Spring Breakup by Stephanie Hale

SPRING BREAKUP

by Stephanie Hale

Commercial Young Adult
Berkley
www.StephanieHale.com

3 Signed Copies will be given away on March 13, 2009





About the Book:

Aspen Brooks can’t catch a break—even during spring break…

Aspen Brooks trades in sand between her toes for shopping on The Strip when she agrees to go to Las Vegas for spring break with her boyfriend, Rand, her bff, Angel, and Angel’s bf, Lucas. Their hotel is hosting the Miss Teen Queen Pageant and surgically enhanced beauty contestants are everywhere. But when Miss Illinois goes AWOL, it’s up to Aspen to represent her home state and find out what’s really going on. Even if it means putting down the suntan lotion and ignoring Angel’s meltdown over breaking up with Lucas…

1) Your character, Aspen Brooks is great. She’s now appearing in her third novel, SPRING BREAKUP. Is it hard to keep writing books with the same character? Or easy because you’ve come to know her so well by now?

Aspen is actually really easy for me to write. I didn’t realize this until I wrote another YA with an entirely different character and it was really challenging for me. This kind of scares me because Aspen can be sort of a diva, but I guess if the shoe fits. ;)

2) What’s your best Spring Break story?

Okay, so this is totally lame but I’ve never actually been on spring break. I know, right? I guess I’ll just use my favorite vacation, which would have to be my honeymoon. My husband and I took a cruise to the Bahamas and it was amazing. At dinnertime you normally sit with eight other people. They had put all of the newlyweds together. It was really a lot of fun spending time with four other couples who had been married on the same day. I wish I had stayed in contact with some of them because it would be interesting to know how couples made it to the ten-year mark like my husband and I.

3) What’s your typical celebration ritual when you sell a new book or get exciting news about an existing one? Anything strange or quirky we should know about?

My other job is being a stay-at-home mom to my two little boys. It’s weird but they don’t really get that excited when I tell them I’ve sold another book. Now if I say we are going to Chuck E. Cheese’s to celebrate…then they muster up some excitement. If only I could somehow incorporate a giant mouse into my stories!

4) I love the name Aspen! How do you come up with your character names?

I’m really big on city names. Both of my boy’s names are cities. I just really like the unusual names. I think it has something to do with growing up with four different Stephanie’s in my class for twelve years. It was annoying. And names have to fit the character. I can’t really get into a story if I feel that the character’s name doesn’t fit. I’m constantly calling people the wrong name because if they don’t look like a certain name it just won’t stick in my brain. My neighbor has finally just given up and started answering to the wrong name.

5) What will Aspen Brooks be up to next? Will she continue going on her misadventures or do you have something new in store?

Sadly, I think this is going to be Aspen’s last story. I will have another YA coming out next April. My main character, Grace Kelly Cook, is kind of the anti-Aspen so it has been an adjustment. And I’m sure that there will be pieces of Aspen in everything I write.

Check out Aspen Brooks's first two adventures in: Revenge of the Homecoming Queen and Twisted Sisters.









About the Author:

Stephanie Hale lives in central Illinois with her husband, their two adorable little boys, and a dog that barks way too much. This is her third novel. When Stephanie isn't writing she spends her time chasing boys (see above). Visit her website at: www.StephanieHale.com