Hello, all!
It is officially April 1. I hope everyone has avoided being pranked and fooled and whatnot. I’m not really even trying this year, because I feel like everyone is expecting it. However, as it is the beginning of the month that my new Young Adult novel, Boy Band will be released, I figured I should celebrate with some useless trivia and a Chapter 1 download!
So, in no particular order, here we go!
BOY BAND TRIVIA:
* Boy Band started out as a NaNoWriMo project. I’d never participated in NaNo before and I really had no intention to. I didn’t like the idea of being timed or of writing a novel just because it was a certain month. But a friend of mine, Savannah (http://savannahrohleder.blogspot.com), persuaded me. I had no idea if I would publish the story, or if I would even finish it. But I ended up loving it. It just goes to show that you never know until you take a chance on something.
* My sister and I both LOVE boy bands, all boy bands, and countless hours spent watching music videos on YouTube inspired me to write about them.
*You can find the music that inspired Boy Band here: https://jackiesmith114.wordpress.com/2015/03/19/boy-band-soundtrack/
* Sam Morneau is named after Sam Claflin.
* Jesse Scott is named after Jesse McCartney (Yes, I really love Jesse McCartney).
* My sister and I wrote all the “songs” in the book. I’m not sure if they’re good or not. The one she wrote is, but the rest… Well, I guess you’ll just have to let me know.
* This is the first book for which I’ve designed the cover, and I loved it!
* My sister took the picture of New York that I used for the cover image.
* Oliver Berkley is based on our cute tour guide from Scotland. That might be a little creepy. Oh well.
* The cute Irish singer that Mel refers to throughout the book was inspired by Niall Horan.
* I mention Zac Hanson in the book because he was my very first musician crush. I was 9 years old and I was obsessed with Hanson.
* I mention Meg Cabot because she is my ultimate writing inspiration. I kind of want to be her.
* Both of my editors got really mad at me for the way the book ended. Yes, okay, it ends on a bit of a cliff-hanger. THERE WILL BE A SECOND BOOK! In fact, there’s going to be a third book too.
* Mel’s middle name, Kearney, is a family name.
* The group is from the Bay Area because I think San Francisco is really cool.
* I wrote Mel to look like my sister. Really, this book is for her. She’s my best friend in the world and without her, the book wouldn’t exist.
* Here’s Chapter 1. Enjoy!
Boy Band will be available April 21, 2015!
Please remember to enter my GoodReads Giveaway: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/129034-boy-band
A Platform of Sorts 
It’s so sweet you worked with your sister on it! 🙂
Omg, this was a lot of fun reading! Did you write the song in the first chapter? I think you got your poetry on through lyrics 😀
I did! Thanks, Ben! I actually wrote it back in grad school… Decided to use it here!
That’s so cool! Did you ever sing them? I hope you and your sister sang all the songs.
It is great that you have worked with your sister on your book. I bet she sings pretty good. What is weird that you took the real life tour guide for your novel as one of your characters, but hey most of us have to do it. Right? I think it is fine. Well, I hope for you the best of luck in your brand new novel. It is a smart idea that you have the first chapter for your fans as a sneak peak of what is to come in a few weeks after. I am enjoying The Walking Dead. Thanks for the recommendation. 🙂
You don’t understand… He was SO cute! Haha! But yes, my sister is an AMAZING singer. And I’m so glad you’re enjoying the Walking Dead! It’s addictive!
I was such a boy band fan back in the day. Loved Hanson and ‘N Sync! I’m loving this book already!
Saaaame here! Thank you so much! 😀
I feel like all these pop references went waaaaaaay over my head… Who??? hahahh.
Hahaha, sorry!!! That’s what Google is for! 😛
Hi Jackie, I’ve saved chapter one and I can’t wait to read it. I was also into boy bands when I was young – my first was New Kids On The Block when I was 10, then I moved onto Take That when I was 11, and then a succession of boy bands followed: 911, Let Loose, Bros, East 17, Backstreet Boys, Bad Boys Inc, Blue, Boyzone and Westlife. Those were the days! 🙂
P.S. The songs were good 😀 And I thought the Irish singer was Ed Sheeran 😛
😉