Interview with Janine Caldwell

Book Addicts,

Soon we are going to be part of the Visited Blog Tour hosted by Xpresso Book Tours and we wanted to do something special about it. So today we have the author of Visited, Janine Caldwell, in our blog. We are going to get the chance to know Janine a little bit more and know more about this wonderful new story!

Visited

Janine Caldwell

Publisher: Self-Published

Release Date: May 25th, 2013

Synopsis via Goodreads:

Seventeen-year-old Joanna Murphy has lost faith in her life. Vying for her mom’s attention, she’s resentful of her stepdad’s intrusion to their family. Her best friend, Tommy, has no clue she’s in love with him as he dates girl after girl without noticing how it tortures her. The final kicker, though, is God’s sick joke to make her freakishly tall when everyone knows boys prefer petite girls.

Then in a bizarre accident Joanna meets James, a breathtaking teen who appears to her after an unusual falling star sighting. Suddenly, her dream for an alien encounter becomes all too real. But when she finds her life has been made unrecognizable, she’s forced into an explosive study of the original design for her life that just may have her regretting every wish she ever made.

Janine Caldwell 

was born in Concord, CA and raised in the small San Francisco Bay Area town of Clayton. Four days after her high school graduation, Janine attended California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and graduated with a degree in English. 

Janine now lives in Anthem, AZ with her husband and two sons. As a lifelong literature fanatic, she knew it was only a matter of time before she would become obsessed with writing her own work. With relatives like the Brothers Grimm and Anita Loos (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes), she figured fantasy writing had to be in her DNA.

Books published by Janine include Visited, a YA coming-of-age fantasy, and Rematch and Double Fault, the first two books of The Vortex Series. The final book in this YA fantasy romance, Deuce, will be released this fall.

I can’t pick one. Impossible. So let me give you a list of my favs. 

Dystopian: Scarlet, Divergent, Matched, Under the Never Sky, Hunger Games, The Selection, Uglies, The Giver, Cinder 

Other Fantasy: Obsidian, Harry Potter (books 4-6) 

Religious: Cross Roads, Heaven Is For Real, Life of Pi 

Classics: Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities, Atlas Shrugged, The Catcher in the Rye

When my workout is done, all the house chores completed, and everyone is away from the house and it’s perfectly peaceful.

Sherlock, Vampire Diaries, Glee, Downton Abbey, Gilmore Girls, Felicity, Roswell, Lost, Game of Thrones, and pretty much any period piece from the BBC or Masterpiece Theater.

August Rush, Pride and Prejudice (Keira Knightley version), The Matrix, Pitch Perfect, Sixteen Candles, The Princess Bride, Orange County, Dead Poets Society, 10 Things I Hate About You, all the Harry Potter movies, all the Anne of Green Gables movies, Lord of the Rings.

If it’s a work day: workout, rush through whatever chore needs done, get at least 3 to 4 hours of writing/editing in, have dinner magically prepared for the family, watch a movie with family or maybe just watch TV, read, go to bed early.

If it’s a fun day: workout via a hike or yoga, have lunch out with husband or friends, go see a movie or shop, have dinner magically prepared for family--or better yet--go out to dinner, read an awesome book I can’t put down.

I don’t believe I have one favorite song, but if I did it would probably be by the Foo Fighters. I’m obsessed with them even though they’ve been around a long time. They inspire me still.

Dessert of all kinds.

Trent Astor from The Vortex Series. Since I created him, I could make him exactly match my ideal fantasy.

Not sure what the question is here. If you’re asking if I practice one of these, then neither, but if you’re asking if I prefer to read about magic over mythology, I would go with magic.

Fantasy and Dystopian but there always needs to be an element of romance for me to be truly hooked.

Thank you so much for taking the time to learn more about me and my books. I’m just like you, a fan and self-proclaimed addict of books.

This story came about after my time co-leading a local high school youth group. Hearing about their teen issues and struggles inspired me to reflect on the theme, “Be careful what you wish for.” It was difficult trying to create a broad enough story that would not only appeal to Christian readers, but to secular readers as well.

Joanna Murphy is a high school volleyball stud. Why? Because she hovers somewhere around the 6 foot mark! The problem is she’s terribly self-conscious of towering over everyone, especially her best friend and secret object of her heart, Tommy Durant. Joanna cannot see her uniqueness as anything but a fault and would do anything to be and look like someone else. She really isn’t in to music. How she spends her time when she’s not playing volleyball is by reading sci-fi books and chatting on her science blog about anything alien-related.

Tommy is your carefree, easygoing, too-charming-for-his-own-good kind of guy. However, he has his faults. He’s a poor loser and has a detrimental jealousy issue that ends up ruining most of his relationships. James, on the other hand, is a mysterious, intense stranger who acts confident in everything he does. He has out-of-this-world good looks, which is both a blessing and a curse. Beyond his outer beauty, though, he has honorable intentions and a pure heart.

When Joanna hits rock bottom, when she stops fighting James and finally confesses everything she feels. With her raw honesty comes true internal change.

For Joanna, I like Jane Levy currently starring in Suburgatory. She has the wit and charisma of Joanna, the red hair and clever blue eyes. Not sure how tall she is, but Hollywood can make anyone what they want these days. 

For Tommy, I truly see Logan Lerman, AKA Percy Jackson. That boyish charm, electric blue eyes, and black hair that can hang low in his eyes, is just perfect for Tommy. 

For James, I see Alex Pettyfer. Good gracious that guy is hot. He has many looks, but when his hair is blond and bleached out on the ends, he is how I imagine James. A strong jawline, almost unnaturally good-looking, and Alex almost has James’s gray eyes as well.