The Unofficial Addiction Book Fan Club: Blogoversary: Interview with Kara Taylor

Book Addicts!

Today we have with us a Young Adult author who writes amazing and mysterious stories. And I must say that the cover of her books are pretty, pretty, pretty... awesome! Kara Taylor was one of the first authors we met when we started and we are beyond thrilled to have her today with us celebrating our blogoversary. She's the author of the Prep School Confidential series and definitely one of our favorite authors. Want to know more about her? Take a look.

Prep School Confidential (Prep School Confidential #1)

by Kara Taylor

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Release Date: July 30th 2013

Read my review

Synopsis:

In this breathtaking debut that reads like Gossip Girl crossed with Twin Peaks, a Queen Bee at a blue-blooded New England prep school stumbles into a murder mystery.

Anne Dowling practically runs her exclusive academy on New York’s Upper East Side—that is, until she accidentally burns part of it down and gets sent to a prestigious boarding school outside of Boston. Determined to make it back to New York, Anne couldn't care less about making friends at the preppy Wheatley School. That is, until her roommate Isabella’s body is found in the woods behind the school.

When everyone else is oddly silent, Anne becomes determined to uncover the truth no matter how many rules she has to break to do it. With the help of Isabella’s twin brother Anthony, and a cute classmate named Brent, Anne discovers that Isabella wasn’t quite the innocent nerdy girl she pretended to be. But someone will do anything to stop Anne’s snooping in this fast-paced, unputdownable read—even if it means framing her for Isabella’s murder.

Wicked Little Secrets (Prep School Confidential #2)

by Kara Taylor

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Release Date: March 16th 2014

Synopsis:

Anne Dowling becomes entangled in a web of secrets involving a missing student and a conspiracy at Wheatley Prep in this fast-paced, juicy follow-up to Prep School Confidential.

Anne Dowling—a fresh, original, and funny new YA heroine whose knowing, irreverent voice will remind readers of Pretty Little Liars and Private—is back for her second semester at Wheatley Prep. Although things have settled (somewhat) since her roommate Isabella’s death, Anne's still kind of obsessed with the disappearance of Wheatley student Matthew Weaver thirty years ago, since she found a picture of him and his crewmates with the words “they killed him” scrawled on the back among Isabella’s things.

When Anne learns that her boyfriend Brent’s dad is one of the now-powerful Wheatley alumni who rowed crew with Matthew, and that the crew team continues to induct new members with a creepy-sounding ritual called “The Drop,” she knows further investigation could put her relationship with Brent in danger. Determined to discover the truth, she reaches out to Anthony, Isabella’s townie brother, who helps her delve deeper into the secrets in Wheatley’s past. Secrets someone would kill to keep hidden. As the school’s Spring Formal—and its notorious afterparty—approaches, Anne sees the perfect opportunity to do some off-campus digging into the lives of Wheatley’s VIPs in this thrilling, unputdownable read—but if she’s not careful, she’ll be the next student who never comes back.

Hi Kara! I am really happy to have you once again in my blog. It’s been a while since Prep School Confidential has been released, and I bet lots of readers enjoyed it as much as we did, and now Wicked Little Secrets is coming this April. We are definitely eager to read it and to know more about it. So, thank you so much for celebrating our blogoversary with us and welcome!

Thank you so much for having me! Happy Blogoversary!

Could you tell us a little bit more about Wicked Little Secrets?

WICKED LITTLE SECRETS is the sequel to PREP SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL. We pick up a few months after the mystery of Isabella’s death has been solved, but a new case won’t leave Anne alone: The thirty-year-old disappearance of Matt Weaver, a student with uncomfortable connections to Anne’s boyfriend’s father.

How did you come up with the idea?

Cold cases fascinate me, especially ones regarding missing people who have never been found. There are so many possibilities, twists, and secrets—I knew that a missing person was the perfect start to my next mystery.

We would love to know more a little bit about Anne, Brent and Anthony, so we have some quick questions for them:

Favorite Song? Anne: Uptown Girl by Billy Joel/Brent: Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen/Anthony: Still Alive by Pearl Jam.

Favorite Book? Anne: The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett/Brent: The Hobbit by JRR Tolkein/Anthony doesn’t read much—unless it’s a car magazine.

Favorite TV Show? Anne: House Hunters International/Brent: Game of Thrones/Anthony: Breaking Bad.

Favorite Hobby? Anne: Exploring the city/Brent: Reading/Anthony: Fixing old motorcycles.

Favorite Sport? Anne: Dance/Brent: Rowing/Anthony: Soccer.

Favorite thing to do? Anne: Spend time with friends/Brent: Play pranks on Murali/Anthony: Go on a long bike ride.

If you had to describe the Prep School Confidential series with one song, which one would it be? Do you have a book playlist for the series?

I started using playlists while I was writing book 2, so I’ll share those!

WICKED LITTLE SECRETS

Bulletproof—La Roux

Nothing—The Script

Lose You—Pete Yorn

Mr. Brightside—The Killers

DEADLY LITTLE SINS

Demons—Imagine Dragons

Burn—Ellie Goulding

Do I Wanna Know—The Arctic Monkeys

I Will Follow You Into The Dark—Death Cab for Cutie

Do you have a favorite quote from Wicked Little Secrets?

“Maybe we are all bad, and we get by on the moments when we try not to be.”

And, do you have a favorite scene either from Prep School Confidential or Wicked Little Secrets?

My favorite scene from PREP SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL is when Anne discovers the underground tunnels for the first time. And in WICKED LITTLE SECRETS, my favorite scene happens between Anne and Anthony. I won’t say what it is yet, since the book just came out! J

If you could describe Wheatley Prep with three words, which ones would it be?

Historic. Prestigious. Dangerous.

We would love to know more about you, too. So we “stole” Anne, Brent and Anthony’s questions to ask them to you:

Favorite Movie? Almost Famous

Favorite Song? American Girl by Tom Petty

Favorite Book? The Hunger Games

Favorite TV Show? The Walking Dead

Favorite Hobby? Reading

Favorite Sport? Ugh, I hate sports! Can I say biking?

Favorite thing to do? Have a glass of wine and watch my favorite show.

What can you tell us about Deadly Little Sins?

Anne got into some serious hot water at the end of WICKED LITTLE SECRETS. You’ll find out her fate in DEADLY LITTLE SINS. Also, Anne finds herself in the middle of her most dangerous case yet—one where some of the people she trusted aren’t who they say they are.

You have now three books in the Prep School Confidential series, which means three covers. Which one’s your favorite?

I have to say that I broke out in a grin when I saw DEADLY LITTLE SINS. While the colors on WICKED LITTLE SECRETS are my favorite, I adore the model’s pose on DEADLY LITTLE SINS.

What’s next for you?

I’m working on a young adult sci-fi mystery that I hope will be a two-book series. I also am working on another YA mystery with a female lead, but this one is a standalone.

Thank you so much, Kara, for sharing Prep School Confidential with us and for letting us feature Anne, Brent and Anthony’s espionage stories in our Blogoversary.

KARA TAYLOR wrote PREP SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL in her first semester of graduate school, in between pulling all nighters and listening to her dad say writing isn't a real job. Now, she lives on Long Island and writes full time.