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GIVEAWAY!! Spotlight and Author Interview: Audrey’s Guide To Witchcraft by Jody Gehrman
Audrey’s Guide to Witchcraft
written by Jody Gehrman
published by Jody Gehrman, via Smashwords
find it here: Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Goodreads
About the book – from Goodreads: Falling in Love, baking a magical cake, fighting an evil necromancer—it’s all in a day’s work for Audrey Oliver, seventeen-year-old witch-in-training. When her mother goes missing and her twenty-one-year-old witchy cousin shows up out of the blue, Audrey knows something’s gone horribly, dangerously wrong. Now it’s up to her to get her own magical powers up to speed before everyone she loves is destroyed by the sorcerer intricately connected to her mother’s secret past.
And now I would like to welcome Jody Gehrman, author of Audrey’s Guide to Witchcraft, to Every Free Chance Book Reviews today!!! She has answered some questions for us and has agreed to an awesome GIVEAWAY!! Be sure to fill out the Rafflecopter form below for your chance to win!!!
Why did you become a writer? My first “novel” was really a very long letter sent to my best friend about us riding around on our flying dogs. I was eight. We’d moved to Canada for the year and I missed our imaginary games, so I wrote about them instead. I guess writing for me has always been about delving into imaginary worlds. I still tend to think of each of my novels as long love letters—to a place, a time in my life, a person, a feeling.
In college I discovered playwriting, and after college I freelanced as a journalist. Both of these experiences confirmed my commitment to writing, in part because they helped with the inherent loneliness that can become an occupational hazard. As a playwright I love working with actors and directors; as a journalist I love doing interviews. These more social aspects of writing balance out the isolation of writing novels.
What do you like most about teaching English at Mendocino College? My students! They’re amazing. In particular I love working with Creative Writing and Playwriting students. It’s so fun watching those communities form. When people who love books and imaginary worlds start to connect, something magical happens. Getting to be the person who brings those electric minds together is really an honor and a pleasure, even if sometimes sparks fly and things get a little crazy!
Who has been your biggest inspiration for writing? My family has always been very supportive. They read my early drafts and keep me going when things look grim. That’s one sort of inspiration. I also had many wonderful writing teachers over the years: Gina Nahai, T.C. Boyle, David Scott Milton, and Robin Hemley, to name a few.
What do you find to be the most challenging part when writing a Young Adult v. an adult novel? Getting the voice right in YA can be challenging. When you’re 40 trying to write a teen character, it’s natural to second guess oneself at every turn. That’s why I’m always looking for beta readers to keep me honest, keep me current and nudge me when I hit a sour note.
Which character in Audrey’s Guide to Witchcraft was your favorite to write about? Which was your least favorite? Sadie was my favorite, I think. I love her sense of style and her disorientation in the “mundane” world. I also really loved Megan from the very beginning. She’s a natural rock star, which has always been a fantasy of mine. Audrey gave me some trouble, but once I found her voice, I was off and running. Still, it took me quite a few years searching for the right protagonist to tell this story.
Without spoiling your book, what was your favorite scene to write in Audrey’s Guide to Witchcraft? Why? It’s a toss-up between the magical chocolate cake scene (because it’s sensual and delicious) and the bat-face-in-the-redwoods scene (because it’s dangerous and menacing). Oh, and I did love writing about the Witch’s Wardrobe, because how cool would that be to have the answer to every clothes dilemma in one tiny hatbox?
How long did it take you to write Audrey’s Guide to Witchcraft? What was your writing process like? This sounds crazy, but it took me about seven years off and on. I started writing it as a book for adults, but I never felt like it was quite working. Then I realized it would work well as a YA novel, so I pulled out the old draft and gave it a radical makeover, including a new plot and protagonist.
If you had to describe your novel with only 6 words, what would you say? A teen witch hones her power.
Who is/are your favorite author(s)? So many writers have influenced and inspired me through their work at different times in my life. Some of my favorites in the realm of “classics” include Nabokov, both of the Brontes (but especially Charlotte) and Jane Austen. Southern writers like Ellen Gilchrist and Beth Henley made a big impression on me as a young writer. When I found Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones Diary, Nick Hornby’s High Fidelity and Sophie Kinsella’s Shopaholic series I became fascinated with British comic geniuses. I read a lot of YA these days and some of my favorite YA writers are Beth Fantaskey, Nina LaCour, Louise Rennison, Maggie Stiefvater and Stacey Jay.
What are you currently reading right now? I stayed up way too late last night reading Katie Crouch’s The Magnolia League. It’s a wonderful novel! It’s bringing together two worlds I’m fascinated with: the northern California commune (the character comes from where I live, Mendocino County) and mysterious, swampy Savannah, a place I’ve never been but find totally intriguing. It’s like this book is speaking directly to me; I love it when that happens. Plus Crouch is so in control of every sentence.
What book are you looking forward to reading the most this year? I adore Jonathan Tropper and can’t wait to read his newest, One Last Thing Before I Go. It’s already out, but I’m kind of waiting for the audio version so my husband and I can listen to it together. Usually Scott Brick reads Tropper’s books, and he’s an amazing actor. When my husband and I are both really into a writer it’s fun doing the audio book thing because we get to stop and talk about it whenever we feel like it.
In your opinion, what is one book everyone should read? I guess this is odd for an English teacher, but I’m not sure there is such a book. We all have our idiosyncratic needs as readers, and I don’t know of one book that can meet all those needs. That said, To Kill a Mockingbirdtouches on a lot of universal themes, and every sentence sings. Also, it’s hard not to love The Cat in the Hat.
About the author: Jody Gehrman is the author of seven novels and numerous plays. Audrey’s Guide to Witchcraft is her most recent Young Adult novel. Her other Young Adult novels include Babe in Boyland, Confessions of a Triple Shot Betty, and Triple Shot Bettys in Love, (Penguin’s Dial Books). Babe in Boyland won the International Reading Association Teen Choice Award and has recently been optioned by the Disney Channel. Her adult novels are Notes from the Backseat, Tart, and Summer in the Land of Skin (Red Dress Ink). Her plays have been produced in Ashland, New York, San Francisco, Chicago and L.A. She and her partner David Wolf won the New Generation Playwrights Award for their one-act, Jake Savage, Jungle P.I. She is a professor of English at Mendocino College.
Find Ms. Gehrman here: blog, web, Facebook, Twitter
About the author: Jody Gehrman is the author of seven novels and numerous plays. Audrey’s Guide to Witchcraft is her most recent Young Adult novel. Her other Young Adult novels include Babe in Boyland, Confessions of a Triple Shot Betty, and Triple Shot Bettys in Love, (Penguin’s Dial Books). Babe in Boyland won the International Reading Association Teen Choice Award and has recently been optioned by the Disney Channel. Her adult novels are Notes from the Backseat, Tart, and Summer in the Land of Skin (Red Dress Ink). Her plays have been produced in Ashland, New York, San Francisco, Chicago and L.A. She and her partner David Wolf won the New Generation Playwrights Award for their one-act, Jake Savage, Jungle P.I. She is a professor of English at Mendocino College.Find Ms. Gehrman here: blog, web, Facebook, Twitter
And now it’s time for the GIVEAWAY!!!!!!
Happy reading wherever you are and whenever you get a free chance!!!
6 Comments
by Dana
Wow this book sounds so cool! Would love the chance to read it!
by The Every Free Chance Reader
Thanks for entering the giveaway! I can’t wait to read this book as well!
by Unknown
This book sounds awesome! A great interview too. Thanks for the chance to read a book that I love the title and synopsis!
My fav genre too.
Cyndee Thomas
cyndee.thomas0@gmail.com
by The Every Free Chance Reader
Thanks, Cyndee! Good luck in the giveaway!
by Erika
Love the cover! Looks good:) Thanks for the giveaway!
by The Every Free Chance Reader
I love the cover, too! Thanks for stopping by and entering the giveaway, Erika!