have more in common than I originally thought.

Q: If there was a soundtrack for your book what are five songs that would be on it and how do they relate the story?

JENNIFER: “Sunday Best”--Augustana
“Lonely Day”--Phantom Planet
“The Royal We”--Silversun Pickups
“7/4 (Shoreline)”--Broken Social Scene
“The Only Exception”--Paramore

They may not relate to the story at all. They were part of the soundtrack for my last romantic drama, Love Story, which I was finishing when I came up with Such a Rush. This was what I was jogging to, up and down the beach road, thinking hard. I actually don’t know whether these songs have anything to do with Love Story, either. When I construct a soundtrack, I’m listening to the music, not the words. I guess that’s kind of weird for a novelist, but I was a music major before I was an English major.

Q: In addition to writing books, I also write for a website for teens called Rookie, which has a regular feature called "Literally The Best Thing Ever," wherein we write about a thing that we think is super mega awesome (even if it is the type of thing that others might call a guilty pleasure, we believe there is nothing guilty about pleasure!) and explain why we think it is literally the best thing ever. It's generally a kind of unexpected thing, for example I wrote one about the soap opera, One Life To Live. I don't expect you to write a whole essay obviously, but can you briefly tell us what either you or your character (or both!) would say is "Literally The Best Thing Ever" and why?

JENNIFER: The current boom in YA fiction is the best thing ever. When I was a teen in the 1980s, there were YA books, but they were written for the younger end of the teenage years. By the time we were actually teens, most of us were reading adult books because there weren’t many stories written specifically for us. By the 1990s, when I was trying to get my own YA published, even that smaller YA market had dried up. My second agent stopped representing YA altogether because it wasn’t selling. After that frustration, I sent a YA directly to one of the Big Six publishers, who sat on it for a year, then wrote me a “good rejection,” saying they would have bought my book if the YA market had been better. Imagine how ecstatic I was when the YA market came back in 2004! Everything is cyclical in publishing--a testament to this is the fact that even the stalwart of the romance world, the historical, took a huge hit in 2005 when the paranormal got big--but I think the YA may be here to stay because so many of these books are incredibly good.

Q: What are you working on for us next?

JENNIFER: I’m writing Dirty Little Secret, my next YA romantic drama for MTV Books, which will be in stores this time next year.

GCC Presents: Denise Jaden (with a contest!!!)

I'm proud to present another interview with one of my author pals from the Girlfriends Cyber Circuit. Denise Jaden has a new book out and since powerfully written contemporary YA is my favorite reading material, I am really looking forward to picking this one up! Here are the details as well as an awesome contest from Denise!

About NEVER ENOUGH:



From the author of Losing Faith, a novel about two sisters and the eating disorder that threatens to destroy their family.

Loann’s always wanted to be popular and pretty like her sister, Claire. So when Claire’s ex-boyfriend starts flirting with her, Loann is willing to do whatever it takes to feel special…even if that means betraying her sister.

But as Loann slips inside Claire’s world, she discovers that everything is not as it seems. Claire’s quest for perfection is all-consuming, and comes at a dangerous price. And Loann is frightened she could lose the sister she’s always idolized.

As Claire increasingly withdraws from friends and family, Loann struggles to understand her and make amends. Can she heal their relationship—and her sister—before it’s too late?



About the author:
Denise Jaden spent her high school lunch hours trying to tame her frizzy/curly hair in the bathroom, or playing freeze tag in the drama room. She attended the theatre program at college, and then enjoyed a variety of occupations, including stage production, mushroom farming, and Polynesian dancing. The first draft of her debut novel, Losing Faith, was written in 21 days during National Novel Writing Month. This is her second novel. She lives just outside Vancouver, Canada with her husband and son.

The Interview:
Q: What inspired you to write this book?

Denise: A good friend of mine struggled with eating disorders for many years, and as I got closer with her, I found myself wanting to understand her more and wishing I could help. I wrote Never Enough because I always felt like I was saying or doing the wrong things, and I wanted to understand what would help, rather than hurt.

Q: The main character of my first book, I WANNA BE YOUR JOEY RAMONE, is the kind of girl I wanted to be (a rock star!), the MC of my second book has a lot more in common with teenage me. Is your main character someone you wish you could be, someone a lot like you, or your total opposite? How so?

Denise: My main character in Never Enough, Loann, is definitely close to the teenage me. We both have frizzy/curly hair, a sometimes inappropriate sense of humor, and we’re both very introspective.

Q: If there was a soundtrack for your book what are three songs that would be on it and how do they relate the story?

Denise: I had such a hard time with this question with Losing Faith, but I consciously thought about it while working on Never Enough.

Things I’ll Never Say by Avril Lavigne is the song that makes me think of Loann and Marcus’s friendship. It’s sweet and innocent, with lots of missed or too-shy moments of saying how they really feel. My Stupid Mouth by John Mayer totally reminds me of Loann, because she has the habit of saying the wrong thing and then trying to backtrack or fix her mistakes. Sick Cycle Carousel by Lifehouse is what I refer to in my head as “Claire’s Song.” Claire is on a constant carousel of ups and downs, of trying, and then not having it in her to try.


Q: In addition to writing books, I also write for a website for teens called Rookie, which has a regular feature called "Literally The Best Thing Ever," wherein we write about a thing that we think is super mega awesome (even if it is the type of thing that others might call a guilty pleasure, we believe there is nothing guilty about pleasure!) and explain why we think it is literally the best thing ever. It's generally a kind of unexpected thing, for example I wrote one about the soap opera, One Life To Live. I don't expect you to write a whole essay obviously, but can you briefly tell us what either you or your character (or both!) would say is "Literally The Best Thing Ever" and why?

Denise: Loann would say the best thing ever is her camera. It gives her freedom and helps her see the world in new ways. It constantly gives her perspective and photography is something she’s really talented at. I would say the best thing ever is dark chocolate with almonds.

Q: What are you working on for us next?

Denise: I’m working on another YA contemporary romance/mystery, tentatively titled FOREIGN EXCHANGE. It’s about a girl who sneaks away from her class trip in Europe, along with her crush, to find her missing best friend.

The Interview:
Denise holding a contest on her blog for four boxes of great books! Anyone who comments here will automatically be eligible to win. Here are all the details, so leave a comment and enter!

GCC Presents: Jessica Brody!

Another one of my friends in the Girlfriends Cyber Circuit has a fabulous new release! Let's meet Jessica Brody and hear about her new YA novel, 52 REASONS TO HATE MY FATHER!


About 52 REASONS TO HATE MY FATHER: 

Being America’s favorite heiress is a dirty job, but someone’s gotta do it.

Lexington Larrabee has never to work a day in her life. After all, she’s the heiress to the multi-billion-dollar Larrabee Media empire. And heiresses are not supposed to work. But then again, they’re not supposed to crash brand new Mercedes convertibles into convenience stores on Sunset Blvd either.

Which is why, on Lexi’s eighteenth birthday, her ever-absent, tycoon father decides to take a more proactive approach to her wayward life. Every week for the next year, she will have to take on a different low-wage job if she ever wants to receive her beloved trust fund. But if there’s anything worse than working as a maid, a dishwasher, and a fast-food restaurant employee, it’s dealing with Luke, the arrogant, albeit moderately attractive, college intern her father has assigned to keep tabs on her.

In a hilarious “comedy of heiress” about family, forgiveness, good intentions, and best of all, second chances, Lexi learns that love can be unconditional, money can be immaterial, and, regardless of age, everyone needs a little saving. And although she might have 52 reasons to hate her father, she only needs one reason to love him.



About the author:
Jessica Brody is the bestselling author of The Karma Club and My Life Undecided, as well as two books for adults: The Fidelity Files and Love Under Cover. In researching this book, she took on several minimum wage jobs, her favorite of which was working the drive-thru at a fast food restaurant. She splits her time between California and Colorado. Visit her online at: www.jessicabrody.com

Q: What inspired you to write this book?

Jessica: Actually it’s kind of a funny story. I was sitting in my car, watching a meter maid write someone a parking ticket and I thought, “Wouldn’t it be fun to be a meter maid? But only for like a week. Just to see what it was like.” Then I start to brainstorm all these other jobs I’d like to do for one week. And I decided, “Well, I’m too busy writing novels to actually do all these jobs, so I guess I’ll just have to write a book about someone else who does them.” And then I tried to think of the funniest character to put in that kind of situation and the answer was instant: a spoiled heiress who has never had to work a day in her life. And alas, Lexington Larrabee was born. But really the joke’s on me, because in researching the story, I actually did take on some of the jobs that are in the book! My favorite was working the drive-thru at a fast food restaurant. Those head-sets you have to wear are like something out of Star Trek!

Q: If there was a soundtrack for your book what are five songs that would be on it and how do they relate the story?

Jessica: Well, I spend a lot of time choosing the right music for my book trailers, so I’m going to have to go ahead and use the music from there. One song in particular stands out to me. It’s the song at the end of the trailer called “Life in Reverse” by Time Will Tell. It’s all about someone wishing they could go back and change what life has brought them. And this PERFECTLY summarizes the way Lexi feels through most of the book.

Q: In addition to writing books, I also write for a website for teens called Rookie, which has a regular feature called "Literally The Best Thing Ever," wherein we write about a thing that we think is super mega awesome (even if it is the type of thing that others might call a guilty pleasure, we believe there is nothing guilty about pleasure!) and explain why we think it is literally the best thing ever. It's generally a kind of unexpected thing, for example I wrote one about the soap opera, One Life To Live. I don't expect you to write a whole essay obviously, but can you briefly tell us what either you or your character (or both!) would say is "Literally The Best Thing Ever" and why?

Jessica: Lately I’ve become OBSESSED with these delicious dark chocolate covered almonds with sea salt and turbinado sugar from Trader Joe’s. And when I become obsessed, I become obsessed. Case in point: A friend turned me onto these delicious little pieces of heaven and shortly after, Trader Joe’s completely ran out of them. And I’m not just talking my Trader Joe’s. I’m talking ALL Trader Joe’s in the Los Angeles area. How do I know this, well I pretty much drove to all of them (like I said, obsessive personality over here!) I almost considered buying them on eBay where people were selling them for like 20 bucks a box. But I refrained after one of the TJs employees ensured me they would be coming in soon. They did, in fact, finally stock them again and I bought like 10 boxes just to be sure I was safe should another shortage present itself.

Q: What are you working on for us next?

Jessica: Last year I signed a four book deal with my publisher, Macmillan Children’s, and I just turned in the first of those books! It’s the first installment in a new YA sci-fi/thriller trilogy called UNREMEMBERED. It’s about a sixteen-year-old girl who wakes up among the wreckage of a devastating plane crash. She’s the only survivor but she has no memories and identity. The only clue to her past is a mysterious boy who claims they were in love and that she was part of a top secret science experiment. It’s kind of like a Bourne Identity for teens. I’m really excited about it because the genre is totally new to me and writing the first book was so much fun! Plus, it’s my first crack at writing a series so that presents a whole new set of fun challenges. The first book is set to release in early 2013.