Interview with Tiffany Schmidt for The Boy Next Story

The Boy Next Story (Bookish Boyfriends #2)

by Tiffany Schmidt

Publisher: Amulet Paperbacks

Release Date: May 21st 2019

Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary

Synopsis:

The second book in a series where your favorite literary characters come to life, inspired by the timeless classic, Little Women!

There’s no one better than the boy next door. At least not according to Aurora Campbell, fourteen, who has been in love with Tobias May since their very first sandbox kiss. The problem is, he’s in love with her older sister, Merrilee. And Merri is already dating one of his best friends.

Rory is learning all about pining as her class reads The Great Gatsby, a book she doesn’t find “great” at all. Also not great—her GPA, something she needs to fix, quickly, if she’d like to apply for the chance to spend a week studying art with her hero in New York City over winter break. But when Ms. Gregoire assigns her to read Little Women for extra credit, Rory discovers more than she expected—both about herself and Toby. Maybe she wasn’t in love with the boy next door. . . but the boy next story.

Love is complicated, and it’s all about to get even trickier for Rory at Reginald R. Hero Prep . . . where with the help of one quirky English teacher, students’ fantasies come true, often with surprising consequences.

Can you briefly describe what’s happening in THE BOY NEXT STORY and their main characters? 

Rory loves the boy next door, Toby. 

Toby pining for Rory’s sister Merri. 

Merri’s dating Toby’s best friend, Fielding. 

Literary hijinks ensue when their (maybe magical!) teacher assigns Rory to read Little Women and her life starts to resemble the plot of the book. It’s a story of sisters and outgrowing old crushes, knocking ideals off pedestals, and falling in love while figuring out who you are and how to use your voice. 

Who would you say is your favourite character from the story and why? 

Oh geez. I love them all. Is that answer allowed? I will say that Huck Baker is a character who exploded onto the page and stole scenes in a way I hadn’t originally envisioned or anticipated. He quickly became one of my favorites to write and he’ll be getting his own love story in BOOKISH BOYFRIENDS 4: GET A CLUE. 

How did the story occur to you? Did you find inspiration anywhere? 

I’m going to say something very controversial right here – I’m #TeamAmyMarch. It’s a younger sister’s prerogative and I’ve always been so frustrated by the Little Women Amy haters. This book might just be my attempt to get them to change their mind (and I’ve definitely done a fist pump for every early reader who’s contacted me to say they have). 

Even while drafting the first book in the BOOKISH BOYFRIENDS series, I knew that Rory needed her own story. As a younger sister myself, I know what it feels like to be overshadowed by a high-achieving and charismatic older sibling (Thanks, Heather!). Add in Rory’s lifelong secret crush on the boy who’s smitten with her sister, and you’ve got all the elements of an angsty rom-com. 

Oh, and I can’t forget Ms. Gregoire, the girls’ (maybe magical) English teacher whose assignments bleed over into the characters’ lives. Poor Rory has to read The Great Gatsby and Little Women. Drawing from and playing with aspects of these classic novels was one of my favorite parts of writing The Boy Next Story. And, yes, there is a twist on the book-burning scene. (Go, #TeamAmy!) 

If you could choose one song to describe your book, which one would it be? 

Vancouver Sleep Clinic’s “Someone to Stay” 

I have a whole playlist for this book, but this is the song that hits its emotional core. I still can’t listen to it without tearing up over the lyrics: “Can you keep me close? Can you love me most?” 

What drink/snacks do you think will go with your book to have a perfect book date? 

A cup of tea, a bottle of kombucha, a package of liquorice, and key lime pie. . . Hmm, probably not all at the same time.

Can you recommend your readers any other books in case they are left hungry for more once they finish THE BOY NEXT STORY? 

Jenny Han’s The Summer I Turned Pretty 

Stephanie Perkins Isla and the Happily Ever After 

Jessica Spotswood’s The Last Summer of the Garrett Girls 

Stephanie Kate Strohm’s Love a la Mode 

What’s next for you? 

Bookish Boyfriends 3 & 4! Talk Nerdy to Me (Eliza + Curtis!) and Get a Clue (Huck + Winston) are both in various stages of drafting and editing. I cannot wait for these romances to get in readers’ hands!

Tiffany Schmidt is the author of Send Me a Sign, Bright Before Sunrise, and Hold Me Like a Breath (Once Upon a Crime Family book 1). 

She’s found her happily ever after in Pennsylvania with her saintly husband, impish twin boys, and a pair of mischievous puggles.

You can find out more about her and her books at: TiffanySchmidt.com, TiffanySchmidtWrites.Tumblr.com or by following her on Twitter @TiffanySchmidt.

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Blog Tour: Glittering Shadows (Dark Metropolis #2) by Jaclyn Dolamore

Check out the promo event for the second book in Jaclyn Dolamore's young adult fantasy series hosted by Itching for Books

Glittering Shadows (Dark Metropolis #2)
by Jaclyn Dolamore
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Release Date: June 16th 2015

Synopsis:

The revolution is here. 

Bodies line the streets of Urobrun; a great pyre burns in Republic Square. The rebels grow anxious behind closed doors while Marlis watches as the politicians search for answers—and excuses—inside the Chancellery. 

Thea, Freddy, Nan, and Sigi are caught in the crossfire, taking refuge with a vibrant, young revolutionary and a mysterious healer from Irminau. As the battle lines are drawn, a greater threat casts a dark shadow over the land. Magic might be lost—forever. 

This action-packed sequel to Dark Metropolis weaves political intrigue, haunting magic, and heartbreaking romance into an unforgettable narrative. Dolamore's lyrical writing and masterfully crafted plot deliver a powerful conclusion.

Originally, the antagonist of this book, Ingrid, was Freddy’s long lost sister! And Sebastian, the revolutionary leader, was originally the spoiled son of a wealthy man whom Ingrid fell in love with, and the true antagonist was a creepy traveling sorcerer. It was an utterly different story. And also a story that was not working at all! It took me some months to figure out what the real story was. Thank goodness for revisions. And time.

The key to figuring out this book? Marlis. Once the character of the Chancellor’s daughter walked into my head, the rest fell into place.

“Dark Metropolis” was inspired by Metropolis, the German silent film by Fritz Lang. As an homage to Lang, in the opening scene of “Glittering Shadows”, Marlis is watching an opera that is basically Fritz Lang’s “Die Niebelugen”, the silent film he made before Metropolis that is a retelling of Wagner's Ring Cycle and Norse mythology. 

The battle scenes in this book were so hard for me! I knew I had to write them, and I wanted them to be good and realistic. But I simply can’t conceive of how a battle ought to go, despite all the time I’ve spent playing Dynasty Warriors games... Luckily my guy is a military history buff. I made him draw me detailed maps and write very involved battle plans!

One of my favorite things about this book is that Freddy gets a new kitten. I want to put that out there, for everyone who was traumatized by the cat death in book one. I would never write an EXCESSIVELY sad pet death, but I still really, really wanted to fit a new kitten in there. At one point I wasn’t sure it was going to work, and I was like, “NOOOO, MUST HAVE KITTEN.”

Many of the names of minor characters and places in this book come from the anime “Legend of Galactic Heroes”, and there are two airships in the book named after Final Fantasy airships. 

Ingrid bent over and rummaged around on the floor. When she came back up, she had Thea’s book of fairy tales. “I saw this poking out of your bag. Running away with clothes and lipstick and a book of Irminauer tales?” She smiled a little. Her teeth were neat and straight.

“Father Gruneman gave it to me when I was little,” Thea said. “At my father’s memorial.” She thought Ingrid might know Father Gruneman, since he’d been a revolutionary leader.

“Father Gruneman must have understood that the forest always calls us home, even here in the city,” Ingrid said, putting the book in front of Thea and opening it to an image of a girl in beautiful stylized robes plucking a mushroom from the forest floor. “The pictures are lovely.”

Thea glanced at her uncertainly. She was still holding Thea’s wounded hand, her touch featherlight but never breaking contact. “Are you going to heal my hand?”

“Yes, of course I am. But it might hurt a lot, just for a moment. Have some more medicine”—Ingrid poured from a bottle on the nightstand—“and look at your beautiful book.”

Thea took the medicine. “It’ll be all right, though?” she asked. The medicine had deadened some of her fear, but in the back of her mind she thought that if she lost the use of some of her fingers, she wouldn’t be able to work many places anymore.

“It will be fine very soon.” Her voice was even, soothing. Thea heard the actual words less and the rhythm more. The words were like water running over rocks, constant and sweet, and she closed her eyes. 

“Your voice is like a song,” Thea said. “My mother used to sing to me when I was sick.” Mother sang all the time, before her sickness. Sometimes it was annoying, Mother throwing open the curtains and waking her up for school singing. But other times it was nice. She wished Mother were here now.

“I could give you a song,” Ingrid asked. “It will help.”

“Okay.”

Ingrid began to chant—it was more like a chant than a song—long, beautiful tones. The music seemed to spin its way into the picture of the girl in the forest, so the colors grew brighter and Thea could almost smell moss and earth. Ingrid’s hand upon her arm was like a thread to another world, not unlike that fairy-tale forest that was a little bit frightening but also full of wonder. Anything could happen. The chant filled her with a sense of Ingrid’s power.

Thea felt something bite her wrist, heard a grinding, and her eyes snapped away from the book.

Ingrid held a bone saw in one hand, driving the blade just above Thea’s wrist with long, slow strokes. The saw was bright with Thea’s blood, but Ingrid had put cloths down so none would drip onto the bedspread or the carpet. Thea saw this through a haze of soothing tones and visions. She tried to say something, but her body was too dulled to speak or move. Ingrid’s eyes were half-closed, almost dreamy, as her lips moved with her strange song, but when she saw Thea looking, her note trailed off. 

“I’m sorry if it still hurts a little.” Ingrid’s words retained their rhythm. “I didn’t think I’d be giving this gift to you. But one must trust in fate.”

Jaclyn Dolamore was homeschooled in a hippie sort of way and spent her childhood reading as many books as her skinny nerd-body could lug from the library and playing elaborate pretend games with her sister Kate. She skipped college and spent eight years drudging through retail jobs, developing her thrifty cooking skills and pursuing a lifelong writing dream. She has a passion for history, thrift stores, vintage dresses, David Bowie, drawing, and organic food. She lives with her partner and plot-sounding-board, Dade, and two black tabbies who have ruined her carpeting.

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Promotional Event + Giveaway: The Pledge by Laura Ward & Christine Manzari

We're celebrating the release of THE PLEDGE by Laura Ward & Christine Manzari! 

The Pledge
by Laura Ward & Christine Manzari
Release date: July 27, 2015
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Synopsis:

Taren needs a do-over. She’s decided the best way to put the high school bullies behind her is to pledge a Taylor-Swift-lip-syncing, beer-guzzling, sorority. Sisterhood helps Taren find the acceptance she’s always craved, but not the love she needs.

Alec wants freedom. To escape his father’s iron fist and unrealistic expectations, he pledges a campus acrobatics club where he finds that drugs and alcohol aren't the only ways to get high. His addiction to danger helps him gain his independence, but it comes at a heavy price.

When the two cross paths, Alec fears his undeniable attraction to the party girl just might threaten everything he's worked so hard to earn. Taren hasn’t forgotten that Alec humiliated her back in high school, but she also can't deny the chemistry they share.

Alec and Taren have nothing in common, but fate is bound and determined to bring them together. They know falling in love is a risk, and yet it’s too hard to ignore. When their worlds clash and they both end up suffering, will they fight to stay together? Or are some pledges too hard to keep?

1. The idea for The Pledge was born from Laura’s and Christine’s college experiences. Laura belonged to a sorority at the University of Maryland at College Park and Christine was part of a drug-free exhibitional gymnastics group at Maryland. 

2. Secondary characters are so much fun to write. Caz, Alec’s crazy roommate, is based on a friend Christine had in college. 

3. William is loosely based off a friend of Laura’s brother, Dan. Dan’s friend often changes his name and Laura fell in love with his zest for life and with his ability to alter his perspective. 

4. Almost all of the locations in The Pledge actually exist at UMD or nearby. The kissing tunnel, the climbing wall, the Graham Cracker, Sandy Spring Adventure Park, and the trampoline room are all real places. The only location that doesn’t exist is the bar, Shell Shocked, but that bar was modeled after one Laura frequented (frequently!) called Terrapin Station. 

5. A fun fact...Taren’s dorm, Denton Hall, was where Laura lived during her freshman year. Alec’s dorm, Centerville, was where Christine lived. Both dorms are on opposite sides of the underclass residential area of campus. The location of the dorms are symbolic of just how opposite Alec’s and Taren’s lives are.

6. The names of the fraternities, sororities, and the Acroletes are all made up to protect the reputations of the various groups that inspired the story. However, many of the events are based on reality. Laura has had beer dumped on her at her initiation party and Christine has flipped through fire.

7. Laura’s sorority had a chef named Lisa, who did in fact, punish the girls when they were messy by denying them access to fat free cheese! 

8. Laura is a morning person and likes to write before her kids get up. Christine is a night owl and likes to write after her kids go to bed.

9. The red string of fate is a real East Asian concept where two people believe they are connected by an invisible thread that may get twisted, but will never break.

10. Like Alec and Caz, Laura and Christine played on the ropes course at Sandy Spring Adventure Park. Unlike Alec, Caz, and Christine, Laura was not a natural!

Laura Ward lives in Maryland with her loud and very loving three children and husband. She married her college sweetheart and is endlessly grateful for the support he has given her through all their years together, and especially toward her goal of writing books. When not changing diapers, driving to lacrosse practice, or checking spelling homework, Laura is writing or reading romance novels.

The first thing Christine does when she's getting ready to read a book is to crack the spine in at least five places. She wholeheartedly believes there is no place as comfy as the pages of a well-worn book. She's addicted to buying books, reading books, and writing books. Books, books, books. She also has a weakness for adventure, inappropriate humor, and coke (the caffeine-laden bubbly kind). Christine is from Forest Hill, Maryland where she lives with her husband, three kids, and her library of ugly spine books.

The first thing Christine does when she's getting ready to read a book is to crack the spine in at least five places. She wholeheartedly believes there is no place as comfy as the pages of a well-worn book. She's addicted to buying books, reading books, and writing books. Books, books, books. She also has a weakness for adventure, inappropriate humor, and coke (the caffeine-laden bubbly kind). Christine is from Forest Hill, Maryland where she lives with her husband, three kids, and her library of ugly spine books.

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