Today we have author Jessica Sankiewicz stopping by the blog for an awesome interview as part of the blog tour for her YA Contemporary novel, If Only We!
Hey, Jessica! Thank you so much for stopping by to chat with me today! :)
Thank YOU, Jessica! I'm glad to be here!
Before we get into all the boooook taaaaalk, why don’t you tell us a little about yourself?
Well, let's see. I'm technically 28 years old but I've decided to be 27 forever. I've spent the last 9 years working as a pharmacy tech. Aside from writing and reading, I love to have marathons of TV on DVD—it's one obsession after another there, most recently Futurama. And sometimes I spontaneously dance in my apartment when I'm alone and a bit wired.
Convince me to read If Only We in five words or less. Okay? Go!
Second chances are amazing circumstances.
Which character in If Only We was the biggest rebel when you were trying to write?
Adrienne. She's in an epic struggle, trying to make things right but attempting to still remain true to herself. I wanted her to make changes but didn't want her to be a doormat either. Making sure she was balanced, kind yet strong, was difficult.
How much you wanna bet I’m gonna end up loving the crap out of that rebellious character? Ha!
Oh yeah!
I’m going to assume you like to read. What is one book you recommend to me and all the wonderful readers of Bookish and why?
Oh, I LOVE to read. One of the more recent ones that really got to me was Gayle Forman's Just One Day. In the last year, I've been doing a lot of contemplating about my future and things I want to experience and traveling is up there on that list. This book was not only great when it came to the joys you can experience exploring the world, but also really drove the point home of allowing yourself to be open to more in life. Not just travel, but letting things happen that bring you happiness and not allowing day-to-day life suck the joy out of you. I actually just got the sequel, Just One Year, in the mail and absolutely CANNOT wait to see the rest of the story.
I’m always curious about names. How did you come up with the names of your characters?
Oh wow. I don't even remember! I go through a baby name book and try to pick out a variety of names and then narrow it down to what sounds best for each character. Adrienne's name was completely random. Usually I pick out one of my favorite names for my main character but this time I didn't. Oddly enough, I grew to adore the name “Adrienne” by the end.
Which of your characters’ names is your favorite?
Adrienne's love interest, Chevy. I don't think I've seen any boys named Chevy in a book, but I'm sure there are some out there. I liked giving him a unique name. And it makes me think of Chevy Chase, and he's pretty awesome, so it works!
All right, it’s time to talk book boys. If you had to pick ONE, which would be your absolute favorite? Tell us about him!
Just ONE?! Okay... Jason from Meant To Be by Lauren Morrill. I am SUCH a sucker for cute and funny boys and Jason is the epitome of this. I don't think I've ever fallen for a guy if he wasn't hilarious and adorable, the combination is like kryptonite for me. When Jason made me laugh, I was done for. *fans self*
Do you listen to music while you write? If so, what would you say was your #1 song while writing If Only We?
I almost always have to have some music playing while writing. The one song I think I played the most was “This Time (Klaas Remix)” by DJ Antoine. Not that it was integral in writing the story, or done on purpose, but it empowered me as I wrote. And it coincidentally has lyrics that sort of match up with the theme of the story itself.
What’s your favorite thing to do if you’re not writing?
I love crocheting. I used to crochet a lot more a couple years ago, but then ended up running out of free time when I started working full-time and then focused more attention on writing. I actually got out some of my yarn a couple months ago and it felt so soothing to crochet again. I really need to set aside more time for it.
If you had to choose one food for you to eat for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Stuffing. I just love stuffing. I will eat it as a main dish whenever the opportunity arises.
Where is your favorite place to write?
I usually only write in a couple places, either on my bed or my couch. I don't really have a preference there. I've actually considered changing things up by going to a coffee shop sometime so I'll perhaps try that for my next novel and see how it goes!
Where is your favorite place to read?
In bed. I like being all snuggled in pajamas and under blankets. It's very cozy.
What song has currently taken up residence in your brain no matter how hard you try to throw it out? (For me, it’s “New Perspective” by Panic! At the Disco. I have no idea why.)
I just put LoPro on in my car tonight, and now “Wasting Away” is playing in a loop in my head. It's not the first time it's been there, it happened before once this summer.
Was there anything in If Only We that you ended up having to take out even though you loved it like I love cake?
Off the top of my head I can't think of anything. A lot of what I had to cut were little things, a few words or sentences that didn't make sense or contribute to the story. I would hate to cut something from my story if it was like cake!
On a scale from 1-10, how great do you think my hair looks today? *stares*
10 of course!!!
Okay, okay, it’s just about time for goodbyes, but before we go there, what can you tell us about what you have coming up next? WILL THERE BE SWOONING? (I like to swoon. You know, in case you couldn’t tell.)
YES. There will be swooning. I'm actually swooning thinking about it. My next full-length novel, With One Glance, features a forbidden romance with a love interest that is extraordinarily funny and charming (like I said, kryptonite). I also have a novella in the works called Our Chances Are with a boy who believes in serendipity.
Thank you so much for doing this, Jessica! You rock, girl, and you are soooo welcome back anytime! <3
Thank you for having me! ^_^
About the book:
Published October 27th 2013
They say all it takes is one wrong move and you lose the game. One false step and you’re trapped. One slip-up in your choice of words and you ruin a friendship forever. That is what they say. They say I lost.
I do not believe them.
At the end of the summer after graduation, Adrienne wonders what happened to cause her life to be in ruins. She isn’t getting along with her mom, her stepsister isn’t talking to her, and, to top it off, the boy she’s been in love with doesn’t want anything to do with her. She believes the turning point was a choice she made at graduation. When she wakes up the next day, she has been transported back three months to that moment, the one where everything started to fall apart.
Adrienne realizes she has been given a second chance—and this time she doesn’t want to mess anything up. Reliving the entire summer, though, turns out to be a lot harder than she thought. As the same days and weeks go by, she starts to see how simple decisions can make a huge impact on the world around her. Despite knowing some of what lies ahead, there are some things she didn’t anticipate. She thought she knew what mistake led her to where she ended up the first time. She was wrong.
And by the time summer is over, she discovers what was really at stake.
About the author:
Goodreads | Blog | Facebook | Twitter
Jessica is the 28 year old author of IF ONLY WE, a YA contemporary coming out in October 2013. You can often find her either reading or marathon watching TV on DVD, her favorites being Castle and Veronica Mars. She frequently mismatches her clothes and giggles uncontrollably. She knows almost every Billy Joel song by heart. She collects books and toys, and she has an intense love of cats and lemurs. Currently in the midst of her quarter-life-crisis, she is still takin' names and getting very close to reaching an epiphany.
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