An Interview and Signed Book Giveaway With Author Eileen Cook!

For those of you coming back from yesterday's Spread The Awesome post, thanks for returning! For those of you just joining me today, I'm interviewing Eileen Cook, author of Getting Revenge On Lauren Wood. This is a follow-up post to yesterday's book review, so if you haven't checked it out already, you can read it HERE. Yes, that's right, I'm devoting two blog days to Eileen and her book because (as mentioned yesterday) both are made of awesome. In return, Eileen has generously offered to donate a signed copy of this wickedly funny book to one lucky blog follower who leaves a comment on today's and/or yesterday's post(s). The giveaway is open to international participants. Full entry details will follow my interview.

Now for the fun....




Will you please sum up Getting Revenge On Lauren Wood in a tweet of 140 characters or less?

A novel of friendship, betrayal, revenge and classic movies.

What was your reaction when you got the first sneak peek of your fabulous cover?

I love this cover so much I nearly licked it when I saw it. I am very lucky that my publisher includes me in the cover design process. The designer, Cara, asked me if I had any ideas for what I wanted to see. There is a scene in the book where the main character chucks a Barbie doll dressed in a cheerleader outfit into a wood chipper. That appealed to me, so I suggested someone holding a Barbie doll by her hair and sticking pins in voodoo style. Cara told me that Mattel (the makers of Barbie) apparently frown on people using their trademarked doll for voodoo. Go figure.

Cara found a doll company in China that does custom ordered figures. She ordered a Lauren doll and then stabbed it. This gave me a lot of joy.

If you could be a character from your book for a day, which one would you be and why?

Brenda is my favorite character in the book, but I've already lived high school as a geek so I think I would take a pass at reliving it. If I could be anyone I would be Christopher. It would be nice to understand what boys think even for a day. I found them confusing in high school and I still find them confusing.

Helen has a passion for classic movies in this book. What movie would Helen say best compares to your life?

Oooh, good question. I think my real life might be too boring for a movie. Two hours of watching someone schlep around in yoga pants staring into space making stuff up would be pretty dull. If I could be in a classic movie I would love to be Katharine Hepburn. She was gorgeous, funny and spunky. Plus she got to kiss Cary Grant, I could live with that.

The revenge tactics in this book are brilliant. What inspired you to come up with all the fantastically wicked sabotage ideas?

I was somewhat surprised how easily the evil revenge ideas came to me. Apparently, I have a lot of unresolved issues from high school. I think most people think about the evil things they would do to someone who hurt them. We don't do them because we have no interest in doing prison time. Speaking for myself, I would look lousy in an orange inmate jumpsuit. Writing gave me a chance to get all those evil ideas out on the page while staying out of jail.

You managed to portray Helen as a likable character even though she is consumed with seeking revenge through most of the book. What tips would you give to writers to help increase likeability in flawed characters?

I absolutely love the screenwriting book, Save the Cat, by Blake Synder. He has some great advice on writing flawed characters. I think there are two things that are important, the character must have a motivation to do what they do and they must have some redeeming characteristics. Hopefully, while people may not agree with what Helen does, they understand why she does it. It was also important for me that people see that Helen was a good person who was doing a bad thing versus being a bad person.

Plus, who likes someone who is perfect? We like to see flaws in others, it makes us feel better about our own.

What is your best advice for aspiring writers hoping to be published?

My best advice is the easiest- read! Read a lot! I believe books are the best teacher. If there is a book you really like then break it down chapter by chapter. What did you like? When were you sucked into the story? Did you cry? If so- when? You can also do the same thing with a book you hated. Publishing is a hard business. It can take a long time and there will be a lot of rejection on the way. The good news is that as a writer you can keep getting better and that part of the puzzle is in your control.


Thank you so much, Eileen, for the interview and offering to give away a signed copy of your book to one lucky commenter! Find out more about Eileen and her books at her AUTHOR WEBSITE and BLOG.



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Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood Signed Book Giveaway Entry Details:
1) You will be entered once by reading and commenting on this post (or yesterday's Spread The Awesome review post). Please leave your email address with your comment.
2) Your name will be entered twice in the random drawing if you comment on both today's and yesterday's posts.
3) You will also receive an extra entry for each online shout-out you give about this giveaway (tweet on twitter and/or blog about it). Be sure to leave links to your shout-out(s) in the comment section of today's or tomorrow's post to earn the extra entries.


***If you comment on both posts, plus blog and tweet about the giveaway, your name will be entered 4 times in the random drawing, increasing your odds of winning. The lucky winner will be chosen at random from all the entries I receive and will be announced next Monday (May 10th). Good luck!***


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If you haven't already, check out the Spread The Awesome recommended reads list organized by Elana Johnson.