Tuesday, January 13, 2009

On The Outside: Tina Ferraro + Contest!

This week our guest for On The Outside is the very nice Tina Ferraro author of Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress, which was a National Reader's Choice Finalist, How to Hook a Hottie, which was a Book Sense Top Teen Pick, and now The ABC's of Kissing Boys which is in bookstores every where today! Tina Ferraro lives in southern California. You can visit her online at www.tinaferraro.com.

The ABC's of Kissing Boys by Tina Ferraro
January 13th, 2009

Parker Stanhope has played soccer practically since she could walk. And now that she’s a high school junior, everything she’s worked for is finally coming together. She’s paid her dues on the field, and as an upperclassman, she’s a shoo-in for the varsity team. But that’s not what happens.

This year, Coach Hartley moved up every JV player but two—and one of those two was Parker. Now, she’s stuck with the freshmen, her friends are cutting her loose, and her love of the game is seriously beginning to fail. But Parker is determined to get her life back. She has to get on the varsity team, and she has the perfect plan. All she needs now is the right kind of coach.

~~~

Thank you, Kelsey, for inviting me to blog with you and your readers here at readingkeepsyousane!

My new book, The ABC's of Kissing Boys, hits bookshelves on January 13, 2009. And like the others before it (Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress and How to Hook a Hottie), it didn’t take off on the page until I had the right title.

Let’s go back two years...

I had been on the sidelines of our town’s holiday parade, with my husband, waiting (and waiting) for our kids to appear in their respective school groups. I’d resumed the brainstorming I’d been doing for weeks, trying to latch onto a title that could bring alive the concept had been circling in my head:

What if a soccer coach moved up the whole JV team to varsity--but one girl? Because the soccer coach had something to hide, and she was using this girl as her cover. And her teammates pull away--leaving her alone to fight the battle to get on Varsity.

Not an easy story to sum up in a title. Especially given the fact that I already had “self-help” type titles as my trademark. So as I watched the passing floats, bands, Scout troops and local politicians, my brain reeled. Thinking about words like “why” and “when” and “which” and then colors and numbers and letters.

Wait. Letters. A-B-C.

I turned to my husband in a total non-sequitor: “The ABC’s of...”

He shrugged. “Not bad. What? Soccer?”

“No. No...” Because for some reason, I wanted to say, “Kissing Guys.” But that made no sense. No sense! I had to keep thinking.

But by the next day, I knew I had my title. Although I’d changed it to The ABC’s of Kissing Boys because it sounded younger, which was what I was going for. But how in the world could I connect the dots between 26 ways to kiss boys and getting my main character promoted to varsity?

Little by little, those questions became answers, and soon I had an official blurb:

Parker Stanhope’s teammate friends got promoted to Varsity soccer without her. Desperate to make things right, she concocts a crazy-but-just-might-work plan that includes kissing the socks off the prom king at the Sports Fair Kissing Booth. Between now and then, she needs to learn everything she can about kissing--somehow. She finds a coach in the most unlikely of guys--and suddenly keeping that relationship a secret becomes as dire as her need to win back her soccer status and her friends.

I ended up having a blast writing this book, enjoying the storyline, the characters, and everything I had to learn about kissing. But I have to admit that there’s something called a Steam Kiss that shows up in the book that I didn’t actually try out. I’m hoping some readers will give it a go and report to me with their findings!

Meanwhile, I’m at work on book #4, called When Bad Flings Happen to Good Girls. And yeah, there’s a story behind that title, too--for another time!

~~~

Thanks, Tina!

Tina also generously offered a signed copy of The ABC's of Kissing Boys to one lucky winner who comments below. You have from now until January 20th, midnight central and this contest is International. Good luck!

If any author wants more details on how you can do an On The Outside post with me, please email me at kels.m.17@gmail.com with On The Outside in the subject line and I'll get to you immediately with the details!

40 comments:

  1. Interesting interview. How Tina came up with this book is so nice. I wish to read it so please enter me.

    Thanks so much, Kelsey and Tina <3

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  2. Aw, that's a really cool story about how the title came to be. :D I really want to read this novel now.

    (Whoo, international, go Kelsey!)

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  3. I am so excited to read this one. It's too bad my Barnes and Noble gift card is already used, but I think I am going to have to make a trip there soon anyway. I have wanted to read it ever since I checked out the cover art on Tina's blog. I also think you should put a link to her cover lipstick hunt thing from her blog. I loved people trying to figure out the exact lipstick from the cover.

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  4. I love the cover for The ABC's of Kissing Boys, don't know what it is about it that I like so much though. It's so much fun to read how authors came up with their titles especially if it happens in such funky ways.

    I know I don't get any extra entries for this but I posted about your contest on my sidebar.

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  5. Great interview. I can't wait to read this book.

    Janie

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  6. Kelsey, many thanks for having me here on your blog. Good luck to all your readers who enter the book giveaway!

    And if I may respond to Korianne's request for the blog address of the lipstick hunt, at www.yafresh.blogspot.com, we are giving away a tube of the lipstick on the cover of the book. Yep, we found it! And readers of Reading Keeps You Sane--please come enter that contest, as well.

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  7. Ooh! I really want to read this one :) I love hearing "behind the scenes" stories like these. Great stuff.

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  8. As soon as I saw the words "steam kiss" I realized... that I have to have this book... oh my gosh, I have to read it.

    Great story! So interesting!

    <3 Chelsie
    bookloverreviews.blogspot.com

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  9. I always love learning about how titles came to be. Thanks for the contest. I'm dying to read this.

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  10. That's such a cool story about how Tina came up with the title. I'd love to win this as I don't think it'll be released in the UK. Thanks!

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  11. Chelsie, speaking of the Steam Kiss, here's a confession. I read all about it, but didn't actually try it. So I need a couple to tell me if it really works...

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  12. If this was ever made into a move, sounds to me like Amanda Bynes would rock the part of Parker.

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  13. Fun story, Tina!!! ABC's is just the one of those fun and awesome titles!!

    Trublu, I couldn't agree more about Amanda Bynes and Parker!

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  14. I love this new feature of yours Kelsey they're getting better and better! Enter me in!

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  15. Oh me! lol I'm sure everyone wants a copy as well. I mean who can resist the cover, it's like luscious!

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  16. I love the name and that it's a soccer book. Enter me por favor!

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  17. I really want to win this book!! It sounds so good and so much fun! Can't wait to read it,

    Sara
    sosarora_11@hotmail.com

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  18. I really want to read this book! I checked today at the WaldenBooks and couldn't find it! ):

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  19. Sounds like a really interesting story. Would like to read it. Hope I win!

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  20. I love hearing about the stories behind titles and covers :) And I absolutely love the final title!

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  21. I love the cover! Sounds like a great read! Count me in please :)
    bunnybx at gmail . com

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  22. Great contest, great looking book! Please enter me.

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  23. I have really enjoyed your blog. Please enter me in the contest.


    baragalibrary [at] gmail.com

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  24. I love that story and this one looks really good. :)

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  25. I was a huge fan of Tina's last book - can't wait for this one!

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  26. Great post! One of the things that made me curious about the novel is discovering what kissing has to do with soccer.

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  27. Gotta love a book about kissing. Plus, Tina Ferraro's first two books were really good!

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  28. Thanks, everyone! And Liviana, "what soccer and kissing have to do with each other" was a big problem--I agree. But luckily, I made it work...

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  29. Great post, great blog!
    ablochATlaplDOTorg

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  30. Kissing.....what fun research that must have been? LOL

    Deidre

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  31. great interview and the book sounds so very good!

    and p.s. i love that slide you have on the side, i sat and watched all the books that were to come and that's a very intresting line up!

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  32. The cover is just awesome! I wanna read this!
    sena.sagani[at]gmail[dot]com

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  33. Wow, so finding out the title really helped her find out the plot.

    That's pretty neat.

    Sounds great, btw. :)

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  34. I agree! This is such a great title, and the cover is such a perfect fit! I am so psyched to reading this to find out why she wasn't promoted!

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  35. This looks great it has a great title cover author. Hope i win this
    bookworm8675309@yahoo.com
    Megan

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  36. Would love to read more of this...

    madamerkf at aol dot com

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  37. I love the lipstick color. Its look cute !!

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