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 