GCC presents Linda Gerber

Yay - today I've got my fellow Teen Fiction Cafe buddy and all round fabulous person, Linda Gerber here to tour her new book, Death by Denim which comes out on the 14th of May.

Now for those of you who don't know, this is the third book of a series about Aphra Connolly and this time she is heading off to Paris (lucky, lucky girl since Paris is one of my favorite cities in the world. Apart from when my husband I went searching for the Bastille before finally remembering it had been destroyed. Viva the revolution and viva my ridiculous stupidity!!!). Anyway, as normal, I digress, the point is that Linda Gerber rocks big socks of goodness and not only is she a great writer, but she's a great blogger as well and she will be having a massive blog party on the 14th, 15th and 16th of May to celebrate the release - and we all know what blog parties mean - great posts and great prizes so make sure you mark your diaries.

But for now we're here to talk about Death by Denim so here is the blurb:

Aphra Connolly is being chased by some very dangerous people. She knows her survival depends upon staying far away from love interest Seth, and listening to her mom’s lectures on the finer points of anonymity and survival. But how is a girl supposed to live under the radar and not think about her boyfriend when she’s in Paris—the most romantic city in the world? When her mom’s contact in Paris is found floating in the Seine with a deadly message stuffed in his mouth, Aphra realizes that she will never be able to stop running unless she confronts the situation head-on. Sneaking away from her mom, Aphra tracks down the criminal mastermind in Italy, only to unwittingly reveal Seth’s location. And her mistake has just put them both in mortal danger

Hooked? Yeah, I thought so, but wait, there's more!

1 How did you first get the idea for your current book?

Since this book is the third in a series, the idea evolved from the first two books. Also, my publisher was the one who suggested the title DEATH BY DENIM. They were looking for something that would work with the other two titles, DEATH BY BIKINI and DEATH BY LATTE, and that would lend itself to the cute, iconic covers designed for the series. DEATH BY DENIM was perfect for the cover fit. I mean, seriously, how cute is that skirt with the skull pockets? But it meant I had to figure out how to use denim to kill my next victim. I mean, I knew where Aphra and her mom would be, I knew who was going to have to die, but I had to rely on the title to tell me how to do it. And that was a challenge, because I didn't want it to be too obvious (like using the denim for strangulation) or too ridiculous (like having a rack of denim fall on top of the victim). Then, as I researched European denim, a new twist was born. Aaand that's all I'm going to tell you about that.

2 I often say that everything I know about writing has come from Buffy. Is there any movie/tv show/book/author that you think has helped your writing career?

I don't know about one specific book. I'll just say that I read a lot. When people ask me what advice I would give to future authors, that figures high on the list. Read! It's a great way to learn from other authors. Also, you can learn a lot about scenes and structure by critically watching TV shows and movies. (Just don't comment out loud about all the clever things you recognize during the show because it can make your friends and family a little testy...)

3 What's a normal writing day for you?

What is this 'normal' you speak of? In a perfect scenario, I would send my kids off to school, straighten up, walk the dog, etc., then check emails and putz around online for an hour or so and then, when I'm 'in the zone', write uninterrupted for a few hours before the little darlings return from school. Note: most days do not fit the perfect scenario. Oh yes, how I know that feeling! In fact these days I tend to do most of my writing at night in front of the TV. Whoops!

4 The best blooper I've ever done as a writer was when I had my heroine hand the hero something. Problem was they were sharing the same body at the time! So to help lessen my embarrassment, I'd love to know what your best writing blooper is and did someone catch it before your book went into print?

Ha! I'm the blooper queen. Here's a couple of examples, one caught and one not. In NOW AND ZEN, I had Atsushi and Nori enjoying the sights in Shibuya, and then in the same scene I said they were in Shinjuku - two completely different cities. That one made it into print... and when I did school visits in Japan, the kids there were delighted to point it out to me.

In DEATH BY BIKINI, I had a chase scene going up the side of the mountain, and a return chase scene coming back down... and I forgot to reverse the order of the landmarks/obstacles along the way! Fortunately I caught that one before it was too late.

5 And now for the big question. Zombies - love them, hate them, couldn't eat a whole one? Enquiring minds want to know!

Love 'em! Especially if they hail from Newbury High! In fact, I just learned how to make a zombie hand. You know, in case I ever need one for special effects at Halloween or something. Check it out. hahaha - that zombie hand is so funny (and practical since one never knows when they might need a spare zombie hand!!!!!) Retweet this button on every post blogger