BLOG TOUR Interview: Sarah Gagnon (Date with a Rockstar)

   Hey guys!
   Today I'm part of a blog tour for Date with a Rockstar by Sarah Gagnon which comes out . Below you'll find the interview I did with her and also info about her book, which I'm looking forward to reading soon. Thank you to Spencer Hill Press for making me part of this tour and Sarah for taking time to answer my questions.
   Here is her book and her interview:

Date with a Rockstar by Sarah Gagnon
Published: June 23rd 2015 by Spencer Hill Press
Number of Pages: 320 Pages (Paperback)
Series: No

   Only one girl will win the cash prize...and a chance at love with Jeremy Bane.
   Monet isn’t just another lust-struck teenager trying to win the heart of Rock God Jeremy Bane--she needs the prize money from his new reality show to cure her illness.
   Monet has Fluxem, a contagious disease that's spread through saliva. It's completely curable if you have enough money, which she and her single mother don't. Now that she's on the show, Monet has to work harder to keep her Fluxem hidden. She only has to keep the secret long enough to woo Jeremy Bane so he picks her as the winner. She doesn't even care about the love part; the prize alone will change her life.
   But the real Jeremy Bane is nothing like she imagined. Monet finds herself fighting against feelings that make her want to give in to her attraction and Jeremy's attempts for a kiss. The further she goes in the competition, the more impossible it becomes to resist him--and when the producers turn the tables and start digging up dirt on the contestants, Monet fears her secret will be revealed before she's ready and ruin everything.
   The only way to win Jeremy's heart is to tell him the truth, but confessing her disease could cost her the competition, the prize money, and him. (goodreads.com)

Interview with Sarah Gagnon

   1 – Describe Date with a Rockstar in a twitter pitch.
   Desperate teen girl competes on a reality dating show to win the money to cure her disease, but falls for the gorgeous rockstar.

   2 – What lead to the idea of Date with a Rockstar?
   The initial idea was from a dream. In the dream I was on a bus making out with this famous guy. There were cameras in the background, but we’d try to get away and he was talking privately to me, like he really cared and I was special. Lots more making-out and then…time jump. I’m walking through an aisle of guests on a reality TV show and they’re booing me—shaking their heads and generally disgusted. The guy I was making out with and believed we had a real connection, makes eye contact with me and shakes his head. I can’t understand what he’s trying to tell me. Then the audience is telling him who to pick and he doesn’t choose me. I woke up with this crushing feeling of rejection, and that’s where the idea started.
   The next day I was watching a live concert online and the musician was surrounded by computers and pushing buttons. I remember thinking this is what music will look like in the future.
   The day after that, I started writing Date With a Rockstar. That was the title before I even wrote a single word.

   3 – Was there a scene in the book you specifically remember writing because it stuck out to you, either in a positive or negative way?
   There’s a particularly romantic scene in a hydro garden with the growlights like warm little suns surrounding Monet and Jeremy. I love the idea of being warm under the sun, but somehow more private than you ever could be outdoors. After being followed around by cameras, I pictured that as a perfect escape for Monet.

   4 – How did you come up with the concept of a main character with a disease transferred through salvia participating in a bachelor-type contest?
   I really liked the idea of having a disease that physically marked a person, but wasn’t terminal. Originally, I wanted it to be more of a question of vanity, but Fluxem changed a lot during the edits. For the reality show, I wanted to give her a good reason to participate.

   5 – How long did it take you from first idea until publishing deal? And how many queries did it take until you found 'the one'?
   When I wrote this book, I spent two months on a solid draft. Then I started querying agents. That took awhile, and I did more revisions based on feedback. I have a tendency to not want my characters to suffer, since I love them. So the first revisions were about making Monet’s situation worse. After that I got my first offer of representation.
   I signed with Nicole Resciniti 4 months after finishing the book. It took about 10 months after that to receive an offer from Spencer Hill Press.
   Specific numbers: This was the 4th book I’ve queried. I had a grand total of 354 rejections before I got an agent. That said, I wasn’t very choosy in the beginning. I think I just loved the query lotto. Many authors are more focused in their searches and have fewer rejections.

   6 – How do you feel about the fact that in a couple of months, thousands upon thousands of people will be able to read your book?
   I sure hope it’s that many! It feels great to interact with readers, and I so hope people will enjoy reading my book as much as I’ve enjoyed reading thousands of others.

   7 – Did you listen to specific bands or albums while writing Date with a Rockstar or do you rather prefer writing in silence?
   I have small children and I usually write to the sound of children’s shows. No music at all, which is funny considering the subject matter. When I listen to music, I think too much about the specific songs and meaning behind the lyrics.

   8 – What do you think about the final cover?
   That I’m glad they replaced his head, lol.

   9 – Music genre: Indie or Metal?
   Indie.

   10 – If you were forced to participate in The Hunger Games, as female from District 12, what would be your strategy? Fight or flight?
   I would totally hide. I’m not that coordinated and I’m bad with loud, sudden noises. I don’t think I could fire a gun, or pull back the string on a bow. If I couldn’t hide, I’d be picked off immediately.

About the Author

 

 Sarah Gagnon grew up in the frigid woods of Maine amidst snow and animal skins and has now moved back home. As a small child she wrote ship-wrecked romances all while being stared down by a taxidermied duck.
   She has a BFA in photography and a minor in writing from the University of Southern Maine. She's the mother of two tiny, feral children and two ill-behaved dogs. For fun she’s taken up construction and interior design. Her first project: moving into a dilapidated farmhouse with her computer-genius husband.

Find Sarah: Website, Twitter, Facebook

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BLOG TOUR Review: Bone Deep by Kim O'Brien

   Hey guys!
   I'm excited to be part of the Book Tour for Bone Deep by Kim O'Brien. I want to thank Spencer Hill Press for providing me a ARC of Bone Deep for review. You'll find said review below, and all the way at the end of this post you'll even find a link to a giveaway for a paperback copy of Bone Deep!
   Here's what the book is about and my review:

Bone Deep by Kim O'Brien
Published: May 19th 2015 by Spencer Hill Press
Number of Pages: 242 Pages (Paperback)
Series: No

   Spending the summer on an archeological dig sounds like fun, and it would be, if Paige Patterson didn t have to work for her dad--the man who walked out on their family. Luckily, her best friend Emily Linton is also interning for her dad. The summer takes on a romantic possibility when she meets Jalen Yazzi--the super attractive son of her father s project manager. But then Emily vanishes. As the police struggle for answers, Paige sets out to find the truth. What was Emily doing alone in the ruins the night she disappeared? Did she see something she shouldn t have? The search for Emily brings Paige and Jalen closer together, but it also unlocks long hidden crimes and dangerous mysteries. As Paige digs deeper into Emily s disappearance, she realizes that uncovering the truth may cost her everything--even her life. (goodreads.com)


   Bone Deep is a very unique and interesting take on the YA murder-mystery genre. It features a unique setting, diverse characters with interesting backgrounds and stories to tell. And there is also some archeology thrown into the mix, too, which was very interest and something I've not encountered in YA before.
   I'm a big fan of mysteries, especially murder ones, so I knew Bone Deep would be something for me the moment I read the blurb. Luckily, the book did not disappoint me in any way. I enjoyed seeing this setting with ruins and pieces of information’s and stories about Native Americans. I think we hear about them way too little in school during history, and so it was refreshing to read about. The way Kim O'Brien described it I could easily imagine the characters and places.

“You will fall in love, but you won’t help her and she’s going to die.”

   Speaking of which, I liked the characters a lot. I identified a lot with Paige, probably because we are both divorce kids, but also because she was a different character with flaws, one that could also admit and own up to her own mistakes, even if it wasn't easy it do. I liked her relationship with Emily and how it slowly warmed up in the beginning of the story, how we slowly got more information on their past and explored what made their friendship definitely stand out. I felt sorry for her due to the fact how hard she took her parents’ divorce and how she slowly started to figure out that maybe the reasoning behind it wasn't quite the way she thought it was. And also that it wasn't just something mentioned two or three times, but something that really bothered her a lot, which made her even more of a believable character.
   I also really liked Jalen with his stoic and sometimes weird behavior, which was understandable yet slightly infuriating at times, though not in any really negative way. It was rather amusing. I really liked seeing him warm up to Paige and their relationship form and evolve in a believable pace. Seeing his background with his memories of his grandparents living in the Navajo Nation and how he wishes to live there one day too was great and new. I've never read a story which featured a character with a Native American background before, which made Jalen quite intriguing.

“I think the sneakers and the corn are symbolic. A lot of ancient tribal burial ceremonies involved placing moccasins and food along with the body of the loved one. The moccasinssymbolised a swift journey to the next world, and the food was to provide nourishment along the way.”

   Kim O'Brien very cleverly lead us through the search of who is responsible for Emily's disappearance, made us think that 'I am pretty sure I've figured out who it is' just so she can prove us wrong in every way. The ending and conclusion to who is responsible was believable and surprising, not obvious at all, which I feared might happen but didn't.

   All in all I enjoyed Bone Deep very much. I practically read it in two sittings, both way too late at night which meant that the morning after I looked like a sleep deprived zombie but it was worth it. If you're into murder-mysteries and unique characters, this might be the book for you.

I give Bone Deep by Kim O'Brien 5 out of 5 Stars.

About the Author:

   Kim O’Brien grew up in an old Victorian house in Bronxville, NY. Her mother loved telling her bedtime stories, especially ones about the ghost in their attic. Kim not only believed the house was haunted but also fell in love with books and the art of storytelling. At Emory University in Atlanta, Kim earned a B.A. in psychology. She then attained a M.F.A in writing from Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, NY. She worked for many years as a writer, editor, and speechwriter for IBM before becoming a full time fiction writer. She lives in Texas with her husband, daughters, and four-legged friend Daisy. Kim is the author of eight inspirational romances and seven non-fiction children’s books. She loves to hear from her readers and can be found at www.kimobrienbooks.com/, Facebook, and Twitter (kimobri).

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100k Clicks!

   Hey guys!
   Just a couple of minutes ago I noticed that we just passed 100k views of this blog! I am so happy; I cannot even really put it into words. When I first started this blog one and a half years ago I would have never thought that I would reach this number any time soon. I would have never expected that it would happen so fast. Back then I expected to maybe hit a thousand views in a year or longer because I never thought people would bother reading my thoughts on movies and books.
   But, it turns out a few people actually do care and check out what I have to say.
   I don't want to make this too long so let me just say THANK YOU for sticking around and reading my posts. Maybe you just discovered my blog, maybe you've been reading my thoughts since post one. However it may be, thank you for coming over!
   Cheers and let's see what the next 100k will bring!

   Hey Leute,
   Vor wenigen Minuten hab ich gesehen, dass wir gerade 100k Klicks auf diesem Blog erreicht haben! Ich bin super glücklich, so sehr das ich es kaum in Worte fassen kann. Als ich den Blog vor anderthalb Jahren erstellt habe, hätte ich nie gedacht, dass ich diese Zahl so schnell erreichen würde. Damals dachte ich, dass ich vielleicht ein tausend Klicks innerhalb eines Jahres oder mehr erreichen würde, da ich nicht glaube, dass irgendjemanden meine Gedanken über Bücher und Filme interessieren würden.
   Aber, es stellt sich heraus dass viele es doch interessiert und sie immer mal wieder vorbeischauen.
   Ich will diesen Post nicht zu lange machen, daher lasst mich nur dies sagen: DANKE SEHR dafür das ihr meine Posts lest. Vielleicht hast du diesen Blog gerade erst entdeckt, vielleicht hast du ihn schon seit dem ersten Post verfolgt. Wie auch immer es sein mag, danke fürs vorbeischauen!
   Cheers und lasst uns sehen was die nächsten 100k bringen werden!