I'm super excited today to be a part of the promotional tour for Janet Gurtler's newest contemporary young adult novel, Who I Kissed. Janet is stopping by to give us a little extra inside information on this story by digging around in protagonist Sam's head and plucking out a few choice tidbits to share with all of us, while also providing a few details on exactly how she's able to get into the minds of her characters. I hope you guys enjoy her insight as much as I did!
AUTHOR BODY SWAPPING
"Sam, Sam, Sam. What are we going to do with you?”
If
you can’t tell, I’m using my mother voice. Also I’m talking to a
fictitious character. But we’ll ignore that part. When I write teen
characters I have to turn my mother voice off. (And embrace the crazy.)
Truth be known, I am able to remove my mother voice pretty easily and I
find it kind of natural to slip inside the head of a teenager.
I
had a tough time when I was a teenager. I had a lot of internal
struggles. I majored in insecurity and angst. And I remember many of
those feelings really well. Really, really well.
So,
getting inside the head of a teenager isn’t as hard for me as if should
be. Of course, my characters aren’t me. I give them different
challenges and different personality quirks. And then I have to try to
think the way they would think. I have to slip into their shoes.
Fortunately,
I enjoy imagining getting inside a character’s head. I like to go deep
inside and look at things people sometimes try to hide. From themselves
and from the world. I like to go there. To places that are
uncomfortable. Especially with the challenges of today’s world around
them.
Technology. Expectations. Social media.
I
took Samantha to some uncomfortable places in Who I Kissed. Imagine
feeling responsible for the death of someone else. How horrifying would
that be? How would you possibly get over it? Especially when you’re
dealing with your own issues. Sam had some things to overcome even
before the accident, but the accident brought them to the surface with a
rush. Ultimately, Sam has to learn to let other people in. And that’s
not always an easy thing to do. To me she’s a fully formed person with
a history and built in likes and dislikes. So let’s take a deeper look
at Sam. Let me slide back into her skin for a moment and tell you some
of her secrets.
Favorite Book - The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie.
Favorite Song - "Tonight Tonight" by Hot Chelle Rae
Favorite Movie - The Avengers
Favorite
Food - Jelly Bellies of course! But as far as real food goes, she likes
Mexican. Bean burritos. Even though they give her gas. She probably
wouldn’t eat them on a date.
First serious crush. Zee. First heartache. Zee. Best kiss ever. Zee.
Celebrity Crush - Corbin Bleu. She is waiting for his acting career to extend beyond High School Musical.
Personal Hero - Missy Franklin
Secret
Talent - Sam loves to dance. She practices in her room with her iPod. At
some point, she’s going to try to convince her swim team to record a
dance dare (dancing behind people without them knowing) for the Ellen
show. She knows every dance step to "Party Rockin" by LMFAO.
Most
Embarrassing Moment - When her bathing suit split down the butt at a
swim meet and she had to finish her race, which was thankfully
backstroke.
Thanks for telling us a little bit more about Sam Janet! More information on Janet and her books can be found here:
Interested in meeting Janet? Well, she's going on tour with fellow authors made of win Miranda Kenneally and Lisa and Laura Roecker, so be sure and check out the full schedule HERE to see if the Get Real: Contemps on Tour is coming to a city near you starting November 1st!
WHO I KISSED
She Never Thought A Kiss Could Kill. . .
Samantha is new at school and just recently joined the swim team. She’s been flirting with one of her teammates, Zee, who invites her to a party and just as quickly dumps her for another girl. Hurt, but pretending not to care, she turns to his best friend, Alex, and gives him a kiss. And he dies—right in her arms. Alex was allergic to peanuts, and Samantha had eaten a peanut butter sandwich right before the party. She didn’t know. Overnight, Samantha turns into the school pariah and a media sensation explodes. Consumed with guilt, abandoned by her friends, and in jeopardy of losing her swimming scholarship, she will have to find the inner-strength to forgive herself for the tragedy. Critics are already applauding the author’s insight and her ability to make her “character breathe with life” (Kirkus Reviews). Skillfully capturing the raw, honest emotions of her teen protagonists, Janet paints them into a searing portrait of a tragedy that uproots the lives of everyone it touches.
Samantha is new at school and just recently joined the swim team. She’s been flirting with one of her teammates, Zee, who invites her to a party and just as quickly dumps her for another girl. Hurt, but pretending not to care, she turns to his best friend, Alex, and gives him a kiss. And he dies—right in her arms. Alex was allergic to peanuts, and Samantha had eaten a peanut butter sandwich right before the party. She didn’t know. Overnight, Samantha turns into the school pariah and a media sensation explodes. Consumed with guilt, abandoned by her friends, and in jeopardy of losing her swimming scholarship, she will have to find the inner-strength to forgive herself for the tragedy. Critics are already applauding the author’s insight and her ability to make her “character breathe with life” (Kirkus Reviews). Skillfully capturing the raw, honest emotions of her teen protagonists, Janet paints them into a searing portrait of a tragedy that uproots the lives of everyone it touches.
GIVEAWAY
Thanks to the fabulous team at Sourcebooks, I have one copy of Who I Kissed up for grabs on the blog today! To enter, please leave a comment with your answer to one of the items in bold in the guest post (favorite book, favorite song, favorite movie, etc.) and be sure to leave a valid email address so I can contact you if you win. This giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents only and will run through midnight on Friday, November 2nd after which time a winner will be chosen and emailed. Good luck and have a great weekend everyone!
