Swoon-worthy kisses, sizzling romances, and epic tales of heartbreak. Welcome to the Heartbreakers Blog Tour.
Here you'll be introduced to some of the brightest and best young adult / new adult authors around, as well as snag sneak peeks at upcoming titles guaranteed to get your emotions running high and your heart racing.
And don't forget to enter the Rafflecopter GIVEAWAY at the end of this post for chances to win a FREE Kindle, loaded with titles from our participating authors. Who can resist a HEARTBREAKER?
DAY SIX: D.G. DRIVER, LAURIE J. EDWARDS and JERI SMITH-READY
D.G. Driver is the author of Cry of the Sea:
D. G. Driver grew up in Southern
California only 30 minutes from the beach. As a girl, she used to dream
that magic would change her overnight into a beautiful mermaid. Alas,
that never happened, but her love of the ocean never diminished. Even
though she is landlocked in Tennessee now, she still only needs one whiff of
sunscreen to bring her imagination alive. Thanks to the support of her
husband and a sweet drawing of a mermaid done by her daughter that was taped on
the wall above her desk to keep her motivated to finish, Cry of the Sea is now
her first published Young Adult novel. A dragon picture hangs there now,
so we’ll see what happens…
Juniper Sawfeather is choosing which college to attend after graduation from West Olympia High School next year. She wants to go to San Diego to be far away from her environmental activist parents. They expect her to think the way they do, but having to be constantly fighting causes makes it difficult to be an average 17 year old high school student. Why do her parents have to be so "out there?"
Everything changes when she and her father rush to the beach after a reported oil spill. As they document the damage, June discovers three humans washed up on the beach, struggling to breathe through the oil coating their skin. At first she thinks they must be surfers, but as she gets closer, she realizes these aren't human at all.
They're mermaids!
Now begins a complex story of intrigue, conspiracy and manipulation as June, her parents, a marine biologist and his handsome young intern, her best friend, the popular clique at school and the oil company fight over the fate of the mermaids.
Everything changes when she and her father rush to the beach after a reported oil spill. As they document the damage, June discovers three humans washed up on the beach, struggling to breathe through the oil coating their skin. At first she thinks they must be surfers, but as she gets closer, she realizes these aren't human at all.
They're mermaids!
Now begins a complex story of intrigue, conspiracy and manipulation as June, her parents, a marine biologist and his handsome young intern, her best friend, the popular clique at school and the oil company fight over the fate of the mermaids.
1. Heartbreak can come in many forms: a messy breakup, a disappointing setback, death of a loved one, or a broken friendship. Has writing ever had a hand in helping you deal with a wounded heart?
In the summer between high school and college, three of my
best friends abandoned me. That was
devastating. I wrote my first novel
while in college, and they are featured in that story with different names and
as not very nice people. (I will never
publish that book, but it exists). A
boyfriend that jilted me is featured twice in songs I wrote and performed a lot
back when I was singing professionally.
Another former boyfriend of mine showed up as the jerk at the beginning
of a fantasy novel I wrote years ago and never finished. Several bullies I knew in school are featured
as bullies in a middle grade novel I published back in 2004. Yeah, I recycle my heartaches.
2. Top 5 films about heartbreak?
(I like old standards, so you might not know these. I sing these to myself when I’m really low)
Guess I’ll Hang My Tears Out to Dry (Linda Rondstat’s
standard album “Lush Life”)
But Not for Me (Judy Garland)
What’s New? (Linda Rondstat’s “Lush Life)
Little Girl Blue (Doris Day “Jumbo”)
Once in a While (Liza Minelli “New York, New York”)
Pop Songs (for something slightly more current)
Don’t Speak (No Doubt)
I Will Always Love You (Whitney Houston’s version)
All By Myself (Celine Dion)
(these ones all make me cry every time)
Jerry Maguire
Hope Floats
Sense and Sensibility
Ghost
P.S. I Love You
The Notebook made me cry so much I had to turn it off before
I could finish it and come back to it later.
____
Laurie J. Edwards (writing as Erin Johnson) is the author of Grace and the Guiltless: Wanted, Book 1:
About Laurie:
Changing her name almost as often as she changes her clothes,
Laurie J. Edwards writes under a variety of pseudonyms. Her 2014 releases
include INSIDE A CYBERSTALKER’S MIND and four books in the WANTED series, set
in the Wild West, written as Erin Johnson.
In addition to more than 2100 articles in print, some of her
other titles include the 5-vol. UXL Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes,
Pirates through the Ages, and Rihanna (People in the News) as
well as stories in two anthologies, Summer Lovin’ and A Community of
Writers. A former librarian, Laurie J. Edwards is also a freelance editor,
illustrator, and voracious reader who’s been known to read thirty books a week.
1. Heartbreak can come in many forms: a messy breakup, a disappointing setback, death of a loved one, or a broken friendship. Has writing ever had a hand in helping you deal with a wounded heart?
Many, many times. I’ve kept journals for years,
and I pour all my heartbreak and triumphs onto those pages. In some places the
words are so blurred from tears, they’re illegible. When I’m writing and need
to go to an emotional place in my character’s heart, I can always recall one of
my journal experiences to take me there.
I do find, though, that the older I get, the
more philosophical I become. Perhaps it’s because I’ve spent so much time
writing that I’ve become my own therapist, but my highs and lows are no longer
as extreme as they once were. I’ve learned there’s always an unexpected joy
behind even the deepest sorrow, so I use my journal pages to discover those
hidden blessings.
2. Top 5 songs about heartbreak? Top 5 films?
I’m rather unusual that I rarely watch TV or go to
movies, and I prefer absolute silence rather than music. I have too much going
on in my imagination all the time, so outside stimuli is distracting. I’ve
always been a voracious reader, and still love books. I prefer books to movies
because I can create the quirky characters and lush, vivid settings in my own
mind. My creations usually are far more elaborate than those of a director or
producer, so movies often disappoint.
Jeri Smith-Ready is the author of This Side of Salvation:
When not writing, Jeri she can usually be found—well, thinking about writing, or on Twitter. Like her characters, she loves music, movies, and staying up very, very late.
THIS SIDE OF SALVATION
Everyone mourns differently. When his older brother was killed, David got angry. As in, fist-meets-someone-else’s-face furious. But his parents? They got religious. David’s still figuring out his relationship with a higher power, but there’s one thing he does know for sure: The closer he gets to new-girl Bailey, the better, brighter, happier, more he feels.
Then his parents start cutting all their worldly ties in to prepare for the Rush, the divine moment when the faithful will be whisked off to Heaven…and they want David to do the same. David’s torn. There’s a big difference between living in the moment and giving up his best friend, varsity baseball, and Bailey—especially Bailey—in hope of salvation.
But when he comes home late from prom, and late for the Rush, to find that his parents have vanished, David is in more trouble than he ever could have imagined...
1. Heartbreak can come in many forms: a messy breakup, a disappointing setback, death of a loved one, or a broken friendship. Has writing ever had a hand in helping you deal with a wounded heart?
Judith, thank you a MILLION for coordinating the
Heartbreakers blog tour! I’m so happy to be a part of it.
Writing has definitely helped me deal with a wounded heart. This Side of Salvation, in fact, became
much more of a “grief book” after I lost my best friend (who happened to be a
dog, but still…). David’s older brother, John, died in Afghanistan a few years
before the book opens, but we also get glimpses into David’s past, not only of
John’s death but the aftermath and how it affected his family.
I was able to take the excruciating pain of my own grief and
give it to David. At the worst moments of mourning, I could calm myself down by
imagining how David would feel and how he would express it in words. It was
almost dissociative, the way I’d just shift into another person’s head, but at
times, it was the only way to keep breathing. I don’t know how non-artists deal
with grief and other heartache without imploding. Where do they put all that
pain?
2. Top 5 songs about heartbreak? Top 5 films?
Songs
1. My Father’s House by Bruce Springsteen
2. The Band Played Waltzing Matilda by Eric Bogle
3. What Sarah Said by Death Cab for Cutie
4. Cosmic Love by Florence + the Machine
5. My Backwards Walk by Frightened Rabbit
Interesting. Out of all these, only that last one is about
the breakup of a relationship.
Films
1. I know it’s not a film, but the Season One finale of ROME
absolutely killed me. It’s the only creative work (book, movie, TV) that left
me lying awake crying at night.
2. Up
3. Sophie’s Choice
4. Million-Dollar Baby
5. The Green Mile
OK, after spending an hour listening to my saddest songs and
watching YouTube clips of the most heartbreaking movies, I am a mess. THANKS A
LOT! J
I'm bad at song titles but I know anything by Adele would fit the heartbreaker thing :)