It’s
All About the Author…
1) Please
tell us 5 interesting facts about yourself that readers might not know about
you …
I have no sense of direction.
I won a local ‘Extreme Lawn Makeover’ contest by tearing out
all the grass in our yard and replacing it with drought-tolerant plants
I hate to cook.
I’m adopted, but learned I have two biological brothers whom
I’ve never met.
I don’t eat meat (considering all the hunting in PUNISHMENT
SUMMER that might come as a surprise!).
2) What do
you like to do in your spare time?
I love to garden, so it’s not uncommon to find me out digging
in the dirt. I’ve discovered carrots grow really well in our yard as do all
sorts of peppers. I also love to draw and paint. I recently finished a series
of illustrations for another author’s as-yet-unpublished book (it’s in final
edits and I’m eagerly waiting to see the final product!).
3) Is there
one book that you love to read over and over again? If so, what is it and what is it that keeps
you coming back to it?
I regularly re-read the Harry Potter series.
I love the way the story transports me to a different world. And it’s fun
watching Harry, Hermione and Ron grow up over and over again.
4) How did
you get started writing and have you always wanted to be an author?
I was an English major in high school and
had always enjoyed writing, but years of composing ads, articles and
promotional materials pretty much leached out the fun. Then I took a newsletter
design class and, as a part of an assignment, the instructor had us write an
essay on whatever we wanted. I had so much fun! I’d forgotten how much I
enjoyed creative writing. As a lifelong mystery and thriller fan, they seemed
like natural genres for me to try. I managed to connect with a great critique
group and started honing my craft. But it took a number of years before I felt
like I had something I could send out into the world.
5) If you
for some reason couldn’t be an author, what would your other choice be?
There’s a part of me that thinks, if I
could’ve been a pretty decent house painter!
6) Did you
like school? Were you a good student?
I was a good student, but didn’t want to be
in school. We were fortunate to have an open campus and had undeveloped fields
across the street. Free periods were spent out there. Almost all my friends
were involved in extracurricular activities like cheerleading, drill team and
flag, and I was like, huh? Why would I want to spend more time here? I DID love
my art classes and had some fabulous teachers.
7) When you write, is there a specific way you
have to write, ie: certain room, noise
or quiet, computer or paper etc…
I do most of my writing at my desk, but not
all. I usually start drafting on the computer, as well as do initial edits that
way. But, at some point, I need to print out pages and edit. When the pages are
in my hand, I see my writing differently. I prefer writing in silence except
when starting a new manuscript. I’ll frequently have a song that resonates with
either the story’s theme or character, and will play it over and over when I’m
getting going. PUNISHMENT SUMMER was an exception, but maybe because it’s set
in the woods, having the window open and hearing chirping birds made the
perfect soundtrack.
8) If you could write a collaboration with
another author, do you have one in mind and what would you write?
I don’t think I could collaborate as a
writer. I suspect I’d be so overwhelmed by the idea of working with one of my
heroes that I’d wind up contributing nothing.
9) How do you come up with your story
ideas?
It varies. I’ve had story ideas come from
listening to a song, from hearing a news story, and from sitting around ‘what
if-ing’. Sometimes stories start with an idea for a character, other times from
a situation. Much of the time, the ideas come when I’m working on something
else, so I write them down for later consideration.
10)
Do titles stump you or do they come easy? When do you pick a title, before the story is
written or when it’s done?
Titles usually come pretty early on in the
draft, though I sometimes change them. For a while PUNISHMENT SUMMER was called
The Lilith Express – based on the subplot which originally sparked the story
idea. But, by the time I was halfway through the draft, I’d changed the title
to PUNISHMENT SUMMER.
11)
Do you keep a notebook near you for when new ideas
pop into your head?
I keep pencil and paper by the bed in the
event I wake with a story or plot idea. Often those ideas turn out to be not
quite as great in the morning as they seem in the middle of the night, but I
have gotten some plot help that way. During the day, I have a pad of paper I
scribble notes on except when I take my morning walk. It’s a great time to work
out knotty problems with the writing, but I don’t want to tote a pen or paper.
But I’m rarely gone more than an hour, so I write down the idea when I get
home.
12)
If you write a series, do you re-read your
previous books before you begin the new one?
I haven’t yet written a series, but am
planning one! And re-reading the previous books seems like a wonderful idea.
Character sheets are great, but I think I’d want to see the character ‘in
action’ before writing him or her again.
13)
How does your family feel about your writing?
My husband’s enormously supportive and proud,
always cheering me on!
Thanks
for sharing “you as an author” with us !
We hope you’ll come back and visit again soon!
* * * * * *
Punishment Summer
Peggy Rothschild
Evernight
Teen Publishing
Contemporary/Suspense
70K
Sixteen-year-old Nicki is sent to
stay at her grandfather’s cabin near the town of Punishment in the Mendocino
Forest. As always, she hides her burn scars and keeps quiet about the mother
who ran out on her. But soon after arriving, she begins to suspect Grandpa is
also keeping secrets. Her exile brings an unexpected bright
spot—Grandpa’s German shepherd, Queenie. The hunky
neighbor boy’s another plus, though she quickly starts to doubt his honesty.
From secret pot
farms to human trafficking, Nicki discovers nothing in the ‘Mendo’ is what it
seems. When Grandpa takes off and the lives of new friends are endangered,
Nicki must decide how far she’s willing to go to protect those she cares about.
Before summer ends, Nicki will learn there are some choices she can’t undo.
It’s a good
thing Grandpa taught her how to shoot.
Buy Links: Evernight
Teen Amazon
Follow the tour HERE
Excerpt:
The hill climb seemed endless. Up,
up, up we went, keeping beneath the cover of trees and shrubs. Other than the
fact that Queenie periodically growled at Ben, the dog seemed to enjoy the
journey. Though the pine-scented air felt cooler under the trees, my T-shirt
soon became soaked with sweat. I wanted to take a drink from my canteen and
pour some water into my palm for Queenie, but worried about the etiquette.
Would I have to offer Ben a drink? I wasn’t sure I wanted to swap germs with
the guy. I longed to ask how much farther we had to go, but held off. He
sounded pissed enough the last time I asked. Instead, I kept my mouth shut and
continued climbing.
Ben stopped, held up his hand. He
leaned in, his body heat adding to the day’s warmth as he whispered in my ear.
“We gotta keep real quiet now. Watch where you step. Try to make as little
noise as possible.” He moved off, walking in a strange semi-crouch.
I tried to mimic his stance as I
followed. He stopped at the hill’s crest and knelt behind a tree. I hunkered
down in his shadow, my arm around Queenie. Below us stretched rows and rows of
bright green plants. Slender pines edged the field. Two men walked between the
rows, the height of the crop almost to their knees. The large buds on the
branches of the closest plants were easy to spot. Each man carried a plastic
jug, dribbling liquid on the crop rows as they passed. The nearer of the two
wore khakis plus a dirt-and sweat-stained undershirt. The distant man looked
more pulled together: short-sleeved shirt tucked into his pants, hair tidy.
From what I could see, other people
had spent time in the clearing, too. Maybe even lived there. Hammocks hung
between half a dozen trees. Empty food cans rusted in a pile. The remains of an
old campfire sat surrounded by cooking pans, food wrappers, and discarded
cigarette packs. On the far side of the field sat a trash heap. Two men didn’t
make a mess this size.
Black hoses ran between the rows of
plants into the woods beyond. Now that we had settled in our spot for a couple
minutes, the odor hit me. The place smelled like an outhouse.
Queenie’s body tensed, but she stayed
silent. I leaned down and rubbed my cheek against the top of her head.
Gemma once tried growing a couple pot
plants behind her garage. A gardening crew took care of their property and her
parents never went behind that building. But none of the plants I’d seen before
looked like this. Star-shaped clusters rose toward the sky, the glossy leaves reflecting
back the sun’s rays. I stared at the sheer size of the growing area and tried
to calculate the number of trees someone had chopped down. This was no home
patch. This was a huge commercial operation. Ben warned me, but I hadn’t
believed him.
Now I knew. We were in way over our
heads.
About the Author
A native Californian, Peggy
Rothschild grew up in Los Angeles. Always a mystery-lover, she embraced the
tales of Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys before moving on to the adult section of
the library. An English major in high school, she switched to art – her other
passion – in college. Peggy has authored two adult mysteries, CLEMENTINE’S
SHADOW and ERASING RAMONA. PUNISHMENT SUMMER is her first young adult novel.
At present, Peggy and her husband
live in the beach community of Ventura with their cats – who are always willing
to rip apart any pages they feel aren’t up to snuff. In her spare time she can
be found drawing and painting, or out in the yard weeding, pruning, and
generally getting messy.
Contact info:
Website: www.peggyrothschild.net
Twitter: @pegrothschild
Giveaway: $25 Amazon GC.
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