Hi Everyone! Today I have the fabulous Jennifer Brown on the blog! Not only is this girl freaking hilarious, she’s written an amazing debut novel. I can say this because I’ve read it, and it’s fantastic! Critics are raving, I swear. So . . . after you read this interview, you should head on down to your local bookstore and pick up a copy. This is one that will stay with you for a long time.
You know the rules:
About Hate List
Five months ago, Valerie Leftman’s boyfriend, Nick, opened fire on their school cafeteria. Shot trying to stop him, Valerie inadvertently saves the life of a classmate, but is implicated in the shootings because of the list she helped create. A list of people and things they hated. The list her boyfriend used to pick his targets.
Now, after a summer of seclusion, Val is forced to confront her guilt as she returns to school to complete her senior year. Haunted by the memory of the boyfriend she still loves and navigating rocky relationships with her family, former friends and the girl whose life she saved, Val must come to grips with the tragedy that took place and her role in it, in order to make amends and move on with her life.
(Hijack: Doesn’t this sound amazing? It doesn’t disappoint!)
About Jennifer Brown
Jennifer Brown is the author of HATE LIST, a YA novel coming out in September 2009. As a two-time winner of The Erma Bombeck Global Humor award and weekly columnist for The Kansas City Star, as well as Saturday Featured Blogger for Mom2MomKC.com, Jennifer spends a lot of time dressing up her dog for laughs and thinking of new ways to works words such as "Puh-lease" and "Ch-yeah!" into sentences. Jennifer grew up in the Kansas City, Missouri area, where she still lives with her husband, three kids, and whole herd of uncooperative pets.
On to the Interview!
Me: Without giving away too many spoilers, what is your favorite part of the novel/what was the part you had the most fun writing?
Jennifer: I had the most fun writing the therapy sessions with Valerie and Dr. Hieler. The doc is really kind and caring and smart and intuitive, but he's also kind of a jokester. The scenes felt nice and light to me, and a way for Valerie (and the reader) to take a breath a bit.
Me: He was great! He definitely worked to get Valerie back on track. What kind of writing projects are you currently working on? Or, if you aren't working on anything new, is there a different demographic/genre you wouldn't mind tackling in the future?
Jennifer: I'm currently working on another YA novel. It's going to have a similar feel to Hate List, but is, of course, about an entirely different subject. I'm also working on a women's fiction project. That's the genre I started writing in, and I sometimes miss the lightness of it.
Me: Who is your writing hero and why?
Jennifer: Oh, I have so many! No fair making me choose one! Probably the one who pops into my head first would be Maya Angelou, because her writing seems so brave and lyrical... it's like every word was agonized over before being chosen. There's not an "and" or "the" out of place. And when she speaks... it's like every syllable is important. You know the phrase, "I could listen to her sing the phone book?" Yeah, I could totally listen to Maya Angelou read the phone book... and would come away feeling like a better person afterward.
Me: Awesome!
Readers . . . You can visit Jennifer at her home on the web: http://www.jenniferbrownYA.com
And . . . HATE LIST is officially on sale. You can buy it here: http://www.amazon.com/Hate-List-Jennifer-Brown/dp/0316041440/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1251761088&sr=1-1
Jennifer will be chatting with Neesha tomorrow at: http://neeshameminger.blogspot.com
Thank you so much for stopping by, Jennifer!
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