I'm super lucky to be a part of the Pretty Amy blog tour! Today I have the author, the fabulous Ms. Lisa Burstein, stopping by to answer a few of my pressing questions about her awesome book! (Lisa's answers are in italics, questions in bold.)
The first thing that really struck me about Pretty Amy was how FUNNY it was at points. There were so many genuine laugh-out-loud moments! I loved it! If you have to pick one funny/snarky line that's your favorite, what would it be?
There are so many, but I love, "If bitching were karate, my mother would be a black belt."
Bahahahaha. I loved that line too. :)
If Amy had a theme song (like I'm sure many of us have imagined ourselves having at some point), what do you think it would be?
Criminal by Fiona Apple
Oh, I LOVE that song, lol! Perfect choice. :)
I thought Pretty Amy tackled a lot of important issues and themes without hitting you over the head with them, which is great in novels for teens. When you were writing Pretty Amy, what was the one thing (or most important thing) that you really wanted to get across to readers?
That other people feel what they are feeling. I think one of the hardest things about being a teen is how alone you can feel- how you think no one understands you. I want them to know I do.
I always hear about writers having to cut characters during early edits. Now, Pretty Amy has quite the cast and I thought they were all really great. Were there any unique characters in the first drafts of Pretty Amy that didn't make it into the final version?
Actually characters were added in, if you can believe it! Aaron and Joe were not in the original version. You can thank my editor for that. :)
Thank you, kind editor, for giving us the boys. :D
Amy struck me as a very realistic young woman. What would you say was the biggest challenge in crafting her character? (If there was one.)
To make her likeable, or at least someone you would sympathize with. I am good that the snark, the soft stuff is harder for me.
Who is the one person you are MOST nervous about reading your book?
My mom! Glad to report, she read it and loved it and still loves me. Now, it would be my husband (I never let him read drafts).
I don't let my husband read anything I write--even my resume. :)
I read/saw somewhere that you're going to be writing a companion novel about Cassie. Can you tell us anything about that? (I'm excited about it, by the way.)
Thank you. DEAR CASSIE follows Cassie's post-prom arrest to a rehabilitation retreat in the woods, told in Cassie's irreverent voice via her diary entries.
I can't WAIT for DEAR CASSIE! Thanks so much for answering my questions, Lisa!
Meet Lisa!
Lisa Burstein is a tea seller by day and a writer by night. She received her MFA in Creative Writing from the Inland Northwest Center for Writers at Eastern Washington University and is glad to finally have it be worth more than the paper it was printed on. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her very patient husband, a neurotic dog and two cats. Pretty Amy is her first novel. She never went to her senior prom.
She wrote her first story when she was in second grade. It was a Thanksgiving tale from the point of view of the turkey from freezer to oven to plate. It was scandalous.
She was a lot like Amy when she was in high school.
She is still a lot like Amy.
Get your own copy of PRETTY AMY today!
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Be sure to check out the rest of Lisa's awesome blog tour stops!
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