Here’s the blurb:
When someone leaves three mystery flowers outside her dorm door,Laurel thinks that maybe the Avondale School isn’t so awful after all — until her own body starts to freak out. In the middle of her English presentation on the Victorian Language of Flowers, strange words pop into her head, and her body seems to tingle and hum. Impulsively, Laurel gives the love bouquet she made to demonstrate the language to her spinster English teacher. When that teacher unexpectedly and immediately finds romance, Laurel suspects that something — something magical — is up. With her new friend, Kate, she sets out to discover the origins and breadth of her powers by experimenting on herself and others. But she can’t seem to find any living experts in the field of flower powers to guide her. And her bouquets don’t always do her bidding, especially when it comes to her own crush, Justin. Rumors about Laurel and her flowers fly across campus, and she’s soon besieged by requests from girls — both friends and enemies — who want their lives magically transformed — just in time for prom.
Celebrating the awesome release of Forget-Her-Nots by Amy Brecount White, we are being treated to an interview with the fabulous author herself. Let it begin...(what secrets will she uncover about herself/her novel??)
What type of environment are you in when you're writing? Eg. music, background, etc.
*I really prefer to write in absolute silence whenever I can. Otherwise, it’s hard to hear the characters talking to each other in my head. My sentences have a rhythm, too, that I need to listen for. Lots of times I read what I’m writing out loud, so it’s not very quiet. You’d probably think I was nuts if you were in the other room. :)
What were your initial hopes and fears when Forget-Her-Nots was going through the whole editing and publishing process?
*I think every writer is a tad nervous when she’s awaiting that editing letter. I was, but Greenwillow has always been very respectful of me, and I came to agree with the vast majority of their edits. Every writer also hopes her book will find a home in the hearts of many readers. Most of my ARC readers (and Publishers Weekly) love FHN, so it’s been wonderful already.
How have you been--or are going to be--celebrating the your debut release of Forget-Her-Nots?
*Woo-hoo! I’m having a really big release party at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in
What was the mind set that had you inspired to start writing a novel about flowers particularly?
*I’ve always loved gardening, so when I found out about the language of flowers, I started thinking what if flower wishes came true ….
What were you thinking when you first began writing the novel?
*I was actually pretty clueless. I’d read so much for all of my life that I thought it would be pretty intuitive to put a novel together. It’s actually more like a puzzle requiring complicated engineering and architectural skills! I love it. The solutions come at the oddest times, too, like when I’m roller blading. It’s a good reason to exercise.
What are some lessons/experiences that you've been through, that you'd like to share?
*Oh, gosh. I think I’ll do that through my novels. I don’t want to give all my material away. The most important piece of advice I can give everyone is to grow and give more flowers. They bring peace, happiness, and beauty to the human condition. (Now I’m really starting to sound like the teacher I once was!)
Miscellany:
What are your top 5 favorite movies?
The Princess Bride; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Ten Things I Hate About You; Henry V; Pride and Prejudice.
What flower do you favor the most?
It’s very hard to choose! I love them all, but especially Siberian irises, the scent of gardenias, dogwood trees, lily of the valley, and bleeding hearts.
If you were stranded living in a small cabin surrounded by endless snow cutoff from any communication, what would be essentials that you would ensure you have to survive?
That sounds like my winter!
Water, chocolate, pen & notebook, and a few Russian or Gabriel Garcia Marquez novels that would take me a very long time to read and reread. And Earl Grey tea with milk, please.
This is where I gush about nervousness over the questions I created. This is what she nicely says to calm my psyche down:
*You did a great job! Fun and different questions. Thanks so much for having me!
Now since I am participating in Amy's blog tour of flower-love-spreading, I was required to choose a flower of my favor so I chose *cough* Lily of the Valley....duh! Plus they're kind of a contradiction toward all flowers every where, look below to see what I mean:
Aren't they just the darnest things?!! According to The Language of Flowers they are supposed to represent the return of happiness, where as I would spread to you followers that love to read the crap I type to cheer you up from any past pains that you've recently suffered. Bless your wide eyes for reading this!
I thank Amy for being with us on her release date, now I shall sign off with a command: Read the blurb above and tell Amy how awesome she is in the comments...GO!
LiLi
I am with you Amy, if I were writing, I would need silence. I love 10 things movie too and chocolate. Great interview!
ReplyDeletefun interview! I can't imagine writing in absolute silence. It's funny how different people need different things.
ReplyDeleteWhat GREAT favorite movies!
Her winter sounds wonderful - water, chocolate, and a pen and notebook. I would also need tons of books.
This sounds like a really nice book to read, great job with this. I used to write also when I am not occupied and I agree Amy that it is best to write in silence, because it allows you to understand more the character you are writing about. About Lilies, I have a trivia for you. Actually this is one of my favorite flower also because of its meaning. If you give some special to you a Lilies, the message is that you are daring them to love you. Romantic right!? I learned this from a movie. Just want to share it, nice blog you got here.
ReplyDelete