Guest Post with Laurie Boyle Crompton ~ JeanBookNerd

Photo Content from Laurie Boyle Crompton

Laurie Boyle Crompton is the YA author of ADRENALINE CRUSH (Macmillan/2014, Square Fish/2016), BLAZE (or Love in the Time of Supervillains), THE REAL PROM QUEENS OF WESTFIELD HIGH and the upcoming LOVE AND VANDALISM (Sourcebooks/2013, 2014, 2017). Growing up in ‘Pennsyltucky’ in the 1980s, Laurie couldn't wait to escape rural life. After saving up her tips from waitressing at a local greasy spoon at 18 she packed up her acid wash jeans and moved to NY. Where everyone else had stopped wearing acid wash.

She graduated first in her class from St. John’s University with a BA in English and a minor in Journalism. Since then she’s written for national magazines like ALLURE, survived a teaching stint at an all-boy high school, and appeared on Good Day New York several times as a Toy Expert. And yes, ‘toy expert’ is an actual profession. Really.

She has lived in places like Orlando, Florida where she and her husband spent all of their spare time and money visiting theme parks before moving to the Cotswolds in England for six months, which was every bit as cool as that sounds. The Cromptons are now back in New York where their two children resent never going to Disney.

Laurie occasionally enjoys hanging out in fields of blooming flowers and also refering to herself in the third person.

TEN RANDOM FACTS ABOUT LOVE AND VANDALISM BY LAURIE BOYLE CROMPTON

1) The original title was GRAFFITI LIONS and that’s still what I sometimes call the book in my head.

2) I grew up in Butler ‘Pennsyltucky’ PA and my first spray-painting experience was when my friend and I went against our ‘good girl’ natures and tagged a small bridge on the way to our high school. We were so afraid of getting caught we wore all black and since there are no streetlights in that rural area we were very lucky we didn’t get hit by a car. If I went out ‘tagging’ now I’d be wearing an orange reflective safety vest!

3) My next spray-painting experience was when I painted my first car hot pink. It came out very drippy-looking but boy did it look great when I went cruising in the rain!

4) As research for the book I got insider advice on painting graffiti from my brother as well as my brother-in-law, but neither one of them would take me out tagging! (They’re both too busy raising kids to go out painting graffiti with me in my orange reflective safety vest.) As a result I resorted to spray painting wicker furniture as research. Also, wicker is a pain to paint and probably not at all similar to going out tagging.

5) LOVE AND VANDALISM makes numerous references to THE LION THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE by C.S. Lewis who is one of my all-time favorite authors.

6) I wrote this entire book while lying in bed wearing yoga pants, between taking naps.

7) Other than a few select pages for book signings I never re-read any of my books once they go to print. Even those small sections make me cringe from all the things I want to fix. I can’t help revising things in my head, but once a book is out in the world I need to let it go.

8) The only way to really let go of a book that’s published is to start a new one, thus beginning the cycle all over again and insuring that I stay slightly crazy for the rest of my life or until I quit writing, so essentially for the rest of my life since not writing makes me even crazier.

9) LOVE AND VANDALISM is dedicated to my own mother which is awesome because Rory’s mother in the book is the polar opposite of the mom. Of course, readers are going to wonder about what on earth kind of mother the author must have had which is a lot of fun. For me. Not so much fun for my mom.

10) There’s a reference to a fenced-in swimming hole area in LOVE AND VANDALISM that is similar to the one where Dyna injures herself in the beginning of ADRENALINE CRUSH. Both books take place in New Paltz, NY, but the swim holes are in different wooded sections of town. One along the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail and one up at Minnewaska State Park.

Rory has a secret: she’s the vandal who paints graffiti lions all over her small town. If her policeman dad knew, he’d probably disown her. So when Hayes, a former screw-up on the path to recovery, catches her in the act, Rory’s sure she’s busted. Instead, he makes her a deal. If Rory shows him around town, he won’t turn her in. It might be coercion, but at least the boy is hot.

As they spend more time together, Rory worries she made the wrong choice. Hayes has a way of making her want things she shouldn't want and feel emotions she's tried to bury. Rory's going to have to distance herself from Hayes or confront a secret she can't bring herself to face...

Praise for LOVE AND VANDALISM

"...unique characters and affectionate message...this novel will appeal to fans of indie realistic fiction." —VOYA

"Rory is a strong character with fierce convictions... The nuanced character development stands out in this sensitive exploration of the healing power of art. This book will resonate with artists and art lovers alike." —School Library Journal

"Gritty and edgy, this novel smartly tackles suicide, teen alcoholism, and creative expression....By combining a narrator who embraces pain and resentment with story twists and misunderstandings, Crompton creates a fascinating novel that will fully absorb readers." —Booklist

You can purchase Love and Vandalism at the following Retailers: