Jessica Park

Where to Find Me

2011-04-25T09:59:00.000-10:00

Hey, all! I'm pretty much stationed over at my Flat-Out Love site from now on... where I am determined to be a better blogger than I've been with this site!

New book

2011-03-25T12:45:00.000-10:00

I'm going to have a new book out soon called FLAT-OUT LOVE. (Check out the beginnings of the website.) Working on a cover now, but it should be ready for download on Amazon within the next few weeks. So exciting! It features a college freshman, Julie, and is a great crossover read for all ages. Here's the book description:

Flat-Out Love is a warm and witty novel of family love and dysfunction, deep heartache and raw vulnerability, with a bit of mystery and one whopping, knock-you-to-your-knees romance.

Something is seriously off in the Watkins home. And Julie Seagle, college freshman,small-town Ohio transplant, and the newest resident of this Boston house, isdetermined to get to the bottom of it.

When Julie’s off-campus housing falls through, hermother’s old college roommate, Erin Watkins, invites her to move in. Theparents, Erin and Roger, are welcoming, but emotionally distant andacademically driven to eccentric extremes. The middle child, Matt, is an MITtech geek with a sweet side … and the social skills of a spool of USB cable.The youngest, Celeste, is a frighteningly bright but freakishly fastidious13-year-old who hauls around a life-sized cardboard cutout of her oldest brotheralmost everywhere she goes.

And there’s that oldest brother, Finn: funny,gorgeous, smart, sensitive, almost emotionallyavailable. Geographically? Definitely unavailable. That’s because Finn is travelingthe world and surfacing only for random Facebook chats, e-mails, and statusupdates. Before long, through late-night exchanges of disembodied text, hebegins to stir something tender andsilly and maybe even a little bit sexy in Julie’s suddenly lonesome soul.

To Julie, the emotionally scrambled members of theWatkins family add up to something that … well … doesn’t quite add up. Notuntil she forces a buried secret to the surface, eliciting a dramaticconfrontation that threatens to tear the fragile Watkins family apart, does sheget her answer.

New Review

2011-02-05T16:22:00.000-10:00

The lovely Keira over at Literature Young Adult Fiction has given Relatively Famous a very nice review. Please stop by the site to check it out!

Snowstrosity.

2011-01-12T12:11:00.000-10:00

Holy cow, has it been snowing. Non-stop all day. I've shoveled twice, and miraculously managed not to swear when I found that the plows had left TWO FEET at the end of my previously perfectly shoveled driveway. I don't mind looking out into the back yard, where the snow looks beautiful on the trees. But the front? All I see is masses of white nuisance that I will have to lift and carry to a suitable dumping area. But I do get to have cocoa after I shovel. So that's a plus, right? All of these pictures are from ten o'clock this morning, before the additional snowfall. Ugh.

Product Spotlight

2011-01-03T16:54:00.001-10:00

I'm hooked. I will never use any other serum in my hair besides Rusk Sheer Brilliance. Generally speaking, I refuse to pay out the nose for products, and this stuff did not make me break my promise. I paid a little over $10 at drugstore.com, and you truly only need a dime sized amount, so this should last me a while. Trust me, I have thick hair and I'm used to needing twice the recommended product amount. I use this after I blow dry and my hair feels like silk. Silk, I tell ya! No frizzies, no flyaways, and everything settles in perfectly even after a super hot blow dry and workout with the flatiron. Somehow this isn't greasy, and let me tell you that nothing irks me more than having put in a good thirty minutes styling my hair only to have the results ruined by some oily shine product.

"I Eat Words" Questions

2011-01-03T16:43:00.000-10:00

Thank you to I Eat Words for having me over and asking such fun questions. (Isn't that the best name for a book blog???) Here's a copy of the post:

1. Where did the idea of having a famous father come from?

I’m not sure, to be honest. It’s not so much that I wanted to writeabout a famous father, but more thatI wanted to write about the sharp disconnect between a father and daughter. Itwas really the idea of exploring a new and complicated relationship thatappealed to me. Dani’s father, Mark, is so initially narcissistic and ratherunlikeable, that writing about his development as he begins to rediscover his former,more compassionate and appealing side was really the draw. I liked thedichotomy of the superficial Hollywood backdrop vs. the deeper, complexrelationships and coming-of-age issues.

2. Do you see a lot of yourself in Dani?

Parts of her, yes. I think that we’re both pretty inclined to takepeople at face value initially. Dani, despite her reservations about her father(based on what she knows about him through tabloid news stories and rathercrummy action movies), she is willing to give him a chance. She puts herselfout there for him and allows herself to be vulnerable. I do the same thing. Thehitch is that you can get hurt pretty deeply, the risks outweigh the reward ofmaking a really great connection with someone.

3. Can we expect a sequel?

I’d love to do a sequel. I have a ton of ideas for what might happen inthe next book, but it really depends on sales. I’ll have to figure out if itmakes financial sense to devote the time to another. It would be really fun tosee what happens as Dani, Mark, and Leila settle into their new lives… So, Idon’t know. We’ll see!

4. Do you have any tips or suggestions for other authors out there?

Write, write, write. It sounds obvious, but the more that you write, thebetter you’ll be. Show your work to people—lots of people—and ask for honestfeedback. I always instruct my volunteer readers to please tell me what theydon’t like, if a character does something “off,” if a scene is boring/toofast/not exciting/not funny/generally crummy. Hearing that your book is“perfect” is wonderful, but is not, frankly, all that helpful. Honesty is what helps.It can be very hard to see your story objectively, and sometimes scenes orcharacters don’t read the way that you’ve envisioned them in your head. A freshperspective can make all the difference because others can see what you can’t.So be open to criticism. That’s how you learn.

The other key to writing is to learn how to use that DEL button. Youjust have to edit what you write. Nobodygets it right the first time. Cutting out paragraphs, or even chapters, thatyou’ve slaved over is brutal. I understand. You might cry. You might getheartburn. I can’t predict what will happen to you (I tend to fling myselfacross the bed and wail), but you still have to do it. Getting rid ofunnecessary words and scenes, etc. will make your writing tighter and yourstory stronger. You don’t need thousands of adverbs and adjectives clutteringup your pages when clear and simple can do what you need. And just because you planned on having scene X doesn’t meanthat you can’t just cut the whole thing out if it’s unnecessary. Everythingthat you write should be there for a reason. If you can’t find one, delete it.

5. What can we expect from you in the future?

My agent is shopping a manuscript for me right now, called Falling For Him. The main character isstarting her freshman year of college in Boston, and when her dorm housingfalls through, she moves in with family friends. She develops an online romancewith the eldest brother, who is away traveling, and gets deeply enmeshed withthe rest of the family, including the particularly complicated daughter and herparentified older brother. There is plenty of humor and a bit of a mysterythrown in, but mostly the story is a character study of this young woman andher relationship with a very dysfunctional (but loveable) family. Plus, thereis a bang-up romance that has made all of my test-readers cry. Yay! I lovemaking people cry. Kidding, kidding…

I’m just about to start outlining another book that I’ve been mentallytossing around for a few months. I tend to procrastinate getting my ideas downinto something resembling organized thought, but I’m hoping that within thenext few weeks an actual plot will appear in a file on my computer.

Guest Post over at Burning Impossibly Bright

2011-01-03T16:39:00.001-10:00

I'm blabbering on over at Burning Impossibly Bright about New Year's Resolutions. Ambur has been so wonderful to me and an enthusiastic supporter of RELATIVELY FAMOUS. Thank you! Here is a copy of that post, but please stop by her site and check out all of her wonderful reviews.

A New Year, A NewSet of Ramblings

It’s a new year. Ugh. All this pressure to turn ourselvesinto better people via lofty resolutions? Yeah, I don’t think so. That soundslike too much work. Instead of “resolutions,” I prefer to go with“absolutions.” I will absolve myself of guilt for looking forward to so manyless-than-honorable upcoming events of 2011. Like the fact the Britney Spearshas a new album coming out. Seriously, I’m practically peeing with excitement.Although this is not nearly as exciting as the time that she shaved her head,because that was ridiculously entertaining. I mean, in a sad, mentallyunstable, scary way. But nonetheless… it was awesome. I still dream about it…the way her eyes bugged out of her head as she wielded the electric razor,flashing her new tattoo all over the place… Bliss! Oh, so maybe there will bean equally thrilling celebrity scandal this year! Maybe Khloe Kardashian willshave her head next. Or beat up Kim and Kourtney. Or start spelling her namewith a “C” the way it should be because she has finally had enough. She’d havea spectacular breakdown, yes? So I absolve myself of any delight that I mighttake in any celebrity firestorm.

“American Idol” is starting soon. I’m gonna watch. I know, Iknow. It’s a tragedy, but I don’t care. It’s the only reality show that I can’tquit. Jennifer Lopez is so hideously annoying, and her singing makes my earsbleed, but both of these factors mean that I will not be able to tear myselfaway from this disaster. (Side note: Was “Jenny From the Block” not the most annoying, self-serving songever? “Hi, I make millions per year for being an idiot, but I can tie a rag onmy head, throw on some big ol’ hoop earrings, and pretend that I’m just a galoff the streets!” Barf.) And Steven Tyler is… Well, look, he’s Steven f’ingTyler. I just have to see how he ended up on this show. So, there. I will notfeel badly about myself for cranking up the volume while watching AI.

Also, despite getting my coveted Wii Fit, I will not hatemyself if I do not workout seven days a week. Or even five days. Or four. Fine,four would be smart, but setting goals only sets one up for failure.

I want to try to blog more, but the world will not come toan end if I don’t. Author Heather Webber has the right idea by doing short daily blog post. If I weren’t solazy, I might be able to muster up the wherewithal to get this done. Maybe Iwill, maybe I won’t, but I won’t resolveto this. Speaking of Heather, I am totally looking forward to the third book inher Lucy Valentine series, Absolutely,Positively. Lucy Valentine brings psychic powers to her job at her parents’matchmaking business. I probablyhave some sort of writer crush on Heather, but I honestly adore everything shewrites, and this series in particular is so adorable and perfect for all ages.Romance, mystery, charming characters, paranormal elements (done very well!),and plenty of humor. Anyhow, she does everything right, so I should model myblog behavior after her.

Other guilt-inducing behaviors that I will absolve myselfof:

-Eating chips with salsa and guacamole as a meal.

-Shoveling the bare minimum amount of snow to just squeezethe car out of the driveway and then fretting that the neighbors think that I’ma lazy jerk who does not care that her driveway looks wretched. Tough.Shoveling stinks, and I usually cry at least once while hacking away at asnowplowed pile of ice chunks. Bare. Minimum. And I will be proud of that.

-Reheating the same cup of coffee thirty times in a day. Ilike doing this. Yes, it’s gross, but I find it comforting for some reason. Sueme.

-Checking my Amazon sales numbers 56 times a day. Pathetic,yes? Go ahead. Ask anyone who has self-published and they’ll tell you the samething. We’re all addicts. I like knowing that on January 1^st I soldthree copies of Facebooking RickSpringfield, one copy of RelativelyFamous, and two copies of What theKid Says. It’s fun. Traditional publishing doesn’t give you thatminute-by-minute information, so we are all glued to our accounts hoping forbig numbers. Um, not that those are terribly big numbers… but one canhope. I won’t be embarrassed aboutmy obsessive logging in.

-On a slightly more serious note: Being a slow writer. Ittakes me a long time to plan out a book, and an especially long time to writethe first third. I’m slow and methodical, and I like to write cleanly. I envywriters that can whip out a book in two or three months, but I have to acceptthat I just don’t roll that way. When I really get into the book and have thefeel and pace down, I can crank it out like nobody’s business. But the earlystages for me are dreadfully slow, and I have to stop beating myself up aboutthat. Right now I have a book idea that’s been stewing in my head for quitesome time, and it’s finally ready for me to really map it out. I’m simply notgoing to rush myself. It will take however long it takes.

In the meantime I will be busy absolving myself of my othersins. Now, pass the salsa…

Whew!

2010-12-29T16:00:00.002-10:00

Yay! We all survived Christmas! The kid got his many Bakugan and BeyBlade things, the husband got his hammock chair, and I got Wii Fit. Plus, my indulgent parents got us an iPad, passively aggressively engraved with THE PARK FAMILY on the back. (My mother fears that since I am an only child, I would be unable to share with others and would run off with it myself. Ha!)

Guest Blogging at The Book Fairy's Haven

2010-12-23T15:39:00.004-10:00

I'm over at The Book Fairy's Haven today talking about the pervasive element of "mean girls" that we see in so much YA fiction. I've had enough of this nastiness. and I think there is nothing wrong with having girls actually be, you know, nice to each other. Because it happens occasionally.

Here's Tammy's intro:

Today I have Jessica Park guest posting on my blog. I recently read her book, Relatively Famous and found myself very surprised that there were no mean girls in her novel. Of course, besides this being something relatively unheard of and refreshing to me, I asked Jessica if she'd do a post about Mean Girls in YA fiction.

The thing is, many of us dislike mean girls because so many of us (including myself) have bullied by them and reading about them does not always make for the most pleasant kind of material. While I applaud many authors for writing about them (because I do feel that it is important, especially when it comes to highlighting the vicious effects of bullying), what I wanted to know from Jessica was the following:

Do you think that some mean girls in novels are an accurate portrayal of the mean girls in today's society?

Or, do you think that artistic license plays a role in exaggerating these mean girls and their actions, thereby perhaps perpetuating the idea that a fiction novel cannot be written without having a mean girl cast in a novel?

And finally, at what point does a mean girl's character veer into over-the-top, unrealistic territory?

Stop by!

Here's a link to a really good article about girl bullies. (Yeah, it's a few years old, but it's all still relevant.) I know that there's been tons of this stuff in the media recently, but we all need to stay on top of this.

Christmas Snoops

2010-12-23T13:55:00.000-10:00

Ugh. We can't stop snooping! Having a kid is a really good excuse to grab presents from under the tree and give 'em a few shakes. I blame my mother for our problem... This must be a genetic trait (curse?) that runs in our family, because she is the absolute queen of investigating wrapped gifts.

Review from The Book Fairy's Haven

2010-12-17T04:11:00.001-10:00

Well, holy glowing review from The Book Fairy's Haven! Any author will tell you how great a good review makes you feel, but ones like these really make those months of slaving over a manuscript worth it. A huge thank you to Tammy, who did such a thorough and thoughtful review.

"It's a fast, breezy and balmy read that immediately brings to mind hot summer days on the beach, mixed with the cosmopolitan but shallow life of typical Hollywood glamour.

It would certainly be easy to mistake this for a rather superficial read, but throughout the novel, Jessica Park threads in wonderful themes of friendship and family dynamics that gives this book a wonderful and substantial amount of substance.

I was hooked from the start and the wonderful characters only served to add to that feeling.

Dani?

She's an awesome character.

It's hard not to like a girl who is sweet, accommodating and so easy to relate to like Dani. What I especially loved is that you could see obvious character growing pains and experience both her growth, and her Hollywood bratty behaviour - and her learning to own up to her actions and faults was definitely one of the things that really made this book such wonderful read.

There's nothing more that I love than characters that are flawed but willingly admit to making mistakes and taking steps to go about fixing them. She's a character who will make you smile, she'll make you want to hug her, and even though she'll cause you moments of frustration, you'll still find yourself rooting for her wholeheartedly.

Another thing that I adored about this book, is that many of the chapters showcase Mark's point of view. I have to congratulate Jessica for including Mark's point of view, because without it, I don't think I would have had much sympathy for him, or liked him for that matter.

As it is, despite his initial motives for wanting Dani to spend the summer with him (It's all about the image baby!), I loved that despite himself, he couldn't help but fall for the charmer of a girl.

I loved how the relationship between Dani and Mark progressed and thought that it was handled with such a tender, breezy and obviously affectionate tone and manner (never in a manner that was rushed or unbelievable), that it seemed all the more real for it.

From overwhelming Dani with all the things that his money manages to buy, to later relenting and allowing Dani to intervene in his love life, the two manage to find a new common ground and companionship with one another that neither were expecting.

Want to know what else is fabulous?

There's actually no real mean girl in this novel. Hooray for that! Sure the friends she makes in LA are spoilt and get everything they want, but the girls aren't really mean - which for me, was incredibly refreshing (Can you tell I'm sick and tired of the whole mean girl angle in YA fiction?).

Of course, there's also the romance in this novel. Caught between two boys, Dani naturally at first gravitates towards the hot-stud of a trainer. But once the lights fade and the glitter falls off, is it really him that she wants to be with?

I'm not going to say anything more on this really - except that I thought the romance, while not the overall focus of the novel, formed a nice backdrop which only added to an already strong story.

I did feel as if the ending was a little rushed and as if there were an issue or two that was still unresolved, but other than that, I can honestly say that I adored this cute, highly entertaining and very, very sweet read.

It's definitely the perfect YA beach read and gets a well-deserved 4 star rating from me!"

At Least He Asked...

2010-12-13T18:15:00.000-10:00

My son is in the other room, and I hear him start to giggle uncontrollably.

Kid: Do you want to be friends with Justin Bieber?
Me: GET OFF MY FACEBOOK PAGE!
Kid: Darn it.

I Am Writer, Hear Me Roar

2010-11-29T09:10:00.002-10:00

New Cover

2010-11-17T11:00:00.000-10:00

RELATIVELY FAMOUS is in the process of getting a cover makeover. I liked the old one but decided to make a change... just for fun. :) Just waiting for Amazon to approve the new layout, and for Smashwords to send the new cover to Barnes and Noble, Apple, etc. So for a while, there will be two covers floating around... Not so bad!

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T14:25:00.000-10:00

Luke Skywalker belongs to me, and the criminal lives next door.

New tab

2010-10-13T15:38:00.001-10:00

Check out the new page tab above for reviews and interviews!

Guest Blogging at The Lipstick Chronicles

2010-09-30T11:23:00.002-10:00

Here is the guest post that I recently did over at the fabulous Lipstick Chronicles.

So,dating in high school. Teen romance. Um… it’s all rather sucky, isn’tit? Yes, yes, some of us may have the occasional remarkably romanticmemory, but mostly there are flashbacks involving humiliation, heartache, disastrous dates, unrequited crushes, and plain old pain. Sometimes bodily injury.

Thegood news is that by the time we have left high school far behind, lotsof these stories have lost their total hideousness and are now funny.Hopefully.

Myhigh school dating history consists mainly of stories like this one:During the spring of my sophomore year, I start dating a senior from aneighboring high school. Let’s call him S, so that we don’t have tokeep hearing “Shithead” okay? Everything I know about dating at this point, I have learned from John Hughes. I know, helpful, right?The first time S takes me out, my father comes out of the house toinspect S’s Jeep Wrangler under the guise of being curious about mydate’s vehicle. My father knows nothing about cars. Nothing. Yet heactually bends down and looks under the car for telltale signs that Sis a serial killer.

Sputs up with this inspection nicely and does not even roll his eyes. Myfather does not locate a machete, a shotgun, or other nefarious itemsin the engine. S and I go for a lavish, fancy meal at…. The GroundRound.

Ieat nothing except a few of his fries and a Diet Coke, indicating thatI maintain my fantastic (cough, cough) fifteen-year-old body byroutinely following this simple meal plan. He is not fooled and looksannoyed that I am not responding to the gourmet atmosphere of such afine eatery.

Conversationis stilted and stupid because I am not Molly Ringwald and am not ableto make witty banter due to loss of all brain capabilities.

Themain problems were as follows: 1. S was super cute. Curly blond hair,tall, adorable. I am shell-shocked I am out with him and rendered mute.2. Not eating and feeling faint does nothing to stimulate smart, funnythinking on my part. 3. Being afraid of looking like an idiot makes meclam up and look like an idiot. Cycle repeats itself all evening.However, the date was not an utter failure, since S, a horny highschool senior, wants to make out with me in his Jeep. Done! So all inall, that first date was not horrible.

Butit went drastically downhill from there. Nothing to talk about, mebeing tense and not myself, him angling for all the things H.S. seniorsangle for…

Toward the end of our lengthy (meaning two-month) relationship, S picks me up wearing (I’m not making this up) vile green hospital scrubs for pants. I have no idea why. He was not a surgeon. At least, I don’t believe he was. He wasn’t that bright.

Wedrive around that night and somehow end up “parked” in someunintelligent location. Conversation remains torturously unnatural, andI realize that our most successful moments do not involve talking. In amoment of panic, (or a courageous attempt to save this failingrelationship?) I fling myself forward for an enthusiastic andpassionate kiss. I somehow manage to draw blood, and S is—notsurprisingly—displeased. I want to die. (Important side note: I suspectthat I had a premonition that this whole vampire/blood infatuationthing would take off twenty years later. Should have cashed in early.)

Later, stupid S takes me home and, for some reason, still wants to kiss me goodnight, despite the obvious danger of doing so.Sstands up, and his bizarre scrubs-for-pants fall to the ground. We arestanding in the middle of the street, and he has on tremendouslyun-cute boxer shorts.

Ifind this to be delightful karmic retaliation for his unkind responseto my earlier blood-producing kiss. Overall, the night is extremelyweird, and things fade out from there… I cry for weeks and listen toCutting Crew’s “I Just Died in Your Arms Tonight” 9000 times. (Inretrospect, that nauseating song was quite possibly the cause of mytears…)

Onthe flip side, the guy I dated during my senior year, J, was completelysweet. And I never made him bleed. (At least, not that I know of.)Also, I had learned to behave like an actual human being and not aclosed-mouthed dummy. J was very smart (later went to Brown) and funny(had fantastically good jokes about “imitation crab”), and even took meto the prom despite the fact that I wore a strapless bubble dress and had on orange (you read that correctly) eye shadow.

Girls always have plenty of juicy stories of nightmare high school romances, but what about the guys? My friend JT told me, “Let’s just say that one of my worst moments involved a formal banquet, a corsage, a bloody boob, and a ruined $300 dress.”A kindred spirit! I just knew I couldn’t be the only person to drawblood! Yes, I am dying for more details, too, but this teasing tidbitwas all I got from him. I am trying to be respectful of his pain.Anotherfriend, JM, revealed: “I was sixteen or seventeen, and I had justbroken up with my first girlfriend. She started dating the drummer inmy band. They lost their virginity to each other. Then when my drummerwanted to sleep with someone else, the ex started dating the bassist inthe band. The story continues, but into college…” Oh, my. Well, thatblows. See? Guys have it rough, too!

Even when teen romance goes awry, there is no denying that high school dating is intense.All those stupid hormones flying around, overpowering emotions makingthe smallest incident take on monumental meaning… It’s not always funto live through, but from a writer’s perspective, it’s a dream. So thatis one of the reasons that I wrote RELATIVELY FAMOUS. If you’re goingto deal with the trauma of dating, you might as well be surrounded bythe Hollywood hills… Helps to often the blow and whatnot.

Thankyou to the ladies of The Lipstick Chronicles for having me! I’d love tohear your high school dating stories… Bring ‘em on!

Literary Crushes

2010-09-21T15:06:00.001-10:00

I was lucky enough to guest blog over at the Femmes Fatales site! Here is a copy of my post on literary crushes.

We’veall had crushes on fictional characters. Swooning, drooling,heart-pounding crushes. It’s particularly easy to pant over a filmcharacter, because we have a visual to egg on our lust. I know many agirl who has swooned over Jason Bourne.

Although, let’s be honest, that has more to do with Matt Damon than the character he plays.

But crushes on literary characters are sometimes even more fun.Reading gives us a different perspective on a character, and we get toknow our crush on a deeper level. Plus, our own imagination has thefreedom to play around with the layers. Yeah, it’s fun.

Idid a very formal survey on Facebook. You would not believe thedetailed structure of this study, but it was extremely complex andmulti-faceted. (Oh, fine, I asked something like, Have you ever had a crush on a literary character?) Iput out a ban on “Edward” or “Jacob” as allowed answers. It’s my study,so I can do what I want. Answers included a bunch of Mr. Darcy fans, ofcourse, because what gal hasn’t fallen totally in love with thatdashing hero? Surely a few boys have, too, although I’m not sure if Mr.Darcy is a gay icon. Probably.

Otherresponses included: Laurie Lawrence (Louisa May Alcott), Gilbert Blythe(Lucy Maud Montgomery), Roarke (J.D. Robb), Painter Crowe (JamesRollins), Joe Pike (Robert Crais), Ramses(Elizabeth Peters), Sean Donahue (Heather Webber), Marco (KateCollins), Marcus Quinn (Madelyn Alt), Dutch (Victoria Laurie’s Psychic Eye books), and Myron Bolitar (Harlan Coban), Ranger (Janet Evanovich), Captain Wentworth, Henry V.

(HANK: Oh, that was me. Henry V. I'm just saying.)

Also one goofy boy offered up Patrick Bateman from American Psycho, but I’m not counting this because it’s abnormal. And throws off the nice curve of hot (and mostly mentally sound) characters.

I’vealways been partial to Sam Gianneli from Linda Barnes’ Carlotta Carlyleseries. Really, it doesn’t get much better. Except for one: Lewis Colefrom Brendan Dubois’s ( www.brendandubois.com) Lewis Cole mysteries. If you haven’t read these books, you are missing out on one total hottie dream. Dead Sandis the first in the series, so rush out and snag yourself a copy. Coleis a former DOD analyst, with an unexplained past and unexplainedscars. He lives in NH and writes for a local magazine--a gig hedemanded when he cut a deal to escape his past--and works as a P.I.Basically, Lewis is a babe. Strong, smart, driven, best friends with apowerful mobster… Plus, he’s a romantic at heart, despite hiswillingness to play the field a bit.

Okay, so we’ve all fallen a wee bit head-over-heels-in-love while reading. What I hadn’t realized until I wrote RELATIVELY FAMOUS (http://yaauthorjessicapark.blogspot.com) was that it was entirely possible to crush hard on a character that I created.I had developed a bit of a crush on Owen from the Gourmet Girlmysteries, but nothing like what I “felt” for the father in my YA book.I didn’t set out to get all giddy and puppy-dog-eyed over Mark Ocean,but it happened. He’s a jerk. Well, initially he’s a jerk.Self-absorbed, materialistic, vain, narcissistic.

He’sso Hollywood-driven, that he’ll use his newly-discovered daughter,Dani, to revive his sinking acting career. He feigns interest in Daniduring the few free moments he has while juggling a slew of vapid,bikini-clad twenty-somethings. He’s just loathsome. Sauntering aroundin front of the paparazzi with a teenage daughter, just to give theimpression that he is a devoted family man and deserving of betterroles? Ick. He’s vile. And no Brad Pitt-type family man.

Butthen… we start to see that there is much more to this macho cretin. Hehas a past. Not only is Mark actually an extremely talented actor, buthe is capable of meaningful, deep love. Like what he had with Dani’smother, Leila. With Dani’s forceful nudging, Mark agrees (for the sakeof his image) to date an incredibly non-Hollywood type woman, Olivia.Despite his resistance, he falls for her in the most powerful way. AsI wrote about Mark’s transformation from shallow, self-serving schemerto deeply invested father and boyfriend, I sorta fell for him.

Weird, huh?

Andsomehow silly. I mean, I wrote the guy, for God’s sake. It felt creepy.But at a certain point, Mark began to write himself. He told me who hewas, and it was just up to me to translate his character onto paper.What I loved most about him was that he was never entirely hopeless. Hehad made mistakes and bad choices in his life--which is something wecan all relate to--and writing and watching his struggle to let hiswalls down was very appealing. Even when he was behaving terribly,there were layers of his old self that would seep through, letting meknow that there was a really decent, loving guy underneath thesuperficial smarm.

WhenI finished writing the last chapter, I honestly had tears streamingdown my face. I was going to miss him. He started off so smug andover-confident, and ended up open and almost painfully vulnerable. Thatwillingness to put himself out there and embrace the new relationshipsin his life pulled at my heart. Major crush. Major. I missed him when Ifinished the novel.

What about you? Have any literary characters made you weak in the knees?

Book Giveaway

2010-08-27T03:30:00.000-10:00

The wonderful Truth Be Told blog site is doing a RELATIVELY FAMOUS giveaway.

Easy to enter!

Interview

2010-08-27T03:27:00.001-10:00

Teens Read Too has posted their interview with me. This is a lovely site, so browse around if you haven't visited them before!

Click here to read the interview!

For Sale!

2010-07-31T05:00:00.001-10:00

RELATIVELY FAMOUS is now for sale in both paperback and Kindle!

Dani Meets Mark

2010-06-26T05:52:00.001-10:00

In honor of RELATIVELY FAMOUS now being available on Amazon's Kindle, I'm posting an excerpt of the book where Dani meets her father for the first time... And Mark's not so nice follow-up.

Dani exhaled and unbuckled her seatbelt. The plane ride toCalifornia hadn’t been too bad, especially in First Class. Dani retrieved herbag from the overhead compartment, and stood patiently in line with the otherpassengers to exit the plane. This was the moment.

She had spent most of the flight thinking about meetingher father for the first time. Should she hug him? That didn’t feel right. Andshaking hands was just ridiculous, although Dani had already decided that thiswas a possibility. Leila’s only advice had been to do whatever she feltcomfortable doing, which didn’t help her at all. Dani shuffled behind a largeman in a tweed suit and did her best not to start hyperventilating. Afterreaching the public waiting area, she scanned the crowds for Mark. Surely hewouldn’t be late, would he?

“Excuse me, Miss. Are you Dani?” A young man in hismid-twenties tapped her on the shoulder.

“Yes, I am,” she answered hoping this wasn’t a reporter.

“Excellent.” The young man tipped his head forward. Did hejust bow at her? “I’m Christopher, Mark Ocean’s personal assistant.” His entireappearance screamed obsessive-compulsive. He had closely cropped hair, not asingle strand daring to move out of place. His crisp cotton shirt was tuckedneatly into his dress pants, and Dani was nearly blinded by the shine from hisshoes. “Your father,” he said in a whisper, “is outside in the car waiting foryou. I’m sure you understand that he couldn’t meet you himself.” He gave Dani aknowing look. “The crowds would have been impossible, and that is not the wayMr. Ocean wanted to introduce you to the world.”

Dani refrained from giggling at the notion of being introducedto the world. “Of course. I’ll have to get my suitcases from baggageclaim, though.”

“I’ll take care of that for you. Do you have your claimtickets? Wonderful. Right this way, Miss.”

Dani scurried after Christopher, who swiftly led the wayout of the airport to a black limousine idling by the curb. The air was warm.The sky was brilliant blue. Dani regretted ever complaining about Californiaweather.

“This is Mr. Ocean’s car,” Christopher announced just as adriver materialized to open the door. “I’ll be right back with your luggage.”

“Don’t you want to know what my bags look like?” Daniasked.

“I’ll find them. It’s my job,” he called to her, as herushed back inside the airport.

Dani tried to peer into the tinted windows of thelimousine. The limo driver held out his hand to Dani, and without thinking, shereached her hand out and shook his. “Hello. It’s nice to meet you.” The drivershook her hand awkwardly and then tilted his head, indicating she should getinto the car.

“Sorry,” she mumbled. Dani stepped inside the cavernouslimousine and fell ungracefully onto the leather seat. “Oh, that’s squishy!”

“Dani? Hi.”

In the darkened interior Dani found herself seated smacknext to the one and only Mark Ocean.

“Oh, sorry, I couldn’t see you when I was getting in, andthen I sort of tumbled into my seat, and I’m lucky I didn’t land on you. Thatwould have been weird, huh? So, anyway, I’m Dani, obviously, and you must beMark. Again, obviously. And, well, so here we are!” God, she’d been so calm andcool about meeting her father, and now that he was in front of her, idiocyprevailed.

Dani looked at Mark. He really was quite a handsomeman—thick dark hair, a strong, handsome face, dark eyes, and a solid build. Helooked kinder in person than in his photographs. His soft white shirt wasunbuttoned at the top, and even Dani, with her limited designer experience,could tell he was expensively dressed. He crinkled his eyes with an uncertainsmile, and Dani felt reassured.

“Hi, Dani. It’s really great to meet you. Should we…Imean, are we supposed to…I don’t know, hug or something?” Mark tossed his handshelplessly in the air. “I’ve been sitting in this car for the past hour tryingto decide what to do when I saw you. I didn’t want to just hug you withoutwarning. But shaking your hand seems stupid, too.” Mark turned away as ifembarrassed.

Dani smiled at him. They’d been having the same dilemma.“Let’s just go for a hug, okay?”

Mark smiled back, a look of relief on his face. “Yes. Goodidea. We should get that first hug out of the way, and after that it’ll be lessstrange. Okay, here we go.” Mark leaned forward a bit and wrapped his armsaround his daughter, patting her lightly on the back. Unexpectedly, Dani foundherself squeezing him tightly. She tucked her head into his shoulder. The worldfelt like it was spinning, and Dani closed her eyes. She was determined not tocreate some sappy reunion scene by crying all over Mark’s pristine shirt. Shepulled away and smoothed her dress over her knees. “Much less awkward now,”Mark said. “I’m glad we did that.”

Dani felt the trunk slam shut, and she knew Christopherhad found her luggage. The door opened, and Mark’s assistant seated himselfacross from his employer. “We are all set, sir. What’s next?” Christopherasked, his phone already in mid-air as he waited for instructions.

Mark looked at Dani. “I thought we would go back to myhouse in Beverly Hills and let you unpack. I’ve got a room all set up for you.It has a deck with a hot tub, and the bathroom has a Jacuzzi. But you can lookaround, though, and settle in any bedroom you like. Maybe you’ll want to go fora swim and have something to eat? Sound okay?”

Dani stared, transfixed at her father. “You have aJacuzzi? Nice.” Dani pushed her bangs out of her eyes. “That’s cool.”

“Dani?” said Mark.

“Yeah?”

“I’m, uh, I’m glad you’re here.”

Could Mark Ocean be a teensy bit intimidated by afifteen-year-old?

“I’m glad to be here, too, Mar…”Dani faltered. “I mean, Da…” She looked to her father.

“Let’s just go with Mark for now. Sound good? We’ll figure it out.We’ll figure it all out.”

Dani leaned back in her seat. So far, Mark wasn’thalf-bad.

**********

Mark turned on the tap in his bathroom and watched thecold water fall into the spun-glass basin. I hate this stupid sink, he thought. The basin was nearlyflat, and some spray always shot out of the sink. All he had to show for thisexpensive Spanish design was a permanent puddle on his equally expensivecountertops and floor.

Mark placed his hands under the tap, enjoying the feel ofthe water as it cascaded over his palms. He splashed his face repeatedly,cooling himself. He peered intently in the mirror and was pleased to see thathe didn’t look any worse since his daughter arrived. Mark had wondered if hemight age instantly when Dani got into his limo—a pot-belly forming and hairfalling from his head. But, nope, he was as solid and handsome as ever. Hepulled up his shirt and flexed his abdominal muscles. Perfect.

Mark ran his hands through his hair while he pondered hisfirst meeting with Dani. All in all, it had gone well. What Dani hadn’t knownwas that a photographer was snapping shots of Dani getting into his limo andthen entering his house. The paparazzi had agreed to keep a low profile withthe promise that they would get better shots later in the week. He didn’t wantDani to think he was throwing her to the wolves on her first day.

Mark had to congratulate himself—who said he couldn’t act?He took his cell phone from his pocket and dialed Renna’s number.

“Lay it on me!” Renna’s voice barked through the receiver.“Is she hideous or will this work. Tell me everything!”

“You would have been proud of me.” He checked hisreflection again in the mirror. “I was outstanding.”

“Yeah, but what does she look like?” Renna demandedimpatiently.

“Skinny, on the tall side, long, dark hair. Fair skin.”Mark said. “With the right makeup and clothes, it’ll work. We set up aninterview with Celebrity City that’ll air in a few days. Thefirst day of the rest of my career, right?”

“You know it. Keep up the good work, darling.”

“I’ll call you tomorrow.” Mark shut his phone and placed itback in his pocket.

The show’s top reporter was coming over tomorrow afternoonfor the big interview. The first time that America would see Mark Ocean as theadoring father. The family man. He got chills just thinkingabout it. He would have to get someone to the house to get her ready. Thatatrocious brown dress she showed up in had to go, and he made a mental note totake her shopping tomorrow before the interview and get her somethingflattering.

Mark had savored every moment of his phone call to producerEvan Dodd, during which he excitedly, but tentatively, let him know about Dani.Mark explained that he didn’t know any teenage girls, knowing that Evan had adaughter named Kayla about the same age as Dani. Perhaps the girls could gettogether? Mark had kept the conversation short and didn’t mention anythingabout movies, auditions, or turning careers around. Evan assured Mark thatKayla would be more than happy to meet up with Dani.

He reached into his pocket and took out a folded piece ofpaper. He read through Leila’s list of crazy instructions on how to take careof Dani. For God’s sake, he was perfectly capable of keeping the kid alive fora few days. He ripped up the paper and tossed it into the hand-painted ceramicwastebasket.

Buy the Book...

2010-06-24T10:41:00.001-10:00

I now have a very official looking "Buy the Book" tab at the top of the page! RELATIVELY FAMOUS is ready for download to your e-reader (including Kindle) via Smashwords and should be up on Amazon's Kindle page very soon. Apple versions and print versions are on their way!

Coming soon...

2010-06-21T14:05:00.000-10:00

My first young adult novel, RELATIVELY FAMOUS, will be available to buy in the next few weeks! Aw, I can hear the applause now. You are all too adorable! I'm really excited about this book since I've been sitting on it for over a year now and have been itching for the right time to get it out there.

For now, check out the About the Book and Chapter Sneak Peeks tabs above for all the book info!