GCC Presents SHADE by Jeri Smith-Ready

Super excited for my fellow Girlfriend Cyber Circuit author, Jeri Smith-Ready whose latest book SHADE received a starred review in Publisher's Weekly, with this awesome quote, "Smith-Ready changes the world completely by simply changing our ability to see."

Way to go, Jeri!!

About the Book:

Love ties them together.

Death can't tear them apart.

Best. Birthday. Ever. At least, it was supposed to be. With Logan's band playing a critical gig and Aura's plans for an intimate after-party, Aura knows it will be the most memorable night of her boyfriend's life. She never thought it would be his last.

Logan's sudden death leaves Aura devastated. He's gone.

Well, sort of.

Like everyone born after the Shift, Aura can see and hear ghosts. This mysterious ability has always been annoying, and Aura had wanted nothing more than to figure out why the Shift happened so she can undo it. But not with Logan’s violet-hued spirit still hanging around. Because dead Logan is almost as real as ever. Almost.

It doesn't help that Aura’s new friend Zachary is so understanding—and so very alive. His support means more to Aura than she cares to admit.

As Aura's relationships with the dead and the living grow ever complicated, so do her feelings for Logan and Zachary. Each holds a piece of Aura's heart…and clues to the secret of the Shift.

About the Author:

Award-winning author Jeri Smith-Ready lives in Maryland with her husband, two cats, and the world’s goofiest greyhound.

Jeri's plans to save the earth were ruined when she realized she was more of a “problem maker” than a problem solver. To stay out of trouble, she keeps her Drama Drive strictly fictional. Her friends and family appreciate that.

When not writing, Jeri she can usually be found—well, thinking about writing, or on Twitter. Like her characters, she loves music, movies, and staying up very, very late.

Jeri loves to hear from readers, so please visit her at www.jerismithready.com, or even better, on Facebook (www.facebook.com/jerismithready) or Twitter (http://twitter.com/jsmithready), where she spends way too much time.

Praise for SHADE:

“Shade is a hauntingly good story and an intriguing beginning to a new series. Jeri Smith-Ready proves again why she is one of my very favorite reads! — PC Cast, New York Times-bestselling author of the House of Night series

“The perfect combination of mystery, ghosts and romance, Shade left me breathless.” — Lisa Schroeder, author of I Heart You, You Haunt Me and Chasing Brooklyn

SHADE Book Trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0MjKzZTbBE&feature=player_embedded

Simon Pulse Release Date: May 4, 2010

Jeri Smith-Ready, www.jerismithready.com, http://twitter.com/jsmithready,www.facebook.com/jerismithready

My second novel, THE LOST SISTER, deals with revenge and the repercussions of what happens when a hazing incident goes too far.

1. First topic: Revenge. What is your experience with it? Have you ever sought revenge? As the old adage goes, do you think that living well is the best revenge?

I’m a pretty forgetful—I mean, forgiving—person, so I don’t think I’ve ever sought revenge. Then again, it’s possible I did and forgot about that, too.

Living well is definitely the best revenge. But it’s important not to get too smug when things are going great, because the wheel of fortune is always turning, y’know?

2. Cliques and mean girls are everywhere. At book signings I've had everyone from 12 year old girls to 45 year old women tell me they still encounter them. Do you? How has it changed since you were a teen?

I guess I am pretty lucky, because I haven’t had much recent personal experience with mean girls (in middle and high school, definitely). There are probably tons of them out there on the internet talking stuff about me, but I don’t use Google alerts, so I’m blissfully ignorant. I hope I would choose to ignore it if it happened, or just throw darts at a printout of their faces, rather than lashing out directly.

But I see a lot of mean girls on TV, whether it’s on the campaign trail or in reality shows or even on the news. It almost seems lately like the bigger jerk you are, the more attention you get and the more people throw money at you to see how much bigger of a jerk you can be tomorrow. No one is rewarded for acting like a grownup anymore.

3. I have a "Writing Music" playlist on my iPod. What would be on yours? What one song or artist captures the essence of your book?

Each novel I write has one band that helps shape the story and mood, a band I consider the musical “patron saint” of that book. For SHADE, it was Snow Patrol. One day when SHADE was just an idea percolating in the back of my head, I heard “Chasing Cars” over the PA system at a local store. I’d heard it dozens of times before, but its notes of longing literally stopped me in my tracks. I knew at that moment that the song would sum up Aura and Logan’s relationship, especially after his death.

So as I finished writing the book, I played Snow Patrol’s last three CDs on infinite repeat. Their music really helped me channel those feelings of hope and love in the face of unimaginable loss, and I think let me tap into emotions that I wouldn't let myself feel before. Plus, their lyrics are so simple yet eloquent, and it made me strive to find words that I hoped would touch readers’ hearts in the same way.

For SHADE’s sequel SHIFT, which I’m writing now, I’m leaning more toward Death Cab for Cutie, which is the favorite band of the “other boy” in the series, Zachary Moore.

4. What do you tell people is your favorite book/author? Now what is your "real" favorite book/author. (i.e. I tell people Pale Fire by Nabokov is my fave, but right now I'm really into Are You There Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea.)

Wow, it never occurred to me to tell people a fake book. I guess sometimes I say ALICE’SADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND if I want to reach for a classic or if I’m asked about childhood books. My all-time favorite, though, is GOOD OMENS by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

5. If you could swap lives with anyone for a day, who would it be and why?

I just saw on Twitter where author Melissa Mayhue is going to be a judge for a Truffle Contest in Denver this weekend. I want to be her, on that day. Unless it’s for mushroom truffles, not chocolate truffles, in which case I think I’d like to drive a Zamboni for a day.

6. Who would be in your dream cast if your book was made into a movie or television series? (And multimillion dollar salaries were no issue--they'd all do it for free!)

I’d go with Selena Gomez for Aura and Zac Efron for Logan. And thank them profusely for their charity!

7. As a publicist, I know that it's important for every novel to have journalistic hook. For The Lost Sister, it's mean girls, bullies and hazing. What's yours?

Girl chooses between first love (who’s a ghost) and new boy in town (who’s very much alive).

8. Just because it hasn't been asked yet, favorite 1980's movie?

FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF. Hands down. Ferris was my idol in high school and college. I probably would’ve gotten better grades if he weren’t, but I think I would’ve missed out on a lot of fun. It’s kind of funny, because now I’m a total workaholic. I rarely go out and have a life. But writing and hanging out with readers and other authors online is a lot of fun, too. I mean, what could be a better job than this?

9. Why should I choose your book for my book club?

Because you will definitely want someone to discuss the ending with! What it means, what happened, why it happened and when. All the clues are there, you just have to find them.

10. I'm a huge and fabulously powerful movie producer and you have 30 seconds (an elevator pitch) to sell me on why your book is great and should be made into a movie. Go!

OK, there’s this girl Aura, right? She and everyone born after her can see ghosts. Which is really annoying and sometimes even dangerous, so she’s trying to find a way to make them disappear forever. Until her boyfriend dies and becomes a ghost. How can she learn to live without him when he’s with her every single night—and she loves it? And what about that cute Scottish guy in her history class, the one who has his own secrets? And hello, did I mention he was Scottish? Wait, where are you going? It’ll be a huge hit! It has music and passion and international intrigue!

Thanks for interviewing me, Megan!
>>>

Take care,
Jeri