Vlog Post with Joy Preble ~ JeanBookNerd

Photo Credit: Toppel Photography

Joy Preble is a Texas girl who was born and raised in Chicago and a former high school teacher who now writes full time, which means she gets paid for making up stuff. She earned an English degree from Northwestern University and speaks and teaches widely on writing and literacy at libraries and schools, as well as SCBWI, NCTE, AWP, and other conferences.

Joy is the author of THE SWEET DEAD LIFE and its sequel, THE A WORD(May 2014), both from Soho Press. Kirkus hailed THE SWEET DEAD LIFE with "Hallelujah! A paranormal tale of angels…that breaks the mold."

She is also the author of the DREAMING ANASTASIA series (Sourcebooks) that combines paranormal romance with Russian folklore. DREAMING ANASTASIA was nominated for a Cybil Award in the Teen Sci-Fi/Fantasy Category in 2009. It was named an ABC Best Book for Children, Teen Category in 2009, and was featured in Justine Magazine.

Joy also has a contemporary mystery/romance on the way: FINDING PARISwill be out April 21, 2015 from Balzer and Bray/Harper Collins. Another paranormal mystery/romance, IT WASN'T ALWAYS LIKE THIS, pitched as Tuck Everlasting meets Veronica Mars, arrives from Soho Press in Spring 2016.

In no particular order, Joy loves guacamole, pizza, banana bread, red wine, books, boots of all shapes and sizes, TV, movies, and crazy road trips so she can see the world. She is also fond her family and her dog, in case you were wondering.

TEN THINGS YOU WOULD CHANGE ABOUT YOUR HIGH SCHOOL YEARS IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME.

Actually study.
Act on certain crushes and not just think about them.
Break more rules.
Take my writing more seriously
Stand up for myself more.
Apply for a semester abroad.

Honestly, that’s about it. I wasn’t fond of high school because it was filled with rules and constrictions and people I knew I would never be friends with later on, but I don’t have a lot of regrets!

TEN CHARACTERISTICS OF A GREAT FRIEND.

Has your back always.
Listens.
Knows when to give advice and when to just stay quiet.
Grows and changes and doesn’t just talk about stuff that’s already happened.
Knows your favorites.
Is generally positive thinking and adventurous
Can pick up a conversation even if you haven’t talked in a while.
Doesn’t always have to be right. But will call you on your b.s.!
Keeps your secrets.
Is honest with you—at least most of the time. And for sure will always tell you if an outfit looks awful or if you have spinach in your teeth.

TEN RANDOM THINGS ABOUT YOUR COLLEGE YEARS.

I went to Northwestern University.
I played intramural volleyball.
I met the guy who I would marry when I served the ball into his stomach. Okay maybe a bit lower. Yes, this is true.
It was so cold in Chicago that once, walking to class, my breath froze icicles on my scarf.
I worked in library one year and once, while re-shelving books late one night, discovered a couple getting, um, busy, in the back stacks. It was probably the most exciting thing to happen in the S-Z periodicals ever.
I was on stage crew for the famous Waa-Mu show. I was noisy and dropped things, but I loved it!
Unlike Veronica Roth, another NU grad, I did not write Divergent during my senior year.
I did, however, write a novel loosely based on a horrible break up. It is still—thankfully—unpublished.
My favorite work study job was at the Office of Development. I was in charge of keeping track of alumni contributions. So I can tell you which celebrity grads are cheap and which are generous. But I won’t!
No one ever believes that I was in a sorority. But I was.

An evocative and compelling story of two sisters who would do anything for each other--perfect for fans of Thirteen Reasons Why and Speak. Joy Preble's stirring new novel explores the lengths to which sisters go to protect each other, and the winding road that brings two strangers into each other's lives.

Sisters Leo and Paris Hollings have only ever had each other to rely on. They can't trust their mother, who hops from city to city and from guy to guy, or their gambler stepfather, who's moved them all to Las Vegas. It's just the two of them: Paris, who's always been the dreamer, and Leo, who has a real future in mind--going to Stanford, becoming a doctor, falling in love. But Leo isn't going anywhere right now, except driving around Vegas all night with her sister.

Until Paris ditches Leo at the Heartbreak Hotel Diner, where moments before they had been talking with physics student Max Sullivan. Outside, Leo finds a cryptic note from Paris--a clue. Is it some kind of game? Where is Paris, and why has she disappeared? When Leo reluctantly accepts Max's offer of help, the two find themselves following a string of clues through Vegas and beyond. But the search for the truth is not a straight line. And neither is the path to secrets Leo and Max hold inside.

You can purchase Finding Paris at the following Retailers: