To the average onlooker, the city of Los Angeles represents glitz, glamour, and the celebrity lifestyle. But to seventeen-year-old Julie Jones, the city is a vast host of problems she’s longing to get away from. The latest? An unfortunate disagreement with her ex-boyfriend Mark—one that could land her in some serious hot water.So rather than face the troubles that torment her, Julie decides to run away from her old life and start fresh somewhere new. But her parents aren’t on board with the plan, and she soon finds her bank accounts frozen and her wallet empty.With just seventy-five dollars and a full tank of gas, the troubled teen is fartoo stubborn to turn around and head home. So what’s a girl to do?What Julie doesn’t know is that her travels are about to take her somewhere unexpected—a place where she’ll be forced to come face to face with the ghosts of her past in order to secure her future.
A tale of redemption, hope, and freedom lost and found, 32 Seconds is a thought-provoking exploration into the human spirit and the nature of forgiveness.
32
Seconds will be free on Amazon from June 15th to 19th!
Now to the interview!
Lightening Round
Questions
Hi
Johanna! First I want to say welcome to Two Chicks on Books! 32 SECONDS sounds
intriguing and I can’t wait to read it!
Thank
you! I’m very excited to be there too. J
For
the readers: can you tell us a little bit about 32 SECONDS and the characters?
32 Seconds is a
psychological YA fiction novel, with paranormal elements. It’s the tale of
seventeen year old Julie Jones, who has lost grip with life, and is desperate
to start fresh somewhere else. A broken heart has left her love sick, and an
argument with her ex-boyfriend is the straw that broke the camel’s back. Her
immediate and impulsive reaction is to run away from her home in Los Angeles.
Left with only seventy-five bucks in her wallet, and a full tank of gas, she
drives as far as she can go, and figures things out on the go. She doesn’t
really have a plan, except she wants to find happiness again, a happiness she
seems to have lost a long time ago. Out of ideas, she runs into a Gypsy woman
who offers her a way out, and after little pondering, Julie takes it. She
embarks on a journey to a parallel universe called the Underworld, which forces
her back to the town of her childhood Oceanside, California, and reunites her with
acquaintances and memories of her troubled past. She soon learns she can’t get
out of the Underworld unless she accepts her mistakes, and changes the negative
perception she has of herself into positive. To advise and guide her, her newly
found friends Evan, Susan, Miko, and the twins Sky and Sloan have to sometimes
play the devil’s advocate to make her see the truth behind the walls of lies
she has built to protect herself. But in the end, all the tears cried are worth
the struggle.
Were
any of the characters in the book inspired by people from your real life?
It’s a mix. Julie is a
mirror image of me, with some fictional tweaks. The rest of the characters are
supposed to be realistic, but they don’t represent anyone in particular.
They’re a blend of a lot of people I met, and fictional characters I watched in
movies, or read about in books.
Who
was your favorite character to write? What about your least favorite?
I loved to write Julie, and
her sidekick Evan. I don’t really have a least favorite. I had fun writing all
the parts, and watching them come to life. Julie carries a huge weight on her
shoulders, but it’s a team effort. Writing Julie was like writing about myself but
transposed into the body of a seventeen year old who was born on the West
Coast, and despite negative feelings, lives a very good life. Evan was fun to
write because he was the advisor, the guy with the knowledge, and Julie keeps
fighting him, and arguing with him, but in the end, she knows he’s right. They
make a great duo.
What
is your favorite passage/scene in 32 SECONDS?
The ending. It gives the
reader a great resolution to the plot, and it carries a great message. It’s
emotional, and deep, and I cry every time I read it. It was hard to write
because the ending was supposed to be the grand finale. I had to make sure I
wasn’t repeating myself, while raising the emotional bar to a comfortable and
realistic threshold. I have a test, which is if the ending makes me cry, my job
as a writer is done.
What
kind of research did you have to do for the story?
My research usually consists
of reading a ton of books and articles, and watch movies, and TV shows, until I
find what I’m looking for. This book in particular is very personal in a way,
so my research was myself. I love psychological books because all the science
is inside our head. And I set the story in California, Los Angeles and
Oceanside, where I’ve never lived, but which I visited a couple of times, so I
used these memories too. I mostly wrote from feelings, and I transposed these
feelings into scenes. For any other research, I usually just read, and talk and
listen to people, and whatever else I need to do to gather the necessary
knowledge to write a solid book.
What
are you reading right now? Or what do you have on your TBR that you’re dying to
read?
Right now, I’m reading the First
Lodestone Trilogy by Mark Whiteway. I’m at Book 2. It’s sci-fi adventure, which
is great for world building. He really started from scratch and created a whole
new place, which is really well done. I use what I read as trigger for my own
world building. When I read, I also study a lot.
Who
is your ultimate Book Boyfriend?
Sherlock Holmes. The guy is
just too smart for his own good. I don’t know about a romantic relationship with
Holmes, but I do admire the guy a lot.
What
inspired you to write YA?
I wanted to try it. A lot
of successful books out there are YA, and I didn’t know what I was getting
myself into until I tried it, and let me tell you, it’s no joke. I enjoy it very
much. YA keeps the young feelings very raw and alive.
Lightening Round
Questions
Twitter
or Facebook?
Twitter. Facebook has just
become my biggest enemy – mostly because people don’t care to stay in touch via
any other way than Facebook. It killed human interaction. Twitter is great for
advertising. I love Twitter.
Favorite
Superhero?
Batman.
Favorite
TV show?
My favorite TV show will
always be South Park. LOL
Sweet
or Salty?
Salty.
Any
Phobias?
No. I don’t have any
phobias. I fear things, but I don’t have a phobia. I used to have a phobia of
spiders, until I realized I was much bigger than them.
Song
you can’t get enough of right now?
I’m a sucker for Spotify
playlists. I have my moments where I’m stuck on one song, like, The Heart Wants
What It Wants, or Wrecking Ball, but right now, I’m more into a mood than a
song. And my mood now is electro!
Fall
Movie you’re most looking forward to?
Mmm, I don’t really pay
attention to movie releases anymore, I’m more of a TV show (understand Netflix
binge specialist) kinda gal. But I’d say Pan would be number one on my list.
Thanks so much Johanna for
answering my questions!
Thank you! I hope you enjoy
32 Seconds!
About
Johanna Pitcairn: No author photo
Johanna
K. Pitcairn has dreamed of becoming a writer since childhood--authoring her
first novel at the age of nine, and countless poems, stories, and screenplays
by the age of seventeen. Later, rather than pursuing a career as a director and
screenwriter, she decided to go to law school, driven by her father's opinion that
"writing does not pay the bills."
Ten
years later, she moved to New York City, which inspired her to go back to the
excitement, wonder, and constant change of being a writer. Pitcairn is a huge
fan of psychological-thriller novels and movies, and delves into her hopes,
fears, friends, enemies, and everything in between in her own writing.
Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | The Independent Author Network
Giveaway
Details:
Johanna
is generously offering up eCopies of 32 SECONDS to 10 lucky winners!
Please
enter via the Rafflecopter form. Giveaway is open internationally.
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Check out the Tour Schedule!
Monday, June 1st - Fiktshun - Author Interview
Tuesday, June 2nd - Reading with ABC -
Guest Post
Wednesday, June 3rd - Supernatural
Snark - Guest Post
Thursday, June 4th - Book Swoon - Guest
Post
Friday, June 5th - Candace's Book
Blog - Guest Post
Monday, June 8th - Bewitched Bookworms -
Guest Post
Tuesday, June 9th - Two Chicks on
Books - Author Interview
Wednesday, June 10th - Sassy Book
Lovers - Guest Post & Review
Thursday, June 11th - Curling
Up With A Good Book - Guest Post & Review
Friday, June 12th - Living in a
Bookworld - Author Interview
Monday, June 15th - Me, My Shelf and I -
Author Interview
Tuesday, June 16th - Her Book
Thoughts - Guest Post & Review
Wednesday, June 17th - Literary Meanderings -
Author Interview
Thursday, June 18th - Bibliophile
Mystery - Guest Post
Friday, June 19th - Blissful Book
Reviews - Guest Post & Review
For more info about 32 Seconds you
can direct your readers to the Tour Page
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