The time it was about Joyride

Posted May 26, 2015 by Stacee in Blog Tours, Giveaways, Interviews | 11 Comments

I have been a fan of Anna’s for a while.  I adore her Syrena books and Degrees of Wrong is one of my top favorites to reread when I’m in a slump. And Anna herself is snarky and fabulous. When I was invited to be part of the blog tour for Joyride, I jumped at the chance to have her on the blog.

Joyride BlogTourBanner

Before we get to Anna’s interview, let’s check out her new book!

13A 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.

Sounds good, right?

right

1. Where did the idea for Joyride come from?

Over the years, I’ve worked with many Mexican immigrants, both documented and undocumented. As I got close to them, they told me their stories, about how they had to pay people called coyotes to get them across the border illegally, how they had to traverse the desert with very little food and water to sustain them, how they had to leave their families behind, and their fears of getting deported. One mistake that drew attention to them and they could be sent straight back to Mexico. In my writerly mind, I started thinking, “What if a teen had to go through all of that? What if a teen had to deal with the consequences of having undocumented parents?” And so it began!

2. Why do you love Carly and Arden and why should we root for them?

I love Carly because she’s strong, hardworking, and stubborn. Really, Carly is everything I’ve ever wanted to be. But she’s also uptight, which is where Arden comes in. He’s laid back—to the point of irresponsibility sometimes—and he brings to Carly a sense of freedom and fun that she might not have otherwise realized was important. I also love their relationship. It’s so push and pull, not insta-love, they work hard to keep it intact.

Now, whether or not you should root for them? That’s a decision you’ll have to make on your own.

3. What makes a good villain and how did you incorporate that into Joyride?

Usually I enjoy a likeable villain, someone who has good intentions but a flawed way of going about them. That’s not the case in Joyride. My villain is evil through and through, a racist bigot who takes advantage of people in the worst way. The reason I chose to write him that way is because he is real—sometimes people do not have redeemable qualities. Sometimes they really are just selfish and ignorant. And sometimes they can fool a lot of people, like the villain in Joyride.

4.Without spoilers, were there any scene that you had to cut that you wish you could have kept?

Actually, there aren’t. I wrote Joyride fairly quickly, and it came to be more smoothly than any other book ever has. There was a prank scene that I’d have loved to keep involving harmonicas, but you can catch that deleted scene in a different blog post on the Joyride blog tour. Other than that, I wrote Joyride like an authorly beast. It was boss.

5. Describe Joyride in 5 words.

Silly. Serious. Romantic. Heart-wrenching. Risky.

Speed [ish] round:

1. You get the call/email/letter that says you’re being published for the first time. Describe the next 5 minutes.

Jaw hanging open in a very unladylike way. Ignoring people asking why my jaw is hanging open. Questioning whether not my agent is a prankster. Going to the bathroom because I have to pee before I go in depth and explain to everyone what just happened. Crying while I pee in said bathroom because my dream just came true.

2. What three things would you take to a desert island?

Water. Toilet paper. Henry Cavill.

3. You can only read one book for the rest of your life. What is it?

Graceling by Kristin Cashore.

4. Who are your favorite swoony boys/girls?

The Darkling. Warren from the Shatter Me series. Theo James…er, I mean, Tobias.

5. What is the one thing about publishing you wish someone would have told you?

NOT to read reviews of my book. The negative reviews can be soul-crushing and actually affect the way I write. Now, I try to avoid reading them, but of course, reading reviews is like crack to authors. We can quit for a while, but we always get that craving to do it again.

6. You wake up and discover you are Bella in Twilight. You know how it plays out. What do you do differently? {Huge thanks to Bookish Broads for letting me use this question!}

I would not freaking name my child Renesmee for the love of God.

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AUTHOR PIC1New York Times Bestselling author of The Syrena Legacy series.

Grew up in a town called Niceville. No, seriously. I graduated from Niceville High School. So did J Lo’s second husband. And the guy that plays Aqua Man on Smallville dated my best friend.

Now I indulge my tendency to lie by writing the lies down and selling them to publishers. Well actually my agent sells it, so she’s an accomplice to lies. One of my lies is called OF POSEIDON. The sequel is called OF TRITON. The last and final installment is OF NEPTUNE, and it released May 13, 2014. Be on the lookout for JOYRIDE, my YA Contemporary out June 2, 2015–Bonnie & Clyde meets Latina Pretty in Pink!

And um. I also write adult fiction under pen name Anna Scarlett. One of the adult lies is DEGREES OF WRONG.

That is all.

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Huge thanks to Macmillan for the invite and to Anna for taking the time.  Make sure you’re checking out her website, following her on Twitter, liking her page on Facebook, and adding all of her books to your Goodreads TBR shelf.

Definitely check out the rest of the blog tour to see all sorts of goodies.

Now.  Are your greedy hands itching for a copy of Joyride? Macmillan is so nicely offering up a copy! Contest is US/Canada only and additional giveaway rules are here.

**Good Luck!!**

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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11 responses to “The time it was about Joyride

  1. Carol

    Definitely a cowboy, or better a cowgirl! ;) I love the cowboy attire and cowboys are way better than mermen! ;)

  2. Andrea

    As a Disney fan who has seen The Little Mermaid too many times to count, definitely a mermaid!

  3. daphne

    Not sure, but if I could be with Galen then I’d be a mermaid (or Syrena) for sure!!

    Love the blog, thanks for the giveaway!

  4. Rachel

    Oo, I like the sound of this book! I also like the color. I’ve never read anything Anna Banks but have always wanted to try out Of Poseidon. Might have to add both to my list now! Thanks for the interview! Love these.

  5. Is that even a question? A MERMAID, OBVIOUSLY. But I don’t how to swim so that might be a problem. But I’d think that being a mermaid means you instinctively and subconsciously just know how to swim, like a fish. Also, I love Twilight hardcore, but Anna’s answer to that question totally had me laughing.

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