Author Interview: Jess C. Scott of EyeLeash + Contest / Teaser Tuesday!

Author Interview: Jess C. Scott of EyeLeash + E-Book Contest Giveaway!

Jess C. Scott is the author of EyeLeash which is a coming-of-age book that is available for purchase, keep on scrolling down to check out the e-book giveaway! Jess is an indie author, artist and non-conformist. She lived in Singapore for the first two decades in her life and now resides in Maine, USA. Her second book 4:Play, which is an erotic fiction book will be launched in September 2009, so look out for that!

For more info on Jess, check out her various sites:
http://jesscscott.wordpress.com
http://eyeleash.wordpress.com/
http://missfey.blogspot.com/

Join her on twitter:
http://twitter.com/jesscscott

Also, she is very artistic and has an online store full of great stuff:
http://www.zazzle.com/jesscscott

1) Jess, at what age did you know you wanted to become an author?
Before I turned 5. I doubted my writing abilities for some time during high school, where the focus was mostly always on grades, rather than creativity. Edgar Allan Poe re-inspired me when I was 16. I started seriously working on "what would be my first novel", when I was 19.

2) What inspired you to write EyeLeash?
A conspiracy of real-life events *laughs*. My own struggles, and how that fits in with the rest of humanity/what people go through...I wanted to create an authentic record of a teenage girl's experiences. And I thought the blog/IM format would be something (increasingly) tech-savvy readers would appreciate.

3) Are the characters in the book based on someone you know?
Jade is perhaps my alter-ego. As for Novan -- well, there's someone I know who's around the same height, with roughly the same lean, taut physique...I haven't been in contact with said person for a while though.

4) What was the hardest part of writing EyeLeash?
The formatting. Each blogpost has a date and timestamp, so I had to make sure everything was flowing correctly (this includes the timestamps during the IM chats). If I decided to remove whole chunks/pages that I thought weren't necessary, I had to look at the remaining timestamps for that particular chapter -- for both characters' blogs, and their IM chats. Let's just say that it was a whole lotta work!

5) What is the meaning behind the title 'EyeLeash'?
It's about being hooked on a person's looks, to such an extent that their inner character is completely overlooked. The title also plays a part in the book/plot, in the form of a poem written by one of the main characters ;).

6) As a debut author, what type of emotion do you experience when your book comes out?
I experience some nerves and doubts -- but I usually choose to focus on the positive,and keep busy with other/future projects. I jump to something else quite soon after a project is complete (whether it be art, writing, or whatever). I'd rather be productive, than worrisome.

7) Are there any new authors that have sparked your interest?
I like to see what Jackson Pearce and Polenth Blake are up to (Jackson Pearce is near my age; Polenth Blake has a speculative fiction mojo thing going on which I find very interesting).
8) What book are you currently reading?
I started reading Kathleen Windsor's Forever Amber recently; I have Chairman Mao's Little Red Book (some of the quotations are very contemporary), and a whole bunch of other books to get to (Wuthering Heights, The Bell Jar, and something on Egyptian hieroglyphics).

9) Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your future readers?
Don't be afraid to pursue your dreams. Many people might (and will) say that you "can't do this-that-and/or-that-this" -- you can either listen to them, or go after something that you really want. Everyone has 24 hours each day. Make the most of it :)! (especially since about 1/3 is *ideally* spent sleeping...)

10) Tell us something about yourself that no one knows about.
I stole a fake ruby ring when I was 5 or 6 years old, and swiped a very shiny marble from a store when I was 11. I've always thought it should've been the other way around (ring when I was 11; marble when I was a younger kid).

**CONTEST RULES**

Contest is Closed.
Jess is giving away an e-book of 'EyeLeash.' I just love that cover!

For those of you that are not familiar with this blog/IM novel here is the summary:
Jade Ashton is a sassy virgin. In her private blog, she vents about "fitting in" a world where superficiality reigns supreme. Suddenly all logic flies out the window when she meets Novan: the former geek, who's morphed into a delicious songwriter-musician. They decide to be "friends-with-benefits". But it's Novan, with his poems and riddling passages on his own blog--which *isn't private*--that backs out. EyeLeash captures self-discovery in the 2000s, and showcases the colorful, intricate drama in two youths' relentless search for themselves--and what's really in their hearts.

So here is what ya gotta do to enter:

+1 Leave a comment with your e-mail address [Very important, Jess needs it in order to e-mail you the e-book attachment]
+3 Become a follower
+4 If you already are a follower
+5 Blog about contest or add it to your sidebar [Please leave a link]
+2 If you twitter about contest [Please leave a link]
+3 If you do any other type of promoting [Please leave a link]

*Deadline ends September 5, 2009 at 12:00 midnight! Winner will be announced on September 6th or the 7th.
*This contest is open to everyone!

Have fun!

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Teaser Tuesday: Dancing With Ana by Nicole Barker

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along, do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Here's mine:


"She knew if she let him kiss her, she would feel, and some of the numbness that was protecting her soul would dissipate. She didn't think it was a risk she was willing to take." Page 134 from Dancing With Ana by Nicole Barker.