Friday, March 29, 2013

Interview: Miranda Kenneally +Things I Can't Forget


Today I'm thrilled to welcome young adult author Miranda Kenneally to the blog to answer a few questions about her newest release, Things I Can't Forget. I have absolutely adored all the books in this fabulous contemporary series, and I highly recommend it to any reader who loves very character-driven stories. Thanks so much for stopping by Miranda!

This series focuses on a variety of different sports including football, softball and horse racing. What's one sport you'd love to work into a future novel just so you can learn more about it?

Curling. Pushing a big piece of steaming metal across the ice with a broom sounds fun! For real though - I would probably want to write about lacrosse, because I have no idea what goes on in that sport. I never even knew it existed until I moved to DC when I was 18.

If you were to sit down with Kate for a promotional interview, what's the first thing you'd ask her? What might she ask you?

If we're talking Kate at the beginning of THINGS I CAN'T FORGET:

I'd ask Kate why she didn't get the guts to ask out Will Whitfield until senior prom, when it was too late for her. Kate would ask me why I haven't been to church in 12 years!

If we're talking the end of the book:

I'd ask Kate if she's going to try out for intramural soccer in college, now that she can run well again. Kate would probably invite me to come back to church with her. And I would consider it, because she asked.

Let's say in a few months you're going to be a counselor at Cumberland Creek summer camp along with Kate. What camp activities have you most and least excited?

Most excited - Swimming, hiking, singing, and making smores.

Least excited - Cooking over a campfire. It's hard to build a fire with wet logs! Also, I am terrified of spiders, so I would not look forward to using a bathhouse where spiders may have nested.

If you could spend five minutes with pre-Catching Jordan Miranda, what would you most like to tell her about the journey she's about to embark on?

I'd tell her not to spend so much time obsessing over whether or not her books are going to fail and to just keep writing the best books she can, because if the books are good, they will sell. I'd also say don't put too much stock in one bad review, but look at the individual lives you influence. If you help just one reader, it's all been worth it.

What's one thing you learned about Kate while writing Things I Can't Forget that you didn't know about her from just your outline or notes?

So many things. I didn't know she was a soccer player in high school. I also didn't know she was a daddy's girl. And I didn't know she liked green beans so much!

• • • • • • • • • • 

MIRANDA KENNEALLY


Miranda Kenneally is the author of CATCHING JORDAN, STEALING PARKER, THINGS I CAN'T FORGET (March 2013), and RACING SAVANNAH (December 2013). Miranda is the co-creator of Dear Teen Me. The Dear Teen Me Anthology was published on October 31, 2012. She enjoys reading and writing young adult literature, and loves Star Trek, music, sports, Mexican food, Twitter, coffee, and her husband. Miranda is represented by Sara Megibow at Nelson Literary Agency.


• • • • • • • • • • 

THINGS I CAN'T FORGET

Some Rules Were Meant To Be Broken.

Kate Kelly has always been labeled the good girl. Too good, according to some people at school—although they have no idea the guilty secret she carries. Kate turned her back on everything she’s been taught to help her best friend Emily, who accidentally got pregnant. And the guilt over her decision is weighing on her. This summer, she’s a counselor at Cumberland Creek summer camp, and she wants to put the past behind her. Unexpectedly, she runs into Matt – the first guy she ever kissed, and he’s gone from a geeky songwriter who loved The Hardy Boys to a buff lifeguard who loves to flirt – with her. He’s inspiring feelings in her that make her question everything she’s been taught about the world – and help her understand what Emily experienced. Kate used to think the world was black and white, right and wrong. Turns out, life isn’t that easy.

28 comments:

  1. The green beans thing was a little strange. The camp must have some incredible recipe. I think curling would be fun. But as for ice and brooms, I used to like broomball in college.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think I would fail at curling, but it would be so much fun:)

      Delete
  2. I don't like reading about sports much. I'd rather watch them. Never knew there was a sport called curling though!

    And I love how Kate would answer with church =))

    Thanks for sharing, Jenny :D Nice post.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Typically I would say the same Gellie, but I loved the sports angle with these books. It was subtle enough that I didn't feel at a loss not being a huge fan in general.

      Delete
  3. I still haven't read any of Miranda Kenneally's books but I've seen them around. I hope I'll read them soon. Also curling is cool. I used to watch it I think during Winter Olympics or something. :) Great interview Jenny :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope you read them soon too Tanja! They are excellent:)

      Delete
  4. The cover is so cute :D I'd love to read it just cos of that

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hah, while both curling and lacrosse sound very intrigung, I'm a handball kinda gall so I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for a handball-related book in the future. I wholeheartedly agree that a single bad review (or several) shouldn't be nearly as important as helping just one reader.
    I recently won Jordan and Parker, and I'll be reading at least one very soon.
    Thank you for the lovely interview. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't even know what handball is Maja! You'll need to explain it to me:) And congrats on your win, I hope you love Catching Jordan as much as I did!

      Delete
  6. Lacrosse and curling would be interesting sports to read about! Wonderful questions Jenny! Love about how you asked about summer activities! Making somores would be the best part.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Now that we're all talking about s'mores I really want them. I don't care that it's 9:45am:)

      Delete
  7. The camp sounds like the most fun -- I only went to camp once but I really enjoyed it! I think I'd like it even more as an adult, though it'd have to be an adult-type camp completely with a comfortable bed and frosty adult beverages.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I only went to camp once too, mostly because it made it blatantly obvious that an extended outdoor girl I was not. Give me a nice hotel room and the occasional hike, and I'm golden:)

      Delete
  8. Lovely interview and Rugby would be a wonderful sport for a male character to play. I went to camp every summer for two weeks till the 5th grade. It was fun, and I got my first kiss.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Lovely review, Jenny! I'm on the fence about continuing with this author's work since I loved Catching Jordan, but Stealing Parker didn't work out very well for me at all. Still, I'm curious enough to possibly pick up Things I Can't Forget if I find some spare time. :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Its like you read my thoughts! You appear to know so much about this, like you wrote the
    e book in it or something. I believe that you simply can do with a few
    % to drive the message home a little bit, however other than that, that is fantastic blog. A fantastic read. I will certainly be back.

    Here is my web-site ... www.rolexoutletfreeshipping.com

    ReplyDelete
  11. I loved this book. It is her best one yet. Kate is definitely an interesting girl to get to know. I really liked her once I got past the church part. Oh lacrosse that would be a good one, I don't know anything about it either. Thanks so much for sharing. I think Miranda is fabulous! Have a wonderful weekend, Jenny!

    ReplyDelete
  12. "Things I Can't Forget" is Miranda's most complex book yet. It was amazing watching Kate grow in front of your eyes. I know she rubbed people off the wrong way immediately, there was a part of me that understood her. I'm thrilled that there's a book that shows it's okay to critically analyze for yourself and not just blindly follow what you've been taught. Lovely interview, Jenny!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Sounds cute. Although I agree with cooking over a campfire... but then again, I don't like cooking period. LOL

    Great interview! Happy weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I agree with Heidi, this book was my favorite so far. I love that Miranda divided Kate's answer between beginning of the book Kate and end Kate; they're totally different! Lovely interview, thanks for sharing! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  15. I love these books! Great questions, Jenny. Keep writing sport romances, Miranda!

    ReplyDelete
  16. I'm surprised she put curling out there, lol :D Haha. This is a sport I have never understood and it's something I'd have never thought someone would mention even if for just pure fun. My sister watches it every time the Olympic games are on and she doesn't even know why she does that. Ugh, and I'm such a coward when it comes to bugs. I hate 'em! HATE, HATE, HATE. My vocal chords always suffer when I see a spider somewhere. I know they're probably more afraid of me, but hey - they're creepy as hell! ;-) I have yet to read a book by Miranda due to that religious theme, but I've heard more than a lot lately that they aren't soooo heavy on religion so I'd love to try them soon:-)

    ReplyDelete
  17. The fact that I had to look up both lacrosse and curling tells you how not into sports I am. ;) I can definitely read about them in books, though that's as close as I'll ever get! Great interview, ladies. :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. I kind of know the gist of lacrosse but I don't understand curling at all! And, it's a pretty popular sport in Canada! If Miranda can make curling as interesting as she made football in Catching Jordan, I'll be reading that book for sure.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Great interview Jenny! I just read this book myself and really liked it. I'm excited to read her next novel!

    ReplyDelete
  20. I'm REALLY looking forward to reading this one! And that was a fantastic interview! I'm very curious about this Kate character. :)

    ReplyDelete
  21. Wonderful interview. I have this for review also and now I am really looking forward to starting it.

    ReplyDelete