Suzanne Selfors Interview

I'm excited to welcome the fantastic and funny Suzanne Selfors to The Book Scout today! I loved her newest release Mad Love and am anxious to read more by her in the future!

1.If Alice and Katrina could spend a day together, what would they do?

Wow, you're really making me think here. What would Katrina, the main character from Coffeehouse Angel, and Alice, the main character from Mad Love, do? Since they both work very hard at their "jobs", trying to keep their families in tact, I think they'd probably want to spend the day hanging out on the beach with their adorable boyfriends, swimming, taking it easy. I think they'd like each other.

2. You have a variety of middle grade and YA novels published, what do you like best about each age group?

Writing for middle grade is fun because you can basically do whatever you want. Man-eating tortoises, orphaned merbabies, cloud-copters--your imagination is your only limit. Kids that age will accept magic in all its crazy forms. And they don't require or expect romance. :)

Writing for teens is very different. The story almost always needs romantic tension, this is the most challenging thing for me to write. And I usually write these novels in first person because I think teen readers like to get into the character's head. This is also a challenge.

3. The paperback cover of COFFEEHOUSE ANGEL is quite different from the hardcover, do you have a preference of which one you like best?

I like them both. The hardcover is great because the two models look exactly like my characters. Exactly. So that was fun to see. The paperback is great because it gives an entirely different feel and I think it will attract a different set of readers.

4. What's next for you writing wise?

My next middle grade book, Smells Like Treasure, comes out May 2011. It's a sequel to Smells Like Dog, and I'm really happy with it. I'm currently working on the first draft of my next teen novel. The story is a secret but I will give a little hint -- it's a fairytale. This book will release in 2012.

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Thanks so much for stopping by Suzanne! Be sure to check out my review of Mad Love and Suzanne's website!

Review: Mad Love by Suzanne Selfors

Mad Love by Suzanne Selfors

When you're the daughter of the bestselling Queen of Romance, life should be pretty good. But 16-year-old Alice Amorous has been living a lie ever since her mother was secretly hospitalized for mental illness. After putting on a brave front for months, time is running out. The next book is overdue, and the Queen can't write it. Alice needs a story for her mother—and she needs one fast.

That's when she meets Errol, a strange boy who claims to be Cupid, who insists that Alice write about the greatest love story in history: his tragic relationship with Psyche. As Alice begins to hear Errol's voice in her head and see things she can't explain, she must face the truth—that she's either inherited her mother's madness, or Errol is for real.

Review:

Mad Love was my first Suzanne Selfors novel and it definitely won't be my last. Filled with love, hope, and regret, Mad Love is the perfect romance novel to read around Valentine's Day. Alice was a fantastic main character who I loved from the start. She was a realistic sixteen year old and on top of dealing with normal teenage problems (like first love) she also is faced with covering up the fact that her mother, the once thriving Queen of Romance, is secretly struggling in a hospital, fighting a mental illness. Alice stayed strong for her mother and made sure the Queen of Romance's secret stayed hidden. Even to the point of lying to her editor and fans. I always wanted the best for Alice because life was never easy for her. She was dealing with much more than any sixteen year old should have to and she was constantly faced with some difficult decisions throughout the novel.

Things really take a turn for the worse when her mother's publisher starts demanding a new book, and Belinda Amorous is in no condition to pen another bestseller. When Alice meets Errol, a strange teenager who claims to be the famous lover, Cupid, Alice's life starts to change drastically. Especially when she starts to wonder whether she has inherited her mother's illness or if Errol really is what he claims to be- Cupid. Errol asks Alice to help him write his story. His tragic romance with the beautiful Psyche.

Mad Love was filled with a variety of twists and turns and I was constantly flipping the pages, eager to see what was going to happen next for Alice and her friends. There are a lot of great secondary characters introduced in Mad Love and each of them has a vital role in the story. Ms. Bobot, the Reverend, Realm, Tony, and more. Realm was a girl that Alice was constantly at odds with. As the novel progresses, Alice will learn some things about Realm that may make her question what she originally thought of the girl. I loved Tony. He was such a sweet and understanding guy and was always there for Alice when things got tough.

I loved how Suzanne introduced so much mythology into the story. I knew next to nothing about Cupid and Psyche so it was interesting to read about their history. Errol was an interesting character who helped Alice out a lot even though he was also hiding some terrible secrets.

I am so glad I had the opportunity to read Mad Love. It was a romantic, fun, and, at times, intense, new novel by author Suzanne Selfors and I am anxious to read her previous release, Coffeehouse Angel as soon as possible! I highly recommend this to everyone!

Overall: 4.5 out of 5 stars

January 4, 2011/Walker BFYR/323 Pages/Young Adult

Source: Publisher (Hardcover)

Other books by this author: Coffeehouse Angel