Laura Wiess is here today to talk about her brand new book Ordinary Beauty. It was released today!
To celebrate this wonderful book birthday, 2 copies of Ordinary Beauty are up for grabs.
1. Your books place focus on some very heartbreaking stories. Where do those ideas come from? And is it ever emotional to write about these topics?
Oh yes, it's always emotional. My heart is always with my main characters. When I'm writing, I see life through their eyes, and feel what they feel, which can be very frightening sometimes. My main characters are usually caught in precarious situations and trying really hard to make it through. They're the girls lost in shadows, abandoned, betrayed, in danger, the ones with problems they can't speak of, and are just struggling along under the radar, waiting, hoping for someone to notice, and care.
The ideas for my books are usually sparked by something that catches my attention, and then provokes a passionate response in me. Meredith, from Such a Pretty Girl showed up after I'd heard a news story about a convicted sexual predator/pedophile being released early from prison and going home. I started wondering Home? Home to who? Does he have a wife? Who would stay married to a pedophile? What would it be like to be the daughter of a convicted sex offender?
And then my character Meredith stepped out of the dark, and the book was born.
2. Do you often hear from fans saying that your story touched them?
Yes, and that's always both humbling and gratifying, because it means that the character's pain, struggle and triumph made it through. As a reader, I love books with characters I can really root for and angst over, so it means a lot when readers say the same. For instance, How It Ends seems to be the book that makes people cry like crazy, which is great because I cried like crazy writing it.
3. Can you tell us a little about Sayre from Ordinary Beauty?
Sure. The story opens when Sayre is seventeen. She grew up knowing she was a mistake, unplanned and unwanted. Her mother got pregnant at fifteen, the guy disappeared and Sayre was left to be raised by her grandmother.
Sayre's a strong, determined girl, and a desperate one. Her mother is an addict, and Sayre has grown up in unstable and dangerous environments, neglected, seeing and being exposed to things that make life frightening, and uncertain. She craves her mother's love, but she doesn't think her mother loves her in return, and it's a question she needs answered before it's too late.
She's a brave girl, and a hopeful one. I admire her.
4. What do you hope young girls take from reading Ordinary Beauty?
Well, I think everybody takes something different from a story, but what I believe comes through is that no matter how dark the circumstances, there's always a thread of hope. You can make it. Life changes and evolves every single day, whether you see it happening or not, and it can get better. It can.
5. Do you have any other book ideas in the works?
Oh yes, there's always another book in the works. It's still being written, so I can't say much but I will say the attraction between the main character and the guy she likes is a hot one. Love these two!
Thanks Laura for being on my blog.
Ordinary Beauty by Laura Wiess Publisher: MTV Books (June 14th, 2011) Reading Level: Young Adult Paperback: 320 pages How can you make someone love you when they won’t?
And what if that person happens to be your mother?
Sayre Bellavia grew up knowing she was a mistake: unplanned and unwanted. At five months shy of eighteen, she’s become an expert in loneliness, heartache, and neglect. Her whole life she’s been cursed, used, and left behind. Swallowed a thousand tears and ignored a thousand deliberate cruelties. Sayre’s stuck by her mother through hell, tried to help her, be near her, be important to her even as her mother slipped away into a violent haze of addiction, destroying the only chance Sayre ever had for a real family.
Now her mother is lying in a hospital bed, near death, ravaged by her own destructive behavior. And as Sayre fights her way to her mother’s bedside, she is terrified but determined to get the answer to a question no one should ever have to ask: Did my mother ever really love me? And what will Sayre do if the answer is yes?
Prize:
- 2 winners will receive a copy of Ordinary Beauty by Laura Wiess.
Rules:
- You must be at least 13 to enter.
- Name and email must be provided and counts as 1 entry.
- Extra entries are possible and links must be provided.
- Contest is US Only and ends July 5th.
- Once contacted, the winner will have 48 hours to respond.
- The form must be filled out to enter.
Find Laura Wiess
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Purchase Ordinary Beauty
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