HOW IT ENDS: INTERVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED!
HOW IT ENDS
BY
LAURA WIESS

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Laura Wiess, the acclaimed author who once brought us "a girl to walk alongside Harper Lee's Scout and J. D. Salinger's Phoebe" (Luanne Rice), brings us another memorable young woman, this one at the center of an extraordinary novel of how love ends, how it begins, and what it's worth to protect it...

All Hanna's wanted since sophomore year is Seth. She's gone out with other guys, even gained a rep for being a flirt, all the while hoping cool, guitar-playing Seth will choose her. Then she gets him -- but their relationship is hurtful, stormy and critical, not at all what Hanna thinks a perfect love should be. Bewildered by Seth's treatment of her and in need of understanding, Hanna decides to fulfill her school's community service requirement by spending time with Helen, her terminally ill neighbor, who she's turned to for comfort and wisdom throughout her life. But illness has changed Helen into someone Hanna hardly knows, and her home is not the refuge it once was. Feeling more alone than ever, Hanna gets drawn into an audiobook the older woman is listening to, a fierce, unsettling love story of passion, sacrifice, and devotion. Hanna's fascinated by the idea that such all-encompassing love can truly exist, and without her even realizing it, the story begins to change her.

Until the day when the story becomes all too real...and Hanna's world is spun off its axis by its shattering, irrevocable conclusion.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Laura Wiess is the author of the critically acclaimed novels SUCH A PRETTY GIRL, chosen as one of the ALA's 2008 Best Books for Young Adults and 2008 YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers, LEFTOVERS, and the recently released HOW IT ENDS. Originally from central Jersey, she traded bumper-to-bumper traffic, excellent pizza, and summer days down the shore for scenic roads, bears, no pizza delivery and the irresistible allure of an old stone house surrounded by forests in Pennsylvania's Endless Mountains Region.

For more info, visit www.laurawiess.com.

MY INTERVIEW WITH LAURA WIESS

Thank you for agreeing to visit BOOKIN' WITH BINGO and answer a few questions, Laura. So let's start with this:

1. What have you just finished reading?

Amy Tan's The Opposite of Fate, and I enjoyed it very much. Definitely a keeper.

2. What books would you say have made the biggest impression on you, especially starting out?

Back when I started the annual Writer's Market and Children's Writer's Market books were godsends, and I practically wore out the pages studying the writing info and markets listed. They helped me no end, along with stacks of other library books on writing and crafting compelling fiction.

Two of my alltime favorites are Stephen King's On Writing and Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird.

I also have a small stack of favorite novels I pick up when I'm in between manuscripts and craving not only a good read but an unofficial refresher course on things like characterization, plot, tone, pacing, and storyline.

3. What gets you started on a new book? A character or story idea or….?

Usually I see or hear something on the news or in a passing conversation that disturbs and intrigues me, and a vague question forms in my mind. After a while, if the question sharpens and becomes compelling enough, and the subject makes me passionate, a character is born in response. The thing is, she has to be someone I very much want to spend time with, as without a character I care about, someone with alot at stake, there is no story. Give me a character to love and I'll follow them anywhere.

4. What is something about you that you would want people to know about you that we probably don’t know?

Well, let's see: I love Betsey Johnson shoes, my best friend and I are celebrating our 30th year of friendship this year, and that there's nothing I enjoy more than asking people questions, and hearing their answers. Unless it's being asked questions, of course!

5. What is your best advice to anyone, including young people, who want to be writers?

Keep writing and learning, and don't give up. It's an ongoing, never-ending process and it's different for everyone. Learn to trust your process. Write what you're passionate about, fall in love with your characters, don't be afraid to rewrite. Just keep going.

HOW ABOUT A GIVEAWAY?

WANT TO WIN?

I have one copy of this exciting book to give away.
Please follow the simple rules and the book
could be yours very soon!

RULES:
--U.S. Residents Only
--No P.O. Boxes, Please
--Email address must be in your comment
--ALL comments must be separate to count
or they will count as one instead of possibly two.

HOW TO ENTER:

+1 ENTRY: Comment and one thing you found out about the story or author by reading the post

+1 MORE ENTRY: Blog or Tweet about this giveaway and leave link in your comment!

+1 MORE ENTRY: Follow on Google Connect (see left hand sidebar) or tell me how you do follow

DEADLINE TO ENTER IS AUGUST 31!

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