Interview with Jennifer Mathieu, Author of THE TRUTH ABOUT ALICE

Hi everyone! Today Jennifer Mathieu graciously answers some questions about her debut novel, The Truth About Alice, and her writing experience. Keep reading to know what inspired Jennifer to write TTAL, the characters she created, and the most moving feedback she's received since her book came out on June 3rd! 

What influenced you to write such a sensitive story?

I wanted to write a story set in a small town, and I wanted to use multiple points of view. I also wanted to focus on being an outsider in a small town, and I know that one way our culture makes girls feel like they don't belong is by judging their bodies or sexual behavior. One of the biggest influences for the story came from a Seventeen magazine article I read back in the early 90s when I was in high school. It was about a high school girl who was the victim of horrible graffiti about her in one of the bathroom stalls of her high school. The school refused to clean the stall, and she eventually sued the school. I remember thinking how isolated and embarrassed she must have felt. It broke my heart and years later became a seed for The Truth About Alice.

Describe Alice, Brandon, Josh, Elaine, Kelsie, Kurt in one word each.

Great question! 
Alice - Survivor 
Brandon - Entitled 
Josh - Repressed 
Elaine - Queen 
Kelsie - Damaged 
Kurt - Compassionate

What’s more important: characters or plot?

I think both are critical to a good story, but I enjoy character-driven stories. I have a much easier time with characters than plot. I always dream up the people first and then start deciding what I want to do with them. I'm in awe of writers who have an easy time with plot ideas and can weave stories together so quickly. For me, characters come alive in my head and I start thinking of them as real people sometimes!

Is anything in your book based on real life experiences or purely all imagination? 

With the exception of the Seventeen article - which was inspiration more than anything - this was all purely out of my imagination. None of the characters are based on real people. However, my own memories of high school and my observations as a high school teacher have helped me (I hope!) create realistic teenage dialogue and characters who seem like they could be found in any high school.

Have you ever had a writer's block?

Oh my, YES! It happens all the time. Sometimes if it happens I just fool around with a sentence or two or try to write one small scene that will get me out of it. I don't worry too much about writer's block. I've been writing for so long now that I know it's not a permanent condition! My biggest advice to anyone experiencing writer's block is to write down SOMETHING, even if it's just a list of favorite words. Something to stimulate the mind and get the fingers moving on the keyboard. Eventually it will go away, I promise.

What is one book or series you wished you've written?

Well, I don't really wish I'd written them because I had such a wonderful experience reading them, but Rainbow Rowell's Eleanor&Park blew me away as did Ava Dellaira's Love Letters to the Dead. Both of those books inspired me as a writer for sure.

Hardest scene you have ever written.

Without giving too much away, there is a very critical scene at the end of The Truth About Alice involving Brandon and Josh that reveals some of the truth about what really happened. I think I rewrote that scene ten times or more. There was a lot I wanted to get across and a lot I wanted to get just right. There have been other scenes that have been very hard to write emotionally, but this scene was especially tricky - both in getting the tone right and describing the actions of the characters appropriately.

So far, what is the most motivating and touching feedback you've received from readers since The Truth About Alice came out?

I have received a lot of touching feedback, but I received one email from a student I taught several years ago who read the book. It was quite a long email in which she analyzed each of the characters and gave me her thoughts as a reader. I was touched on two levels - one, that she would get so into my book that she would want to think about the characters and the plot so much and two, that she thanked me for being an English teacher who really motivated her to love books and reading. So that was a two in one! :-) I teared up reading it!

Thank you so much for visiting Teen Readers' Diary, Jennifer! 

The Truth About Alice by Jennifer Mathieu

Hardcover: 199 pages
Publisher: Roaring Book Press

Release Date: June 3rd 2014

Blurb:

Everyone has a lot to say about Alice Franklin, and it’s stopped mattering whether it’s true. The rumors started at a party when Alice supposedly had sex with two guys in one night. When school starts everyone almost forgets about Alice until one of those guys, super-popular Brandon, dies in a car wreck that was allegedly all Alice’s fault. Now the only friend she has is a boy who may be the only other person who knows the truth, but is too afraid to admit it. Told from the perspectives of popular girl Elaine, football star Josh, former outcast Kelsie, and shy genius Kurt, we see how everyone has a motive to bring – and keep – Alice down.

You can purchase The Truth About Alice at the following Retailers:

    

  

Author Bio

I'm an English teacher, writer, wife, and mom who writes books for and about young adults. My debut novel, THE TRUTH ABOUT ALICE, will be out in the spring of 2014.

My favorite things include chocolate, pepperoni pizza, and this super hilarious 1980's sitcom about four retired women called The Golden Girls. I can basically quote every episode.

I live with my husband, son, one rescue dog, one fat cat, and another cat that is even fatter than the fat cat.

When it comes to what I read, I love realistic young adult fiction (duh), creative nonfiction, super scandalous tell-all memoirs and unauthorized biographies, and basically anything that hooks me on the first page.

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Interview with Michelle Krys, Author of HEXED + Giveaway (INT)

Today we're very excited to have Michelle Krys on the blog to answer questions about herself and her debut novel, Hexed, which came out on June 10th. Read on to learn what inspired Michelle to write Hexed, how she celebrated her first book deal, and more!

Dea: First of all, we would like to congratulate you on the release of your debut novel, Hexed! The cover screams “mysterious” but I have to admit it was the tagline and blurb that intrigued me the most; it sounds like a fun and action-packed read full of magic and adventure. How did the idea of writing Hexed come about? Did something/someone influence you to write about witches?

First of all—thank you!

I got the idea for Hexed from my sister, who is also a writer. One day she told me about an adult historical novel she wanted to write, which she’d planned to call The Witch Hunter’s Bible. I loved the title, and it immediately gave me all of these ideas for a YA novel about a missing witchcraft book. When my sister later decided to ditch the adult historical and write another book instead, I asked her if I could use the title for the novel I’d been planning. She agreed, and I got to work writing Hexed. (Obviously the title changed. Funnily enough, the one that had inspired the book wasn’t the best fit for the finished product. It still holds a place in my heart though!)

Mary Ann: How did you come up with the title "Hexed"?

Hexed is actually something my editor, Wendy Loggia, suggested. We circled other ideas, but this one kept coming back, so we went with it.

Riz: Can you tell us about your protagonist, Indie, and the very intriguing and sexy stranger, Bishop? 

Indie’s a popular, snarky cheerleader with a football star boyfriend who belongs to a social circle that rules her high school. Her mom is a bit quirky—something that her best friend Bianca doesn’t hesitate to tease her about—but overall, it’s pretty smooth sailing for Indie. But all of that changes when Bishop comes into her life.

What can I say about Bishop? He’s snarky, sexy, has a penchant for leather, has plenty of tattoos, and gets on Indie’s last nerve. Until he doesn’t anymore.

Mary Ann: Is there anything particularly challenging while writing the book? 

Without giving too much away, there are a few chapters in the book where Indie has to deal with grief and loss, and it was a challenge to write those scenes without it feeling like it wasn’t the same lighthearted romp anymore.

Riz: We never pass up an opportunity to read a good paranormal story, but what makes Hexed different from other books in the Paranormal/Fantasy genre?

Hexed doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s fun and kind of campy and I’m told it’s funny.

Mary Ann: Did you learn anything while writing your book and what was it?

Every book teaches me something new. What I learned with Hexed is that a character can be as unlikeable as you want, but they need to be relatable. The reader needs to have some reason to want to root for a character or see some growth from them to really connect.

Dea: Because this is your debut novel, I’m very curious; how did you celebrate your first book deal?

I hadn’t really thought about celebrating the book deal, but my family was having none of that. I was in my pajamas cleaning dog poop in my backyard when they all showed up for a surprise party, wherein they gifted me with a laptop. It was great! (A shame about the pajamas though).

Riz: Books into movies/TV Series has been a hype lately, have you thought of who would be on your dream cast? Are there any specific people you've based your characters from?

I have thought about it! I mean, who hasn’t dreamt about their book being made into a movie?

He’s not an actor per se (he had a recurring role on the reality series Audrina—don’t judge) but Kyle Loza would be a great Bishop, and actually, he’s who inspired the character.

And I don’t know if she’s funny, which is a must, but Gabriella Wilde looks just like the Indie I see in my head.

Dea: Using my stalking abilities, I learned that you have an upcoming book (besides Hexed #2) to be published in 2016 entitled Dead Girls Society. Can you share a little bit about it? Perhaps describe it in a sentence?

It’s about a teenager who escapes her overbearing, helicopter parents by joining a high-stakes dare club, only she discovers more than just thrills: girls are going missing, and she could be next. I would say it’s “The Skulls meets Pretty Little Liars.”

5 totally random things about yourself:

•  I have an identical twin sister.

•  I’m a huge celebrity gossip junkie.

•  I got married in Africa. Tanzania, to be more specific.

•  I also work as a nurse in a neonatal intensive care unit

•  I hate birds. A lot.

Thank you so much for visiting Teen Readers' Diary, Michelle! It was a pleasure getting to know more about you and Hexed!

Hexed by Michelle Krys

Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Delacorte Press

Release Date: June 1oth 2014

Blurb:

It’s Bring it On meets The Craft in this spellbinding witchy series debut.

If high school is all about social status, Indigo Blackwood has it made. Sure, her quirky mom owns an occult shop, and a nerd just won’t stop trying to be her friend, but Indie is a popular cheerleader with a football-star boyfriend and a social circle powerful enough to ruin everyone at school. Who wouldn’t want to be her?

Then a guy dies right before her eyes. And the dusty old family Bible her mom is freakishly possessive of is stolen. But it’s when a frustratingly sexy stranger named Bishop enters Indie’s world that she learns her destiny involves a lot more than pom-poms and parties. If she doesn’t get the Bible back, every witch on the planet will die. And that’s seriously bad news for Indie, because according to Bishop, she’s a witch too.

Suddenly forced into a centuries-old war between witches and sorcerers, Indie’s about to uncover the many dark truths about her life—and a future unlike any she ever imagined on top of the cheer pyramid.

You can purchase Hexed at the following Retailers:

    

  

Author Bio

Michelle Krys lives with her husband and son in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. She works part-time as a NICU nurse and spends her free time writing books for teens. Michelle is probably not a witch, though she did belong to a witchcraft club in the fifth grade and "levitated" people in her bedroom, so that may be up for debate. Hexed is her first novel. Visit her at michellekrys.com or follow @MichelleKrys on Twitter.

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