You’ve all seen interviews and guest posts here with the fabulous Eileen Cook. It’s not that I play favourites, giving her more press than the rest of you, it’s just that she is one of my best friends AND she’s got a new book out. Plus whenever I feature her I get way more hits than when I talk about myself she’s so funny that everyone enjoys her visits.
Eileen’s new YA book hit the shelves this month. It’s a great twist on popularity and revenge and you don’t want to miss it. That’s why, I will be giving away a copy of Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood right here. That’s right, I want you to read this so much that I’m ponying up the cash myself and will have a copy sent directly to you! And Eileen will send you her autograph on a piece of duct tape (we do live in Canada, after all) for you to stick inside the book. So leave a comment, or send me an email using the address on the contact page by midnight, Tuesday, 26th January. This contest is open to Canadian and US residents only, sorry blog readers from afar…I don’t have that much cash!
And now on to the interview, but first, a cutie pic of Eileen at the beach!
- What are your hobbies that don’t have to do with writing? Knitting. I have developed a serious yarn fetish over the past couple of years. I can’t pass a yarn store without stopping in.
- What’s the best piece of advice anyone ever gave you (or you learned from a book)? I was once told that there are always people who will say it can’t be done, that you shouldn’t take a chance, that it will never work out. Tearing down other people’s dreams is easier for some people than building their own. The secret is to ignore those people and find those who will be there to tell you can, you should and to get busy!
- Where do you see yourself in ten years? I never would have guessed where I would be now ten years ago! I’m enjoying the journey too much to worry about where I might end up. I am pretty sure I’ll still be writing, reading lots and hopefully spending time with good friends and family.
- What’s the most embarrassing thing that happened to you in high school? Most of high school was embarrassing. You should see pictures of me back then.
- If you could live anywhere for a year, where would it be? London! It’s my favorite city in the world. I’ve been several times and I never get bored.
- Are you a sports fan? Who’s your team? When I moved to Canada we started going to the hockey games. Now I’m a full fledged hockey nut. I’ve been known to paint my face.
- Do you speak any foreign languages? I lived in Europe for awhile and when I was there I spoke really bad French. People would always raise their eyebrow and say “What?”
- What’s the coolest writing-thing that’s happened to you since you sold your first book? Meeting other writers! You would be a perfect example!
- Go on, give us some writing advice. You know you want to! Read. Read. Read. I believe books are the best teachers.
Thanks, Eileen! Always a joy to have you here. And to the rest of you, don’t forget to enter! And since I’m not on Twitter anymore (except briefly on Saturdays), please feel free to tweet this contest. In fact, if you do, and you tell me, I’ll put your name in the drawing twice!
Good interview!
Eileen sounds very down-to-earth- a great quality for a writer.
Please enter me in the drawing and I will tweet this contest today.
That’s great advice, to ignore the naysayers and read, read, read!
Tweet: http://twitter.com/whatinabox/status/8264655041
Please enter me in the draw, I would love to get my hands on this book 🙂
I want this book so badly! And I agree with Eileen on the high school experience. I also like her advice to read as much as possible – thanks for giving me the excuse 🙂
Why do Canadians have the coolest beaches? The beach Eileen is on in that picture is just the sort of beach I’d like to hang out on in sweats, curled up under a blanket with a book… Perhaps even Eileen’s book, if I win your giveaway?
What a wonderful interview – loved reading it – Thank you Joelle and Eileen! The book sounds fabulous!
Glad to see I didn’t miss the deadline.
I read the description of the book on Amazon, it sounds wicked. And spicy.
I concur with Eileen about high school – is the anything NOT embarrassing about it?
I loved reading the interview. Writers are such intriguing people to me. Even though I am 32, I enjoy a good YA book.
Thanks for the interview. I can knit too…but, only in a straight line. I knitted a scarf that so long I could wrap it around my neck twice and it’ll still be dragging on the floor. 🙂
Joelle, great interview.
I loved Eileen’s advice, to ignore the negative forces in life and keep pressing toward your dreams. So many of the world’s most successful people were told they had no talent in their field. Look at them now!
I love Eileen’s advice to read, read, read since it’s what I love to do anyway. I loved the humour in “What would Meg do” and can’t wait to read “Getting revenge on Lauren Wood”.
This was a nice interview with a great photo of Eileen. I haven’t read this book, so hope I win it. Thanks for the contest!
This looks like a great book! Thanks for hosting the interview, Joelle, and thanks for being interviewed, Eileen! The beach picture is lovely!
I already have this book on order (can’t wait to read it!) but I thought I’d enter anyway – and if I win, I’ll hold a contest on my blog, and pass around the revenge. 🙂
Great interview, Joelle! Eileen IS super-funny and super-nice.
I definitely need a copy of this book. My 15 year old daughter doesn’t like to read, which is just plain crazy to me. I tell her it’s because she hasn’t found the RIGHT books yet. I’m gonna have to pick up this book and What Would Emma Do? for her, I think.
Joelle is hands down the best total stranger I ever invited to stay at my house! Thanks everybody!
Eileen, I love your wild sense of humor in your books and am looking forward to reading your latest! I enjoyed this interview, and the beach picture with the puppies. Keep on enjoying the journey…
Great interview, I can see why you and Eileen are friends 🙂
The duct tape is brilliant! Eileen should sign ALL her books that way – it could be her thing!