Friday, July 18, 2014

Author Interview: Kelly Fiore, Just Like the Movies



Title: Just Like the Movies
Author:
Kelly Fiore
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Release Date: July 22, 2014

Pretty and popular track star Marijke Monti is confident about almost everything – she’s got great friends, a great family, and she’s on her way to the State Track Championship. In fact, the only thing Marijke isn’t confident about is her relationship with Tommy Lawson.

Lily Spencer has spent her entire high school career preparing for the future – she’s participated in every extracurricular activity and volunteer committee she could. But, at home, she watches her mother go on date after date with dud-dudes, still searching for “the one.” Lily realizes that she’s about to graduate and still hasn’t even had a boyfriend.

While they live on each other’s periphery at school, Lily and Marijke never seemed to have much in common; but, after a coincidental meeting at the movie theater, Lily gets an idea – why can’t life be like a movie? Why can’t they set up their perfect romantic situations, just in time for their senior prom, using movie techniques?

Once the girls come up with the perfect plans, they commit themselves to being secret cohorts and, just like in the movies, drama ensues.


Interview

Kayla: Hi Kelly, thank you so much for stopping by Bibliophilia, Please! Please tell us a little bit about Just Like the Movies in your own words but with a Twitter twist – 140 characters or less.

Kelly Fiore: Thanks so much for having me! Okay – the tweet:

“8 Movies. 7 Flash Mob Dancers. 6 Text Messages. 5 Prom Proposals. 4 Band Members. 3 Paintball guns. 2 Girls. 1 Happily Ever After.”

Kayla: What inspired you to write Just Like the Movies? Did one of the characters pop into your head first or the idea for the story?

Kelly: My teenage dreams and desires to live a life like I saw on screen is the biggest reason I wrote Just Like the Movies. I had a flair for the dramatic, to say the least. I was always coveting the love lives of the girls in the movies.

Kayla: What is your favorite romantic movie?

Kelly: I’ve always adored Love Actually. I’m also a sucker for any 80s movie with Andrew McCarthy – especially Pretty In Pink.

Kayla: What is your favorite distraction when you’re writing?

Kelly: Dr. Phil. It’s on for HOURS on the Oprah Network. I’ve watched a LOT of Dr. Phil. (He might be on right now…)

Kayla: Which books or authors would you say have affected or inspired you the most?

Kelly: Aw, jeez. How much time do you have? In terms of style, I think I’ve gained the most knowledge from Barbara Kingsolver. Her book, Prodigal Summer, was beyond influential in helping me find my narrative voice. Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones was probably the single biggest reason I started writing fiction. I wanted to do what she’d done in that book more than I wanted my next breath. But there are dozens of other authors who have opened my eyes to what great YA writing can be, including Sara Zarr, A.S. King, R.A. Nelson, Justina Ireland, Elle Cosimano, Jandy Nelson…I could go on.

Kayla: What are you currently reading?

Kelly: I’m reading a lot of New Adult right now – the newest Chelsea Fine and Jay Crownover books are on my docket.

Kayla: Which upcoming novel are you most looking forward to reading?

Kelly: Another hard one! Cora Carmack’s next book in the All Lined Up series will be a big one for me. Also, Rowdy, the next in the Marked Men series by Jay Crownover.

Kayla: Finally, do you have any upcoming projects of your own that we can look forward to?

Kelly: Next fall, The People Vs. Cecelia Price will be out with Harper Teen. This will be my first book with Harper and I’m thrilled. It’s a completely different kind of book than my other YA novels – darker and more gritty. I can’t wait to share it with the world.

Kayla: Thank you so much again for your time!

Buy Links
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Fishpond



About the Author


Kelly Fiore has a BA in English from Salisbury University and an MFA in Poetry from West Virginia University. She received an Individual Artist Award from the Maryland State Arts Council in 2005 and 2009. Kelly’s poetry has appeared in Small Spiral Notebook, Samzidada, Mid Atlantic Review, Connotation Press, and the Grolier Annual Review. Her first young adult novel, Taste Test, was released in August 2013 from Bloomsbury USA. Forthcoming books include Just Like the Movies, again from Bloomsbury, in 2014 and The People Vs. Cecelia Price from HarperTeen in 2015.

Kelly teaches college composition in Maryland, where she lives with her husband and son.



Find Kelly Online
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Tumblr | Goodreads



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You are going to put words in my box?! *squeezes you* Now I shall stalk YOUR blog!