Meet Heather!

Hey guys, there’s going to be a slight change in schedule. The guest blog will be posted on Thursday instead of today and instead Heather will be on the blog today!

Now, please give Heather a warm welcome!

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Hi Heather, nice to have you today! Please tell us about yourself.

Have you ever attended any singing or acting or dancing lessons as a child?
I was desperately overscheduled as a kid. Started out with ballet, and moved into acting a little bit later. But the only thing I’ve really kept up with is my clarinet lessons, since third grade.

Would you call yourself a drama queen?
Drama definitely seems to know where it can find me! It’s not like I try to be a drama queen or anything. It’s just that I get passionate about things. And then they explode.

Have you ever considered being an actress as a career?
I’ve entertained fantasies about it, but I don’t think I could really go for it. There’s so much competition that you need to be a hundred percent serious, and lucky too. But maybe I could teach drama someday…

If you could play the lead role in one musical, what would it be?
When I saw a touring production of Wicked last year, I loved how it took the mean-girl thing and the rigamarole about popularity and turned it into something positive about love and loyalty and friendship. And speaking as a reforming mean girl, I’d have to play Glinda!

What is your favorite musical, and why?
I think that Rent will always have a special place in my heart because, when it came to Chicago a couple of years ago, I was still in an awkward place about being gay, and coming out to my parents. And my parents said I couldn’t go, but I went to see it anyway, and that night I felt a lot braver than I’d ever felt. I felt like I was going to be okay.

What was your reaction when you discovered that Cassie went cross-countrying on a bicycle?
I was glad that she was going to be out of my hair, because it was going to be really awkward talking to her again, and I didn’t know if she was even going to speak to me. But I was impressed, too. When I knew her in middle school she always seemed like somebody who had things together, somebody who could do something huge if she put her mind to it.

If you were to go on a road trip (not a bike trip) to anywhere in America, where would it be?
Savannah, Georgia. It’s so sultry and historical, it’s like something out of a romance novel. It’s the kind of place where you’d just want to go walking all night reading poetry out loud.

What are three things you’d bring along with you on the road trip?
A really epic novel on audiobook that me and all my traveling companions could agree on. Some of those itty bitty personal battery-operated fans. And bubbles, because it’s not a road trip unless you can hang out the window blowing bubbles.

Wow, time flies! Any thing you would like to add before we go?
Auditions for Our Post-Apocalyptic Town start next week! We have a bunch of zombies already, but if you want to be a mutant we can find a place for you!

Umm, no thanks Heather, I get stage fright! But if I can get front row tickets to your show it’d be great!

Interview with Cass

Hi Cass! Nice to have you on the blog today!

First off, could you describe yourself with three words?
Geeky. Sincere. Brave.

Julia and you planned to go on a road trip to California. Have you ever thought about which places you’d visit when you reached Cali? If yes, which three places would you visit?
We wanted to travel the old Route 66, which would have taken us into Los Angeles. I wanted to go up to Berkeley and San Francisco and over to Yosemite to see the redwoods, but we might not have ever had time for that. But we would have gone to see the Hollywood Walk of Fame and hung out on the beach, for sure.

I want to go to the Hollywood Walk of Fame too!

What are some songs on your iPod?
Okay, I know that I’m the very last person on earth to not have an iPod, but I don’t have an iPod. I don’t really have the cash to spare right now, and besides, I get everywhere on my bike. And I refuse to bike with headphones on. You can’t hear what’s going on around you and it’s absolutely suicidal. Having said all that, I’m listening to a lot of Led Zeppelin and Queen right now.

Julia was your best friend for a long time, what was your first impression of her?
She was so friendly and outgoing. She treated it as a foregone conclusion that we were going to be friends now and she didn’t want to hear any arguments about it! She always wanted to be the center of attention and she’d drag me right into the center of attention with her.

What were some of the activities you did with Julia before the accident?
We used to do homework at each other’s houses at least a few times a week. That sounds super dorky, but okay, we were both super dorky, and we both worked really hard in school, and when we had creative assignments we would crack each other up getting really creative with them. And I could watch MTV at her house because I don’t have cable at home. We spent lots of time hanging out with her theater friends too, and I always tried to help out on the set when she was working on a play.

Do not take this the wrong way but have you ever watched High School Musical? Like it or hate it?
You know what my life has enough of? Drama. And singing. And singing about drama. I’ll watch a musical movie if one of my friends really wants to see it, but I can’t say I’ve ever felt a deep longing to see High School Musical.

Would you rather travel to Australia or The North Pole if given the choice?
Australia, because there’s big cosmopolitan cities and big stretches of wilderness, there’s coral reefs and deserts, there’s kangaroos and koalas and poisonous snakes. I couldn’t get bored there.

Brilliant. In fact, I am sure we can find A Love Story in bookstores in Aussie! Whoo hoo!

Thanks for stopping by Cass! Have a nice day.
Thanks for the interview!

Interview with Sienna ‘Sea’ Jones

Hi Sienna, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you! To tell you the truth, I am very curious, why does Spider call you ‘Sea’?
Oh, because that was my nickname when I was a kid. I guess because I liked the ocean so much.

Could you share with us about what life was like before your mom’s airplane disappeared? What were some of the activities you did together with her?
She was just awesome. We did the usual stuff, hung out. It wasn’t so much what we did together, but more like how we were together. Does that make sense? She just got me.

Since going to Indonesia, how has it changed your life?
Oh, man. You’ll have to read the story. I can’t spoil you like that.

Oops! Looks like you, dear reader, will have to buy Sea to find out! As you can see on the image on the right, the coconut drink is one of the exotic food (in this case, drink) Sienna tries while in Indonesia.

The Indonesian culture is very different compared to the American culture. Which ascept do you find the most fascinating?
How it is so different. How the kids were so unified, and treated each other like family even though they weren’t always related by blood. They have such a strong sense of faith too, and coming from a pretty non-religious family that was really neat and curious. How much they trusted in something they couldn’t see, but could feel. You know?

I completely understand.

Deni has been a great companion since you came arrived in Indonesia, what was your first impression of him?
His intensity. The hurt behind his eyes. I just wanted to stare at him, to be near him every second. It was magnetic right from the first moment I saw him.

What are two tourist attractions I should visit if I ever get the chance to travel to Indonesia?
Borobudur is really the only one I saw. I hear the beaches in Bali are awesome but I’ve never been there.

Wow, look at the time! It’s getting late and you have to get back to the children. Thanks for stopping by Sienna! Have a nice day!
You’re welcome. Thanks for having me!

Tomorrow Heidi will be guest blogging and the day after a huge giveaway for Sea and Sea tank top!

Interview with Tessa from Tension of Opposites

Hi Tessa! It is a pleasure to have you at Read This Book today! It has been quite a year hasn’t it? First off, could you describe yourself in three words?
Thanks for having me! It has been an interesting year. Difficult, but amazingly perfect all at the same time. If I had to describe myself in three words, I’d say: Quiet – Shy – and Photographer.

Could you share with us about what life was like before Noelle was kidnapped? What were some of the activities you did together?
Noelle was the best. Always laughing and trying to make me laugh. She could memorize a song the first time she heard it. That drove me crazy; I’d love to have that kind of memory. She liked attention, and never had trouble getting it. We were the cliché of what it means to be best friends: slumber parties, talking about boys, sneaking out of the house late at night . . . you know? Typical stuff.

Slumber parties are fun!

If you could capture one of your favorite moments on camera, which would it be?
Well, it hasn’t happened yet, but if I could dream my favorite moment it would be this: Me and Elle together now that she’s home, hanging out and laughing. It might sound simple, but it’d be this amazing thing if we could let every bad thing drop away and just laugh like we used to.

What is the best thing that happened since Noelle returned home?
It hasn’t been one major thing, not since that first day I learned she was alive. It’s all about these little steps we’re taking toward a new friendship. At least, I hope that’s where we’re headed. Sometimes, I’m not so sure she wants to be my friend anymore. But I’m not going to give up.

I heard from one of your classmates that you have been very close with a certain guy… do you think you can share with us your first impression of him?
*blush* Is he going to read this? Because it might make him mad to know how much he freaked me out the day we met. My very first impression of him was that he could be some kind of psychopathic killer. Not that he was coming after me with a butcher knife or anything. Back then, that’s just how my brain was wired when I met some one new, especially alone, out in the woods. Killer or not, I can say I thought he was pretty hot.

Max is hot, indeed!

What are three things that remind you of Max? And why?
Sunflowers, snow, and trees. Some of my favorite moments with him happened while we were out taking pictures. If it wasn’t for photography, I’m not sure I would have opened up and allowed for us to become so close.

Speaking of Max, here he comes now. I don’t want to hold both of you up any longer from taking pictures of those gorgeous sunflowers before the sun sets. Thanks for stopping by Tessa! Have a nice day!

Come back tomorrow and two lucky people can win this:

Interview with Desi from Princess For Hire!

Hi Desi! Could you describe yourself in three words?
Uh… hard-working (that still counts as one word, right?), nice and… geeky. Good geeky, though. Is there a word for good geeky?

Could you share with us about your life in Idaho before you became a substitute princess?
My life in Idaho could have been like any girl’s life anywhere. I had some rough stuff happen with friends, I had some insecurities, but also a good family and other things that made me happy. Sometimes, I blamed my misfortunes on where I lived, but I see now that every girl has drama to overcome.

Of all the princess jobs you have done, which one was your favorite?
Elsa. For anyone who knows about that job, I think it’s obvious why I liked this one best.

OOH… yeah. You guys will have the book to find out why! Elsa lives in the eastern Alps and when Desi first arrived that, she wanted to do this…

Yup! The scene from The Sound of Music!

…And which job was your least favorite?
Princess Catter. Prosthetic makeup HURTS, you guys.

What was your first impression of Meredith?
Well, being as she popped out of bubble, my first impression was that she was a hallucination. Then she started talking and… okay, I like her fine now so it’s okay to say this… but I kind of thought she was rude. And snobbish. And bossy. And sassy. And… I better stop there.

You are a big fan of Audrey Hepburn. If you were given the opportunity to meet Audrey, what would you say to her?
Say? SAY? Nothing. I would be IN SHOCK. And not because she’s dead and all. Audrey Hepburn was Hollywood royalty! She was a great actress, but also a really great person who left this world better. What do you say to someone like that?

I will probably just stand there with my mouth open, awed.

If you could meet one princess, living or dead, who would it be and why?
There is a quote that may or may not have been said by Princess Diana. “Being a princess isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.” She had, like the craziest wedding day ever, and I wonder if she thought it was all rainbows and sunshine when she got hitched. When did she start to become disenchanted with the royal lifestyle? Would she still want to be a princess? I’d like to meet her, maybe for tea, and ask her all of that. I think subs could learn a lot from her trials.

Ah! One of the most famous princesses. I would love to meet her too!

Thanks for stopping by Desi! I won’t hold you up from your princess duties any longer. Have a nice day!
Thanks! I’m actually back home right now, so no princess duties. Just designing some new T-shirts. Maybe I’ll make an I <3 YA Round Up one!

Enjoyed this interview? You’ll love the one I did with Lindsey Leavitt as well! You can also read my review of Princess For Hire here.

Island Sting excerpt and contest!

About Island Sting: Kenzie didn’t expect her first summer in the Florida Keys to be murder. Cute guys, awesome boats, endangered species, gun-toting thugs… In Angelo’s up and down world, Kenzie needed a life jacket and Dramamine.

Here is an excerpt from Island Sting by Bonnie Doerr.

The partial passage below from chapter two is Kenzie’s version of her first encounter with Angelo.

The stinging eased a bit, but as her vision cleared she couldn’t believe what came into focus….

He was about her age. Nice. He’d sounded older.

He crouched next to the deer. Wavy, dark hair fell across his bronzed, rock-star face.

Oh— Geesh— St. Joe’s Girls‟ Academy hadn’t prepared her for anything like this. He— Why wouldn’t her heart settle down? He was— He was so—talking. He was talking to her. Shake it off, Kenzie.

His fingers stroked the deer’s side. “She’s in bad shape. This girl’s lucky I was over here bait fishing.”

The deer wasn’t the only lucky girl.

Now, here is Angelo’s version of this scene which has NEVER been seen before and is not available in the book. The illustration is from novel. Enjoy!

Map of the island

Summer vacation and time off work. The ultimate combo. I fired up my skiff. Skimmed the bay, running wide open. Alone with the wind and water. Shut her down and cruised in to my secret fishin’ hole. Dropped my lines and waited for a teasing tug, sure I’d pull in a bad-boy grouper. No luck.

Tried all my hot spots in the channel, drifted a bit, but couldn’t even hook a grunt. But I wasn’t ready to be locked down on land, listening to other dudes’ fish tales. I was breathing free and lovin’ it. Figured I could at least net a mess of bait fish. That’s when the tarpon rolled. One after the other, right into the canal.

Tarpon! Awesome sport. Like catching lightning. I’d rig my fly gear and cruise into the canal. See if I could outsmart a big one or two. Perfect way to end the day.

Soon I’m tied up to a mangrove along the canal wall, holding my breath, eyeing the surface.

Kenzie falling down

There—a silver torpedo. I flick. Perfect cast. The fly lands softly on the surface. I close my eyes. Wait for the bump and—“Help! Somebody help!”—blasts my concentration all to heck. Someone’s yelling on the other side of a vacant lot. Something about being trapped in the canal over there.

I calculate. Quicker to hoof it across the lot than snake the boat through canals. I toss my long-handled net on shore, grab roots, and scramble up the wall.

Within minutes, I find some dopey, tourist girl hanging on a mangrove root with one hand and gripping a Key deer around the neck with the other. How do I know she’s no local? First, I know all the girls around here. Second, she thinks she’s holding a dog because she won’t open her eyes. They’re burning, she says. I’ll go blind, she says. Definitely city chick.

Okay, she’s no tarpon, but I have to fish her out of the canal. She simply needs to hold on to my net. I yell. She sputters. Finally she gets it. I walk along the shore, maneuver the net’s handle around the trees, and drag the drippy chick to the boat ramp. She splashes and flounders there while I wonder if she’ll ever stand and reenter the universe. Finally, she opens her eyes so wide you’d think she landed on shore at Hogwarts. But she was safe. The deer was alive. I was done. And I’d never have to see her again.

Dude, I was so wrong.

I hoped you enjoyed this! I shall have a mini contest now.

CONTEST INFO

Comment below and tell me (Kate), what you animal you wish was not endangered/extinct and why you chose that animal. One lucky winner will win a necklace which has quite a significance.

Click to enlarge

According to Bonnie: Significance is that Angelo inspires a gift of a key pendant for Kenzie. Her mother gives it to her, but it was Angelo’s idea.

Contest ends 2/14. Edit: Sorry I had to end this contest early as Bonnie was on tour. Winner has been contacted! Comments will no longer be counted as entries.

It was fun having you on the blog Bonnie! Images copyright to Leap Books and Bonnie Doerr.