Tiffany Truitt
Evernight Teen
YA Contemporary Romantic Suspense, @66.5k words
Brett is certain that someone is responsible for her brother’s death. He wouldn't just leave her and his best friend, Ed, behind. Although Tristan’s death is ruled an accident, Brett and Ed know there is something more sinister happening. They are looking for the secret that no one in this small Georgia town of Wendall wants to acknowledge, the truth that may rock the town establishment and particularly one of its most upstanding families.
Together, Brett and Ed must discover the hidden truth behind Tristan's death and deal with their feelings for each other, or they might just discover the darkest secrets are the ones they are keeping themselves.
Buy Links: Amazon Evernight Teen
Excerpt:
“How’d your mom tell you?” Brett offers a short, bitter laugh in response. I scratch my chin and shake my head. “That good, eh?”
“You would think she was auditioning for a Lifetime movie or something.”
For some reason, I laugh. Brett smiles. An actual smile. The kind of smile that transforms a face. If she was beautiful before, she’s luminescent now. These sorts of moments are so rare, so precious, I feel both a need to forever stay in this place and flee it as soon as possible.
I’ve always had a crush on Brett Jensen. I’ve just been smart enough to know that I’m too messed up to ever be with her. And now, with Tristan gone, I’m pretty sure I’m damn near done. Ruined. And maybe that’s what I deserve for not convincing him to stay with us.
“Maybe she thinks Julia Roberts will play her,” she continues, pulling at the grass growing up between the cement base of the bridge. “I mean, this has movie written all over it. All-American boy dies under mysterious conditions.”
Oh, Brett. There is no mystery about it. He left us.
“More likely some has-been from one of those medical shows,” I say instead.
Brett nods. Suddenly, her hand is on mine. I feel the tension she is holding within herself by the pressure she exerts onto my skin. My cheeks burn, and I am ashamed by my body’s quick reaction to this small movement.
“You can be whatever you want now, Ed,” she whispers.
I try to pull my hand from her grasp, but she merely holds on tighter. “What are you talking about?” I manage.
“You have a get out of jail free card thanks to Tristan. You could skip school for a week or flunk the whole year, and no one could say anything. You are…were the best friend of the dead kid. Who would give you grief? You could become anyone.”
She’s holding on so tightly to my hand that I begin to lose feeling. I let her words sink in. Settle. And the funny thing is—they make sense. Perfect sense. I know how I am going to deal with all of this.
AUTHOR INTERVIEW
Thanks for hosting me today! I have to say, it took me awhile to answer these because I got lost in the awesomeness of exploring this blog. So excited to be here!
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Together, Brett and Ed must discover the hidden truth behind Tristan's death and deal with their feelings for each other, or they might just discover the darkest secrets are the ones they are keeping themselves.
Buy Links: Amazon Evernight Teen
Excerpt:
“How’d your mom tell you?” Brett offers a short, bitter laugh in response. I scratch my chin and shake my head. “That good, eh?”
“You would think she was auditioning for a Lifetime movie or something.”
For some reason, I laugh. Brett smiles. An actual smile. The kind of smile that transforms a face. If she was beautiful before, she’s luminescent now. These sorts of moments are so rare, so precious, I feel both a need to forever stay in this place and flee it as soon as possible.
I’ve always had a crush on Brett Jensen. I’ve just been smart enough to know that I’m too messed up to ever be with her. And now, with Tristan gone, I’m pretty sure I’m damn near done. Ruined. And maybe that’s what I deserve for not convincing him to stay with us.
“Maybe she thinks Julia Roberts will play her,” she continues, pulling at the grass growing up between the cement base of the bridge. “I mean, this has movie written all over it. All-American boy dies under mysterious conditions.”
Oh, Brett. There is no mystery about it. He left us.
“More likely some has-been from one of those medical shows,” I say instead.
Brett nods. Suddenly, her hand is on mine. I feel the tension she is holding within herself by the pressure she exerts onto my skin. My cheeks burn, and I am ashamed by my body’s quick reaction to this small movement.
“You can be whatever you want now, Ed,” she whispers.
I try to pull my hand from her grasp, but she merely holds on tighter. “What are you talking about?” I manage.
“You have a get out of jail free card thanks to Tristan. You could skip school for a week or flunk the whole year, and no one could say anything. You are…were the best friend of the dead kid. Who would give you grief? You could become anyone.”
She’s holding on so tightly to my hand that I begin to lose feeling. I let her words sink in. Settle. And the funny thing is—they make sense. Perfect sense. I know how I am going to deal with all of this.
Thanks for hosting me today! I have to say, it took me awhile to answer these because I got lost in the awesomeness of exploring this blog. So excited to be here!
It's an absolute pleasure, Tiffany! I'm glad you like my blog :)
Can you tell us a little about your latest book?
I wanted to tell the story of two people who end up being perfectly alright with being imperfect. I think it’s a really important concept to discuss in YA literature where so many stories are bright and happy where everyone does the right thing all the time. Not that there is anything wrong with those types of stories, but I felt like there needed to be more narratives out there for teens where the characters actually acted like teens. Where sometimes they did the selfish thing and sometimes they became the villains. Being a teenager is messy---in the most wonderfully disastrous way. It’s the story of two people who are brought together by overwhelming grief, and how that grief and the many mistakes they make as a result of their inability to embrace it, leads them to become the people they were meant to be.
What inspired you to write it?
I don’t know. I just sat down and started writing. It just became this story that had to be told. I knew I wanted to write a contemporary, and this was what came out. I know that sounds like pretentious-writer-chat, but it’s the truth.
How did you come up with the idea for the cover?
Authors, at least in my experience, don’t have as much say in the covers as readers may think. We tend to get to give general comments on what we’d like to see and what we would hate. I’ve been lucky in my short career to really enjoy my covers. I really like the simplicity of this one, and I think it represents the emotional end-note of the novel: that through the darkness, you can find light.
If it was made into a movie, who would you like to play the main characters?
I always love these questions! I would love if Brett was played by Troian Bellisaro from Pretty Little Liars. I think she is brilliantly subtle, and I actually based the description of Brett off of her. As for Ed, I recently finished watching season four of The Killing and Tyler Ross blew me away.
What is it about this genre that appeals to you so much?
Well, it’s my first venture into the genre, so the newness of it alone appealed to me. I had just finished writing almost a thousand pages of dystopian, so it was nice to write something that felt a little bit more like home. Plus, it’s really fun to push the limits in this genre, and I am lucky to have found a publisher that really embraces that. Evernight Teen really allows its authors to tell the stories that need to be told.
What made you want to become an author?
It’s always something I have enjoyed doing. A friend and I used to write and illustrate our own horror stories as children, and I knew that one day I wanted to write a novel of my own. I set a goal of getting published by thirty. It was a lot of hard work and a lot of rejection, but I managed to make it happen. Some days, I’m still not sure I can do it and I still get rejections… but it’s what I enjoy, so I continue to venture on.
How do you come up with character names?
Brett is from an old 80’s Civil War mini-series called North and South. I honestly don’t know where Ed’s name came from.
Name one of your all-time favourite books?
My three favorite “books,” are as follows: Pride and Prejudice, Tess of the D’Urbervilles, and Macbeth.
Where is your favourite place to write?
There’s a local coffee shop called Café Moka where I do my scribbling.
What is your favourite movie that was based on a book?
Gah. Too many. I will say one of the only movies I thought that improved on the book was The Last of the Mohicans. Boring book, epic movie.
Name two of your favourite authors.
Since I focused on the oldies in the fav book question, I’ll go more contemporary here. I really dig John Green and Gayle Forman.
Tell us a random fact about yourself.
I spent ten days in China with a slew of teachers from Virginia. I ate a bird on a stick.
Can you tell us a little about your latest book?
I wanted to tell the story of two people who end up being perfectly alright with being imperfect. I think it’s a really important concept to discuss in YA literature where so many stories are bright and happy where everyone does the right thing all the time. Not that there is anything wrong with those types of stories, but I felt like there needed to be more narratives out there for teens where the characters actually acted like teens. Where sometimes they did the selfish thing and sometimes they became the villains. Being a teenager is messy---in the most wonderfully disastrous way. It’s the story of two people who are brought together by overwhelming grief, and how that grief and the many mistakes they make as a result of their inability to embrace it, leads them to become the people they were meant to be.
What inspired you to write it?
I don’t know. I just sat down and started writing. It just became this story that had to be told. I knew I wanted to write a contemporary, and this was what came out. I know that sounds like pretentious-writer-chat, but it’s the truth.
How did you come up with the idea for the cover?
Authors, at least in my experience, don’t have as much say in the covers as readers may think. We tend to get to give general comments on what we’d like to see and what we would hate. I’ve been lucky in my short career to really enjoy my covers. I really like the simplicity of this one, and I think it represents the emotional end-note of the novel: that through the darkness, you can find light.
If it was made into a movie, who would you like to play the main characters?
I always love these questions! I would love if Brett was played by Troian Bellisaro from Pretty Little Liars. I think she is brilliantly subtle, and I actually based the description of Brett off of her. As for Ed, I recently finished watching season four of The Killing and Tyler Ross blew me away.
What is it about this genre that appeals to you so much?
Well, it’s my first venture into the genre, so the newness of it alone appealed to me. I had just finished writing almost a thousand pages of dystopian, so it was nice to write something that felt a little bit more like home. Plus, it’s really fun to push the limits in this genre, and I am lucky to have found a publisher that really embraces that. Evernight Teen really allows its authors to tell the stories that need to be told.
What made you want to become an author?
It’s always something I have enjoyed doing. A friend and I used to write and illustrate our own horror stories as children, and I knew that one day I wanted to write a novel of my own. I set a goal of getting published by thirty. It was a lot of hard work and a lot of rejection, but I managed to make it happen. Some days, I’m still not sure I can do it and I still get rejections… but it’s what I enjoy, so I continue to venture on.
How do you come up with character names?
Brett is from an old 80’s Civil War mini-series called North and South. I honestly don’t know where Ed’s name came from.
Name one of your all-time favourite books?
My three favorite “books,” are as follows: Pride and Prejudice, Tess of the D’Urbervilles, and Macbeth.
Where is your favourite place to write?
There’s a local coffee shop called Café Moka where I do my scribbling.
What is your favourite movie that was based on a book?
Gah. Too many. I will say one of the only movies I thought that improved on the book was The Last of the Mohicans. Boring book, epic movie.
Name two of your favourite authors.
Since I focused on the oldies in the fav book question, I’ll go more contemporary here. I really dig John Green and Gayle Forman.
Tell us a random fact about yourself.
I spent ten days in China with a slew of teachers from Virginia. I ate a bird on a stick.
Who would play you in the movie about your life?
Kristen Stewart. I know a lot of people say she can’t act, but I think she’s rad.
Tell us an interesting fact about where you live.
It was voted the 3rd most boring city in the country.
What are your (writing) plans for the future?
I am writing a dual narrator contemporary about two best friends who go on a road trip to a music festival.
Tell us one thing that's on your bucket list.
Travel, travel, travel. Everywhere.
Favourite myth / fairytale?
Sleeping Beauty. Scariest villain ever.
Who did you want to be when you were a kid?
A teacher. And I’m starting my ninth year ☺
Tiffany Truitt was born in Peoria, Illinois. A self-proclaimed Navy brat, Tiffany spent most of her childhood living in Virginia, but don’t call her a Southerner. She also spent a few years living in Cuba. Since her time on the island of one McDonalds and Banana Rats (don't ask), she has been obsessed with traveling. Tiffany recently added China to her list of travels (hello inspiration for a new book).
Besides traveling, Tiffany has always been an avid reader. The earliest books she remembers reading belong to The Little House on the Prairie Series. First book she read in one day? Little Woman (5th grade). First author she fell in love with? Jane Austen in middle school. Tiffany spent most of her high school and college career as a literary snob. She refused to read anything considered "low brow" or outside the "classics."
Tiffany began teaching middle school in 2006. Her students introduced her to the wide, wonderful world of Young Adult literature. Today, Tiffany embraces popular Young Adult literature and uses it in her classroom.
WEBSITE
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| photo credit: xploitme via photopin cc |
Tell us an interesting fact about where you live.
It was voted the 3rd most boring city in the country.
What are your (writing) plans for the future?
I am writing a dual narrator contemporary about two best friends who go on a road trip to a music festival.
Tell us one thing that's on your bucket list.
Travel, travel, travel. Everywhere.
Favourite myth / fairytale?
Sleeping Beauty. Scariest villain ever.
Who did you want to be when you were a kid?
A teacher. And I’m starting my ninth year ☺
Tiffany Truitt was born in Peoria, Illinois. A self-proclaimed Navy brat, Tiffany spent most of her childhood living in Virginia, but don’t call her a Southerner. She also spent a few years living in Cuba. Since her time on the island of one McDonalds and Banana Rats (don't ask), she has been obsessed with traveling. Tiffany recently added China to her list of travels (hello inspiration for a new book).
Besides traveling, Tiffany has always been an avid reader. The earliest books she remembers reading belong to The Little House on the Prairie Series. First book she read in one day? Little Woman (5th grade). First author she fell in love with? Jane Austen in middle school. Tiffany spent most of her high school and college career as a literary snob. She refused to read anything considered "low brow" or outside the "classics."
Tiffany began teaching middle school in 2006. Her students introduced her to the wide, wonderful world of Young Adult literature. Today, Tiffany embraces popular Young Adult literature and uses it in her classroom.
WEBSITE
Thanks so much for hosting Tiffany. I love your blog :) Tiffany, i'm totally with you on Kristen Stewart, i have no problem with her acting !!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Krista! I agree with you both... Kristen is great! :)
ReplyDelete