Sunday, October 3, 2010

Jeanne Bannon in the Author Spotlight


Cate: Please welcome Jeanne Bannon. Jeanne, will you please share a short bio with us?
Jeanne: I’ve worked in the publishing industry for over 20 years. First as a freelance writer and then as an editor. After having several short stories published, I tried my hand at novel writing. Invisible is my debut novel.

Cate: Congrats! Tell us about Invisible and where it's available.
Jeanne: Invisible, is about a teenage girl who isn’t happy with herself and wishes she could disappear. And one day she does. Invisible is available on Amazon, Smashwords, and the Solstice Publishing website. 

Cate: Please tantalize us with a story blurb or excerpt.
Jeanne: Yes, here is the blurb from the back of the book:
Lola’s not pretty. Lola’s not popular. Lola wishes she could disappear … and then one day she does just that...
For seventeen-year-old Lola Savullo, life is a struggle. Born to funky parents who are more in than she could ever be, Lola’s dream of becoming a writer makes her an outsider even in her own home. Bullied and despised, Lola still has the support of her best pal Charlie and Grandma Rose.
Not only is she freakishly tall, Lola’s a big girl and when forced to wear a bathing suit at her summer job as a camp counselor, Lola’s only escape from deep embarrassment seems to be to literally vanish. Soon after, she discovers the roots of her new “ability”.
Slowly, with Charlie’s help, Lola learns to control the new super power. The possibilities are endless. Yet power can be abused, too…
Then, when tragedy strikes, Lola must summon her inner strength, both at home and at school. She has to stand up for herself, despite the temptations and possibilities of her newfound super power.
A coming-of-age story that will warm the heart.

Cate: Very cool premise. Can you tell us why we're going to love your hero?
Jeanne: Lola is just an average girl. She’s not a gorgeous heroine who saves the world. She’s overweight, she doesn’t think she’s pretty. Doesn’t expect to ever have a boyfriend, and she’s the victim of bullies. But Lola finds an inner strength she didn’t know she possessed and rises above it all. Invisible is the story of the underdog and who can’t help but root for the underdog?

Cate: Love it. Tease us with one little thing about your fictional world that makes it different from others.
Jeanne: Perhaps the thing that makes my fictional world different is the cast of characters. There are Lola’s tattooed and pierced parents who are cooler than she’ll ever be. Her androgynous best friend, Charlie and her eccentric Grandma Rose. These characters along with Lola make for an interesting fictional environment.

Cate: What's next for you?
Jeanne: I’m finishing up work on my paranormal thriller, Dark Angel. It’s three times the length of Invisible and much more complicated. I started Dark Angel two and a half years ago and I think it’s about time I finish.

Cate: Very cool. What inspired you to draft your first story?
Jeanne: Events in my own life. I had a hard time with bullies in grades 7 and 8 and wished I could disappear. However, I look at Invisible as a gift as if came to me as if it were whispered in my ear. I completed it four months.

Cate: Do you have a writing routine?
Jeanne: I used to! But now that Invisible has been released, I’m doing more promotion than writing. I’m itching to get back to my writing routine which used to be three to four hours of writing a day, every day.

Cate: Where can readers find you on the web?
Jeanne: 
Twitter: @JeanneBannon

Cate: Is there anything you’d like to ask our readers?
Jeanne: Hmmm, what a great question. I suppose I’d like to know if readers prefer perfect, pretty characters to flawed not so good looking characters in YA novels. And what do they think of reading a novel written in first person present?

Cate: Readers, Jeanne Bannon is giving away a book, in both ebook and paperback formats, to a random commenter... so start commenting. She'll pick a winner on October 12th and announce the winner here.
Thanks so much for being my guest Jeanne! Best of luck to you.