GCC Spotlight on: SUCH A RUSH by Jennifer Echols

Today's touring girlfriend is Jennifer Echols! She's here with her latest book, SUCH A RUSH. Isn't the cover gorgeous?!

About the Book:

High school senior Leah Jones loves nothing more than flying. While she’s in the air, it’s easy to forget life with her absentee mother at the low-rent end of a South Carolina beach town. When her flight instructor, Mr. Hall, hires her to fly for his banner advertising business, she sees it as her ticket out of the trailer park. And when he dies suddenly, she’s afraid her flying career is gone forever.

But Mr. Hall’s teenage sons, golden boy Alec and adrenaline junkie Grayson, are determined to keep the banner planes flying. Though Leah has crushed on Grayson for years, she’s leery of getting involved in what now seems like a doomed business--until Grayson betrays her by digging up her most damning secret. Holding it over her head, he forces her to fly for secret reasons of his own, reasons involving Alec. Now Leah finds herself drawn into a battle between brothers--and the consequences could be deadly.

Engrossing and intense, SUCH A RUSH is a captivating adventure that is sure to keep readers soaring.

Our Interview:

KRISTINA:      Would you ever try writing in another genre?

JENNIFER: Besides YA romantic dramas like this one, I also write YA romantic comedies. I’ve published five of those already, with three more forthcoming from Simon Pulse in 2014 and 2015. I also have my first adult romantic comedy, Star Crossed, coming out with Simon & Schuster on February 26.

KRISTINA:   Who is (or who are) the Young Adult author that turns you into a fangirl?

JENNIFER: I am a huge fan of the hilarious and brilliant Rosemary Clement-Moore, and especially her latest novel, Texas Gothic. A related novel is coming out soon and I simply can’t wait.

KRISTINA:   Are you on twitter? Where can we follow you?

JENNIFER: Yes! Please follow me at @JenniferEchols.

KRISTINA:   What are you working on now?

JENNIFER: I’m so excited to be writing another YA romantic drama for MTV Books called Dirty Little Secret, which will be in stores this time next year.

KRISTINA:  Do you prefer reading on an ereader or book in hand?

JENNIFER: I’m so appreciative of all the people who have purchased my novels as e-books, but I just can’t get used to the e-reader. I buy e-books only if a book isn’t available in print.

About the Author:

Jennifer Echols is the award-winning author of multiple romantic dramas and romantic comedies for teens. She lives in Birmingham, Alabama.

Girlfriend's Cyber Circuit: STARRING JENNIFER ECHOLS!

Here’s a book that is so up my alley! Jennifer Echols’s LOVE STORY was just released last week and it sounds awesome.

About the Book:

From Jennifer Echols, the award-winning author of Going Too Far and Forget You, comes LOVE STORY(Gallery Books; July 19, 2011; $11.00), a provocative and powerful story of teen romance, set against the bustling world of a New York City university.

For Erin Blackwell, majoring in creative writing at the New York City college of her dreams is more than a chance to fulfill her ambitions – it’s her ticket away from the tragic memories that shadow her family’s racehorse farm in Kentucky. But when she refuses to major in business and take over the farm herself someday, her grandmother gives Erin’s college tuition and promised inheritance to their maddeningly handsome stable boy, Hunter Allen. Now Erin has to win an internship and work late nights at a local coffee shop to make her own dreams a reality. She should despise Hunter… so why does he sneak into her thoughts as the hero of her latest writing assignment?

Then, on the day she’s sharing that assignment with her class, Hunter walks in. He’s joining her class. And after he reads about himself in her story, her private fantasies about him must be painfully clear. She only hopes to persuade him not to reveal her secret to everyone else. But Hunter devises his own creative revenge, writing sexy stories that drive the whole class wild with curiosity and fill Erin’s heart with longing. Now she’s not just imagining what might have been. She’s writing a whole new ending for her romance with Hunter… except this story could come true.

Our Interview:

KRISTINA: In my book, THE ESPRESSOLOGIST, Jane, a coffee barista, matchmakes people based on their favorite coffee drinks. What’s your favorite coffee drink? (If you don’t like coffee, tell me what your favorite drink in general is. But I am sorry, you’ll never find love. Kidding!)

JENNIFER: Skinny vanilla latte.

KRISTINA: What is your most favorite (or, weirdest, craziest, funniest, most touching etc.) comment you’ve received from a fan?

JENNIFER: I’ve gotten several messages lately from people who have been sick and were able to forget their lives for a while and get through treatment by reading. That always touches me, especially when they have read my book GOING TOO FAR, which has a heroine who has been very sick.

KRISTINA: Are you on twitter? Where can we follow you?

JENNIFER: I’m @JenniferEchols. If I’m going outside to write and accidentally kick a rattlesnake, as I did the other day, you will find out there first.

KRISTINA: What are you working on now?

JENNIFER: I’m writing a new romantic comedy that will be published by Simon Pulse in December. Then I’m finishing a new romantic drama, SUCH A RUSH, which will be my hardcover debut in July 2012.

Thanks so much for stopping by! I can’t wait to read your newest!

About the Author:

Jennifer Echols is the author of teen romantic dramas for MTV Books and teen romantic comedies for Simon Pulse. She lives in Birmingham, Alabama, with her family. Please visit her online at www.jennifer-echols.com.

Girlfriends' Cyber Circuit: Starring Jennifer Echols!

Take a look at Jennifer Echols latest book:

Doesn't it just scream SUMMER MUST READ?! Love the cover!

ABOUT THE BOOK:

ENDLESS SUMMER by Jennifer Echols

The Boys Next Door and the sequel, Endless Summer, in one volume!

Two irresistible boys. One unforgettable summer.

Lori can't wait for her summer at the lake. She loves wakeboarding and hanging with her friends--including the two hotties next door. With the Vader brothers, she's always been just one of the guys. Now that she's turning sixteen, she wants to be seen as one of the girls, especially in the eyes of Sean, the older brother. But that's not going to happen--not if the younger brother, Adam, can help it.

Lori plans to make Sean jealous by spending time with Adam. Adam has plans of his own for Lori. As the air heats up, so does this love triangle. Will Lori's romantic summer melt into one hot mess?

Published by Simon Pulse, a division of Simon & Schuster. ISBN-10: 1442406593; ISBN-13: 978-1442406599.

OUR INTERVIEW:

KRISTINA: In two or three sentences, can you tell me what Endless Summer is about?

JENNIFER: Lori decides to shed her tomboy ways so she can catch the boy next door, whom she’s had a crush on forever. But his younger brother has a crush on her, and he’ll do everything he can to stop her. The story is set in the summertime on a lake in Alabama like the one where I grew up, and I laugh just thinking about it.

KRISTINA: In my book, THE ESPRESSOLOGIST, Jane, a coffee barista, matchmakes people based on their favorite coffee drinks. What’s your favorite coffee drink?

JENNIFER: Basic black with a little skim milk. I drink a lot of coffee, and if I were mixing things in, I couldn’t afford the calories!

KRISTINA: Why do you write YA as opposed to other types of fiction?

JENNIFER: I have written a lot of books for adults that haven’t sold. My original plan was to go back and forth writing romantic comedies for teens and adults. It just hasn’t worked out that way, yet.

KRISTINA: What is your most favorite (or, weirdest, craziest, funniest, most touching etc.) comment you’ve received from a fan?

JENNIFER: Several readers have told me that they’ve read one of my novels 10 times. I remember being a teenager and reading a novel 10 times, and I remember how much I loved those books, so this is the highest compliment anyone could pay me.

KRISTINA: Are you on twitter? Where can we follow you?

JENNIFER: Please do, and I will follow you too! I’m @jenniferechols.

KRISITNA: What are you working on now?

JENNIFER: My next and darker novel, Forget You, is coming out on July 20. Right now I’m writing still another romantic drama that will be published in July 2011.

Kristina, thank you so much for hosting me on your blog!

Thanks for stopping by Jennifer!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Jennifer Echols grew up in a small town on a beautiful lake in Alabama--a setting that has inspired many of her books. Always interested in creative writing, she finished her first (and still unpublished) novel soon after graduating with a degree in English from Auburn University at age 20. She worked as an editor for newspapers, a writer for business publications, and a writing instructor for three major universities, completed a master's degree in English, and finished the coursework for a PhD in genre studies before selling a book. Since then, she has written many young adult novels for Simon & Schuster, including Major Crush, which won the National Reader's Choice Award, and Going Too Far, which is a finalist in the 2010 RITA, the National Reader's Choice Award, and the Book Buyer's Best. Her next novel, Forget You, will be released on July 20th. Currently she works as a copyeditor and lives in Birmingham with her husband and son. Please visit her online at jennifer-echols.com.

Click here to order ENDLESS SUMMER!