
They said it couldn't be done, but geeky sophomore Lauren Carlson transformed herself into a popular girl after moving to a new school half-way across the country. Amazing what losing your braces and going out for cheerleading will do. Only trouble is, the popular crowd is wearing on Lauren's nerves and she can't wait to return to summer camp where she's valued for her brain instead of her handsprings. She misses her old friends and most of all, her long time camp-only boyfriend, Seth. This year she intends to upgrade their relationship to year-round status once she's broken up with her new, jock boyfriend, Matt. He doesn't begin to know the real her, a girl fascinated by the night sky who dreams of discovering new planets and galaxies. But Matt isn't giving her up without a fight. As he makes his case to stay together, Lauren begins to realize his feelings run deeper than she ever would have guessed. What if the guy she thought she was meant to be with forever isnt really The One? Returning to Camp Juniper Point was supposed to ground her uprooted life, but she's more adrift than ever. Everything feels different and soon Lauren's friends are turning on her and both guys question what she really wants. As summer tensions escalate, Lauren wonders if shes changed more than she thought. Will her first big discovery be herself?
Every once in a while I'm lucky enough to encounter an author who is fun, talented, and as nice as can be. This time, I was lucky enough to encounter TWO of them in one go.
The writing duo of Joanne and Karen Rock (together, JK Rock) are launching Spencer Hill Press's new Contemporary line with CAMP BOYFRIEND. And when I tell you these ladies are crazy busy with their release week, I'm understating things. So, lucky for YOU they agreed to take some time away from the madness and visit with us here at Honestly YA AND give away a copy of CAMP BOYFRIEND!
1. We
always start with the same curious question: What book spoke to you most during your
teen years?
K- I was
obsessed- seriously obsessed- with The
Hobbit! Tolkien had me from the first few lines where he described Bilbo’s
hobbit hole, a wizard named Gandalf, elves that sang in forests as they
travelled by night, and a magical ring that could make its wearer invisible.
Throw a dragon in there with lots of treasure and forget it! Hooked. Done.
J- I loved Wuthering Heights. I was on a mission to
read as many classics as possible and I was surprised how many of them were
awesome. I loved the dark drama and the gothic elements of it, and their
twisted, wildly passionate romance spoke directly to my teenage heart.
2. Do you
have a book (or books) that you reread regularly? If yes, what book or film and
why?
K- To this day,
I read and reread The Lord of the Rings
series… starting, of course… with The Hobbit.
(Surprise :) I also love the films and have great respect for their director,
Peter Jackson, who must be a super fan like me. I read them to get lost in a
world completely unlike my own, to go to a place where people fight for what is
right, no matter the cost, where friendship- like Sam and Frodo’s- is valued
above all else, where the good guys win. It’s like imagination helium. It fills
me up and makes me itch to write.
J- Hmmm… I don’t
re-read anything on a regular basis, but I do revisit my keeper shelves for fun
throughout the year. I like to grab Sir
Gawain and the Green Knight at Christmas time (yes, for me, that’s holiday
reading) and something like Fall of the
House of Usher during Halloween (Edgar Allan Poe does spooky like nobody’s
business). I am going back soon to read Libba Bray’s Gemma Doyle trilogy
though, because I adored it.
3. What YA
novel or novels have you read recently that you most want all your friends to
read?
K- I actually
read a book or two a week, so it’s hard to narrow down… but the book I’ve read
this past year that is my number one recommendation is The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. I’m such a fan of his from Looking for Alaska and honestly didn’t
think he could top it. But- WOW- he more than topped it. I wish everyone would
read John Green. If they could pick only one, I recommend TFIOS because it is a
breathtakingly raw and honest love story that breaks your heart without manipulating
the reader. It’s sad, but it’s full of such beautiful truths about life and
people. I defy anyone to read it and not feel changed for the better.
J- I want
everyone to read Before I Fall. I was
late finding Lauren Oliver- Karen helped me spot that oversight on my
bookshelves!- but I thought that book was brilliant.
4. What
made you want to write teen fiction? Is there any link to the stories you read
growing up?
K-I’ve wanted to
write teen fiction since reading a little book called Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume. Although I
adored fantasy fiction like The Lord of
the Rings series, it wasn’t until I read a contemporary, coming-of-age
story about a girl I could relate to that made me think that even I had
something to say… something that might speak to someone else. Up to that point,
I’d thought writers needed to create incredible adventures in mind-bending
worlds. I hadn’t considered the power of everyday, realistic moments and the
effect they can have- namely, making us feel less alone as we figure out who we
are, the world, and our place in it. I knew then and there that I wanted to
write books like THAT.
J- The stories I
read growing up made me a dedicated reader. And that, eventually, made me a
dedicated writer. I loved reading so much I wanted to study books in school and
college (I got a Masters in English Lit). Then, I wanted to share my love of
books, so I taught them to other college students. Then, I wrote scholarly
articles about the books I loved and had them published. But that still wasn’t
enough! It seemed the only way I could crawl into a book deeply enough was to
write my own and experience the story from inside-out. Stories fascinate me and
I will forever be amazed at how words on a page can completely transport us to
another time, place and experience. Good storytelling is nothing short of
magical.
5. Tell us
about CAMP BOYFRIEND. Where did the inspiration for this story come from?
K- The
inspiration for CAMP BOYFRIEND came while Joanne and I were having lunch to
reward ourselves after a hard day of shopping (ahem). I was feeling let down
that a solo YA novel I’d written had been rejected for say- I don’t know- the
50th time… (that could be a gross underestimation, btw) and Joanne
said not to give up. Her encouragement meant the world to me considering she is
a published author I greatly admire... If she had faith in me, I thought I
should too. Then she mentioned that it’d be fun to write a YA together- the
ultimate vote of confidence. Our lunch turned into a lengthy discussion of
possible story lines and settings and characters. It was so much fun imagining
the possibilities and before long we had decided to tell a meaningful and
relatable love story set in an unforgettable place… camp. We both couldn’t wait
to dive into a story full of moments that make us laugh, break our hearts,
bring us joy, and help us grow.
J- Oh! I love
Karen’s version of this story J. My memory of this day is that I
was lucky enough to capture the brilliance that is Karen Rock and convince her
to work with me! She’s so creative and energetic that it makes me feel creative and energetic to be
around her. When we agreed it would be fun to work together, it was just a
matter of time before we found the right story to tell.
6. In your
younger days (you know, last week) did you attend camp? And did either of you
have a 'camp boyfriend'? Or did you wistfully watch your friends go off while
you spent the summer wishing you anywhere but home?
K- I attended
Camp Hochelaga in Vermont. It was (and still is) the last all girl summer camp
in the country… a fact I bitterly complained about to my parents… ungrateful
brat that I was (yes- I’ll own that- lol). Maybe that’s why I wanted a romance
set at camp? Hmmmmm…. Something to consider since I never had one unless you
count the annual “mixer” dance we had with the boys at a nearby YMCA camp. I
remember slow dancing with a boy- (please don’t ask me his name!) who vowed to
find me after summer ended. Imagine how shocked I was- and my parents- when he
rode his bike from Vermont to my New York home at the end of August. We went to
a county fair and held hands during a smash up derby. Very romantic! The noise
made our ‘date’ easy since neither of us had to talk… phew. The fried dough was
sweet and so was my first kiss under the willow tree in front of my house.
J- I attended
Girl Scout camp one year, and then two summers at a private camp in the Adirondacks
of upstate New York. I loved both of them. And yes, there were camp boyfriends!
That was half the fun J. Seriously, I threw myself into
the whole camp experience from canoeing to archery, and when the boys showed up
at the camp dance, I definitely said yes to a turn on the floor. For me, camp was a no-pressure place to just
have fun.
7. As
co-authors, what was your writing process like? Did you switch off chapter by
chapter? Or were there scenes you each called dibs on?
K- I would say
we do a bit of both. We map out our novels and trade off chapters. However, we
consider each others’ strengths. If something is better suited to the other or
one of us feels strongly about a particular scene, we divide it up that way as
well. Joanne is brilliant at so many things, but she’s especially good at
endings. I bow to her genius there and am always happy to hand the book over to
her near the end and know that when I read the last chapter, I’d better have a
tissue box handy.
J-I agree on
everything but the genius part!! And Karen doesn’t know it yet, but she’s
totally writing the next ender. I can’t wait to see what she does because it’s
sure to be awesome. It’s really fun to work with a partner because you know
that person is there, looking out for you and making sure you don’t fall flat
on your face. There’s always someone looking over your shoulder and taking your
work to the next level.
8. We have
a lot of aspiring authors here in the Honestly YA realm. Can you share with
them a little about your journey to publication?
K- For me, it
began when Joanne encouraged me to write a few years ago. I’d had short stories
and plays published but never felt strong enough as a writer to complete a full
novel. My first attempt was a hot mess. I had three strong opening chapters,
but no real plan. That’s when I realized that I need to know where a story is
going before I write it. Also, I learned to take my writing off of permanent
skip, What I mean is that it’s important for the sake of the story to keep going
forward, even if what you’ve written isn’t perfect. It’s important to trust
yourself to go back at the end and polish your first draft. Completing a novel
is one of the greatest gifts a beginning writer can give him or herself. There
is a sense of accomplishment that even a rejection can take away. This
confidence helped me to finish my second novel and then to write the CAMP
BOYFRIEND series with Joanne.
J-I wrote adult
romance first and the road to publication was LONG and involved many failed
manuscripts before I put together the story that became my first sale. It was a
painful process, but those early attempts taught me so much. Besides, who rides
a bike on their first try? Rejection is just part of growing as a writer. The
journey to writing a YA novel was a little easier because I was working with an
agent by then and she happened to have attended summer camp. She was on-board
with CAMP BOYFRIEND from inception.
9. You
ladies have appeared at BEA and ALA to introduce this book to, well, the world.
What's that been like for you?
K- BEA was our
debut conference and our first signing as a writing team. It was exhilarating
and terrifying at the same time. The Javitz Center is HUGE and the number of
readers, writers, agents, publishers, marketers, bloggers and reviewers was
amazing. I spent much of it in awe of the amount of talent gathered in one
spot. I literally walked by Jim Carrey signing books. Crazy. But we were so
excited to have such a great turnout for our CAMP KISS signing and passing out
bookmarks with friendship bracelets. Our signing at ALA went even better in
that we ran out of books before our allotted time was up! I had so much fun
talking to librarians and fellow educators about the unit plans we’d made for
the book and getting to meet writers I admire greatly like Simone Elkeles and
Jennifer Armentrout. The best part about both conferences is that I was
surrounded by people who love books and reading as much as I do!
J- The
conferences have been fantastic for meeting readers, bloggers, librarians and
fellow authors—all people who are *so* important to us. It’s exciting to meet a
reader that you know on Twitter and to make that face-to-face connection (or
tackle hug). My most exciting moment happened at ALA when we were passing
around bookmarks and a blogger I’d never met said “I’ve heard of that book!”
and she seemed genuinely excited. Wow! That comment made my day.
10. Tell
us: What's next for the two of you?
K- We’re currently finishing the last book in our
series, CAMP FORGET-ME-NOT and can’t wait for our April 2014 release of CAMP
PAYBACK.
J- We also have some novellas in the works,
including CAMP CHRISTMAS, which will be available in December for free
download.
Thanks a million, ladies, for spending this time with us and for such engaging answers.
Thank you so much, Jennifer, for giving us a chance
to hang out with your readers today!
ENTER TO WIN A COPY OF CAMP BOYFRIEND! Leave a comment below and share with us one of your favorite camp memories (or summer vacation memories). The usual RULES apply. Contest will run from 9 am EDT July 3, 2013 until midnight July 9, 2013.
CAMP BOYFRIEND IS ON SALE NOW! Grab a copy from your local bookseller or
Keep up with Joanne and Karen!