Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Tonight The Streets Are Ours: Interviews + Giveaway


I'm super excited today to be a part of the promotional tour for Tonight the Streets Are Ours, the latest release from Leila Sales. This blog tour (as is the case with all of Macmillan's fantastic tours!) is fun and different, and instead of the participating bloggers simply interviewing Leila, she's interviewing all of us as well. Woo hoo! You'll find my interview below Leila's, and be sure and check the bottom of the post for all the details on a giveaway as well as the full list of participating blogs. Welcome Leila!


LEILA'S INTERVIEW

If you were to create a personal blog that included thoughts, musings and a few small details about your life as Peter’s does, what would the name of that blog be?

I might call it “Tonight the Streets Are Ours”—obviously I like that name, or I wouldn’t have chosen it for Peter’s blog! Or I’d call mine “Pretty to Think,” which is from the last line of The Sun Also Rises.

If you only had a single night to spend in NYC, what’s the one thing you’d make sure you to visit/experience?

That is a hard question! There are so many things in NYC that I love to do. Let’s see… I would definitely want to get ice cream at Ample Hills. If there were an outdoor concert for a band I even remotely liked, I’d go to that. I’d go out dancing somewhere. And if there were a good warehouse party going on, like the Jigsaw Manor party that Arden goes to in the book, I’d want to hit up that. And then I would sleep the entire next day.

What one word would Arden use to describe Peter before she met him? After?

Beforehand, something like “charming” or “wounded.” After? Still charming and woinded, but maybe “lonely.”

If tomorrow you woke up and decided to take a road trip, what are the top three cities you’d make a point to swing through? Why?

L.A. and San Francisco, because I have a lot of friends in both cities whom I’d love to visit, and you get to drive along the Pacific Coast to get from one to the other, which is beautiful. And then maybe Seattle, because I’ve never been there and I think a truly great trip should always involve something new.

Road trips aren’t road trips without an epic playlist to accompany them. What’s the first song on Arden’s Find Peter In NYC Road Trip Playlist?

“Let’s Get Out of This Country,” by Camera Obscura. It’s a lovely song about just leaving behind whatever you came from and heading out into the world unknown.

MY INTERVIEW

TONIGHT THE STREETS ARE OURS is not only the title of my novel; it's also the name of Peter's blog in the book. He got it from a Richard Hawley song. How did you choose the name for your blog?

I’ve always gravitated toward paranormal books over any other genre, so the "supernatural" part of my blog title was a pretty easy pick. I also really like alliteration (nerd, party of one!) so I knew I wanted another “s” word to accompany “supernatural”, and since my sense of humor veers into sarcastic territory, I went with “snark”.

What's one piece of advice you'd give to someone thinking of starting their own blog?

Get a Post-It note, write the words HAVE FUN on it in all caps and stick it to your computer screen so every time you go to blog you see it. It seems like an obvious piece of advice, but I see bloggers time and again get overwhelmed by review schedules and statistics, and eventually the entire reason we all started blogging gets buried underneath the pressure of consistency. Having that visual reminder helps me refocus when I start to get lost in the day-to-day minutiae of running a blog.

What's one thing you wish all your readers knew?

About me? Yikes. I don’t have a good answer for this! I love chocolate. And fictional men. And reading about fictional men whilst eating chocolate. I feel like if you know that, you know me in a nutshell ;-)

What's the hardest part about being a blogger?

Keeping up with everything! Like I said above, trying to post 5-6 times a week, even if those posts aren’t all reviews, is a lot for me. I have it easier than most since I work from home and have some flexibility during the work day, but I still spend hours commenting and promoting the posts each day, in addition to actually reading and reviewing the books ;-) It’s more than worth it though, I’ve met such extraordinary people because of this blog!

In TONIGHT THE STREETS ARE OURS Peter purposefully keeps his blog a secret from his friends and family so he can write whatever he wants about them. What do your friends and family think about your blog? Do they read it and comment on it?

This blog has turned into a family hobby over the years, with my mom, mother-in-law and sister-in-law all contributing reviews on occasion. The three of them have also accompanied me to numerous bookish events, including BEA for the past 5 years. Their involvement has been amazing, and it makes me absurdly happy that we've all been able to share in this sometimes-overwhelming-but-always-awesome adventure together :-)

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions Leila, and for giving me the chance to answer some in return!

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TONIGHT THE STREETS ARE OURS


Seventeen-year-old Arden Huntley is recklessly loyal. Taking care of her loved ones is what gives Arden purpose in her life and makes her feel like she matters. But she's tired of being loyal to people who don't appreciate her—including her needy best friend and her absent mom.

Arden finds comfort in a blog she stumbles upon called "Tonight the Streets Are Ours," the musings of a young New York City writer named Peter. When Peter is dumped by the girlfriend he blogs about, Arden decides to take a road trip to see him.

During one crazy night out in NYC filled with parties, dancing, and music—the type of night when anything can happen, and nearly everything does—Arden discovers that Peter isn't exactly who she thought he was. And maybe she isn't exactly who she thought she was, either.

GoodreadsAmazonB&N 

• • • • • • • • • • • •

LEILA SALES


Leila Sales was born in 1984 and grew up outside of Boston, Massachusetts. She graduated from the University of Chicago with a degree in psychology in 2006. Now she lives in Brooklyn, New York, and works in the mostly glamorous world of children's book publishing. Leila spends most of her time thinking about sleeping, kittens, dance parties, and stories that she wants to write.


• • • • • • • • • • • • •

SEPTEMBER 19th CHALLENGE

On Saturday, September 19, starting at sundown and going as late as you want, do something fun, make a record of it, and share it with the world. Using the hashtag #TonightTheStreetsAreOurs, instagram or tweet whatever happens in your night. If you're going to a party, aimlessly driving around with friends, or watching a movie alone in your PJs, we want to hear about it.
 
Here's why: We're celebrating the launch of Leila Sales's novel TONIGHT THE STREETS ARE OURS, the story of a 17-year-old girl who goes on an epic all-night road trip to NYC with her best friend in pursuit of her favorite blogger. It's the sort of night where anything can happen, and almost everything does.

Now it's your turn. Whatever you're doing with your night, wherever you live, however old you are: you're invited. Leila will be livestreaming her own nighttime adventures so you can join her remotely HERE. Or just do your own thing and post it online. We are all in this together. #TonightTheStreetsAreOurs. 

• • • • • • • • • • •

GIVEAWAY

Thanks to the generosity of the Fierce Reads team, I have one copy of Tonight the Streets Are Ours to give away on the blog today! To enter, please fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Giveaway is open to US/Canada only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

September 1- Reader of Fictions
September 3- Ticket to Anywhere
September 4- Alexa Loves Books
September 5- The Book Cellar
September 6- The Irish Banana
September 8-Supernatural Snark
September 9- The Compulsive Reader
September 10- Miss Print
September 11- Book Rock Betty
September 12-Reading Teen
September 13- Ageless Pages Reviews
September 14-Perpetual Page Turner
September 15- Books and Whimsy
September 16- Fierce Reads (formerly known as Mac Teen Books!)

31 comments:

  1. Lol, anyone who spends just a bit of time on your blog, Jenny, knows how much you love fictional men ;)

    I think it's pretty cool that Leila asked you questions as well. Trying to keep up with writing reviews is something I consistently struggle with.

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    1. Heh. Are you saying I'm lacking in mystery Z? I do like to scream my love of fictional men from the rooftops... ;-)

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  2. Jenny! Reading about fictional men whilst eathing chocolate? We must be sisters separated at birth! I loved that you ladies interviewed each other. I was just reading reviews yesterday and thinking that I really need to finally read something of Leila's. I'm not much of a contemporary fan, but I make exceptions for truly wonderful authors. :)

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    1. YES MAJA!!!! There's nothing better than a handful of a chocolate and a swoon-worthy fictional hero:)

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  3. I need to find a post-it and do that :)

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  4. So true. New York is too exciting for words. Like a shock to your senses. Love getting to know a bit of you, too, Jenny. <3 I get your pains about blogging.

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    1. I've been struggling the past few months since work has picked up, so I've had to cut myself a break and drop down to 2 reviews a week:)

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  5. So much fun reading not just the author interview but also a blogger interview!
    I love that you have the entire family reviewing at the blog now (meeting your mum at BEA was so much fun, she's adorable!!)!

    And yeah, we ALL need a reminder about keeping blogging about having fun and about our love for reading... sometimes we forget about it and end up stressing up SO much!

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    1. THANK YOU PILI! I think my mom is pretty adorable too. I love having her at BEA with me:)

      And yes, I've succumbed to the pressure a number of times over the years and have to take a step back when that happens:)

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  6. We should create a group/club for the lot of us who love reading about fictional men while eating chocolate. :D

    Also, I had no idea your mother and sister-in-law have both contributed to the blog (I knew about your mother-in-law though!) That is so adorable and I love that it's become something all of you can do together and have fun with! :D

    Thanks for sharing both these awesome interviews with us, Jenny! :)

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    1. Let's do it Rashika! We can do a man of the month feature and pair them with a chocolate dessert....

      And yes, my mom has done a couple reviews and Tracy pops in now and again too which is really fun:)

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  7. Peter sounds like me when it comes to blog stuff! My family and friends don't know I blog either!
    I'm looking forward to reading this book! :)

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    1. I'm your friend Nick, and I know you blog ;-) Granted we haven't met in person, but that's irrelevant!

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  8. I love the dual interview idea! That was so fun! :D

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  9. Charming wounded and lonely. I definitely need to meet Peter!

    Great interview Jenny. I have been seeing this book everywhere and I have to admit, I'm super intrigued by it!

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  10. What fun reading bot interviews! And this book sounds so cute. I hope to fit it in my TBR this month!

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  11. If I could road trip anywhere, it would probably be NYC! I don't care if that's cliche, it's the city that never sleeps :)

    Thanks for the giveaway!
    -Rosie
    @rkgutmann
    literaryhedonist.com

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    1. You would definitely have plenty to do in NYC!

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  12. I would love to road trip to the East Coast even though it would be a long, long ways away from where I live; with the right people it would be awesome! :)

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  13. I feel your pain Heidi! There have been a couple days lately where I just didn't have time to get a post up, and that's the first time it's happened to me in the 5 years I've been doing this. *sigh* Oh well:) Hope the fun of blogging comes back to you soon!

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  14. I am SO EXCITED for this and love the advice on writing a post-it that says HAVE FUN on it--it really is too easy to forget why we started blogging something. And chocolate and fictional men? Basically my entire life. I should have named my blog that! *sigh* Love this interview, Jenny, so thanks for sharing! :)

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  15. All three of the top cities picked are west coast. Hell yeah. :) Haha, Jenny ... chocolate and fictional me! I feel like I know your soul now. The book sounds great!

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  16. I love “reading about fictional men whilst eating chocolate”, too. Lol. Wonderful interviews, Jenny! And I totally agree with your “HAVE FUN” advice to bloggers.

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  17. It would be Las Vegas. Lots of great shows there and also my oldest son and his wife live there. lol

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  18. I love, love, love Leila Sales and I can't WAIT to read this! Fantastic interview Jenny!

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