Interview and Giveaway: Ann Herrick

I'm happy to have author Ann Herrick stopping by today with a fabulous interview, where she talks about her new YA book Trading Faces. Plus, she's brought along a giveaway...

Trading Faces

What if you went to sleep plain and woke up beautiful--or vice versa?
An "Ugly Betty" and a Popular Beauty wind up trading faces—and lives—and the situation is not what either one expected.
When 15-year-old Darcy Doane wakes up as Cybil Sheffield, she is thrilled. Cybil is everything Darcy has ever wanted to be. Pretty. Popular. Only… all the attention isn’t exactly what Darcy expected. Especially when her own brother, Joey, is crushing on her. Gross. But then there's Devon, the real Cybil's boyfriend .... 
Cybil is shocked when she looks in the mirror and sees a face she totally doesn’t recognize. She thought not always being the center of attention might be a good thing, but being invisible is hardly bearable. Even her boyfriend, Devon, looks right through her! How can she survive when the only people (except a family of strangers) who even know she's alive are three dipsticks she can't remember ever seeing before? And why hasn't she ever noticed her new "brother," Joey, before?
With the school play, potential boyfriends and an A-List party coming up, Darcy and Cybil have a lot to work out. There’s a learning curve for both of them, especially after they are caught fighting at school and forced by the principal to help her at a Return-to-Work project for displaced women.
Trouble is, how do they get their own lives back? And who ends up with what guy?

WS: What three words best describe TRADING FACES?

AH- Body-swap, empathy, discovery.

WS: Can you give us your best one sentence pitch to convince readers that they must read TRADING FACES?

AH- How would your life change if you went to sleep plain and woke up beautiful--or vice versa?

WS: What inspired the story behind TRADING FACES? Where did the idea for this book come from? 

AH- When I was a young teen and clueless about hairstyles, makeup, clothes, etc., I certainly would have liked to just wake up beautiful one day, lol. Today there are so many "makeover" TV shows and articles in magazines.  So I think a lot of people are interested in having a different look (the better look, of course, not the vice-versa!).

The idea for this book came from seeing a list of body-swap stories and realizing that there were parent-child, male-female, human-animal body-swaps, but none where a plain girl and beautiful girl swapped bodies, and I just thought it would be fun to explore that idea.

WS:  Who was you favorite character to write in TRADING FACES? What do you love about them? Were they inspired by a real person?

AH- I always enjoy all my characters, but I really enjoyed Winston. He's a goof, but a loveable, loyal goof. He's inspired by several guys who were goofy, but sweet.

WS: Grab a copy of TRADING FACES and answer the following:

Favorite chapter?  Wow, that's almost has difficult as choosing a favorite book or child! I'll say the second chapter, because that's when the swap and the girls' first reactions to it occur.

Favorite page? Another difficult choice! I think the page where Cybil (in Darcy's body), does something that totally surprises Winston.  (Since it's an ebook, you'd find it at about the 80% mark in the book.)

Flip to a random page, choose a random sentence or two and give us a teaser: 

"What happened? Whose face is this? Maybe someone from school? Why is it suddenly my face? I try to think. Is this a nightmare?" Okay there are more than a couple of sentence heres, but they're short. ;)   

WS: You've written numerous books and stories for both children and YA, do you have an absolute favorite out of them all?

AH- They are all probably my favorites as I am working on them! Again, it's like asking a mother who her favorite child is. She recognizes their different personalities, but she loves them all equally.

Some of my books are lighthearted, some more serious, so it is also like comparing the proverbial apples and oranges.

WS: Your characters wake up as different people, basically switching lives...who would you love to wake up as, even just for a day? What would you do as them?

AH- It would be amazingly interesting to suddenly wake up and be any of the presidents of the US, but I'd be totally scared out of my mind about what to do, so I'll scratch that off the list!

So my next choice would be Margaret Mitchell. It would be fun to know what it's like to have written Gone With The Wind. Maybe I would write one more chapter where we all find out if/how Scarlett gets Rhett back!

WS:  What's the last great book you read? What upcoming book are you excited for?

AH- Last great book was What Happened to Goodbye--I love Sarah Dessen's books!

I guess the next upcoming book I'm excited for is whatever Sarah writes next!

WS: Fill in the blanks:

I'm really awesome at  listening.

I'm embarrassed to admit that  I don't love to cook.

My first literary crush (character or author) was  The Black Stallion. I was totally horse crazy!

The book I've re-read the most is  a 3-way tossup: Gone With The Wind, All Creatures Great and Small, Katherine (by Anya Seton, which I am re-reading now!).

I'd love to write a book about  a girl in the Middle Ages (but I don't know that I'd really want to do all the research necessary!).

WS: If you were to create and bake a cupcake inspired by TRADING FACES what would it taste and look like, and what would you call it?

AH- Hmm. It would have to be something with opposing flavors, so I guess it would be a chocolate cupcake with pretzel sprinkles. I'd call it Trading Flavors.

Thank you so much Ann, for taking the time to answer my questions! And that cupcake sounds super yummy!

Ann Herrick: Site / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

Ann Herrick is the award-winning author of several books and short stories for kids and teens. Included in the awards her books have won are the ALA Recommended Book for Reluctant Readers, IRA/CBC Children’s Choice and EPIC Best YA Novel Finalist.

 Ann grew up in Connecticut, where she graduated from The Morgan School and QuinnipiacUniversity.  She now lives in Oregon with her husband, who was her high-school sweetheart.  Their wonderful daughter is grown, married and gainfully employed, and has given Ann her only grand-dog, Puff, a bloodhound-rottweiller-beagle mix and six grand-kitties.  While she misses the East Coast, especially houses built before 1900, she enjoys the green valleys, fresh air and low humidity in the Willamette Valley of Oregon.  Ann loves cats, walking, the Oregon Ducks and working in her back yard.  In addition to stories and books for children and young adults, Ann also writes copy for humorous and conventional greeting cards.

Purchase Trading Faces: Amazon / B&N / Smashwords

Win an e-copy of Trading Faces!

Ann has generously offered one (1) ebook copy copy of her book for one lucky winner.

DETAILS

-Open to anyone who can read and accept ebooks

-Will run from 11/15 - 11/22

-Must be 13+, One main entry per person

-Winner will be emailed and must claim prize within 47 hours

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