It’s time for Ontario Teen Book Fest and that means it’s time to spotlight one of the authors who will be attending! I basically begged Sara to let me have Kasie West. You know, because Kasie. Before we get to all of Kasie’s awesomeness, let’s check out the upcoming event!
Ontario Teen Book Fest is absolutely free and tickets are not necessary. It’s being held at Colony High School 3850 E. Riverside Drive, Ontario, CA 91761. The event is being sponsored by Once Upon a Time and additional info can be found at the event website.
And now Kasie! Here’s some info on her upcoming book, The Fill-In Boyfriend
When Gia Montgomery’s boyfriend, Bradley, dumps her in the parking lot of her high school prom, she has to think fast. After all, she’d been telling her friends about him for months now. This was supposed to be the night she proved he existed. So when she sees a cute guy waiting to pick up his sister, she enlists his help. The task is simple: be her fill-in boyfriend— two hours, zero commitment, a few white lies. After that, she can win back the real Bradley.
The problem is that days after prom, it’s not the real Bradley she’s thinking about, but the stand-in. The one whose name she doesn’t even know. But tracking him down doesn’t mean they’re done faking a relationship. Gia owes him a favor and his sister intends to see that he collects: his ex-girlfriend’s graduation party — three hours, zero commitment, a few white lies.
Just when Gia begins to wonder if she could turn her fake boyfriend into a real one, Bradley comes waltzing back into her life, exposing her lie, and threatening to destroy her friendships and her new-found relationship.
Sounds good, right? {Hint: It’s so so so so good.}
1. Where did the idea for The Fill In Boyfriend come from?
Ah, ideas, where do they come from? Sometimes I actually have fun or exciting answers to this question, but this time it’s quite boring. I am a huge fan of the ‘pretend to be my boyfriend for a while’ trope. I don’t care how many times I read it or see it, I love it every time. So I thought I should try my hand at it. It was a lot of fun.
2. Why do you love Gia and why should we root for her?
Gia is kind of a brat at first. She’s selfish and shallow and really out for herself. But I think maybe we’ve all had those moments in our lives when we were less than we could’ve been. And this is Gia’s journey to discovering that she can be more and be better and I think we can all get behind a person who is genuinely trying.
3. Were there any scenes that you had to cut that you wished would have stayed?
I wish. I know that sounds funny to say that I wish there were scenes I had to cut, but let me explain: I write on the short side. I actually have the opposite problem. I’m always trying to add scenes. When I’m done with a story I have to look back and really think about what more the main character needed to learn and do so that I can flesh out the story more.
4. What makes a good villain?
Someone who is just as three dimensional as all the other characters. Someone who has reasons for doing what they’re doing and who thinks those reasons justify their behavior. My favorite villain of all is Loki and I think it’s because Tom Hiddleston did such a good job of making us understand him and in a way feel for him even though we knew what he was doing was wrong.
5. Describe The Fill-In Boyfriend in 5 words.
Fun, Flirty, Friendship, Family (wow, I honestly did not mean to make those all start with an F. Now I feel like my fifth one needs to start with an F too and I can’t for the life of me think of another F word.) ……Fake? (as in, fake boyfriend. Ha.)
Speed {ish} round:
1. You get the call/email/letter that says you’re being published for the first time. Describe the next 5 minutes.
Shock. Laughing hysterically. Calling my husband. Calling my best friends. Walking back and forth from the kitchen to the laundry room a hundred times for no apparent reason. Sheer joy.
2. What three things would you take to a desert island?
Books (does that count as 1?), chocolate, sunscreen (I’m soooo white)
3. You can only read one book for the rest of your life. What is it?
That is a completely unfair question. How can I pick one?
4. What is the one thing about publishing you wish someone would have told you?
To not always look for the next stage to be happy. Because in each and every stage there is rejection and heartache but also happiness and joy to be found. So I just want to live in this stage and be happy in it because if I can’t be happy in this stage, I won’t be in the next.
5. You wake up and discover you are Bella from Twilight. You know how it plays out. What do you do differently? {Thanks to Bookish Broads for letting me use this question!}
It’s been so long since I’ve read those books that it’s actually kind of fuzzy how it turns out. But, what do I do if I’m turned into a vampire? I can answer that question. Be awesome. I think I wouldn’t be a “vegetarian”. Is that mean? That’s mean. Never mind, I totally would. I’d go get me a harem and live as an all powerful queen of my vampire boys. Ha.
6. What is the one question {and answer} you wish someone would ask you?
You guys are always so good at asking questions that I never feel like you missed anything. But I do love to talk about my family and how they are my life. I have 4 kids. 3 daughters and a son and they are the reason I breathe. They keep me humble and grounded and also are the stars of my happiest memories. And of course, I have an awesome husband who supports me so I can do what I love. Without him, I couldn’t write another book. I couldn’t have written the 5 I already did. I’ve been sick for the last couple weeks with the flu so I think I’m feeling especially sappy and grateful today.
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I write YA. I eat Junior Mints. Sometimes I go crazy and do both at the same time. My novels, published through Harper Teen are: PIVOT POINT, its sequel SPLIT SECOND (Feb 2014), and THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US (a contemporary novel). I also have two more contemporaries, ON THE FENCE coming out July 1, 2014, and THE FILL-IN BOYFRIEND coming out the summer of 2015. My agent is the talented and funny Michelle Wolfson.
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Huge thanks to Kasie for taking the time, especially when she was sick! Make sure you’re checking out her website, following her on Twitter, liking her Facebook page, and adding all of her books to your Goodreads TBR shelf!
And if you’ve made it this far, you’re being rewarded with a giveaway {which is US only}!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Don’t forget to check out the rest of the blog tour for other author interviews!
Official Blog Tour Schedule
February 28th: Spotlight on Kasie West — Adventures of a Book Junkie
March 1st: Spotlight on Melissa Landers — What A Nerd Girl Says
March 2nd: Spotlight on Brad Gottfred — Recently Acquired Obsessions
March 3rd: Spotlight on Catherine Linka — Read Now Sleep Later
March 4th: Spotlight on Debra Driza — Read Now Sleep Later
March 5th: Spotlight on Katie Finn — Fearless Kurt Reads YA
March 6th: Spotlight on Claudia Gray — A Bookish Escape
March 7th: Spotlight on Shannon Messenger — People Like Books
March 8th: Spotlight on Lauren Miller — The Thousand Lives
March 9th: Spotlight on Mary Elizabeth Summer — What A Nerd Girl Says
March 10th: Spotlight on Anna Carey — The Reader’s Antidote
March 11th: Spotlight on Sherri Smith — Movies, Shows and Books
March 12th: Spotlight on Elizabeth Ross — Kid Lit Frenzy
March 13th: Spotlight on Jessica Khoury — The Consummate Reader
March 14th: Spotlight on Maurene Goo — The Windy Pages
March 15th: Spotlight on Cecil Castellucci — Nite Lite Book Reviews
March 16th: Spotlight on Jessica Brody — The Romance Bookie
March 17th: Spotlight on Gretchen McNeil — Movies, Shows and Books
March 18th: Spotlight on Aaron Hartzler — Fangirl Feeels
March 19th: Spotlight on Michelle Levy — The Consummate Reader
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