Author Interview and Giveaway: Jillian Dodd (Author of That Boy and That Wedding)

Hi guys! Today, I have the pleasure to share you an interview of Jillian Dodd, author of That Boy and That Wedding! If you've read my recent posts you'd see that I really had a blast reading those two books . You can read my reviews for That Boy here and That Wedding here. And guess what?! Jill has kindly offered one lucky person to win a copy of That Wedding! Yay! And yeah, she even gave us a little background of her incoming series! Check out the interview and giveaway below!:))

INTERVIEW

1. What inspired you to write the story of Jadyn, Philip and Danny?

I was inspired by a few dreams that I had. The dreams were very vivid. Three of the scenes from That Boy were inspired by dreams. When Phillip and Jadyn visit Danny at college and play catch on the actual Nebraska field. About a week before I had actually gotten to run on the field myself. My son had a field trip to the museum on campus and they got to eat lunch and play on the field.  I also dreamed the party in the cornfield scene including the sad thing that happens after she leaves the party. I woke up crying. I also dreamed the engagement party after watching Peggy Sue Got Married. She was on stage at her high school reunion and is taken back to high school in her dream. The dreams were so vivid I started writing them down. Then I felt like I had to know the rest of the story. I kept writing and writing their story. When I had about 60% of the final book written, I let a few friends read it. They fell in love with the boys and thought I should publish it. I wrote the rest of it and did.

2. Which is your favorite character and/or the one you can relate to the most?

I relate the most to Jadyn because I was trying to tell the story from her perspective. She is a lot different from me, but I'd say we share the same sense of humor. 

3. Do you have a "Danny and Philip" in real life?

Phillip shares a lot of characteristics with my husband. Or maybe it's the way I feel about him and love him shows through in my writing. The things that Jadyn loves about Phillip like how he's always warm, how his neck always smells good, and how he rescues her are things I love about my husband. And Danny is a mix of people probably. I had a best guy friend in high school. He was always the last boy I talked to on the phone at night. He yelled at me when I was being dumb with boys. If we weren't dating anyone else, we'd kiss. He'd make me get up way too early to play racquetball with him. Then later in college, I had a different best guy friend. He dated tons of different girls, but after a year or so, he met THE ONE. She ended up being one of my best friends too. And he was the kind of guy I always got in trouble with. We still joke about the night we almost died in his boss's Porsche. (No, we weren't supposed to be driving it and yes, he was driving it too fast lost control and almost hit a tree. The car spun into the grass inches from the tree and we both looked at each other and said, Maybe this wasn't our best idea.) When you read the sequel, That Wedding, you will see more of how they are as couples. Their relationship is similar in how Phillip and Lori are very much alike and so are Danny and Jadyn.

4. How difficult was it to get your novel published? 

What obstacles did you face on your way?  Getting published is not easy. At least it wasn't for me. But I had no clue what I was doing. I'm sure the few query letters I sent to publishers and agents were quickly disregarded. Also my story doesn't fit in a traditional category. It has been popular in YA, but is really more of a crossover into Adult. My husband encouraged me to self publish after he read an article about it in The Wall Street Journal. And I'm so glad I did. I have control of my books and will continue to self publish.

5. What are you working on right now? Will there be more books coming from you in the future?  

Well, I just published the sequel to That Boy, That Wedding. There will be a third and final book in that series called That Baby which will probably be out late 2013. I also have written a few scenes for a book or novella about their kids grown up.

The project that I'm currently working on is a six book series called The Keatyn Chronicles. The cover reveal and name of the first book will be next month, but I can tell you a little about the series overall. Keatyn is the daughter of a famous actress. She's traveled all over the world being tutored while her mom made movies. She dreamed of going to a real high school. (She's watched High School Musical a million times!) She had two dreams about high school. She wanted to be the most popular girl and date the most popular guy. You meet her toward the end of her sophomore year and she has exactly what she dreamed of. Only now the reality isn't living up to her dream. She also crushes on a surfer boy who is not the kind of boy her friends think she should be interested in. She makes a wish on her 17th birthday that she could go somewhere where no one knew who she was (or more importantly, who her mom is) and make real friends. Friends that wouldn't like her because of her mom or her boyfriend. Oh, and did I mention that her mom has a long time fan that has recently turned into more of a stalker? And that he decides to stalk Keatyn instead? And that something bad happens? And she gets sent to boarding school and she has to pretend to be someone else? That she gets her wish? The series has a lot of characters and so many dreamy boys. The first book takes place mostly in her old life, then books 2-5 take place at the boarding school. It's really fun and I've had a ball getting to know Keatyn. I even have planned out all the outfits she wears on Polyvore. It's been great fun shopping with her!!

Thank you Jillian for giving me a time of your day for answering my questions! 

GIVEAWAY!

I know he's that boy. The boy I want to marry, my prince, my happily ever after. I feel like I'm living in a dreamy fairytale.

But then, Pastor starts asking questions I don’t know the answers to.

I have horrible wedding disaster dreams.

I can’t find a dress.

I have to manipulate him to get my way.

An old boyfriend asks me to run away and marry him.

My best friend tells me I'm going to ruin everything.

And forever is starting to sound like a really long time.

Which makes me start to wonder.

I wonder if best friends should get married.

I wonder if I'm settling.

I wonder if the fact that sex with him is so amazing that it’s clouding my judgment.

I wonder if it's just cold feet.

I wonder if marriage is all that fun.

And then I have to decide. Am I willing to give up on true love forever, or should I say, What the hell, and marry him anyway?

Giveaway is open internationally! Follow instructions in the rafflecopter below. Good luck! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway