Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Interview♥Giveaway with Jody Gehrman, author of Audrey's Guide to Witchcraft



Audrey's Guide to Witchcraft          
Audrey's Guides Book 1
Jody Gehrman

Genre: YA paranormal romance         
Publisher: Magic Genie Books

ISBN: 978-0615658445
ASIN: B008G7L6TS

Number of pages: 295
Word Count: 97800
Cover Artist: David Wolf

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Book Description:

Falling in love, baking a magical cake, fighting an evil necromancer—it’s all in a day’s work for Audrey Oliver, seventeen-year-old witch-in-training. When her mother goes missing and her mysterious "cousin" shows up out of the blue, Audrey knows something’s gone horribly, dangerously wrong. Now it’s up to her to get her own magical powers up to speed before everyone she loves is destroyed by the sorcerer intricately connected to her mother’s secret past. 


Interview


1. When naming your characters, do you give any thought to the actual meaning?

For me it's usually more about the feeling the name gives me than an actual definition. I have a baby name book a professor in graduate school assigned for one of my classes, and I u
se that a lot. At the time I thought it was totally stupid, but it's actually been really helpful! I also use phone books and Internet searches for last names. It's important to me, and it's one of the first things I usually do. I can't see the characters or their world until I know their names.


2. How do you get started with writing a story (as in, how do you start developing the story, how do you get inspired for it)?

I like to fill a notebook with scribbled ideas--anything that pops into my head about the characters, the plot, or their world gets jotted down. Then I do a rough outline and gather images. I like to "cast" each of my characters so I can really see them clearly. Sometimes I use actors for this, though occasionally I'll base a character loosely on someone I know. When I've got all that in place I write a rough draft as quickly as I can. If I lose momentum it's more difficult, so I'm a fan of the fast draft. I get feedback from my family first, and revise a couple times. Then I get notes from my writing group and/or beta readers and revise again. Only once it's been through a fair number of drafts do I turn it over to my agent. I'm a firm believer in going from one's most forgiving audience and working one's way up to getting feedback from professionals.


3. Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?

I attempted my first "novel" when I was eight. My family moved to Canada for the year, and I really missed my best friend. We used to play all kinds of imaginary games together, and I totally suffered from withdrawals when we moved away. So my first attempt at a book was a very long letter to her, a fantasy about us riding around on our flying dogs. I think I actually typed it on a real typewriter! That makes me feel ancient. Ever since then, writing fiction has been all about visiting imaginary worlds. I still tend to think of every novel as a long love letter, and I still tend to write some of my best stuff when I'm pining for a person or place. 

4. Can you share a little of your current work with us?
Over the years I've gotten very superstitious about saying too much about a future project. I hate to let the story's spirit escape into the world before we've had some quality private time together, you know? I will say there's bound to be more of a love story in the sequel to Audrey's Guide to Witchcraft. We'll definitely learn more about Julian and his role in Audrey's life. In general there will be higher stakes for everyone involved.


5. What was the hardest part of writing your book?
The biggest challenge with Audrey was finding the right protagonist to tell this particular story. I've worked on this book off and on for seven years. I know that seems like a long time, but keep in mind there were long periods when I didn't touch it. Sometimes I just need to step away from a book and let it gather dust. That's generally how I work. When I started this book it I had a completely different protagonist and wasn't even written for a Young Adult audience. I had this epiphany one day out of the blue: I realized it could work really well with a teen heroine. Audrey, a seventeen-year-old girl, replaced Sarah, a divorcee in her late twenties, and Audrey's Guide to Witchcraft was born.

6. Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
Thanks for enabling my writing addiction by reading my books! I love hearing from readers, so don't hesitate to email me: jodygehrman (at) gmail (dot) com.
Here are some of the places you can find me online:



Author 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 and won the International Reading Association's Teen Choice Award. 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.

16 comments:

  1. It sounds awesome!!! Cant wait to get my hands on it

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  2. On my tbr can't wait! Sounds amazing
    Thanks for the giveaway!
    <3

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  3. Would love to read this.
    Thanks for the giveaway.
    I think it's interesting to find out where authors get the names for their characters from.

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  4. This sounds like a really good book! I'm definitely going to have to read it : ) Thanks for the giveaway!

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  5. This book sounds so great! I love books with witches and magic! Thank you for the giveaway :$

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  6. This sounds like a great book, and good luck to everyone

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  7. Sounds like a good read. Also, love the cover.

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  8. I like the cover and it sounds like a great story.

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  9. Oh wow, looks great. Thanks for the giveaway.

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  10. She sent me a signed copy of her book, including some swag; and I'm international! She is so kind, because she wrote such a sweet text in my book :) Great interview! :D

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  11. Her way of writing gave me helpful tips :)
    Anyway, great giveaway!

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  12. I'm so glad I checked! For some reason I posted a comment but it never showed up. so here I go again. lol Thanks so much for the giveaway!

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  13. It looks wonderful, thank you for doing the giveaway!

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  14. Looks like a good book!

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