Find Out Friday: Jennifer Solow + Giveaway!

1. Your debut, THE BOOSTER, was an adult novel. How hard was it to switch from writing for adults to writing for kids/teenagers?

I don’t really see writing for teenagers and writing for adults as much different. I think about the character and what’s true to that character’s experience and that’s what I write about. But I guess when I write for teens (young teens) I think a little bit more about the reader’s mom – maybe because I’m a mom. I’m pretty strict about media for my kids and keep a pretty tight rein on what I think is appropriate for their age group – so I want to write for teens in a way that a parent would find not just acceptable, but inspiring for their kids to read. So, I guess it’s some balance between being a truthful writer and a responsible mom.

2. Which of the Aristobrats are you most like? Did you put parts of yourself or people you know into your characters?

I’m most like Parker – naturally. She’s the protagonist, the “eyes” through whom the story is told; so she is me to some extent. She’s outwardly confident but has a lot of deep insecurities that may not seem evident on the surface. She can have a sense of loneliness, even surrounded by her closest friends. She’s also informed by my own experiences. For instance, one day I found myself staring at my Facebook status box thinking “What is my status, really? Who am I?” It doesn’t come as a surprise that Parker did that the very next day – on the pages of our manuscript. I think Parker and I are both complicated that way: confident yet insecure, together but frazzled, on top of things yet overwhelmed, excited but nervous. Like me, all my main characters are probably Gemini!

3. If you could befriend Parker, Plum, Ikea, and Kiki with any other characters (book or movie) who would it be and why?

I think of Parker, Plum, Ikea and Kiki as teen versions of the Sex and the City characters. So I’d probably send these four and those four out on a shopping spree in Manhattan. Maybe they could go to Serendipity and have frozen hot chocolates together before a quick stop at Dylan’s Candy Bar and then top it off at Henri Bendel’s.

4. What is one song you think best suits you and your life?

Okay – so I’m truly, honestly, way cooler than this, but this is what immediately comes to mind: Let’s Go Fly a Kite: Mary Poppins.

With tuppence for paper and strings
You can have your own set of wings
With your feet on the ground
You're a bird in a flight
With your fist holding tight
To the string of your kite

I think if there’s one thing I’ve always felt it’s that I am capable of doing anything (I even believe this in the midst of great failure). Anyone, I believe, is capable of anything. I think the song is hopeful – a little reality plus a little magic plus a little hard work and all things are possible.

5. What is one place in the world you would love to travel to?

I met my husband in the ashes of the World Trade Center on 9/11. One of the promises we made to each other was that we’d help each other do all the things we’d always dreamt of doing but never had the chance or the ability. For me, one of those things was travelling. I really wanted to go to Japan and stay in a traditional Ryokan in Kyoto, which I did last year. I also had a major South of France fantasy (thanks to A Year in Provence) and I was able to visit there earlier this year. Thailand. Antibes. Hong Kong. Paris. Yes! Yes! Yes! I think the thing I would love most of all to do now is to live somewhere for an extended period of time. A year in Paris would be divine – followed by a summer in Provence! Eeek! I’m getting shivers!

But right now, I’m tucked into my own bed, head on my favorite pillow, my son next to me fiddling with his new phone, my husband in the room next on a business call, the dishwasher whirring in the darkness downstairs – this is really my favorite place to travel to…wherever this happens to be.

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Thanks so much Jennifer!

Visit her website, http://www.jennifersolow.com/, for more info!

Also, read my review of The Aristobrats here!

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GIVEAWAY!

I have a copy of The Aristobrats to giveaway to one lucky winner!

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US Only

Ends November 4

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