So yeah she's incredible, but what makes her a full-blown rockstar? I talk about her and want to share her books with everybody! Which is exactly what makes rockstars, rockstars. I gush about her to everyone who will listen, I push her books on people who are looking for books. I swoon with my friends over Officer After, who is still definitely in my top 10 book boyfriends ever.
She really does bring me together with people. The fabulous Jenn, from YA Book Twins, and I bonded over a love for Jennifer Echols and we became pretty good friends because of it. In fact, last year she got to meet Jennifer and I was completely with jealous until I found out she got this gem for me:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPzxMbbS4Bc&feature=player_embedded#at=11
I watched that SO many times (and probably frightened my new roommates a little bit). Seriously, if that doesn't make Jennifer a rockstar, I don't know what does.
Jennifer Echols is a rockstar!
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In the Best Worlds: Since you write books for teens, what were you like as a teenager?
Jennifer Echols: I was obedient and ambitious, the perfect valedictorian. However, I have a problem with authority that I inherited from my dad, so I spent a good portion of my senior year in the principal’s office for talking back to teachers. If you’ve read Going Too Far, I acted like Tiffany but felt like Meg.ItBW: You write the best book boys. Who has been your favorite to write and why?
JE: Wow, thank you! My favorite is always the one I’m writing at the moment. But I do have a soft spot this morning for Adam from The Boys Next Door and Endless Summer, because I got another letter from a reader asking me to write more books in the series. I can’t because my publisher says no. But this reader also says those books got her interested in reading, and that’s enormously gratifying. I think sometimes a writer hits on a character and a relationship that really resonates with people, and this is mine.ItBW: Same goes for heroines. They're always interesting and easy to relate to. Which of your heroines do you think is most like you?
JE: That’s easy—again, Lori from The Boys Next Door and Endless Summer. I pretty much wrote myself into those books. So when you go on Amazon write a review saying “Lori is such a dork,” I’m thinking “Thanks a LOT” and “Yes, I know.”ItBW: What has been your favorite moment in your writing career so far?
JE: Going Too Far was a finalist in the YA category of the RITA, the highest award for a romance novel, given by Romance Writers of America.ItBW: You recently released a New Adult novel (so awesome)! What was different about writing in that age range, as opposed to your YA and adult novels?
JE: It’s such a fun age. You still have a lot of the worries you had when you were YA age, and few of the responsibilities of entrenched adults with marriages and kids and mortgages and huge pressures at work, but you are legally an adult and you can get into adult-sized trouble. I really tried to capture that magic in Levitating Las Vegas.ItBW: What book that has already been written/published do you wish you had written?
JE: Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist: hilarious and sexy. As I was reading it, I was thinking, “How did this get published? It’s too good!”ItBW: Since this is the Authors are Rockstars tour, what author is your rockstar?
JE: Jennifer Crusie, author of adult romantic comedies including my all-time favorite romance, Tell Me Lies.ItBW: Finish these sentences:
My number one guilty pleasure is...Music for my iPod. I run long distance--but not easily--and new music helps get me through it. When I called Apple for help with my computer recently, the operator said he saw I was a terrific iTunes customer, and I think that boosted me into a higher echelon of service. Translation: "Jeez, girl, you download a LOT."
ItBW: Finish these sentences:
My number one guilty pleasure is...Music for my iPod. I run long distance--but not easily--and new music helps get me through it. When I called Apple for help with my computer recently, the operator said he saw I was a terrific iTunes customer, and I think that boosted me into a higher echelon of service. Translation: "Jeez, girl, you download a LOT."
The most important quality a guy should have is...A great sense of humor, and an understanding of when to turn it off.
We could be best friends if...You were funny. If you're not funny, I don't understand you.
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About Jennifer Echols: Jennifer Echols was born in Atlanta and grew up in a small town on a beautiful lake in Alabama—a setting that has inspired many of her books. She has written nine romantic novels for young adults, including the comedy MAJOR CRUSH, which won the National Readers’ Choice Award, and the drama GOING TOO FAR, which was a finalist in the RITA, the National Readers’ Choice Award, and the Book Buyer’s Best, and was nominated by the American Library Association as a Best Book for Young Adults. Simon & Schuster will debut her adult romance novels in 2013, with many more teen novels scheduled for the next few years. She lives in Birmingham with her husband and her son.
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Giveaway:I have an incredible giveaway for you! Five lucky winners will receive one of Jennifer Echols books, pictured below. Giveaway is U.S. only.
