The Girlfriends' Cyber Circuit Presents Eileen Cook

mood: bouncy
pandora/ipod: "one and only" by adele

The Girlfriends' Cyber Circuit is a web ring of YA authors which I've recently had the great honor to join. Check these posts for the latest releases!

UNRAVELING ISOBEL

Isobel’s life is falling apart. Her mom just married some guy she met on the internet only three months before, and is moving them to his sprawling, gothic mansion off the coast of nowhere. Goodbye, best friend. Goodbye, social life. Hello, icky new stepfather, crunchy granola town, and unbelievably good-looking, officially off-limits stepbrother.

But on her first night in her new home, Isobel starts to fear that it isn’t only her life that’s unraveling—her sanity might be giving way too. Because either Isobel is losing her mind, just like her artist father did before her, or she’s seeing ghosts. Either way, Isobel’s fast on her way to being the talk of the town for all the wrong reasons.

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Eileen Cook is a multi-published author with her novels appearing in six different languages. She spent most of her teen years wishing she were someone else or somewhere else, which is great training for a writer.

You can read more about Eileen, her books, and the things that strike her as funny at www.eileencook.com. Eileen lives in Vancouver with her husband and two dogs and no longer wishes to be anyone or anywhere else.

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ME: What are your favorite and least favorite parts of the writing "process"?

EILEEN: My favorite part is when I find that perfect idea, the one that is going to be IT. I love the beginning of a book when everything is new and exciting and I can see all these possibilities. My least favorite part is about three quarters of the way through when I realize that what I thought would be a perfect ending isn’t going to work and I have to sort something out.

ME: What was the main inspiration for this book?

EILEEN: I work as a counselor and am interested in mental health issues. I think one of the most difficult things about having mental illnesses is that you can’t trust your own perception of reality. How do you cope when you aren’t sure what you see and hear is real? I decided I wanted to write about Isobel who struggles with trying to figure out if she’s seeing a ghost, if she’s going crazy, or if her step dad is trying to make everyone think she’s crazy so he can get rid of her.

I’ve always loved gothic novels. I love creepy old houses, buried family secrets and the potential for a ghost or two. Not to mention a cute boy in the picture.

ME: Who would you cast if your book was made into a movie?

EILEEN: I am terrible at casting because I want to cast Colin Firth. Not because there is a role for him in the film, but because I’d love to meet him. I would be tempted to cast unknown actors. I like when you can lose yourself in a movie without comparing how the actors were in a different movie.

ME: If you could ask one person, living or dead, a single question that they'd HAVE to answer, who and what would be it?

EILLEN: My brother passed away when I was very young. If I could I would ask him if he lived if he would have minded if I blamed a few of the things I did on him. Aren't brothers supposed to take the heat sometimes?

FAST FIVE:
Pie or Cake? Why must we choose? Cake.
Coffee or Tea? Tea. I am one of the only people I know who doesn't like the taste of coffee, not even coffee ice cream
Mac or PC? Mac. I'm an Apple junkie.
Guilty Pleasure? Expensive yarn. I like to knit and I like it even more with something yummy like cashmere
Can't live without? Books. I always one on the go. If I don't have anything lined up to read next I get anxious!

Thanks, Eileen! Can't wait to read UNRAVELING ISOBEL!!!!