Archive Author Interview and free book giveaway - Audrey's Guide to Witchcraft

[ஐ Katya (Book Queen)ஐ]

A little surprise for everybody. The author of Audrey's Guide to Witchcraft has offered to do an interview with us and for us to host a book giveaway. She said she could offer one signed print copy for US/Canada entries and one e-copy for international folks.



This is the author's bio:
Jody Gehrman is the author of seven novels and numerous plays. Audrey's Guide to Witchcraft is her most recent Young Adult novel. Her other Young Adult novels include Babe in Boyland, Confessions of a Triple Shot Betty, and Triple Shot Bettys in Love, (Penguin's Dial Books). Babe in Boyland has recently been optioned by the Disney Channel. Her adult novels are Notes from the Backseat, Tart, and Summer in the Land of Skin (Red Dress Ink). Her plays have been produced in Ashland, New York, San Francisco, Chicago and L.A. She and her partner David Wolf won the New Generation Playwrights Award for their one-act, Jake Savage, Jungle P.I. She is a professor of English at Mendocino College.

To be eligible for the giveaway, please post your interview questions with the author below. I will compile a list of all that have entered by the end of August and randomly pick a winner. (I'll put all names in a hat and let my sons pick a winner.) Please list if you are in Canada/USA or International as we'll have two drawings.

As the author is on Goodreads, I have invited her to join our discussion.

Enjoy!
~Kate (aka Briansgirl)

[ஐ Katya (Book Queen)ஐ]

Jody, what made you want to write about witches?

~Kate/USA

[Carolyn F.]

I see you were writing young adult chick lit, was it hard to incorporate paranormal into your writing?

[Jody]

ஐ Briansgirl (Book Sale Queen)ஐ wrote: "Jody, what made you want to write about witches?

~Kate/USA"

Hey Kate! Good question. The truth is, I've always been fascinated by witchcraft. I even dabbled in it a bit in my teens and twenties. The idea of humans having the ability to tap into the awesome power of nature appeals to me on a basic level. Growing up in Northern California, I knew at least a handful of people who identified as witches, so it wasn't that foreign to me. Even now, I know a few people who practice witchcraft; for example, one of my neighbors and a former student Lasara Firefox wrote a nonfiction book called Sexy Witch.

I started writing AUDREY about seven years ago as a book for adults, but I never felt like it was quite working. Then I realized it would work well as a YA novel, so I pulled out the old draft and gave it a radical makeover.
Sexy Witch

[Jody]

Carolyn F. wrote: "I see you were writing young adult chick lit, was it hard to incorporate paranormal into your writing?"

Hi Carolyn. The short answer to your question is YES, incorporating paranormal elements was a real challenge and it took some getting used to. Though I don't want to put my book down in any way and I'm very proud of it, I'll freely admit I'm a newbie at this paranormal thing, and it's not easy! I've always been a dreamer and magic has always appealed to me, but that doesn't mean it's easy working it into one's fiction. I have new admiration and respect for people who do it smoothly and naturally. I do like pushing myself to try new angles in my writing. I've been plugging away at a historical fiction novel for years, and it's still a miserable book that needs serious work! Trying new genres is humbling; it keeps me on my toes, keeps me from getting too complacent.

[ஐ Katya (Book Queen)ஐ]

Thanks for answering our questions so quickly!

[Carolyn F.]

I went to buy your book on Amazon and it's only $.99 right now. Everyone should definitely check it out.

http://www.amazon.com/Audreys-Guide-W...