GCC Tours Wendy Toliver

Yes, I'm late again at touring my girlfriends of the GCC (Girlfriend's Cyber Circuit), but don't blame me! Blame the germs currently circulating my daughter's kindergarten class. She's been on three (count them--one, two, three) separate doses of antibiotics (that accounts for about 30 days of being medicated) within the last few months. When will it end??!!! And when will schools stop being germ factories???

Sorry, I digress...

I'm here to talk about Wendy Toliver's amazing new book and I'm thrilled to tour her for the GCC. Here's the nitty gritty lowdown on Wendy's book, Miss Match:

Simon and Schuster releases Eden resident’s second YA novel right in time for Valentine’s Day. Filled with romance, humor, and fun local references, Miss Match is sure to delight young adults and adults alike.


Sasha Finnegan has always had a knack for setting people up, and at sixteen, she's turned her talent into an online business, molding high school crushes into true love. But Sasha finds her toughest match yet when hottie Derek Urban asks her to set him up with Sasha's gorgeous sister, Maddie. It's not that Derek isn't a good catch. In fact, after spending so much time with him, Sasha can't help but think he's perfect -- for her, that is.
Can Sasha push her feelings aside for the sake of her business? Or has this miss finally found her match?

More Info about Miss Match
Product Details
Miss Match by Wendy Toliver
Simon Pulse, February 10, 2009
Mass Market Paperback, 304 pages
ISBN-10: 1416964134
ISBN-13: 9781416964131
Ages: 12 and up
Grades: 7 and up

Miss Match is Wendy Toliver’s second Simon Pulse Romantic Comedy. It was a 2007 finalist in the Romance Writers’ of America© Golden Heart® contest in the Young Adult category (under the title Cupid Girl).
“What I like best about this book is that it’s about a smart, funny, down-to-earth sixteen year-old who isn’t super skinny and drop-dead gorgeous. It takes place in Salt Lake City, close to where I live, so I was able to weave some fun local aspects into it.” --Wendy Toliver

Author Bio
Wendy Toliver lives in the Utah mountains with her three little boys, her husband, and other various wildlife. She graduated from Colorado State University with a BA in Speech Communication/Broadcast and has had a variety of jobs, from performing singing telegrams to working at an advertising agency.
Now a soccer (etc.) mom and the author of The Secret Life of a Teenage Siren and Miss Match (both Simon Pulse), she couldn’t be happier. Well, if she had a self-cleaning house, a Porsche, and an endless supply of chocolate-covered cinnamon bears, she just might be a tad happier. Visit her online at www.wendytoliver.com.

Websites, Blogs, Etc.
www.wendytoliver.com
www.teenfictioncafe.blogspot.com
www.pulserocom.com
www.simonandschuster.com
www.myspace.com/roxytoliver

Where to Purchase
Amazon

Barnes and Noble

or a bookstore near you
In The Not-Too-Distant Future
Coming in Spring 2010 from Simon Pulse ... Lifted, in which a transplant to parochial school learns that not all students are as pious as they seem when she's inducted into a shoplifting clique and soon finds herself in over her head.

My Q&A with Wendy Toliver

Do you (or did you ever) have a writing group? Who are the first people to read your book once it’s completed?

Yes! I have a local writing group, and though I’m not as active as I used to be (deadlines, deadlines) I still hold them dear to my heart. They’re the Eden Writers. (http://www.edenwriters.org) Also, I have a core group of CPs, and though we’ve all branched from our chick lit roots, Aryn Kennedy, Nadine Dajani, Jenny Evans, and Kristin Wallace are still great for bouncing ideas around and giving each other quick critiques. Other awesome writers who’ve given me input include: Drienie Hattingh and Angie Bulloch (also Eden Writers), Marley Gibson, Sara Hantz, Kwana Jackson, Denise Hale, Kay Lockner, Alesia Holliday, Bev Rosenbaum, and Anna Haze. My mom, husband, and friends Christina Nordgren and Marsey Iverson also will read my projects and give me feedback. I’m also lucky to have amazing agents Christina Hogrebe and Annelise Robey of the Jane Rotrosen Agency, who sometimes know what I’m trying to say better than I do.

What writers do you consider your “sisters”? Are there any published writers that you hang out or tour with a lot? Call? Email? IM?

I’m lucky to be a part of the Teen Fiction Café (http://www.teenfictioncafe.blogspot.com) and have the support of so many fine authors. I’m also in the Rock Canyon Writers Group, which are nationally published Utah authors. That’s especially cool because we get together from time to time, to write, hang out, and put on various writing events. I’d have to say that the writers I feel closest to, whether we meet in person or call and email regularly, include the people mentioned in the previous answer, with special shout-outs to Drienie Hattingh, Angie Bulloch, Marley Gibson, Kay Lockner, Sara Hantz, Kwana Jackson, Anna Haze (who’s only 16) and Linda Gerber.

Who do you find yourself being compared to or are often put together with in reading lists or book clubs?

Meg Cabot and Niki Burnham come to mind. What an honor!

What writers do you wish would be in your “clique”? (It doesn’t have to be in your genre….doesn’t even have to be living! For example, I’d pick Alice Hoffman, Jodi Picoult, Sarah Dessen, Oscar Wilde, Stephenie Meyer, Meg Cabot, Stephen King and Joan Didion).

Charles Dickens, Oscar Wilde, Meg Cabot, Judy Blume, Allison Van Diepen, Stephenie Meyer, and Stephen Hunter. Hmm, there’s a group for you.

If someone was going to join your book club, what would be a “must read” in order to join?

Snitch by Allison Van Diepen

What was your “initiation” to writing?

My first manuscript, Strappy Sandals, a chick lit about a twenty-something girl who befriends an A-list actor. I’m afraid to read it now, because I know it’s awful.

When did you first feel that you’d officially joined the “published writers’ club”?

I had a few nonfiction titles published before my novels, but I think I felt my first real “I’ve made it!” tingles when I saw The Secret Life of a Teenage Siren at Barnes and Noble in Layton, Utah.
What was your best/worst memory of high school?

Oh, so many good ones. Loved my friends, loved playing basketball, being in choir and musicals. Dating was definitely my pitfall. For example, once I was watching a video in my friend’s dimly lit basement with a group of kids. One of the guys told me, “You’re actually kinda pretty, in the dark.” Now my husband says that from time to time, just to torture me.

In SISTERS OF MISERY, the last place new members want to go to is Misery Island. But if you had the choice, what island would you go to and what would you take with you?

Hmm, let’s see. I’ve been to Hawaii and it’s great. Love Maui. Would like to go to the Caribbean Islands sometime. What would I take with me? My bathing suit, gallons of sunscreen (I’m a whitey), my new Steve Madden sunglasses, flip-flops, a case of Corona Light (and limes), chocolate-covered cinnamon bears, cereal and skim milk, mascara and lip balm (my beauty essentials), a good book, and most importantly, my adorable husband.

Finally, what can you tell me about your book? Give me a quick run-down about why I’d want to pick it for my own book club.
Here’s what it’s about:

Sasha Finnegan has always had a knack for setting people up, and at sixteen, she's turned her talent into an online business, molding high school crushes into true love. But Sasha finds her toughest match yet when hottie Derek Urban asks her to set him up with Sasha's gorgeous sister, Maddie. It's not that Derek isn't a good catch. In fact, after spending so much time with him, Sasha can't help but think he's perfect -- for her, that is.

Can Sasha push her feelings aside for the sake of her business? Or has this miss finally found her match?

I think this story is a great conversation-igniter because of its conflicts. There’s the problems that arise when the guy Sasha likes is interested in her sister. Also, divorced parents starting to date again (and getting remarried) is an interesting topic, as is learning to love one’s body.

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Thanks for stopping by, Wendy!! I'm sorry for the late post, but I've been dealing with a sick six year old, and that's never any fun. At least I have some AMAZING books from the ladies of the Girlfriend's Cyber Circuit to keep me busy while I'm housebound and taking care of my little girl's sniffles.

Also, I'd like to take this opportunity to give a great big shoutout to Alyson Noel, who I toured in my last post. Her latest book Evermore was recently on both the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists. Way to go, Alyson!!! I am so honored to be a part of this group with you! You definitely deserve all the accolades.

xoxo