Mundie Moms

Saturday, May 30, 2015

JOYRIDE by Anna Banks | Blog Tour: Author Interview


Hello & welcome to today's JOYRIDE blog tour stop. I'm so thrilled to have author ANNA BANKS on the blog today. She's stopped by to talk about her upcoming release. Before I share my interview with her, here's a little bit about Joyride, which will be out this Tuesday, June 2nd!

ABOUT THE BOOK


By: Anna Banks
To Be Released on: June 2nd, 2015
Published by: Feiwel & Friends
Pre-Order it from: Amazon | B&N
Add it to Goodreads

A popular guy and a shy girl with a secret become unlikely accomplices for midnight pranking, and are soon in over their heads—with the law and with each other—in this sparkling standalone from NYT-bestselling author Anna Banks.

It’s been years since Carly Vega’s parents were deported. She lives with her brother, studies hard, and works at a convenience store to contribute to getting her parents back from Mexico.

Arden Moss used to be the star quarterback at school. He dated popular blondes and had fun with his older sister, Amber. But now Amber’s dead, and Arden blames his father, the town sheriff who wouldn’t acknowledge Amber's mental illness. Arden refuses to fulfill whatever his conservative father expects.

All Carly wants is to stay under the radar and do what her family expects. All Arden wants is to NOT do what his family expects. When their paths cross, they each realize they’ve been living according to others. Carly and Arden’s journey toward their true hearts—and one another—is funny, romantic, and sometimes harsh.


My Interview With Anna


Hi Anna! Welcome to Mundie Moms, and congratulations on your upcoming release, JOYRIDE. If we were to ask your main character Carly, how to describe Joyride in 5 words or less, how would you describe it?

Risky, fun, romantic, heartbreaking, shocking.


Carly and Arden's relationship tackles some harsh realities, but it also has humor, and some romantic moments to it. Which of these three elements did you have the most fun writing?


The humor was the most fun writing. I needed it, and I felt the reader needed it because of the harsh realities. And more than that, the characters needed it. I remember writing some scenes in JOYRIDE where I felt like cuddling up in bed and crying afterward, because life is truly that difficult for some people and it sucks to contemplate. So I had to add something to balance that out, which is where the Bonnie & Clyde aspect came in.

Carly and Arden both deal with a lot in Joyride.  One has to deal with family members whom get deported, and another deals with a sibling who never receives some much needed help for their mental illness. Were these (important) topics something you always knew you'd write about in the story, or was it something that just happened?

I knew from the beginning that Carly would be dealing with the overwhelming loss of her deported parents. It’s a story I’ve wanted to write for a long time, because it’s a story that not many of us are familiar with, and it’s a story I think we need to become familiar with because so many people go through it. With Arden, he needed troubles of his own, and at first I didn’t know what they were, but then I tried to envision him as an only child and couldn’t—someone helped shape who he is, but who? And after I developed his sister, I knew she had to be taken away, and since I was already touching on such devastating realities in life, I decided I would also represent how mental illness can affect teens and families and friends. 

Whom would you had been friends with as a teen, Carly, Arden or both of them? Why? 

I wasn’t one of those teens who would approach someone like Carly and try to pursue friendship with her. In the beginning of the story, she projects this “stay clear of me” presence, and I would have probably been like, “Okay, will do.” I don’t know if I would have been friends like Arden or if I actually was Arden as a teen. I dealt with loss as a teen and I was quite the devious prankster, so I feel I have a lot in common with Arden. 

 If I were to ask both Carly and Arden, what is one thing they each admire about each other, what would they both say?


Carly would want Arden’s free and easy going nature. She’s jealous of how he can take things in stride and not get worked up over them. Arden admires Carly’s strength and her hidden fearlessness, traits that even she didn’t know she had.

Do you have a favorite line from the book you can share with us?


When Arden says, “Do you have me like I have you?”

If you didn't have a care in the world, and could hop in the car and take a road trip to anywhere, where would you go and why?


I would go EVERYWHERE. Because I truly believe that life is not about the destination, it’s about the journey in getting there. The flat tires, the emergency gas station bathroom breaks because you ate lunch from a food truck in the middle of nowhere, the laughing so hard you spit your drink all over the dash. All these things are just as important as seeing the Smithsonian (which is where I’d go first).

What is one "writing must have", you need when writing?


My desk has to be completely cleared off or I can’t write a single word. It sucks. It’s like my mind gravitates to the things on my desk instead of the manuscript. Also, coffee when editing, and wine when writing. 


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Author Links/Info

Full Blog Tour Schedule


May 12- Xpresso Reads
May 13- WhoRU Blog
May 19-Fiktshun
May 27-Dana Square
May 29-Paper Riot
May 30-Mundie Moms

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