Stephanie Morrill ~ Interview + Giveaway!

*You can earn up to 6 entries in this giveaway. Read below for details*

Today author Stephanie Morrill is telling us about her new book, So Over It. She has offered an autographed copy of her book to one lucky commenter. She will also be stopping by throughout the week to answer your questions! So if you have anything you want to ask her, you can include it in your comment for entering the contest. If you are only leaving a question in the comment and not entering the giveaway please say so.

Tell us a little about yourself.

My name is Stephanie Morrill, and I live in Kansas City with my husband and our two kids. I’ve wanted to be a writer since I was a little girl. Which is good, because other than reading and drinking coffee, I have no other talents.

How long have you been writing? How many books do you have published?
I’ve been writing stories and saying I wanted to be a writer since 1st grade, but I started pursuing publication at 17. So Over It is my third published novel.

If you compared your writing style to any other Christian Fiction author, who would it be? Also, how would you rate the romance in you books?
Yikes, I don’t know who I’d compare myself too. I know authors who I wish I sounded more like – I love both Siri Mitchell and Julie Klassen. They have such beautiful voices.

I think the romance in my novels is PG, but some of my subject matters tend to be PG-13.

In your own words tell us a little about So Over It.
So Over It is the third book in The Reinvention of Skylar Hoyt series. For the first two books in the series, Skylar was dedicated to transforming herself. But when we first see her in So Over It, she’s had some setbacks and has slid off the path a bit. In hopes of getting back on the right path, she decides to spend her summer in Hawaii with her grandparents in hopes of getting some “perspective.” Instead she finds there are some serious issues in her life that she’s never taken the time to deal with properly, and that until she takes care of those, she has no chance of living a reinvented life.

Blurb:

Senior year is over and Skylar Hoyt is ready to forgive and forget. Or at least forget. She wants a fresh start where people don’t know about her partying past or her younger sister and her baby. A place where she won’t run in to her ex-boyfriend every time she leaves the house. When she gets the chance to spend the summer in Hawaii with her grandparents, Skylar jumps at the chance to get out of town. But when her sister needs her, Skylar has to swallow her pride and come back home. Will she be strong enough to rise above the gossip and live the life God wants for her?

What made you want to write this story?
A really big theme in this book is learning how to forgive yourself. I’m a real perfectionist, and if I’m not careful, I get sucked into brooding over mistakes I’ve made or regrets I have. When you do that, you can really miss out on the riches God has planned for you. When I got to this point in Skylar’s story, I saw how easily that could happen to her as well.

What research did you have to do for this book?
I spent 3 weeks in Hawaii a couple years ago, which was the only way writing this book was possible. That was some fun research.

Some not-so-fun research was reading through stories of women who’d lost babies in their third trimester of pregnancy. Especially because I had to do another round of research pretty late in the game, and I was pregnant with my son at the time. What a draining day.

Who would you pick to play the lead roles if this book was made into a movie?

The cover model they picked for Skylar is so perfect. And she and I have actually talked a few times thanks to the wonders of Facebook. She’s incredibly sweet, and I’d definitely want her cast as Skylar.

For Connor, I haven’t found an actor I like better than Adam Brody. We’d have to get a time machine to zap him back to his Gilmore Girls’ days.

What are you working on now or going to write next?
At the moment, because of promotions going on for So over It and welcoming our second child into the family, I’m not working on new projects. But I have tons of ideas buzzing around my head, so hopefully this fall when my daughter starts preschool I’ll be able to buckle down and write. I know I’ll still be writing for teens. I love it way too much to give it up!

How can readers get in contact with you?
Through my web site – www.StephanieMorrillBooks.com. I respond to every single e-mail from my readers. I’m so grateful that they take the time to send them!

Also, I run a blog at www.GoTeenWriters.com where teens aspiring to be writers can ask questions and learn about the biz.

What are you currently reading?
Jenny B. Jones’s Just Between You and Me. I love Jenny. Both as a person and a writer.

Tell us something surprising about yourself that readers may not know.
I didn’t go to college. Sometimes this surprises even me since I was always on the path to college. I went to a college prep private high school and everything, but when the time came to pick a school… None of them felt right. Because I’ve ended up with the exact life I wanted for myself, I don’t regret it, even though I’m sure it would have been a valuable experience.

If you could be any animal, which would you choose? Why?
I’d want to be something powerful and exotic, like one of those white tigers. I’ve spent my entire life hearing myself described as “tiny” and “cute.” It’d be cool to be really strong and capable.

FAVORITES:

Color?
Red

Childhood memory?
Hmm. Lots to choose from. My parents and I took a trip to New England when I was 9. We lived in California at the time, so it seemed like we were a whole world away. While there, we discovered Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream, and my life has never been the same…

Era to write about?
Here and now. I so wish I could write historicals, but I just can’t.

What is/was this book’s release date?
So Over It released July 1st.

Do you have a link to a place to read the first chapter of this book?
Yes! www.StephanieMorrillBooks.com/books

~~~~~

*USA Residents only, please*

Okay readers, here is your chance to win an autographed copy of So Over It!

TO ENTER:

*Leave a comment with your name and email address (so I can contact you if you win). The comment is mandatory. You will not be entered unless you leave a comment AND your email address.

*If you leave a comment you will be entered unless you specify that you would not like to be entered.

*Here are the ways to get entries:

(First entry) The mandatory comment saying you would like to be entered with your email address.

+1 Become one of my followers OR subscribe to my blog by email.

Read and leave a comment on one or two of my recent book reviews.
+2 So Over It
+2 Somewhere to Belong

**You can earn a total of 6 entries if you do all of the above entry options. Make sure to tell me in your entry comment on this post which of the things you did to get extra entries.**

*The contest will run from today (July 23) until 6:00 CST on Thursday (July 29). I will announce the winner that night. The winner is always randomly drawn. I will contact the winner on Friday the 30th, 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.