Book Labyrinth: Interview with Liz Reinhardt + Giveaway

Today I'm psyched to be hosting author Liz Reinhardt for the 2nd last stop on her blog tour for 'Double Clutch'. Liz was awesome enough to answer some questions for me, but first here's a bit more about her book:

What happens when you fall for the perfect guy...twice...in one day?

Brenna Blixen spent her freshman year homeschooling in Denmark; now that she's back in the States, she's determined to make her sophomore year unforgettable. And by unforgettable, she imagined awesome classes, fun friendships, and maybe a little romance.

What she got was a whole lot of romance, and all at once.

The same day that dark, brooding Saxon Maclean charmed her with his killer good looks and whip-smart wit, Jake Kelly stole her breath away with his heart-wrenching smile and intelligent, thoughtful focus.

But Saxon is a proud player who makes it clear that he doesn't know why he can't get Brenna off of his mind and out of his system, and Jake's sweet and humble attitude hides a secret past life that might be darker and more complex than Brenna is willing to deal with.

Complicating the matter is the fact that Saxon and Jake were once best friends and are now arch-enemies...and the more Brenna finds out about their connection to each other, the more intrigued and worried she becomes.

Between keeping the peace with her lovingly over-protective parents, designing t-shirts for her high school's rising punk band, keeping up her grades in classes split between academic and technical high school, and running the track like a maniac, Brenna has enough to worry about with out juggling two guys who make her heart thud and drive her crazy all at once.

She has to make a choice, but how is she supposed to do that when giving her heart to one of them might mean breaking the other's?

Find Double Clutch by Liz Reinhardt on Goodreads, Smashwords, Amazon, & B&N.

Interview with Liz:

If you had to describe the premise of Double Clutch in a tweet (140 characters or less), what would you say?

What happens when you fall in love with...twice...in one day? Brenna has the world's perfect problem; or the biggest heartbreak and headache!

What kind of process did you go through to create the cover?

It was actually really interesting! I went to a site called elance, and put up a description of my book and said I needed a cover. Different artists came forward, and I looked at their portfolios and picked an amazing guy named Steve Peterson. I wrote him what my book was about and sent him five covers from YA novels that I really loved. He sent me four different rough cover options, and I chose the one I liked the most, then we made some changes.

At first Brenna's eyes were different, but we wanted thicker lashes and bangs, so Steve made sure those were there. We talked about font, changed some colors...and we decided what elements we would keep for the second book. The second book keeps Brenna's eyes, and the bottom graphics are the same, but the color is different, and there is a corsage and the Eiffel Tower under her eyes.

It's been really fun and amazing working with Steve, and I highly recommend him to any other authors who are looking for a great designer!

Which fictional character (from another book, TV show, or movie) do you think Brenna would have a crush on?

Ooh, that is such a great question! I'm going to do one from each! Okay, Brenna would be so in love with Marcus Flutie from Meg McCafferty's Sloppy Firsts, because he's artistic, a little bit of a bad boy, and a huge romantic. She would also completely love Max Fischer from Rushmore, because she'd admire his intense passion and quirky intelligence. And Dan Desario in Freaks and Geeks because poor Dan is so lost and crazy and in need of a girl to set him straight. Brenna would be up to the challenge!

Which three words would you use to describe Saxon? What about Jake?

Saxon is brilliant, sexy, and vulnerable. Jake is hard-working, hot, and romantic.

What are some of your favourite recent YA novels?

I just read Dream Chaser by Angie Stanton. Wow! I will say, upfront, I'm not into dance or cheer and never was, but she sucked me in! Her character, Willow, is this smart, savvy, hard-working athlete, and I feel like I should get cheer/dance cred just from reading the book. If you have any interest at all in cheer or dance, you have to pick this book up. It was intense.

I also just read Abbi Glines's The Vincent Boys and holy hot stuff! I moved to Georgia from NJ about six years ago, and I feel like Abbi let me have a sneak peek into what teenage life would have been like down here (okay, in total best-case-scenario land where a totally smoking hot bad boy was my love interest!). It was very honest and sexy...I loved every minute!

What can readers expect from you next?

If you read Junk Miles, the follow-up to Double Clutch, you know that there's a sneak-peek chapter from Saxon's point of view. The third Brenna book, Slow Twitch, is told from alternating POVs, so you get to hear from Saxon, Jake, and Brenna. It's all about their wild summer, and there are new characters, more info on old characters, and tons of romance and drama! That will be out this spring.

I also plan on releasing a book called Forgiving Trinity this winter. It's about a girl who gets into drugs, has a bad accident, and winds up getting her butt saved by a guy named Aidan. She's trying to put the pieces of her sober life back together, and it's hard and funny and amazing and scary. And she has to figure out exactly what happened on the night of the accident. I love Trinity!

Thank you so much for your awesome questions and for having me on your blog!

Not at all, thanks so much for answering my questions, Liz! =)

As I mentioned, the 'Double Clutch' tour is almost over, but you can still check out Missy's Reads and Reviews for the whole tour schedule which features more interviews, guest posts, reviews, and giveaways.

Giveaway Time!

The details...