Sweet Summertime Reads: Jennifer Echols Interview

Telling y'all that I am excited to have author Jennifer Echols on the blog today is a HUGE understatement.  What I really want to be doing is jumping up and down, squealing like a total fangirl & throwing copies of her books in all of your faces.  THAT is how much I adore this woman.  Her writing is some of the best contemporary fiction I've ever read, and I truly mean that.  As part of the Sweet Summertime Reads feature, hosted by myself, Fiction Folio & Rather Be Reading, I chose to give away a few of my favorite Jennifer Echols books. But I went a little beyond that & asked the woman herself if she'd answer a few of my own questions right here on the blog as part of this fabulous summer feature.  So sit back, relax, grab a fruity drink & fall in love with this incredible writer...

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Your writing style has always been seamless and addicting. I never want to put down any of your stories you have written. Please share with us where you pull your inspirations from. Has writing been something that's come naturally to you? Or is there a secret unknown motivation that won't be so secret anymore after you share with us?

That is so kind of you! I think anybody who makes a living as a writer was a huge reader first. That’s certainly true of me. I loved books so much when I hit middle school that I decided this was something I would like to do for a living. My grandmother was a writer who never got published but who did send out a few query letters, so it never occurred to me that I couldn’t be a writer too.

But maybe it should have. My career path hasn’t been easy! I finished my first novel when I was 20, and though I signed on with my first literary agent at 22, I didn’t sell a book until age 35. That was a long and frustrating time to feel like I was on the cusp of publication. In the meantime, I earned an MA in literature and most of a PhD in rhetoric and composition, a subspecialty of English that studies how people use language and learn to write. I also worked as a freelance writer and editor. Any job that dealt with words, I would do. It might not be my dream job of writing novels, but it was better than nothing.

I wish I could say I’m happy today that it took me so long to get published. I’m not. But it is what it is. And I do think the long run-up gave me some advantages. I’m honestly grateful every day for the career I have and the readers who have made it possible. And I had a long time to hone my craft and think very hard about what makes a novel delicious. If my writing really is seamless--I hope so!--that is by design. I still study other people’s novels, read lots of books on writing craft, and try to make my own novels as absorbing as I can.

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I know you're from the south, and so a lot of your book settings take place in the southern states. From your stories you've written, which has been the most intriguing setting for you to place your characters in? Do you visit these places often for inspiration? Or are they strictly fictional places you visit in your mind?

They’re always real places, and I see them that way in my mind, but on paper I change the place name so I can fudge the details in order to make the story better. For instance, my favorite setting of the ones I’ve used is Lake Martin, AL, where I grew up--the setting of The Boys Next Door and Endless Summer. There are two main bridges over the lake, and both have marinas nearby, but the setting of the book is a combination of both places. Because I can do that.

I have to ask – do any of your fictional boys come from real life characters? Out of all these delicious young males you've captured in your books, who has stuck out in your mind as a favorite? Feel free to give more than one as an answer, I know I would!

Awww, how sweet! I never write about real people. The story is the most important thing, and the character has to fit into the story. If you tried to put a real person into a fictional story, the story would suffer because you were trying so hard to be true to the person, or the real person would have to change into someone unrecognizable. It just doesn’t work.

You’re going to think this is a cop-out, but it’s true: My favorite hero is always the one I’m writing at the moment. He has to be, or I’m not doing it right.

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Your latest novel Such a Rush left a huge impression on me after I read it. I can't wait for everyone else to experience it when it is pub'ed in July. Without giving away too much of the story, can you share some elements from the story that were your favorite to write?

The story is set in a fictional beach town inspired by Myrtle Beach, SC. But the airport is the one I got dragged to by my pilot dad when I was growing up. There really isn’t much to a small-town airport: one runway, a tiny office with a porch so people can hang out and watch the planes take off, and rental hangars made of corrugated metal, all surrounded by the forest and baking in the southern springtime sun. What makes a story fun for me is to take a sleepy setting like that and wake it up with the characters and their drama and their pain and their love and their inability to leave each other alone.

Since this is part of our Sweet Summertime Reads feature, please share with us your favorite summertime books to read.

Oooh, some of my favorites that make me happy just thinking about them: Texas Gothic by Rosemary Clement-Moore, In Your Room by Jordanna Fraiberg, and Two-Way Street by Lauren Barnholdt.

Have any interesting plans made for this summer?

I have a trip planned for one of my favorite places in the world and the setting of Forget You, a beach town between Destin and Panama City in Florida. You can also find me at the Romance Writers of America conference in L.A. in late July. I’ll be doing research there for my second adult romance with Simon & Schuster, which is currently scheduled for publication in January 2014 (the first is coming out in March 2013--I’m so excited!).

Thanks so much for having me, Ginger!

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To know more about Jennifer Echols, visit her website here.

Be sure to follow her on twitter too: @JenniferEchols

GIVEAWAY: ENDLESS SUMMER + PREORDER OF SUCH A RUSH
(ending soon - Friday, June 15th @ midnight)

Random Discussion: Auto-Approve Authors

So I just randomly took a poll on the tweets and asked everyone:

Twitter, name one author you will read ANYTHING by. Don't even have to know what the book is about.. it's just a given.

Holy wow at the response! I was worried I may break the tweets. But.... I didn't. We can all breath again.
So what's the consensus you ask? Well here are the authors that were mentioned:

• John Green
• Sarah Dessen
• Richelle Mead
• Jennifer Echols
• Stephanie Perkins
• Melina Marchetta
• Jennifer L. Armentrout
• Jeri Smith-Ready
• J.K. Rowling
• David Levithan
• Courtney Summers
• Simone Elkeles
• Patrick Ness
• Suzanne Young
• Trish Doller
• Veronica Rossi
• Melissa Marr
• Gayle Forman
• Rachel Vincent
• Kelley Armstrong
• Kristin Cashore
• John Corey Whaley
• Jenny Han
• Myra McEntire
• Kody Keplinger

Do you agree? Disagree? Is there someone NOT on this list that is an instant read for you?
I found it interesting there are a few authors listed that only have one published work out right now - wow! what a true testament to their awesomeness (the ones listed that I've read, I completely agree with btw!)

Also, in case you were wondering, I have TOO MANY instant read authors.. but if I had to choose one it would be Jennifer Echols.  I love that woman's storytelling so hard.

Author Interview: Claire LaZebnik

I had the pleasure of asking Claire LaZebnik, author of Epic Fail, a few questions that she so graciously took the time to answer.  I first read her work years before I started this book blog.  Before she wrote Epic Fail, she started out writing adult fiction.  I devoured and loved The Smart One and the Pretty One awhile back, so when I saw that she was writing YA - I was ecstatic!

Thank you Claire for taking the time to reach out to book bloggers.  I hope every one has an opportunity to read this woman's amazing work.  You won't be disappointed, I promise.

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

I never wanted to be anything else, mostly because I wasn't good at anything else. I was useless at sports, graceless at dance, couldn't paint, hated making phone calls (rules out a LOT of professions) and got bored in classrooms. But I always loved to read. It's a short hop from reading to writing. Even as a little kid, I liked to write stories and poetry. The poetry faded out pretty quickly though.

Do you prefer writing books for an adult audience, or a young adult audience more?

Right now I'm really enjoying switching back and forth between both. YA books move faster and they're more "on the page"--not quite as much subtext. I like some of the issues I can grapple with in the adult books and the ambiguity of life when you're an adult, but I like the pace of the YA books. They force me to be a sharper, less self-indulgent writer.

When coming up with the story for Epic Fail, where did you get most of your ideas for the plot & characters?

Oh, completely from Austen's PRIDE AND PREJUDICE! It's a modernized retelling of P&P, with a setting straight out of my life here on the west side of LA.

Are there any interesting quirks or habits you have while writing a novel?

Does constantly eating cookies and drinking coffee count as an interesting quirk? Because that's mostly what I do. Also checking Facebook, gofugyourself.com, and seriouseats.com every few minutes. I wish I were exaggerating, but I'm not. I try to get my butt to Starbucks because I'll focus better and work harder there, but sometimes it's crowded and I find it so depressing to get there and not be able to find a table that I can talk myself out of going in the first place. Also, at home I can stand up while I write, which I like--it protects my back and also feels less sluggish than sitting all day. We have this one tall piece of furniture that's the perfect height for me to stand at. I guess that's quirky--standing up to write!

Which books inspired you, or are considered high up on your literary scale?

Well, all of Austen of course and most of Dickens. JD Salinger, especially 9 STORIES and FRANNY AND ZOOEY. I can really get into Alan Moore's graphic novels--they're dark and sexy and weird. Not for the faint of heart. Oh, and ASTERIOS POLYP may be the greatest book every written. Colette was a huge inspiration to me. So was Bronte. I thought Jonathan Franzen's FREEDOM was riveting. And Robin Hobb's fantasy novels are amazing.

Looking over this list, I realize I have weird tastes. I'm all over the map.

Share one memorable experience you've encountered since becoming a published author.

My first novel SAME AS IT NEVER WAS got made into a movie called HELLO SISTER, GOODBYE LIFE for the ABC Family Channel. I met the director Steve Robman (who's since become a good friend) and he invited me and my husband to come visit the set. They were shooting in New Orleans and we thought it sounded like a fun place to spend a weekend without the kids. We went and had a fabulous time, hit a couple of the well-known restaurants, went to a bunch of museums, spent a day on the set . . . We came back home and about three weeks later Hurricane Katrina hit. It felt so much more tragic and meaningful to us since we'd just been there and really loved the city. We still have a good luck charm we bought there hanging over our kitchen window.

For fun: if you had to eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?

With no regard for calories? Spaghetti. Just your basic red sauce spaghetti with lots of parmesan cheese and crushed red pepper. I don't think I'd ever get sick of that. Or maybe peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies--there are days now when I live on those. But I like eating so many foods. I'm the least picky person in the world (although I don't eat meat or fowl, so maybe I AM kind of picky now that I think about it). I'd be very sad if I could only eat one dish for the rest of my life!

Be sure to check out my review for Epic Fail here.
Pick up your copy today, it's now in bookstores :-)

Authors We ♥: Lisa McMann

I had the pleasure of meeting Lisa McMann last night while she was in town for her Cryer's Cross book tour.  She was at Murder by the Book in Houston, Texas signing copies of her books, reading a few chapters, & answering questions.  Lisa was such a delight!  Very down to earth, and very friendly.  I love that she asked the audience who follows her on twitter & immediately she knew who we were! So fun to put a face to a twitter name, right?!

I brought my Wake trilogy books for her to sign as well.  If you have not read those books, I suggest you do immediately!  I devoured these books a few years ago.  Believe it or not, they were read long before this book blog was even thought of!  She helped fill my void after I read the Twilight series (for the 3rd? or 4th? time lol).

Lisa not only read from her new book Cryer's Cross, but she also gave us a teaser from her upcoming new series The Unwanteds (due out Sept. 2011)!!  The Unwanteds is a dystopian novel about a world who values strength & intelligence, over creativity & originality.  The few chapters that she read to us sound very, very interesting!!

Thank you Lisa for making a stop in Houston to come see us :-)  and there may or may not have been talk about naming her next character Ginger ;-)  Go pick up Cryer's Cross!  It's out in bookstores now!!

Authors We ♥: Jennifer Echols

Have you read anything by this awesome Romantic Fiction for YA author?!  If not.. YOU SHOULD!  Jennifer Echols blew me away with Going Too Far & then again with Forget You.  Her writing style is unique & heart-felt.  She has the ability to capture the reader & put them inside these timeless tales.  It's refreshing to read a YA book about romance that is not filled with hearts & rainbows.  Relationships are hard, even at 17 years old.  Huge praise to Jennifer Echols for touching on some pretty heavy issues & giving her characters a voice that will never be forgotten.

Be sure to add Love Story to your TBR lists! Her newest YA novel is due out this summer!

Going Too Far

- Published March 2009

HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO?

All Meg has ever wanted is to get away. Away from high school. Away from her backwater town. Away from her parents who seem determined to keep her imprisoned in their dead-end lives. But one crazy evening involving a dare and forbidden railroad tracks, she goes way too far...and almost doesn't make it back.

John made a choice to stay. To enforce the rules. To serve and protect. He has nothing but contempt for what he sees as childish rebellion, and he wants to teach Meg a lesson she won't soon forget. But Meg pushes him to the limit by questioning everything he learned at the police academy. And when he pushes back, demanding to know why she won't be tied down, they will drive each other to the edge -- and over....

Forget You - Published July 2010

WHY CAN’T YOU CHOOSE WHAT YOU FORGET . . . AND WHAT YOU REMEMBER?

There’s a lot Zoey would like to forget. Like how her father has knocked up his twenty-four- year old girlfriend. Like Zoey’s fear that the whole town will find out about her mom’s nervous breakdown. Like darkly handsome bad boy Doug taunting her at school. Feeling like her life is about to become a complete mess, Zoey fights back the only way she knows how, using her famous attention to detail to make sure she’s the perfect daughter, the perfect student, and the perfect girlfriend to ultra-popular football player Brandon. But then Zoey is in a car crash, and the next day there’s one thing she can’t remember at all—the entire night before.

Did she go parking with Brandon, like she planned? And if so, why does it seem like Brandon is avoiding her? And why is Doug—of all people— suddenly acting as if something significant happened between the two of them? Zoey dimly remembers Doug pulling her from the wreck, but he keeps referring to what happened that night as if it was more, and it terrifies Zoey to admit how much is a blank to her. Controlled, meticulous Zoey is quickly losing her grip on the all-important details of her life—a life that seems strangely empty of Brandon, and strangely full of Doug.

Love Story - Published July 2011

Erin Blackwell is headed to college in New York City to study creative writing and earn a living as a romance novelist. Her grandmother has other plans: she approves of the college, but she wants Erin to major in business and then come back home to Kentucky to run the family’s famous racehorse farm. There is no way Erin will agree. Studying in New York and writing her way into a career is her escape from the farm and the family tragedy that happened there. So Erin’s grandmother decides Erin really will live life as a starving artist. She takes Erin’s future job running the farm, her inheritance, even her college tuition, and gives them all to Hunter Allen.

Hunter has lived on the farm for years. He’s Erin’s age, he’s the stable boy, and he’s the romantic dream of every girl in her high school. But he was involved in the family tragedy. Erin has always given him a wide berth. And he’s a slick opportunist. She’s furious that he fooled her grandmother into giving him Erin’s birthright and sending him to Erin’s college.

At least she’s free of him in her creative writing class. So she pens a story that has haunted her lately, in which the horse farm heiress at the very first Kentucky Derby starts a forbidden affair with the lowly stable boy. Unfortunately for her, the day she’s sharing this story with her New York classmates, Hunter walks in. He’s switching to her class. And after reading about himself in Erin’s story, he writes his own sexy assignments that lure Erin into dangerous fantasies about what could have been between them, and what might be.

AWESOMENESS

Two of my very best friends from Minnesota went to a 

Simone Elkeles book signing & got me a little surprise of awesomeness:

They know how much I adore this author & was bummed that I couldn't go with them to the book signing (I live in Texas).  Complete AWESOMENESS to my day!!  

Do you have any books signed by authors? If so, which ones?

Authors We ♥

Simone Elkeles - author of Perfect Chemistry, Rules of Attraction, Leaving Paradise & Return to Paradise (just a few of my favs!)

My good friends from Minnesota got the privilege to meet Simone at a book signing last night in Stillwater, Minnesota.  I am so, so jealous of them!! but so happy they got the chance to meet her.  I heard nothing but GREAT things about their meeting (like I would expect anything less?) and wanted to feature her here.  If you have not read any of her books, then I HIGHLY suggest that you do!


Also check out: The Shiny Vampire Club (another blog I administer) -- pics from the book signing are posted! & feel free to check out the site, it's full of VAMPTASTIC blogs :-)

Perfect Chemistry

A fresh, urban twist on the classic tale of star-crossed lovers. When Brittany Ellis walks into chemistry class on the first day of senior year, she has no clue that her carefully created “perfect” life is about to unravel before her eyes. She’s forced to be lab partners with Alex Fuentes, a gang member from the other side of town, and he is about to threaten everything she's worked so hard for—her flawless reputation, her relationship with her boyfriend, and the secret that her home life is anything but perfect. Alex is a bad boy and he knows it. So when he makes a bet with his friends to lure Brittany into his life, he thinks nothing of it. But soon Alex realizes Brittany is a real person with real problems, and suddenly the bet he made in arrogance turns into something much more. In a passionate story about looking beneath the surface, Simone Elkeles breaks through the stereotypes and barriers that threaten to keep Brittany and Alex apart.

Rules of Attraction

When Carlos Fuentes returns to America after living in Mexico for a year, he doesn’t want any part of the life his older brother, Alex, has laid out for him at a high school in Colorado . Carlos likes living his life on the edge and wants to carve his own path—just like Alex did. Then he meets Kiara Westford. She doesn’t talk much and is completely intimidated by Carlos’ wild ways. As they get to know one another, Carlos assumes Kiara thinks she’s too good for him, and refuses to admit that she might be getting to him. But he soon realizes that being himself is exactly what Kiara needs right now.

Leaving Paradise

Nothing has been the same since Caleb Becker left a party drunk, got behind the wheel, and hit Maggie Armstrong. Even after months of painful physical therapy, Maggie walks with a limp. Her social life is nil and a scholarship to study abroad—her chance to escape everyone and their pitying stares — has been canceled.

After a year in juvenile jail, Caleb’s free . . . if freedom means endless nagging from a transition coach and the prying eyes of the entire town. Coming home should feel good, but his family and ex-girlfriend seem like strangers.

Caleb and Maggie are outsiders, pigeon-holed as "criminal" and "freak." Then the truth emerges about what really happened the night of the accident and, once again, everything changes. It’s a bleak and tortuous journey for Caleb and Maggie, yet they end up finding comfort and strength from a surprising source: each other.

Return to Paradise

Maggie and Caleb just went through the worst year of their lives. Hit by a car and starting life over with a limp, Maggie never thought she would forgive Caleb. But she did—and fell in love. What they shared was real. But Caleb wanted to be free from the past—and a terrible secret: he wasn't the one who hit Maggie. So he left Paradise—and Maggie—forever. When Maggie and Caleb run into each other in a different town, they can't deny their true feelings. Will Maggie let Caleb get away again? Or will Caleb face the truth and return to Paradise?


{all taken from goodreads.com}

*** And soon to come: Chain Reaction (Spring 2011) -- the 3rd book in the Perfect Chemistry series


♥ginger