CLIQUES, HICKS, AND UGLY STICKS
Confessions of April Grace
by KD McCrite
Young Adult
www.KDMcCrite.com
10 Signed Copies will be given away on Friday, February 17, 2012!!!
About the Book:
Just when April Grace thought the drama was over...
After an automobile accident, Isabel St. James—resident drama coach and drama queen—needs help putting together the church play. Mama insists April Grace and Myra Sue will help. April’s fall is now devoted to spending every afternoon with Isabel and Myra Sue—if anyone is as big of a drama queen as Isabel, it’s Myra Sue. Plus, she’s dumb. (Okay, not dumb, but "older sister dumb.") If that’s not enough, Isabel is wreaking havoc in the community trying to get Rough Creek Road paved, the new boy at school will not leave her alone, and then Mama drops the biggest bombshell of all... April Grace is no longer going to be the baby of the family...
Girls will completely relate to April Grace and love her sense of humor as she deals with siblings, boys, and the many changes that come with growing up.
Check out our Exclusive Interview with the Author here:
1) How did you get the idea for the novel?
Several years ago, I wrote a short story about the spooky old storm cellar we used when I was growing up on the farm. I hated that cellar. It was dark, damp, and full of creepy, crawly things. My mom often sent me down there to bring up a jar of green beans, or pickles, or maybe a box of empty canning jars, and it was always an experience. I'd exhaust every excuse I could think of not to go, and as I approached the door to the cellar, I'd imagine all sorts of things that could be lurking inside. Once inside, I'd linger in the doorway, inspecting the gloom for anything that did not belong. Then I'd grab whatever I'd been sent to fetch and run as fast as could, back to the safety of the house. After I grew up, I realized a story about me, the cellar, and my imagination could be funny. When I read it to my writing critique group, one of them said, “You really should write a book about that little girl. She's hilarious.” So I used that character and placed her in some situations I thought would spark a lot of funny scenes. The book was In Front of God and Everybody.
2) Considering a book from the first word you write to the moment you see it on a bookstore shelf, what’s your favorite part of the process?
My favorite part of writing is the initial creation, coming up with characters, the setting, and the storyline, then actually writing it. What’s your least favorite? Rewriting more than two times. It becomes tedious then, and I begin to second guess myself and my ability to tell the story.
3) If you weren’t a writer, what job would you love to try out?
There are two careers I would have liked to pursue. One is geology because I love rocks and the study of the earth. The other work I think would have been awesome is some sort of meteorology, maybe even a storm chaser. I probably got both these interests from my dad who loved nature as much as I do.
4) How do you come up with your characters' personalities?
I try to create characters that will either compliment or clash with my main character. In the “Confessions of April Grace” I needed someone who could, by her very nature, bring out the funniest, sassiest observations from April. Isabel St. James is everything April Grace dislikes, and the feeling is mutual. There is an instant chemistry between the two that results in almost continual conflict. With each book, I try to introduce a new character than will "push buttons" to create conflict. The characters that compliment April Grace are there as a supporting cast and are necessary, but nothing would be more boring than to read a story in which all the people are just alike. Plus, it helps to have names suit the character, don't you think?
5) When you got that first phone call announcing you had sold a novel, how did you react?
When my first novel was sold, the editor called me about 9 o'clock on the evening of April 1. She said, “I loved your book and we want to publish it. I'd like to see anything else you have.” My response was, “This is an April Fool's joke, right?” But it was no joke. We celebrated by doing the “happy dance” in the living room, my husband, our two daughters and me, then I called all my friends and family, some of whom were already in bed, but I didn't care.
KD McCrite grew up on an Ozark Mountain farm along an old dirt road, just like April Grace Reilly in the Confessions of April Grace series. She loves writing stories that make people laugh and think. For a while, she worked as a librarian, but these days she sits at her desk and makes up stories. Visit the author online at: www.KDMcCrite.com.
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1 comments:
Aw - the happy dance sounds like fun! lol How exciting. I would have reacted the same way.
Great interview - and title to this book. Sounds like a good read.
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