Thursday, 23 April 2009

Interview - Jennifer Echols

Jenn Echol's Going Too Far has been getting great reviews across the blogosphere. Here's my attempt to pose some questions that really strike to the heart of the novel, especially the last one.

Echols' The Ex Games will be in stores from October 6 and sounds like a cracking (snerk) read.

Going Too Far has the same feisty and humorous tone of your other books but the characters and situations are darker. Was this deliberate?
It started out as one of those other books, a romantic comedy. But it went dark on me, and rather than calling it back from the dark side, I decided to let it be what it wanted to be.

In my opinion, you are one of the best dialogue writers in YA.
That is really sweet of you.
How do you approach writing character interplay, making it snap, crackle and pop?
I have to say, there are lots of aspects of writing that are very difficult for me, but I never even think about dialogue. In fact, when I was revising my first novel, Major Crush, my editor asked me if I had been a screenwriter because the book was so dialogue-heavy. I had to go back and add description between the lines of dialogue so it wouldn’t read like a play.

Meg's reasoning for some of her bad choices is interesting and left me blind sighted. Where did that idea originate from?
When I’m not writing, I work as a copyeditor for medical journals, and some of the people I’ve read about have stuck with me. When you’ve been a patient, it’s not enough for doctors to heal your body--your mind must heal as well.

Who would you like to be trapped in a police car with?
My husband. I have not been trapped in a police car with him, but he did teach me to drive a stick-shift in his Mustang when we were 17.

Which YA author stirs up envy when you read their work?
I read Prom Dates from Hell by Rosemary Clement-Moore and thought, “This chick is smarter than me.” I’m really looking forward to her novel The Splendor Falls, which is set in Alabama like Going Too Far.

The Ex-Games is released in October (YAY), what are you working on at the moment?
I am waiting to see if the editor of The Ex Games wants to buy the new book I proposed. And I’m reading. And I’m painting the living room. Actually I’m about to go crazy because I haven’t written anything in a few weeks, which is extremely unusual for me.

Is John based on anyone ... and can I have his number?
Sorry! LOL! You are not the first person to ask, which makes me very happy, because it means I’ve done my job. :)

Thank you so much Jenn!

Jenn's website can be found at http://www.jennifer-echols.com/
Her blog here - http://jenniferechols.livejournal.com/

3 comments:

Erika Powell said...

great interview!! i loved all of Echols books and can't wait for Ex Games.

prophecygirl said...

Nice interview! I can't wait to read this book, it sounds great!

Lisa Schroeder said...

I love that cover, so pretty! Thanks for the great interview!