---
1. What would you write on a piece of paper if you were to put in a bottle and throw it in the ocean?
Okay, here’s the weird thing: I actually did write a message and put it in a bottle once. I don’t really recall the exact wording, something to the effect of “We’re here, we’re eight, we believe everything is possible.” Here’s how it went down: When I was in the third grade, my family moved from California to Vancouver Island, British Columbia for a year. My best friend up there, Kristen and I decided to write a letter and launch it in a bottle. I remember my dad helping us throw it really far, to be sure it would catch the currents.
A few weeks later, we’d pretty much forgotten about it. Out of the blue we got a massive envelope. Inside were like thirty letters, all written from third graders. A teacher from one of the nearby islands had found it, and had her entire class write to us.
It was magic. I think that experience convinced me to become a writer.
2. When you aren't writing, what is something you like to do?
I’m into movies and live theatre. I feel inspired by both really good and really wretched art. I find they both have a lot to teach me. I also like to hike, kick box, swim and do yoga. Writing involves a lot of sitting, so anything I can do counteract that feels good.
3. Food craving?
I’m really into Ben and Jerry’s Americone Dream with chocolate sauce and toasted pecans. Mmm...now you’ve got me thinking about it, and I just ran out! I’m addicted to our local pizzeria’s “Befuddled Pig” fire-roasted pizza too. It’s divine. I order it at least once a week.
4. What are your thoughts on the cover?
Love it! I have a thing for arms, so the prominently displayed, beautiful boy arms really work for me. Covers are tricky--it’s the luck of the draw--but I’m really pleased with this one. It has an innocent, springtime vibe that’s in keeping with the story.
5. If you weren't an author, what job do you think you would have?
A cultural anthropologist. I’d like to be Indiana Jane, exploring the world and having adventures!
---
Jody Gehrman
Jody Gehrman is a native of Northern California, where she can be found writing, teaching, reading, or obsessing over her three cats most days. She is also the author of ten novels and numerous award-winning plays. Her Young Adult novels include The Truth About Jack, Audrey's Guide to Black Magic, Audrey's Guide to Witchcraft, Babe in Boyland, Confessions of a Triple Shot Betty, and Triple Shot Bettys in Love. Babe in Boyland was optioned by the Disney Channel and won the International Reading Association's Teen Choice Award. Her adult novels are Bombshell, Notes from the Backseat, Tart, and Summer in the Land of Skin. Her plays have been produced in Ashland, New York, San Francisco, Chicago and L.A. She and her partner David Wolf won the New Generation Playwrights Award for their one-act, Jake Savage, Jungle P.I. She is a professor of English and Communication Studies at Mendocino College.
---
The Truth About Jack
Author: Jody GehrmanPages: 192
Published by: Entangled: Crush
Published on: April 14th 2015
Dakota McCloud has just been accepted into a prestigious art school. Soon she'll leave behind the artists' colony where she grew up―hippie dad, tofu since birth, yurt―and join her boyfriend and best friend on the East Coast. It was the plan…until Dakota finds out her boyfriend and best friend hooked up behind her back. Hurt and viciously betrayed, Dakota pours out her heart on a piece of paper, places it in a bottle, and hurls it into the ocean. But it doesn't quite go where she expects… Jack Sauvage finds the bottle washed up on the shore and responds to Dakota's letter. Except what if his straight-laced life doesn’t jive with the free-spirited girl he’s only seen from afar? As Jack creates a persona he believes she’ll love, they slowly fall for each other with each new letter. Now Jack is trying to find a way to make this delicate, on-paper romance happen in real life…without revealing his deception.
I hope you enjoyed the interview! Thank you Jody for being here today and I hope you guys pick up her book.
0 comments