Author Interview with Leila Howland, author of Nantucket Blue!! Giveaways!!

One of the books I am looking forward to this spring is Nantucket Red. It releases on May 13, 2014. To fill the time between now and then I am thrilled to be hosting an interview with the amazing author of it and the first book, Nantucket Blue--Leila Howland!! After the reading the interview, be sure to enter the giveaway for your chance to win a copy of Nantucket Blue and learn about Winter Wishes grand prize drawings. 

Interview Time!

Welcome Ms. Howland! I just loved Nantucket Blue when I read it last spring. I am thrilled that you agreed to do this interview. 

1) Nantucket Red releases in May. Can you tell us what has happened in the time that has lapsed since Nantucket Blue has ended andNantucket Red begins?

LH: I can't! At least not without giving things away. It will all be covered in NANTUCKET RED.

2) Cricket is one of my favorite characters from last year. Is she loosely based on someone in your life? What is in store for her coming up in Nantucket Red?

LH:  Thank you so much! I'm really glad you could relate to Cricket. Like Cricket, I went to an all girls school for many years. Cricket is loosely based on girls who were a few years ahead of me at that school. I admired them so much because they seemed to have it everything: beauty, brains and athletic talent. To me, their lives looked perfect, but of course, they weren't. I wondered what it would be like for a girl who "had it all" to lose her best friend and her popularity and what would happen if she found herself alone in a place like Nantucket. There's also a lot of me in Cricket. As a teenager, I cared way too much about what other people thought. I also loved my friends fiercely and would have done anything for them. 

3) Will most, if not all, the characters from Nantucket Blue be returning in Nantucket Red?

LH: Most characters will be coming back except Gavin the innkeeper. He's off doing yoga in Bali!

4) Will the Nantucket books be a duology or will there be another book coming?

LH: As of right now, this is a duology. But anything can happen!

5) Shifting gears a bit, would you mind sharing with us how you became a young adult fiction writer?

LH: Sure! I wrote poetry, screenplays, plays, and novels for adults before I found YA. My agent suggested I try YA and sent me a few books to get me started. After I read E Lockhart and Kristen Tracy, I was hooked. I knew this was where I belonged.



6) You graduated from Georgetown University and currently reside in California. Which coast do you prefer?

LH: I adore both coasts. I love living in California as an adult but wouldn't trade growing up on the east coast for anything. There is something about an east coast summer that is timeless and magical.



7) Lastly, what five books would you grab if they were the only ones you could have on a deserted island?

LH: For sustenance, I would bring...
The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Is that cheating?)
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
The Norton Anthology of Poetry

For laughs, I would bring...
The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole by Sue Townsend
Naked by David Sedaris

About Ms. Howland

LEILA HOWLAND loves to read, explore L.A., and engage in funny and meaningful conversations with her friends and family, especially her brother who calls from Washington D.C. whenever he’s waiting for the bus. A lot gets discussed in those phone calls, but they tend to end abruptly when the bus shows up. She can really cut the rug, but wishes she could sing without people covering their ears. A graduate of Georgetown University, Leila spent five years acting in New York where she was a company member of the award-winning Flea Theater in Tribeca. It was a lot of fun and she often talks about “getting back into it.” The closest she has come was a stint as an extra on The Young and the Restless in 2010. Leila now lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two dogs. She teaches high school English and blogs for HelloGiggles. NANTUCKET BLUE is her first novel.

Connect with Ms. Howland

Tumblr  |  GoodReads  |  Twitter  

To Pre-Order a Copy of Nantucket Red

Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble  |  iTunes  | The Book Depository 

Win a copy of Nantucket Blue!

Up for grabs is either:

• 1 Hardcover copy of Nantucket Blue for those living in the United States (due to shipping costs
• 1 eBook copy of Nantucket Blue for those living outside of the United States

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Winter Wishes Grand Prize Drawing!

For all of you Winter Wishes participants (and if you are not signed up, go HERE to sign up), here is the GRAND PRIZE drawing so you can get busy earning your entries into these fabulous giveaways too!!


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