Stephanie Morrill ~ Interview + Giveaway

(Sorry I'm so late getting this up! Its finals week for me and I've been SO busy.)

Today author Stephanie Morrill is telling us about her new books, Me, Just Different and Out with the In Crowd. She has offered to give away autographed copies of BOTH of her books to one lucky commenter!!

Welcome, Stephanie! Tell us a little about yourself.

I’m 26. I live in Kansas City with my husband, who was my high school sweetheart, our 2-year-old, and a dog who’s afraid of everything. I’m a total bookworm and have a crazy thing for coffee.

How long have you been writing? How many books do you have published?
I’ve been writing stories for as long as I can remember. I wrote my first novel my junior year of high school and started racking up the rejection notices. My first book, Me, Just Different, released in July. There are two more in the series, Out with the In Crowd, which comes out January 1st, and So Over It, which comes out July 1st 2010.

If you compared your writing style to any other Christian Fiction author, who would it be? Also, how would you describe the romance in your books?
To any other Christian Fiction author??? Wow, the possibilities… The author most readers compare me to is Melody Carlson, but she’s such a legend that it feels weird to claim that.

And “warm” is a good description for my style. There’s kissing, but everything’s very PG.

In your own words tell us a little about your books.

The first book, Me, Just Different is about Skylar Hoyt, who’s 17. She’s pretty, popular, rich, and a partier until an incident at a summer bash makes her rethink her lifestyle. While she thinks it’ll be simple to put herself on a straight and narrow path, she finds that getting a fresh start senior year of high school is no piece of cake.

The second book, Out with the In Crowd, follows Skylar through the end of her senior year. She’s gotten serious about her faith, but has some major trust issues to work out. And it doesn’t help that her parents are going through a nasty split, her 15-year-old sister is about to have a baby, and her boyfriend seems a bit too interested in Skylar’s ex-best friend.

Blurbs:
Me, Just Different
 
Skylar Hoyt is a girl who seems to have it all—she’s pretty, popular, and has a great-looking boyfriend. Her senior year should be the best one yet. But a horrible experience at a summer party has changed everything. Now she’s vowing to make better choices, including going back to church. But as Skylar tries to gain new perspective on life, the world as she knows it begins to fall apart.

Her parents are constantly fighting. Her younger sister has a big secret that Skylar is forced to keep. The guy she’s dating is annoyingly jealous. And the new guy down the street is just plain annoying. In the midst of the chaos, Skylar starts to wonder who her real friends are and, even more importantly, who she is.

Out with the In Crowd

Skylar Hoyt may have vowed to change her partying ways, but it’s not so easy to change her friends. She’s trying hard to live a new life, but her old one is constantly staring her in the face. Add to that two parents battling for her loyalty, a younger sister struggling with a crisis pregnancy, and a new boyfriend wishing for more of her time, and Skylar feels like she can’t win. After all, how do you choose favorites among the people you love most?

My review of Me, Just Different HERE.

What made you want to write this story?
I wish I had a really good answer for this question, but I don’t. I had written a couple books loosely based on my life or featuring main characters who were quiet, behind-the-scenes types, same as me. When none of those ideas were working how I wanted, I decided to create a character who was the complete opposite, and Skylar was born.
 
What research did you have to do for this book?
I did a lot of reading on teen pregnancy and the date rape drugs, which was all interesting but depressing.
 
Who would you pick to play the lead roles if this book was made into a movie?

For Skylar, I hope the girl on the cover can act because she’s perfect. For Connor, I think the closest would be Adam Brody, although he’s getting a bit old to play a high school student. In my mind Abbie looks like Allison Munn, and Jodi like Blake Lively.

 
What are you working on now or going to write next?
The series I’m fiddling with now is about a girl who loses 120 pounds in high school all with diet and exercise. It’s based on a girl I used to babysit for who did just that. I’m in the early stages still and having lots of fun.
 
How can readers get in contact with you?
Through my web site, http://www.stephaniemorrillbooks.com/
 
What are you currently reading?
By Darkness Hid by Jill Williamson. I’m really enjoying it, and I’m not normally a fantasy reader.
 
Tell us something surprising about yourself that readers may not know.
I can’t think of anything cool, like belonging to a skydiving club or anything. I like my shirts hung up on colored hangers that either match or coordinate well. That was a surprise for my husband the first time he ironed. Yep. I’m a dork.
 
If you could be any animal, which would you choose? Why?
Something that gets to sleep a lot. Like a bear. Also, if I were a bear, I’d be really strong. That’d be cool.
 
FAVORITES:
TV show, and/or movie?
For TV, I’m loving Flash Forward so far. And my favorite movie is Pride and Prejudice with Keira Knightley.

Place to go on vacation?
Wherever I haven’t been yet. We vacationed in Hawaii about three years ago, which was great, but there’s a lot of places I’d still like to go.
 
Book this year or month? Why?
The Apothecary’s Daughter by Julie Klassen. It came out in 2008, but I read it back in May. FABULOUS read. Excellent writing, intriguing story. Great stuff.
 
Release dates:
Me, Just Different – July 1st, 2009
Out with the In Crowd – January 1st, 2010

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**Everyone can enter this giveaway**

Okay readers, here is your chance to win an autographed copy of Me, Just Different and Out with the In Crowd! To enter: Leave a comment with your name and email address (so I can contact you if you win), and please specify that you want to be included in the contest! *If you want an extra entry, become one of my followers.* The comment is mandatory. (Please, say in the comment if you are a follower!! It makes my job easier when you do.) You will not be entered unless you leave a comment. If you are already a follower, and then you leave a comment, you will still get two entries in the contest. The contest will run from today (Dec. 11) until 10:30 CST on Thursday (Dec. 17). I will announce the winner that night. The winner is always randomly drawn. I will contact the winner on Friday the 18th, and then that person will have one week to reply. If the winner doesn't reply within that time period, I will pick a new winner. Good luck! Thanks for visiting.