Interview with "Such a Rush" author Jennifer Echols
Jennifer Echols is an adult and young adult romance author. Her most recently released YA novel is entitled “Such A Rush”and is in stores now! Her next novel “Star Crossed ” will be released on February 26! You can visit here site here, ‘like’ her on Facebook here, and follow her on twitter here.
You say “Such a rush” at the end of chapter 5, and then again a few chapters later. Is that how you chose the title? Or did you choose the title first and then add the lines to the novel?
“Originally I called it FREE FALLING, but that sounded negative and painful. I came up with SUCH A RUSH while I was writing one of those lines, and my editor immediately said she liked that title much better.”
How did you come up with the “Such a Rush” story line? Did a certain scene or part of the novel come to you first?
“On a vacation with my extended family at Myrtle Beach, my dad and my son and I went to the airport to watch the banner towing planes take off and land. I built the rest of the story around that.”
Do you personally have a lot of experience with flying or planes? What made you want to tell a story that focused on airplanes?
“I’ve never personally been interested in aviation, but my dad and brother are pilots, and my son is obsessed with airplanes. So that drive to fly isn’t something I’ve experienced myself, but I’ve seen it in action.”
You mentioned alternative rock and country music a lot. Do you listen to certain music when you’re writing for specific characters? What did you listen to for Leah, Grayson, Alec, etc?
“I make a soundtrack for each book I write, and it’s a mix of all types of music.”
Who is your favorite band or musician?
“Incubus!”
You timed jumped three years than a few months. What made you want to tell the majority of the story in only a weeks time?
“If you’ve read any of my other books, you know I always try to shove the entire plot into as small a time frame as possible. I really get a bit giddy when I realize I can cut a week out of the time frame of a book. I think the shorter period increases the tension.”
You sort of mention the movie “The Roommate?” What’s the most recent movie you’ve seen?
“Starfall! I wasn’t crazy about it, but in general I’m a big fan of Bond.”
What was your favorite line or scene to write in SAR?
“When all the major players are sitting at dinner, and Leah explains her drive for a better life…I think that’s a turning point for the book. It certainly was a turning point for my own thinking about Leah as a person.”
Leah’s character is very different form other YA protagonists. How did you create and develop her? Is she based on a real person?
“I never base characters on real people—the plot comes first, and if you’re tailoring a character to make a great plot, a caricature of a real person wouldn’t survive. I wanted to write about a teen pilot, and I needed becoming a pilot to be very difficult for this person, so Leah had to be someone who valued flying more than anything and fought tooth and nail for every second of flying time she got.”
“Such a Rush” deals with a lot of different types of relationships: siblings, friendship, parent-child, romance, Etc. Which relationship story was your favorite to tell and develop?
“I think of myself primarily as a romance writer. The other relationships are so important in developing characters’ motivations in a good story, but the romance comes first.”
Did you have a military upbringing or know someone that did?
“My husband was adopted in Thailand by a US soldier stationed there, and he lived on army bases in Turkey, Texas, Kentucky, and Georgia before settling in my hometown when we were teenagers. But I don’t want to give people the impression that I’m down on the military. Leah and Grayson certainly are, but that’s because of their specific experiences in the book. Alec is not.”
Can you tell us a little bit about “Star Crossed”?
“I’m so excited about my first adult romantic comedy! It will be published by Simon & Schuster on February 26. Here’s a description:
The first novel in a sizzling new series about a public relations firm, the stars they represent, and everything they’d rather keep private.
Wendy Mann loves her job rescuing celebrities from public relations scrapes. She grew up with nothing, and now she’s drawn to glitz, glamour, and a lighthearted lifestyle. She speaks her mind, so she’s just the tough cookie to tell stars the truth about how other people see them, even when they don’t want to hear it. But after six years at the top of her game, Wendy crosses the line. A star she was sent to save rebels against her and nearly gets her fired. To salvage her job, she must rehabilitate the career of a singing starlet with a penchant for posting inappropriate photos of herself and arguing online with her famous ex. Problem is, the ex is represented by Wendy’s arch nemesis from college, the hot and haughty Daniel Blackstone. And both stars are scheduled for a collision course on national television, broadcast live from Las Vegas.
Daniel’s uneasy when he hears Wendy Mann from his firm’s most hated competitor has been brought in to revive the career of his client’s ex-girlfriend. Daniel must win at any cost. And if he has to seduce Wendy to smooth the way to their partnership, he’s willing to sacrifice himself for the cause. But Daniel doesn’t count on the scorching heat between them—and when they get to Vegas, all bets are off.”