Interview: Kimberly Pauley, author of Cat Girl's Day Off + HUGE PRIZE PACK Giveaway (INT)

I'm absolutely delighted to be joined today by the phenomenal Kimberly Pauley, author of the absolutely fantastic YA contemporary novel (with tiny elements of paranormal), Cat Girl's Day Off.
If you missed my review of Cat Girl's Day Off click here, or simply scroll down a bit (it's the post below this one).

1. Welcome to Bookish Kimberly! Thank you so much for being one of the guests during the Contemporary Fiction Month feature! Could you start by telling us a little bit about yourself?

Thanks for having me! Well, I’m the author of three funny YA books for teens and I live in London with my husband and son (we moved here last year from the US). I majored in English in college and have always loved writing—I still have all my journals from when I was a teen!

2. You recently published YA novel, Cat Girl's Day Off, has made a huge impression on me! It was all kinds of adorable and meaningful, and I had a wonderful time following Natalie's adventures! Could you tell us who or what inspired you to write it?

It started with the simple idea of a teen who had a super power that they thought was stupid and kind of blossomed from there. I love cats (it seems most writers do) and also Ferris Bueller. Once all those things got smooshed together, the story was born!

3. Could you share with us your favourite quote from Cat Girl's Day Off?

Ohhh, that’s hard. Do you mean like one of the quotes that head up each chapter? If those, I’d probably have to go with one of the Heinlein ones (since he’s one of my favorite authors of all time). Maybe this one: “Anyone who considers protocol unimportant has never dealt with a cat.” If you mean one of the bits that I wrote…hmm…that’s even harder!

4. What would you say is the most important quality your characters possess? 

A sense of humor. Or, well, maybe the ability to learn and grow. That sounds good, doesn’t it?

5. Have you always wanted to be a writer? At what point in your life did you decide that writing is something you want to do?

Always! I always wrote. Even when I had boring, awful, terrible corporate jobs, I still wrote. It’s hard to pinpoint a decision point, but I guess you could say when I quit my corporate job back in 2005 to write full time would be it.

6. Did you have any funny/crazy fan moments yet? (If so, please do share!) 

They’re all fun! Perhaps the time I was doing a presentation somewhere and one girl was so excited she was literally struck speechless and kept making owl-ish noises every time she tried to say something to me. That was just totally adorable.

7. How do you approach writing a new novel? Are you a plotter or a pantser?

A little of both. I do outline, but I don’t do so extensively. I can’t go completely off the top of my head though (I never finish the book that way), so I guess I’m more of a plotter.

8. What's next in line for you? Are you working on a new book now?

I’m a little up in the air right now. I’ve got another book completed that my agent has out right now. I was working on a new book…but I might be switching to work on a different new book…can’t really say any more yet. Hopefully news on that soon! But suffice it to say that there are always at least 2 books going on in my head at any given time.

9. Which three of your favourite contemporary books would you recommend everybody to read?

Hourglass by Myra McEntire (love Myra), the Skullduggery Pleasant books (if you’re a bit bloodthirsty), or anything by Marlene Perez (love Marlene too!).

10. If your book had a soundtrack to accompany it, what songs would be on it?

I hadn’t really thought about a Cat Girl soundtrack! The other book I have finished (Ask Me) has a definite soundtrack (each chapter has a “theme” song), but I didn’t really have any music in mind with Cat Girl. I’d probably have to pick some fun cat-related tunes like “Love Cats” by the Cure and things like that. Would love to hear people’s suggestions! There are a couple of songs mentioned in the book (like “Born this Way” by Lady Gaga—it’s Oscar’s ringtone on Nat’s phone), so I guess that would be included too.

12. Do you have a favourite contemporary fiction character/couple? 

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Wow, I feel like I should be able to say yes to that, but I really don’t have a favourite! (and I just typed favorite the UK way there, which kind of hurt my fingers…I live in the UK now, but I still am not used to all the “extra” vowels). Oh, wait, I do have an odd favorite couple…from Neal Shusterman’s books (Everlost, Everwild, and Everfound): Allie the Outcast and Mikey McGill (formerly the Monstrous McGill). Truly an odd couple, but I like them together. I haven’t read the third book yet and the second one ended with a serious cliffhanger, so I’ve got to pick it up and find out what happened!

Kimberly, thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to join us here today! I LOVED Cat Girl's Day Off and wish everyone would take the time to read it and find out for themselves how absolutely wonderful a book it is! Looking forward to reading your next book!

About the author:

KIMBERLY PAULEY is the author of the award-winning Sucks to Be Me, which was honored on the YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers list. The sequel, Still Sucks to Be Me, was listed on the VOYA Best Science Fiction Fantasy List of 2010. Born in California, she has lived everywhere from Florida to Chicago and has now gone international to live in London with her husband (a numbers man) and the cutest little boy on any continent (The Max). She wrote Cat Girl’s Day Off because she wanted to share what cats really think with the world. 

For more information about Kimberly and her books, visit her online at kimberlypauley.com.

Together with Bonnie from Words At Home and Asheley from Into The Hall Of Books we are hosting a fantabulous giveaway blast! Kimberly Pauley has offered to giveaway a wonderful prize-pack to one of out International readers! 

Here's what you can win:

- A copy of Cat Girl's Day Off
- Signed Bookplates
-Swag
-and a T-SHIRT of your choice from Kimberly's store (you can pick anything from here: http://stbm.spreadshirt.com/  

Contest is open WORLD WIDE

Ends: June 30th

There are plenty of extra entries, so knock yourself out.
For 25 bonus entries into the giveaway, complete the SCAVENGER HUNT (details below)

Cat Girl's Day Off Scavenger Hunt! 

Hidden in our reviews of Cat Girl's Day Off are three magic words (one in each review) that create a magic sentence that unlocks the bonus +25 entries for everyone who can figure it out and put it together. The magic words are in bright pink -> like this one and here's where you can find them:

First word: Hidden in Evie's review of Cat Girl's Day Off (click here)

Second word: Hidden in Asheley's review of Cat Girl's Day Off (click here - will be posted on June 8th)

Third word: Hidden in Bonnie's review of Cat Girl's Day Off (click here - will be posted on June 14th)

Find out what the mystery sentence is to gain +25 bonus entries into our WICKED AWESOME giveaway! 

Enter through RAFFLECOPTER below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This Interview + Giveaway was posted as part of the Contemporary Fiction Month feature. Click on the picture for full schedule.