www.debbierigaud.com

Sure, we’re squealing about Carrie Bradshaw’s return this week. But fans of author Jennifer Echols are just as eager to welcome back Lori McGullicuddy, the protagonist from her 2007 ro-com, THE BOYS NEXT DOOR. And like lady Bradshaw, your gurl Lori is back in a much-anticipated sequel. Yes, the newly-released ENDLESS SUMMER is finally here! And to sweeten the pot for followers and newcomers alike, both books (THE BOYS NEXT DOOR and ENDLESS SUMMER) are included in this one volume.

Here’s a teaser to catch you up on all the fun in the sun:

About ENDLESS SUMMER:
Two irresistible boys. One unforgettable summer.
Lori can’t wait for her summer at the lake. She loves wakeboarding and hanging with her friends–including the two hotties next door. With the Vader brothers, she’s always been just one of the guys. Now that she’s turning sixteen, she wants to be seen as one of the girls, especially in the eyes of Sean, the older brother. But that’s not going to happen–not if the younger brother, Adam, can help it.
Lori plans to make Sean jealous by spending time with Adam. Adam has plans of his own for Lori. As the air heats up, so does this love triangle. Will Lori’s romantic summer melt into one hot mess?

The awesome Ms. Echols, a 2010 Rita Award finalist (for GOING TOO FAR), delights readers with her colorful characters and saucy storytelling. I totally consider myself a fan, so the below Q&A with Jenn was all the more enjoyable…

DR:  What’s your favorite stage of your work process: researching, writing or editing?
JS: I get the biggest high from writing. When it’s going well, there’s no better feeling. But wow, I love editing, and it’s so much easier!

DR: How do you get over a major bout of writer’s block?
JS: I don’t get writer’s block. I have taught enough writing classes to know that usually if I’m having trouble writing, it’s because I’m having trouble making a decision about the direction of the book. That’s what I work on until I have a breakthrough.

DR: What bad habit are you desperately trying to break out of?
JS: Eating after 7 p.m. Whoops, it’s 9:16 and I might possibly have some cookies in the oven.

DR: What’s the craziest or coolest thing you’ve done in the name of research?
JS: I have taken a lot of long, strange road trips that will make their way into my novels sooner or later. I love a good road trip story!

DR: Think back to your sophomore year in high school. What were you like at age 15?
JS: Determined, definitely, because that was the year I tried out for drum major even though no girl had ever held that position in my high school marching band, and I made it.

DR: In PERFECT SHOT, London steps out of her sporty comfort zone to participate in a modeling contest. When was the last time you ventured far out of your comfort zone?
JS: Every time I go to a writer’s conference! Networking is made for extroverts. Introverts like me have to pretend to be extroverts for four days straight. It’s fun but exhausting!

DR: What’s your favorite spot to cozy up with a book?
JS: I have a beautiful screened-in porch on the second story of my house, surrounded by trees. I love to read and write there.

DR: These days, everyone and their pet pooch is a multi-hyphenate. What talents or professional titles would you include your multi-hyphenate profile?
JS: Author/mother/copyeditor/reader/runner! Gotta include the running because of those cookies in the oven. Let me go check on them.

Save a batch for me, Jenn! Cookies would go great with my marathon reading of ENDLESS SUMMER.  

My cell phone takes photos!

Yes—I’m just entering the 21st century. But I’m quickly catching up. My fly hubby got me a touch screen Blackberry for Christmas, and so now can’t nobody hold me back from snapping away. Here are some shots of Spring in Bermuda.

Elbow Beach. It’s a short five-minute drive from our home. I go there for morning walks as well as for weekend lounging.

Just a few minutes down the road from Elbow, lies a string of South Shore beaches offering breathtaking roadside vistas like this one.

The view outside our cottage’s front door. I snapped this out of pride, having just learned how to remedy the slippery path. I’m used to clearing walkways of snow and ice—I had no idea that a rainy season would leave behind a trail slippery moss! Apologies to all those guests who unwittingly paid a hefty slip-and-slide entry fee. A splash of bleach was all it took.

A spring picnic! We chose this cliffside patch of green for our lunch. I was excited to use the picnic basket I inherited from our old neighbors. On the menu—turkey club on wheat with a side of (of course) plantain chips.

On our way home from an outing on Easter weekend, traffic slowed then backed up. Then we saw hundreds of folks crossing the street and making their way alongside the road. Turns out it was an organized walk to commemorate the walk Jesus took to crucifixion.

The annual Agricultural Festival took place recently. It’s like a County Fair—a prime demonstration of the  small-town charm that Bermuda seems to have as a nation. The Ag Show, as it’s locally referred to, includes a display of prize-winning veggies (like above), petting farms, popular horse shows, entertainment and cotton candy! It’s also a very social event. I eyed clusters of teens in their trendy best, hanging out and loving the buzz generated from this widely-attended event.

Over at the Ag Show’s center stage, my friend Joanne Ball Burgess sang tunes from the companion CD to her children’s book THE LIZARD AND THE ROCK. Fantastic Disney-esque tunes.

The world’s largest floating library docked in Bermuda last month. We hopped aboard, checked out the wide selection, and were offered free ice cream and lemonade as a thank you. There I am trying to act natural but really posing as my Honey figures out the camera feature on the phone.

On Mother’s Day, in honor of my rockstar of a mom, I picked this gorgeous flower from a rose bush right outside our door, and placed it next to this framed photo of Mummy. This is the same photo I took with me on my wedding day.

Like seasonally migrating birds, the sight of tourists struggling on rented scooters is a sure sign that spring is here. As my hubby likes to say, “Aaaah, they’re back. It’s spring again.”

Another YA debut by a GCC member is shaking up the lit scene. Jeri Smith-Ready’s newly released novel SHADE has just received a starred review in Publisher’s Weekly. How fabulous that Jeri is spreading her celebrated brand of paranormal romance from adult fiction to a YA. The book’s spooky premise about “the shift” has caught my attention (read below synopsis and squeal). And it doesn’t hurt to have top critics vouching for it, too–as PW states, “Smith-Ready changes the world completely by simply changing our ability to see.” Talk about a shift in perception!

About SHADE:
Love ties them together. Death can’t tear them apart.
Like everyone born after the Shift, Aura can see and hear ghosts. This mysterious ability has always been annoying, and Aura had wanted nothing more than to figure out why the Shift happened so she can undo it. But not with Logan’s violet-hued spirit still hanging around. Because dead Logan is almost as real as ever. Almost.
It doesn’t help that Aura’s new friend Zachary is so understanding—and so very alive. His support means more to Aura than she cares to admit.
As Aura’s relationships with the dead and the living grow ever complicated, so do her feelings for Logan and Zachary. Each holds a piece of Aura’s heart…and clues to the secret of the Shift.

It was so cool of Jeri to take time out of her book tour to answer my author Q’s. Hope you enjoy!

DR: What’s your favorite stage of your work process: researching, writing or editing?
JSR: I love rewriting and revising (which are two different stages for me—rewriting is where I do the major story overhaul, and revising is where I polish and check for
inconsistencies).  But first drafts are like sculpting air, and really difficult for me. 
So I try to get through them as quickly as possible, like pulling off a Band-Aid. Then I
go on to revise and turn what is usually garbage (with a few gems) into something
resembling a real story.

DR: How do you get over a major bout of writer’s block?
JSR: I’m not sure I’ve ever had what I would define as writer’s block, that serious,
psychological inability to write anything at all.  I’ve definitely struggled with each
book—there’s always at least one point where I’m convinced that this is the worst thing
I’ve ever written, and that even though I’ve said that about every book, this time it’s
true! My weakness is occasionally letting other things that are demanding my attention steal it from writing.  When that happens, I find that it helps if I go cold turkey on the
internet for a couple days and really immerse myself in the work.  There’s a software
program called Write or Die, where you have to keep typing at a certain speed or it will
punish you.  It might make an unpleasant noise, or turn the screen red, or in kamikaze
mode, it’ll start deleting what you’ve already written.  But I put it in gentle mode,
where it just pops up a dialogue box that says, “You’ve stopped writing!” So for me it’s
not so much Write or Die as it is Write or be Gently Chided.

DR: What bad habit are you desperately trying to break out of?
JSR: The tendency to start a new task before I’ve finished the old one. Not just work stuff, but also simple things like putting away dishes—in the middle of it I’ll get distracted by a piece of mail, and next thing I know, it’s half an hour later and half the dishes are still in the dishwasher.  They say that multitasking is actually a really inefficient way to work, that it’s better to focus on one thing until it’s done, then move on to something else.  I need to learn to do that.

DR: What’s the craziest or coolest thing you’ve done in the name of research?
JSR: I’m a bit afraid of heights—Ferris wheels scare me to death (though I love roller
coasters—go figure).  But in Toronto, we went up in the CN Tower, which is one of the
tallest buildings in the world.  They have a level near the top where part of the floor
is glass, so you can walk out and look down below your feet at the sidewalk.  I was
terrified, but I was writing a manuscript in which two characters had gone to this place, and one of them convinced the other (who was terrified of heights) to walk on the glass
floor. So I had to experience it for myself.  I not only walked out onto the transparent floor, but I lay face down (I wasn’t the only one—lots of people were doing this) to look
through the glass.  It was scary, but so exhilarating, and best of all I was able to
describe it in my manuscript. But I’m never setting a scene on a Ferris wheel.  Gotta draw the line somewhere. Maybe.

DR: Think back to your sophomore year in high school. What were you like at age 15?
JSR: Gullible and romantic, which is a deadly combination when your boyfriend is a few years older and quite the jerk.  But I learned my lesson, and have only dated nice guys since then.

DR: What’s your favorite spot to cozy up with a book?
JSR: Our living room sofa, but it’s been killing my back lately, so I’m dying to get a big
comfy reading chair.  Hmm, maybe for my birthday…

DR: These days, everyone and their pet pooch is a multi-hyphenate. What talents or professional titles would you include your multi-hyphenate profile?
JSR: Author/pet chauffeur/amateur philosopher.
Thanks for interviewing me, Debbie!

The pleasure was mine, Jeri! Best of luck to you, and here’s to many more starred reviews.