About the author of RECLAIMED!
RECLAIMED by SARAH GUILLORY - releases October 15th 2013 from Spencer Hill Contemporary
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Jenna Oliver doesn’t have time to get involved with one boy, let alone two.
All Jenna wants is to escape her evaporating small town and her alcoholic mother. She's determined she'll go to college and find a life that is wholly hers—one that isn't tainted by her family's past. But when the McAlister twins move to town and Jenna gets involved with both of them, she learns the life she planned may not be the one she gets.
Ian McAlister doesn't want to start over; he wants to remember.
Ian can’t recall a single thing from the last three months—and he seems to be losing more memories every day. His family knows the truth, but no one will tell him what really happened before he lost his memory. When he meets Jenna, Ian believes that he can be normal again because she makes not remembering something he can handle.
The secret Ian can’t remember is the one Luke McAlister can’t forget.
Luke has always lived in the shadow of his twin brother until Jenna stumbles into his life. She sees past who he’s supposed to be, and her kiss brings back the spark that life stole. Even though Luke feels like his brother deserves her more, Luke can’t resist Jenna—which is the trigger that makes Ian's memory return.
Jenna, Ian, & Luke are about to learn there are only so many secrets you can keep before the truth comes to reclaim you.
AUTHOR INTERVIEW with SARAH GUILLORY!
1. Describe your
book in 5 words.
hope, redemption, secrets, heartache, love
(Can you believe this was the hardest question to
answer? It took me forever! J)
2. Your
contemporary book RECLAIMED is slated for release later this year. Is there
anything more you can tell us about the story or the characters? And what kind,
if any, research did you have to do?
I think all stories require some research, even if
it’s just to check a few small facts. The jacket copy gives a great description
of the story, so all I’m going to add is the tag line, which I think is really
great: One small town, two big secrets, three lives that will never be the
same.
3. Can you tell
us a little bit about yourself and how you got started? What was your
publishing journey like?
I’ve always loved writing. I fell in love with books
at a very young age, but decided at the ripe old age of nine that I wasn’t
creative enough to be a writer. I kept my words and pages hidden until I
finally got old enough to give myself permission to write bad words and love
it. I think I was 30 when I really started writing consistently. I wrote one
book, then put it aside when the idea for Reclaimed
grabbed ahold of me. My editor found me through WriteonCon, and the rest, as
they say, is history.
4. How did your
main character Jenna Oliver came to life? What was the inspiration behind her
and do you have any quirks or hobbies similar to hers?
Jenna developed slowly and in pieces. I had a rough
outline of who she was, but it took me the entire first draft to really get a
handle on her character. I knew I wanted to create a strong character who was
having to deal with a lot. As far as similarities go, she’s a runner, and so am
I. I also grew up in a small town, but unlike Jenna, I love small towns and would
never live anywhere else.
5. I'm really
into books with strong romantic elements, is there anything you can tell us
about the romance in your book? About Ian and Luke, the twins?
This book is about the different types of
relationships we have in our lives, from familial to friendly to fiery. I hope
I portrayed the complexity inherent in all types. Reclaimed does have a very strong romantic element to it, and the
relationships aren’t easy ones. I know there are some readers who are turned
off by love triangles, but this story is more about three people who come
together as their lives are unraveling. They each need something different from
their relationship, and they are all connected to each other in different ways.
I love both Ian and Luke so much, and I hope the readers will as well. I think
that is one of the great things about this book, that while it is about both
Ian and Luke’s relationship with Jenna, it’s also about their relationship with
each other.
6. What made you
decide to write a Young Adult book? And why the contemporary genre?
I’ve always written young-adult. Maybe because I’m
still a kid at heart. I also think it’s the age where there is so much
possibility. Teens are on the edge of everything, but they are dealing with so
much in their lives, extreme joys and extreme heartaches, and I just love the possibility
in writing that kind of emotion. And I think I write a lot of contemporary
because I am fascinated with complex characters and contemporary really lends
itself to that kind of writing. I like to explore choices and consequences in
real-life situations.
7. As a reader,
what is the most important to you, the characters or the plot? And as a writer,
is it different?
The characters are most important to me as both a
reader and a writer. I love stories of course, but I love them because I care
about the characters and what happens to them. I’ve read a few books with an
amazing premise but that lacked character development and motivation and those
books fell a little flat with me. I want to feel like I know those characters
and could sit down and have a real conversation with them.
8. Aside from
RECLAIMED coming out October 15th this year, what else can we expect from you?
New books, new projects?
I just started revisions on a WIP that I finished this
summer. It is the first of a trilogy, and since I normally write standalones,
I’m a little freaked out about what I’ve gotten myself into. The story is still
developing, but I love these characters so much that I just have to tell their
story.
9. How did you
come up with the title RECLAIMED? I love it! Is there any significance or
meaning the title has to the story? Is there any other titles that you thought
about before going ahead with Reclaimed? :)
I get this question a lot, especially from my
students. The idea of reclamation is an important one in this book and is seen
in a variety of situations. This was the only title the book ever had. I didn’t
come up with it until I was done with the first draft. The file in my computer before
that was labeled “Twin Novel”. J
10. And finally,
what message would you want readers of RECLAIMED to take away from the story?
I’m going to be coy with this answer. I don’t think
there is any one message to take away. I think (and hope) that this book will
say many different things in many different ways to many different readers.
--
Check back next Friday for our next author interview, Leah Rae Miller (author of THE SUMMER I BECAME A NERD!)
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