Blog Tour: Truest by Jackie Lea Sommers @jackieleawrites @MyShelfAndI

TRUEST

Author: Jackie Lea Sommers
Release Date: September 1st, 2015
Publisher:  HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen Books

SYNOPSIS:

Silas Hart has seriously shaken up Westlin Beck's small-town life. Brand new to town, Silas is different than the guys in Green Lake. He's curious, poetic, philosophical, maddening—and really, really cute. But Silas has a sister—and she has a secret. And West has a boyfriend. And life in Green Lake is about to change forever.

Truest is a stunning, addictive debut. Romantic, fun, tender, and satisfying, it asks as many questions as it answers.

BOOK LINKS

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19370252-truest
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Truest-Jackie-Lea-Sommers/dp/0062348256/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1447686808&sr=8-1&keywords=truest

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/truest-jackie-lea-sommers/1120871836?ean=9780062348258

Book Depository: http://www.bookdepository.com/Truest-Jackie-Le-Sommers/9780062348258

Books A Million: http://www.booksamillion.com/p/Truest/Jackie-Lea-Sommers/9780062348258?id=6476869339561

Fishpond: http://www.fishpond.com/Books/Truest-Jackie-Lea-Sommers/9780062348258

IndieBound: http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780062348258

Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/unsupported/ieversiondetected

Powell’s: http://www.powells.com/book/truest-9780062348258

HarperCollins: http://www.harpercollins.com/9780062348258/truest

PRAISE FOR TRUEST

“Truest is one of those books that will destroy you in the best way possible. Truest is more than a book: it’s a window, a conversation.”
-- Ashley Brooks, Brooks Editorial

“If love and pain are two sides of the same coin, Truest is the mint.”
-- Sam, Goodreads

Today we welcome Jackie for an interview!

How long does it take you to write a book from start to finish?

Truest took about three years from the day I started writing it until the day I finished copyedits. By the time it was published, it had been nearly four years—and almost two years since first getting my book deal!

How do you come up with themes for your stories?

I’m what’s known as a “pantser”—that is, I write by the seat of my pants. I don’t know the ending before I begin to write. I start with characters. Then I throw them into various situations and see how they react. I’m as surprised as any reader to see what happens! Themes emerge as I write. Truest has a strong theme of rescue—but that wasn’t true in its earliest drafts! That theme emerged perhaps a year into writing it, then it welled up and took over the book.

How are you able to balance other aspects of your life with your writing?

Poorly! Ha! I work a full-time job as a college admission counselor, and then in the evenings and weekends, I write like the world is about to blink out. I’m quite exhausted much of the time, but I muddle through with the help of very understanding friends, lots of naps, and lots of prayer.

What is the hardest thing about writing a book?

Can I pick everything? Every single thing about writing a book feels hard to me, even though I love it and find it tremendously rewarding! The very hardest thing to me is slogging through the dreaded second draft. The first draft is fun and exciting because I’m generating tons of new content, getting to know my characters better, and finding fun things for them to experience. The later drafts are great too because I am getting a chance to tighten up the language of the novel and (hopefully!) make things sound more beautiful. But that second draft (and other middle drafts) is slow, torturous work. It feels never-ending. I had to write a second draft manifesto for myself.

Where do you write?  

I write mostly at home! I used to need to leave my house to get serious writing done, but for the last couple of years, much of my work has happened on my couch or from my bed. I just bought a house and have a lovely home office/library now, and I’m writing from the futon in there right now. A couple of times a year, I retreat to a wonderful condo in Duluth, Minnesota, to hole up and write-write-write.

  What kinds of things do you like to do outside of writing?

I love to read. I love to learn (I’m a Ravenclaw). I’m an “auntie” to my friends’ beautiful children, and they fill my life with so much joy and meaning. My friends and I love to grab coffee and gab about life. My family is hilarious and we always end up playing ridiculous card games while bursting into spontaneous song (we’re pretty dorky). Also, I could take home and Olympics gold medal in Napping.

What is your favorite book? favorite author?

Do you have an author that inspired/inspires you to write? 

The Narnia series by C.S. Lewis is an all-time favorite. They are my bedtime stories, and I fall asleep to them every day via audio book. Melina Marchetta is my favorite YA writer, though I’m not sure I could choose a favorite book by her. I love Jellicoe Road, love Saving Francesca and its companion novel The Piper’s Son. But I also love her fantasy series, The Lumatere Chronicles too! Marchetta is my queen. If I could write a novel even remotely close to hers someday, I would die of delight. Augustus Waters, the main character in John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars, inspired Truest.

Are you working on anything now? 

I am! I’m writing another novel for HarperCollins that is scheduled for summer 2017. It’s about Asa, a mathematics prodigy being hammered by OCD, and Rowen, this badass but vulnerable girl he’s been in love with for years. It’s a very personal story because I suffered from OCD for twenty years before undergoing the appropriate treatment and finding freedom. I now do a lot of things in relation to OCD awareness. Writing Asa’s story takes me back to some dark days. But there was such hope in my life, and there is in Asa’s too. I love these characters, and I can’t wait to share them with everyone! Right now, I’m in that dreaded second-draft phase and reassuring myself that winter will end someday, and in the spring I will (hopefully) have a beautiful, shiny, complete manuscript.

Thanks so much for being with us today, Jackie. It was great having you here!

Jackie Lea Sommers lives and loves and writes in Minnesota, where the people are nice and the O’s are long. She is the 2013 winner of the Katherine Paterson Prize for Young Adult Writing. Truest is her first novel.

www.twitter.com/jackieleawrites

www.jackieleasommers.com

www.facebook.com/jackieleawrites

www.instagram.com/jackieleasommers

www.pinterest.com/jackieleas

www.jackieleasommers.tumblr.com

One Winner will get an annotated copy of TRUEST filled with thoughts written by the author throughout the book, little behind-the-scenes stories and details of the writing of the novel Ships in US Only | Must be 13+ To Enter Sweeps/Giveaway accounts are ineligible. See Terms & Conditions for more info a Rafflecopter giveaway

SCHEDULE

WEEK ONE
November 23rd Fictitious Delicious REVIEW
November 24th Gone With The Words 10 RANDOM THINGS
November 25th Ex Libris REVIEW
November 26th Swoony Boys Podcast REVIEW
November 27th The Book Dragon REVIEW


WEEK TWO
November 30th The Cover Contessa AUTHOR INTERVIEW
December 1st Here's To Happy Endings REVIEW
December 2nd Such A Novel Idea REVIEW
December 3rd Strung Out On Books REVIEW
December 4th Literary Meanderings EXCERPT