Today author Jennifer Archer made us a huge honor by answering some of my question! You’ll get to know a lot about her and before we get to the good part, here’s a bit about her book ^^
Sixteen-year-old Tansy Piper moves with her grandfather and her mother, a horror writer, to the setting of her mother's next book--a secluded house outside of a tiny, desolate West Texas town. Lonely and upset over the move, Tansy escapes into her photography and the dark, seductive poems she finds hidden in the cellar, both of which lure her into the mind and world of a mysterious, troubled young man who died sixty years earlier.
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Through Her eyes is your first YA book and I find myself wondering what were you like as a teen?
I liked to read and watch movies, listen to music and hang out with my friends. I was very shy, except with my closest friends. With them I could be myself – a little goofy, with a somewhat irreverent sense of humor, I’m afraid! But outside of that small circle of girls and guys, I was pretty quiet and lacking in self-confidence. And I was a “good girl,” for the most part. I rarely did anything that would get me into trouble. During my junior year of high school, I got a little bolder and more daring and sure of myself. Along with those changes came a little more trouble, as well! (But not too much.)
We all do things we regret at this young age, ever done anything tremendously shameful? Lol
Hmmm . . . now that’s a loaded question! I don’t think I ever did anything tremendously shameful, but there are certainly things I wish I’d handled better, and times I wish I’d been nicer. I’m not sure I want to share the more shameful stuff, so how about something more on the mischievous side? During high school, I once got revenge on a mean-spirited guy who liked to taunt me. We had a class together, and I got there early one day before anyone else, and I put a thumb-tack in his chair. Then I sat down at my desk and waited. By the time he came in, the room was full of students. He sat down, yelped, and jumped up! I admit that I enjoyed it; he wasn’t a very nice guy!
Your novel is about a ghost story, so Jennifer, in all honesty, do you believe in ghost?
I’m an open-minded skeptic.
Can you tell us about a particularly spooky moment you've had?
I was working on a story idea and I needed to learn about psychics, so I decided to have a “reading,” although I thought they were basically scams; I only wanted to do it for research purposes. I called a local woman I’d heard about and she came to my house. We sat at my kitchen table and chatted about very general things for a few minutes and then she got very quiet and looked past me over my shoulder, as if she was watching and listening to someone behind me. After a second or two, she asked me if a specific family member of mine had “passed on” recently, and when I said ‘yes’ she began to give me messages, supposedly from this person, about things going on in my life that the psychic could not possibly have known about and that my deceased relative also couldn’t have known unless he’d been “watching me.” Some of the expressions she used were expressions unique to him. It was eerie and startling, but also sort of awesome! That experience is what turned me into an open-minded skeptic, as opposed to a close-minded one.
What's your favorite paranormal TV show?
I don’t watch a lot of television. I’m a big fan of movies, though, and some of my paranormal favorites are The Mothman Prophecies, The Sixth Sense, and Identity.
Tansy, Through Her Eyes' main character, loves photography. Do you share that passion with her?
I enjoy taking photographs, but I’m not an accomplished photographer like she is. I don’t have a fancy camera, and I’ve never developed film in a dark room, as she does. I think I have a decent “eye” for a good shot, but I don’t have her natural talent. That’s just one of the reasons Tansy was such an interesting character to write. I love beautiful photographs and I’d like to take a class in photography so that I can improve. That’s on my ‘to do’ list, but I was at least able to learn a few things about photography through the research I did for the book.
Do you have any original or "off-the-road" past time?
My husband and I have a log cabin in the mountains in Colorado. He built it from top to bottom, inside and out, and we spend time there whenever we can get away. We both love to hike and ride four-wheelers. Our cabin is located near the Spanish Peaks, and one of my goals is to climb to the summit of the west peak. It has an elevation of about 13, 600 feet. I need to spend some time beforehand getting in shape for a climb like that, though! Maybe this summer.
What's the craziest thing you've ever done?
While in college, I was camping out in the Palo Duro Canyon one weekend with friends, and during the middle of the night, I went behind a tree to go to the bathroom and sat on a cactus! Two of my girlfriends picked the thorns out of my butt using a flashlight and tweezers. (Yes, someone actually brought tweezers camping.) You know you’ve got true friends when they’re willing to de-thorn your bare backside!
Can you share with us 3 random facts we don't know about you?
- When I was fourteen, a friend and I entered a talent show. We did a baton twirling routine to an old Three Dog Night song called Jeremiah was a Bullfrog.
- I sometimes write song lyrics for a talented singer/musician named Tennessee Tuckness, and she puts them to music. Two of the songs Tennessee and I wrote together are represented by Rescue Records, a business that places songs in films, television and commercials.
- I once lived in a railroad car. That’s right – a train car. It’s true!
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Thank you so much Jennifer for stopping by! It’s greatly appreciated ^^
Jennifer is currently having a HUGE giveaway on her website!
Check it out for a chance to win :
1st & 2nd names drawn will win a Kindle
3rd and 4th names drawn win an iPod Shuffle
5th & 6th names drawn win a bound leather journal, like the one Tansy finds in the cellar in THROUGH HER EYES.
7th & 8th names drawn win an autographed copy of THROUGH HER EYES. (Give the one you pre-ordered to a friend!)
To enter, you have to:
- 1. Pre-order THROUGH HER EYES by Jennifer Archer (moi) on one of these online sites between March 1 and April 4, 2011:
- 2. Email a copy of your pre-order confirmation from Amazon, Barnes & Noble or Indie Bound to me at thegargantuangiveaway@yahoo.com
- 3. Along with your confirmation email, send me your address so I’ll know where to mail your prize if you win!
- 4. Tweet, Facebook, blog or simply call a friend about the THROUGH HER EYES Gargantuan Giveaway! In your confirmation email to me, explain how you spread the news about the Giveaway, and because I’m a trusting person, I’ll take your word for it!
Awesome interview! I especially enjoyed her story about thumb tacks and the mean-spirited guy haha Nice one!
ReplyDeleteThat was a great interview and an awesome book!
ReplyDeleteThanks for providing that, I really enjoyed hearing her POV!
I love your site; it's so comforting and full of info and giveaways. I'm doing the paranormal spring break :o} but that's not why I''m here!
Hope your weekend was great and you're having a nice relaxing Sunday!
@Kristi Thanks Kristi! Glad to know you're having fun =)
ReplyDeleteThis was a really fun interview to do! Thanks for stopping by!
ReplyDeleteJennifer
THROUGH HER EYES, Available Now!
www.jenniferarcher.net