Diary of a Book Maniac

, by Alyssa

{Blog Tour} Author Interview + Giveaway: Merch Girl by Rebecca Lewis

Hello! Welcome to my stop for the Merch Girl Blog Tour. When I found out that there will be a blog tour for this book, I immediately joined. I've read Merch Girl before and I loved it! It was such a fun read. You can read my review here.

Author Interview

Tell us a little about yourself and how you got into writing.

I remember making up stories with my friends when I was a little girl and writing them down in my notebook. Then when I got a little older and the Internet came around, I started writing fanfics about my favorite bands. I chose to major in Communications in college where I dabbled in Journalism, PR, Film & TV, and took a variety of courses that involved writing. I’ve worked in Public Relations & Communications since graduating college, but was always interested in creative writing and fiction. I decided to write Merch Girl in my spare time and it was really fun to have that creative outlet available. I am also a huge fan of music and live concerts, and interned with a few record labels and entertainment marketing companies while in college.

The main character in your novel—Merch Girl, is Lacey. Who was/what was the inspiration behind her?

Lacey is a combination of some of my personal characteristics, mixed with fictional personality traits, or things that I might have wanted to be like when I was her age. She’s down-to-earth and a little shy, but knows what she wants and isn’t afraid of opening up to the right person.

Are there things you have in common with any of the characters in Merch Girl?

I have the most in common with Lacey – I’m from the suburbs of Boston and was more of a follower than a leader in my younger years, and I always had crushes on rock stars (and maybe I still do)! I was also a total fan girl like Devin is.

What was the hardest thing in self-publishing Merch Girl? Was there ever a point wherein you just wanna give up?

The hardest part was the rejection from literary agents. I knew I had a solid novel and that there would be an audience for it, but no one wanted to take a chance. I heard from many agents that contemporary romance wasn’t really hot in the YA market, or that they liked the story, but just didn’t connect with it. I researched self-publishing and I knew I was capable of doing my own PR & marketing since I’ve been doing it for my corporate clients for years. The hardest part was hitting the “publish” button and getting over the fear of strangers reading your work and possibly judging you/your writing.

Is there a scene in the book wherein you had a hard time writing?

Not a specific scene, but I did go back and forth about how sexy I wanted the romance scenes to be. I ended up keeping it pretty clean/closed door instead of overtly sexy.

What one thing do you need to have when you write?

I love to listen to music when I’m writing – I need my iTunes on!

Do you read reviews? And if yes, what do you do whenever you get a bad review from readers? How do you cope up with it?

I do read reviews. Thankfully, I’ve only received a few negative reviews. I don’t let it affect me personally. I know that there are books that other people love that I do not enjoy, so I have to keep it in mind that everyone is entitled to their own opinion and have their own taste in what they like to read.

What’s the best comment you've gotten from a fan?

Any time a reader reaches out to me it always makes me smile, whether on Twitter, Facebook, email, Goodreads, etc. There isn’t anything specific that I can point to, but I appreciate everyone that takes the time to read something that I wrote.

Name a book that you wish you had written yourself and why.

I don’t want to take that credit away from anyone! I’ll just answer that the one book series that really sold me on YA is the Jessica Darling books by Megan McCafferty. When I read Sloppy Firsts, I felt like I was reading my own journal from High School! I love the whole series.

Describe your book in 5 words.

Music. Fangirls. Band. Tour. Love.

If you could meet one author, who will it be and why?

I’d like to pick Garth Stein’s brain and see how he created one of the most heart-wrenching books I’ve ever read, all narrated by a dog, and how he was able to believe in his idea enough to sell it. His book is called the Art of Racing in the Rain, and I cried the entire time reading it. It’s amazing.

I know this is hard but can you tell us your top 5 favorite books?

I’m going to count series as 1 book, because it’s too hard to pick out one from the series.

In no particular order:

1. Harry Potter series

2. Hunger Games series

3. Divergent series

4. The Art of Racing in the Rain

5. My Sister’s Keeper

Would you rather be in a band or a solo performer?

That is a tough one! I was always better at solo sports rather than team sports, but, I think that if I had to go on tour, I’d rather be with my friends in a band than all by myself as a solo artist.

Have you met other authors? Or do you have any friends that are also an author? If yes, what do you guys talk about? I’m curious.

I haven’t met any in person, but I have a couple author friends online. We talk about everything, music, life, work. As far as writing goes, we toss ideas back and forth or sometimes show each other drafts of our work to critique. Nikki Godwin is a great author friend of mine with awesome advice. Her books, Chasing Forever Down and American Girl on Saturn are both some of my favorite YA novels! I would highly recommend them.

Can you tell us a little about the New Adult novel that you’re working on right now?

I’ll give away a little info, but the names of the characters and the title of the book are still under wraps. If all goes as planned, I will probably self-publish it in the beginning of the year.

Teaser for Untitled NA Novel by Rebecca Lewis:

A recent college grad just landed her dream job at a famed LA Public Relations agency. Her boss gives her three seemingly simple rules to follow while employed, but when she’s tasked with handling a new client, a 23-year-old up-and-coming bad boy actor, obeying the rules may be harder than it seems.

Title: Merch Girl
Author: Rebecca Lewis

Released date: May 4, 2013
Amazon / Barnes and Noble / Goodreads

Summary:

Seventeen-year-old Lacey Kind doesn’t have the guts to talk to cute boys, isn’t a size two, and would rather stay home and listen to music than go to a party. But in the summer before her first year of college, she ends up thousands of miles away from home, in the back of a tour bus, underneath the half-naked body of the hottest teen rock star in the country.

When Lacey and her best friend Trina sneak into a Boston nightclub to see their favorite band, they not only get to watch their rock gods perform for the first time, but score a chance to meet the band too. Lacey’s heart races as she comes face-to-face with her idol, nineteen-year-old lead singer, Logan Shire.

The girls charm their way into being hired to sell merchandise on Lansdowne’s first summer tour. As “merch girls” Lacey and Trina quickly find themselves transported from their ordinary, suburban life to an exhilarating few months on the road. But they soon realize that life on the road isn’t always a smooth ride.

About the Author:

Rebecca Lewis is the author of the Young Adult novel, Merch Girl, and a lover of all things music! She's been writing stories since middle school and penned her first fanfic about a semi-popular boyband in 1997 (if you search hard enough you can still find it stuck in the Interwebs!)

Her passion for music and writing brought her to Boston University, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science from the College of Communication. During her college career, she interned for various record labels in Boston and New York City, sold merch for some local bands, worked at record stores, and did a whole lot of grassroots marketing.

She currently resides in Florida with her husband and puppy.

Want to find out more about the author? Go to these sites:

Twitter || Facebook || Website || Goodreads

GIVEAWAY TIME!

I'll make this as easy as possible for you guys. All you have to do is comment in this post about anything under the sun and viola! You are entered in the draw lots to win an ebook of Merch Girl by Rebecca Lewis.