The Chick Friends Rules - Freshman Year by Vici Howard

THE CHICK FRIENDS RULES!

FRESHMAN YEAR

by Vici Howard


Young Adult

Randall & Reismann

3 Signed Copies will be given away on Friday, December 16, 2011!


www.TheChickFriendsRules.com

About the Book:

1. Treat her like one of the guys.
2. Never think of her when you're alone.
3. Never fall in love with her.

"The chick friends rules! Freshman year" is the first of a four book series in this edgy coming of age story. Fifteen-year old Grant Lee is a "cool kid" who is popular with the girls and adheres to a strict code of the "chick friends hierarchy". There are girls a guy thinks about when he's in his bedroom alone and there are girls a guy farts around. Grant is friends with Marta, the latter in the chick friends hierarchy. She is an intriguing but slightly overweight Latina with a story of her own. Grant is faced with an embarrassing dilemma; he has a secret crush on Marta but is ashamed to tell his friends because she's the "fat girl". If his secret gets out it could be social suicide for Grant. So he goes out of his way to conceal his feelings for her by making a series of bad choices and by engaging in risky behavior. When he gets the courage to tell her his true feelings, she mysteriously vanishes.

Check out our Exclusive Interview with the Author here:

1) How did you get the idea for the novel?

What really got me writing the Chick friend’s story is; one day my then 13 year old son (he’s now 16 and super cute) comes home from school and tells me about a female friend who shared with him that she was being molested by her stepfather and her mother called her a liar and didn’t believe her. I felt awful for the girl, so I write an anonymous letter to the school and the district explaining the situation and to my surprise she gets taken out of the school and sent to live with relatives in another state. So, I’m feeling pretty good about myself for having done my Christian duty by helping this young girl but three weeks later she’s back at school and back at home with her abuser and I’m like “What the…just happened?” I’ll never know why she was sent back to that house. But she told my son she was vilified by her family for "making trouble" and "breaking up the family" and she was sad that they were mad at her. By now, I’m beside myself and so angry that the system didn’t protect this girl. Out of frustration, I felt a story developing, so I started writing but after reading the first draft, I felt an entire novel on molestation was too heavy. So, I decide to tell the story from the point of view of the platonic male friend and make him the main character instead of the girl. Besides, I believe boys are underrepresented in YA novels so I figured if I can write a book about boys that still appeals to girls; I bridged a gap.

2) What kind of research did you have to do to bring this story to life on the page?

I had to talk to lots of teenagers. I wasn't familiar with today's teen culture so I needed lots of help with the slang, terminology, and the overall mindset of the Millennial teen. So, I'd write a chapter and have my kids and their friends read it and give me feedback. Sometimes they would say, "A teenager would never say that," and they'd write down how a teen would articulate what I was trying to say. My biggest challenge was learning texting language and abbreviations. I would tell my kids what I wanted to say and they would translate it into texting language.

3) Which came first, the title or the novel?

The novel. I had such a hard time coming up with a title. My kids and I all wrote a title on a piece of paper and we pulled it out of a hat. My daughter won.

4) Series like these always fascinate me because I want to know where the author is going and if he/she even knows where they’re going. So do you? Do you have it all plotted out in your head until the end or are you winging it as you go?

I had no idea that this book was going to become a series. After I finished "Freshman year," there was still so much the characters needed to communicate; it just made sense to see them mature to senior year.

5) If your book were to be turned into a movie, would your dream cast be?

Oh, my god I think about this all of the time. This is my "red light" fantasy. When I'm driving and I'm stuck at a red light I think of what actor would play the characters.

Grant,(main character)- Jaden Smith when he turns 17.
Phil,(Grant's stepfather)- Eminem. He's 40 now, he can play someone's daddy.
Malik,(Grant's father)- Common.

About the Author:

Vici Howard loves writing stories that are inspired by real people and real experiences. After a reader is done reading one of her novels she want them to say, "that happened to me too," or "I know someone who went through the same thing." Her favorite author is Dr. Seuss. Read more online at: www.TheChickFriendsRules.com.

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