Jessica Pennington's Blog

It’s here! The cover of my next YA novel, MEET ME AT MIDNIGHT was revealed today! This book is so fun, and I’m thrilled that it shows in the cover. This is an enemies-to-lovers summer vacation romcom with heart, and I can’t wait for you to read it! It hits shelves April 7, 2020. Synopsis below (think “The Hating Game” meets “The Summer I Turned Pretty!”)

ADD IT ON GOODREADS!: 

They have a love-hate relationship with summer.

Sidney and Asher should have clicked. Two star swimmers forced to spend their summers on a lake together sounds like the perfect match. But it’s the same every year—in between cookouts and boat rides and family-imposed bonfires, Sidney and Asher spend the dog days of summer finding the ultimate ways to prank each other. And now, after their senior year, they’re determined to make it the most epic summer yet.

But their plans are thrown in sudden jeopardy when their feud causes their families to be kicked out of their beloved lake houses. Once in their new accommodations, Sidney expects the prank war to continue as usual. But then she gets a note—Meet me at midnight. And Asher has a proposition for her: join forces for one last summer of epic pranks, against a shared enemy—the woman who kicked them out.

Their truce should make things simpler, but six years of tormenting one another isn’t so easy to ignore. Kind of like the undeniable attraction growing between them.

 

PREORDER MEET ME AT MIDNIGHT!

Check out the Goodreads giveaway going right now! You can win a signed ARC of Love Songs & Other Lies (and read before everyone else) PLUS a LS&OL bag full of swag!

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Goodreads Book Giveaway







Love Songs & Other Lies



by Jessica Pennington

Giveaway ends January 29, 2018.

See the giveaway details

at Goodreads.

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Let me set the stage for you: It’s a Wednesday, three days after returning from my first SCBWI conference in NYC. I’m high off agent roundtables, keynote speeches, and meeting new writerly friends. I’ve been querying fast and hard for roughly six weeks and I have one partial and five full manuscripts out, none of them older than a month. After weeks of diligently researching and sending query letters, I’ve settled into a holding pattern. I have an almost daily mantra I must perform, reminding myself that this process could take months, or (gulp) even a year. I need to be patient. You’ll catch onto this about me eventually, but patience isn’t a word anyone would associate with me. I’m working on it, though. With all of my fulls out, marinating with agents, I’m finally feeling a tiny bit more relaxed than I have the last six weeks. I occupy most of my time by stalking twitter, just to see if any agents have posted something like, ‘Oh my god, I’ve found it! This is the music-infused YA contemporary romance I’ve dreamed of! #mustsignhernow’ You know, something subtle like that, that could hint that they’ve actually finished reading it.

It’s 6:00, and I’m standing in the family planning aisle of Walgreens with my husband, perusing pregnancy tests. What? You didn’t expect this was how my “Getting the call” story would start? Well, it does. Weird, I know. So I’m standing there—debating between boxes that cost $16.99 and $21.99 (thinking I’m definitely in the wrong industry because I’m about to pay ten bucks for something I’m going to pee on.)

And my phone rings. It’s a New York number.

Now, in my day job as a wedding planner, I have clients from all over the country, so I’m not really fazed at this point. And because I have potential clients that call at all sorts of strange hours, I rarely pick up my phone if I don’t know the number. I held my phone up to my husband, jokingly saying, “Oooh, maybe it’s an agent.” He laughed, I laughed, I let it go to voicemail. I let it go to voicemail! Have I mentioned I have the worst cell phone reception known to man (thanks T-Mobile) so I wouldn’t have picked it up, even if I KNEW it was “the call”?

 A few minutes later, the voicemail popped up, and I listened. My husband, being unusually optimistic, began recording me on his cell phone, so SOMEWHERE on one of our computers, we do have video proof of my dorkery.

The voicemail is from Michelle Wolfson of Wolfson Literary, and here’s the jist of it:

“Hi Jessica, it’s Michelle Wolfson at Wolfson Literary Agency…”

At this point, I’m waving my hands in the air and pointing at my phone like she’s IN THERE.

“I was just calling to talk to you about Second Chance Serenade (original title of LS&OL), WHICH I LOVE.”

Now I’m whisper-screaming at my husband, ‘OMG SHE LOVES IT! SHE LOVES IT!’ 

“Give me a call when you get a chance….”

The fact that I didn’t cry in that Walgreen’s aisle really is a sheer miracle. It doesn’t take much. I’m the person who cries at most online videos and Hallmark commercials, and any sports movie where someone achieves their dream. I had shed at least one tear during every keynote at SCBWI. When the voicemail message ended, a sort of frenzy overtook me and I basically dragged my husband out of that store (sans pregnancy test) screaming, “I have to call Emily!”

Who the heck is Emily? Well, Emily is all sorts of fantastic. In fall 2013 I took an Intro to Fiction class at StoryStudio in Chicago (which is equally fantastic), and Emily was my instructor (she’s also the author of two fantastic novels). I was just dipping my toes into writing fiction then, after years off from writing anything but college papers and blog posts. I always enjoyed writing, but had never tried fiction. I had never even written a short story. (More about this sudden fore into fiction writing in another blog post). My excitement was high, but my confidence was still really low. If you had asked me at that point, if I thought I’d write a novel and seek representation, I would have thought you were crazy. But after that six-week class, Emily invited me to join another class that started in January 2014. It was called “Novel In A Year” and it’s where I gained confidence, wrote what is now Love Songs & Other Lies, and met a group of ladies who are the very best kind of motivation and support you could ask for.) Queue those tears I mentioned earlier.

But I digress. At the end of the Novel In A Year class, Emily spent an entire session talking with us about the querying process. There were two important things she told us during that session:

1) When writing your query letter, remember they’re looking for two things: they want to know that you’re a strong writer and that you’re normal. They may have to work with you for a long time, in a professional relationship. So, “strong & normal” became a sort of mantra in our writing group…we put it on coffee mugs, binders…I put it on a shirt.

2) When you get “the call,” don’t panic….call me and I’ll talk you through it.

So two months after getting the “strong and normal” in-class pep-talk, my husband drove me home from Walgreens and dropped me off at our house. It was his weekly guy’s night. “You’re going to leave me here alone,” I said. “What if my phone breaks or my reception is crap?” I channeled my inner Liam Nelson and muttered, “So help me, T-Mobile, if you screw up this call, I will find you and I will make you pay. You will rue the day you lured me into your shoddy service.”

Once safely in the house, I messaged Emily, telling her it had happened…an agent wanted to talk to me! Have I mentioned upon arriving home I put on my “I am a Strong & Normal Writer” t-shirt? Yes, this is a real thing, and I totally put it on. I’m not sure if that makes me normal at all, but it did make me feel a bit stronger. Like my writing group was huddled around the phone with me. Emily told me to call her, and…my phone promptly died. Deciding this was a sign of issues to come, I packed up my charger and phone and drove three blocks down the street to my office where I DO have decent cell service (Did you hear that, T-Mobile? Three blocks).

I called Emily, recited the voicemail to her and told her that upon receiving the call, I had promptly forgotten everything I was supposed to do. Emily is at the gym when I call (that’s how wonderful she is) and after she reminds me that what I really want to do is gauge Michelle’s interest in my novel (and make sure we’re both on the same page with our vision for it) she asks me if I’m going to call back in the morning.

I was going to call her now, I said. It’s 7:30pm. Wait until tomorrow, Emily said, and I promised that I would, even though it would ensure a sleepless night. In the meantime, Michelle Wolfson had also sent me an email, wanting to set up a call for the next day, and I opted for a 10am phone call.

I woke up bright and early (not normal for me—I’m a night owl), once again put on my “Strong & Normal” t-shirt, and settled in at my desk with my list of questions for “The Call.” Things flowed smoothly and Michelle was wonderful. She was excited about my book, part way through the call she offered representation (I pulled off normal, apparently) and by the end of the call, I was already envisioning her as my agent. The main edit she envisioned for the book was one I had already been thinking needed to be done (you know, one of those areas you know you need to tweak, but enough people say they like it, so you leave it alone). Of course, at the end of the call, I told Michelle I’d need a week to offer time to other agents who were reading, and she graciously agreed. We were both headed off on week-long trips, so the timing was perfect—we’d re-connect once we had both returned.

That afternoon, I emailed the four other agents who were considering my full. I didn’t bother emailing most of the outstanding queries I had, as I knew just based on my research alone, I wouldn’t have picked them over Michelle. I didn’t feel like it made any sense to send a nudge to anyone I already knew I wouldn’t decide on going with. This isn’t necessarily industry etiquette, but it made logical sense to me not to waste anyone’s time making them read my manuscript, so I went with it. So by Friday I was back to the waiting game, and back at Walgreens, in the family planning aisle where it all started.

The next six days were crazy. I found out I was pregnant with our first the day after my call with Michelle. I spent six days on vacation in Palm Springs, re-writing the opening of my novel, to take my mind off of waiting. Ultimately, at the end of the week, I called Michelle to accept representation. Which was a fantastic decision that I’m still very happy about. A year ago, my awesome editor Amy at Tor Teen bought my book, and a year from now, Love Songs & Other Lies will be on a shelf for all of you lovelies to buy.

I’ll be the one in the bookstore sobbing by the shelf.

I’ve been seeing these #bookaesthetic boards floating around for awhile, and have been itching to make one for LOVE SONGS & OTHER LIES. Partly, because this book has such a distinct feel to it, that I wanted to try to capture that in a visual, but also because I’m sort of horrible at describing my book to people, so part of me hopes I can just show them nine pictures, and call it good. Maybe? Okay, probably not. But still, it was fun to try out, and design boards like this are something I do all the time when planning weddings (non-writerly day job). But doing it for a book was so much harder! So you’ll probably see more of these pop up, but I’m definitely liking how this one turned out. Let me know what you think!

Some people have a bookshelf where all of their soon-to-be-reads hang out while they wait (and I admit I have one of these as well) but largely, my most anticipated future reads just hang out on my nightstand. Because for the most part, all of my reading is done right before I go to bed. It’s the perfect time to let my brain shut down a little after a day of reluctant adulating, and ease into an amazing story. I’m also a strong believer in what you read/do before bed setting the mood for your dreams, so better to drift into dreamland with a swoony love story on the brain. So at any given time I have 3-5 books sitting on my nightstand, under my nightstand…maybe one in a drawer. I have a problem. But lucky for you, I have some exciting reads waiting for me, and in-progress.

First up, is what I’m currently reading (this is actually 2 books right now) and they’re both 2017 debuts. The first, is FOLLOW ME BACK, by A.V. Geiger, which is a really addictive YA Thriller about a slightly-too-obsessed fan. This one was a big WattPad hit, before getting traditionally published, which is usually a pretty good sign, because it means tons of people already read it online and loved it. So far, it does not disappoint. I’m BARELY into this one, so luckily, I couldn’t spoil it for you if I tried! But I usually know in the first 10 pages if a book is going to hook me, and guys, this one totally has. The writing is great, fast-paced, and really authentic feeling. This is a YA that feels very “now.” This one isn’t available until June 6th, but you can preorder it here!

 

My second current-read is Shaila Patel’s SOULMATED, and I’m equally loving it. It’s beautifully written, and the characters are so endearing, it’s a fast read. This is another I have an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) of, which is why I just couldn’t keep myself from starting two books at once. It’s not like me at all, but both of them were just calling to me! SOULMATED came out this month, so luckily, you don’t have to wait either, if you’re as impatient as I am. Get it here.

My other recent buys are too good to not atleast mention, but I’ll save details for another post. I know I’m going to want to rant and rave!

Up Next: CARAVAL by Stephanie Garber and A LIST OF CAGES, by Robin Roe

  

I’ve always loved reading dual point-of-view, so it’s no surprise that I also love to write it. My upcoming debut novel, LOVE SONGS & OTHER LIES, is told in dual POV (and dual timeline, just to keep things complicated) switching between two protagonists—boy and girl—both seniors in high school, as they fall in love for the first time. And then again, when they’re unexpectedly reunited a year later.

WHY write dual POV? I chose to write LOVE SONGS in dual POV, because it fit the story. Both Cameron and Vee, had their own independent goals and problems, before and after their stories began to intertwine. And for a love story, dual POV can be an ideal setup, letting the reader get in the head of both love interests. Because to make the story I was telling effective, I needed readers to be able to see the motivations, fears, and secrets (well, most of the secrets) of both characters. And that’s really the biggest selling point of dual POV—as a reader (and a writer) you get intimate access to more than one character. You’re able to fill in some of the knowledge holes you’d have with a single POV.

While dual POV can be a powerful tool in the art of manipulating your reader’s feelings, one of the keys to successfully writing it, is knowing WHEN to use it in the first place. Because there’s nothing I love more in life than a good list, let’s go through a quick little checklist, to determine if it’s the right time to write dual POV. If you’re considering one of your characters to be a POV character, ask yourself the following:

Is he/she a main character?

Could their story be told without their POV?

Do they have equal importance to this story?

If you can answer YES to all of these, then there’s a good chance it’s all good to make them a POV character. But, here are a few more very important questions to ask yourself about your characters:

Do they have a unique story of their own?

Does each have independent goals and problems?

Do they see things differently?

If your characters are together almost constantly, and your only reason to share both POV’s is for us, as readers, to know their inner thoughts, then consider if it’s really necessary. The last thing you want to do in dual POV, is to have each character rehash the exact same events, and from a similar perspective. The only exception to this, would be if showing two very different perceptions of the same situatinos was the point of your novel (in that case, just ignore me). But in general, if you can’t define two separate sets of goals, storyline, and problems for your characters, then you should think twice about giving them both POV. So, if you’re writing about two characters that have many shared experiences (they’re in all the same classes!) and see many situations similarly, then consider telling your story from a single POV.

But Jessica, I’ve asked myself all of these questions, and I still want to write dual POV! 

So, HOW do you make it work? You’ve got two independent characters, ready to tell their separate (but perhaps intertwined) stories, so all that’s left is doing it well. Here are a few tips to nailing dual POV:

Remember those independent storylines, problems and goals? Well, your POV characters also need to have unique VOICES. This is especially true if you’re writing in first person. My own little test for making sure I’ve achieved this, is to scroll (or flip, if I’m going old-school paper) through my manuscript, stopping at random to read a few different sections. Without looking at the context of what’s happening, I should be able to know who the narrator of that section is. Because they should sound and feel different. Maybe it’s their word choice. Or the length of their sentences—perhaps one of them adds more details, while the other keeps things simple. Even the cadence of the phrasing can help to give away whose head the reader is in. If you can’t easily identify the narrator, it’s time to do some tweaking.

And aside from the actual words on the page, consider your characters—their prior experiences and current problems—and ask yourself how they would react to certain situations. Maybe one of your characters is more forthcoming than the other. Or one sees the best in everyone and stays positive, while the other is a real Debbie Downer, due to some past hang-ups. Let this all shine through in the voice, so that readers are experiencing your story through two distinct and different perspectives.

Lastly—and I hate to say this to all of you pantsers out there—but you should be prepared for a little more organization than with a single narrator. To avoid the story redundancy I mentioned earlier (really, I can’t stress enough how horrible this can be if not done purposefully) you’ll have to figure out which chapters or scenes will be narrated by whom. If you only have one POV present, then it’s an easy choice, but if both are options, then you have a choice to make. Sometimes, the narrator will be the character with the most to share. And other times, you’ll want it to be the person with the most to hide. If you can’t decide, give it a try from both perspectives. It will help you decide whose is right to use, and you’ll likely learn a little something about your characters in the process.

When deciding on the POV of each scene, also make sure you’re organizing things in a way that keeps the reader from staying in one POV for too long, OR for too short a time. If too long, it’s easy to get disconnected with one of the narrators, and if too short, it can be difficult to connect, and settle into their voice. Your narrators don’t have to get equal time, every other chapter, but make sure that things aren’t so choppy that they’re jarring, or so lengthy that readers wonder why you have dual POV’s to begin with!

One last tip: If you find yourself struggling with the mental flip-flop of writing different POV from scene to scene, try staying in POV for an entire writing session, to keep consistent. But once you get the hang of your voices, you might be able to switch with ease. And once you go dual POV, you may never go back!

I know, I know, my own hashtag! Super fancy, right? The really cool thing, is what #JustAskJess means.  It means I’m all ears. I’m not an expert on EVERYTHING, but there is definitely a small (but very helpful) list of things I know quite a bit about. I mean, I write YA romance, so obviously I have some problem-solving skills. And besides an author, I’m a wedding planner/florist/music lover, so you can probably guess what other things I’m all sorts of smart about! But just to help, here are some examples of things I’d love for you to ask me about:

-Anything relating to being/falling/wishing you were in love (except for things better suited to asking

-Breakups

-Friend stuff (let’s face it, sometimes friendship is just as hard as the love-stuff!)

-Need a song rec to get you through a rough time? Or help you celebrate a good one? (I’m on it)

-Stuff you’re too embarrassed to ask someone in person (again, unless it’s better suited for a dr – a medical degree is not one of my current qualifications)

Fill out the contact form (you can use whatever name you’d like) and I’ll try to answer as many of them as I can! You can also submit a question by posting #JustAskJess on IG (tag me, too @jessicapennington) or twitter!

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