Friday, January 31, 2014

Lie Detector Test!

It's Friday! Celebrate the good times! (with Vikki!) And I apologize in advance, this is a long one!
Here are my little celebrations:
  • my oldest son is doing great on the Freshman basketball team!
  • temperatures have risen!
  • I'm going to The Novel Experience reader/writer conference in Atlanta (Mar 28-30) - and so is Elizabeth Seckman! A few others are working it out, maybe you can too! It's a huge signing party!
  • And Saturday (Feb 1!) I'm in the Author Spotlight at Kimberly Afe's blog! Yay! She gave me some good questions. I'd love to see you there.
I'm also celebrating the release of my friend and fellow CQ Author, Jamie Ayers and her YA Paranormal, 18 TRUTHS! Sequel to 18 THINGS. To help her celebrate, I'm participating in her fun blog hop and giveaway (see below) Here's my entry for the hop. See if you can guess which of these three things about me are true and which one is the lie:
  • I've spent the night in a castle in Scotland
  • I've ridden in a romantic gondola in Venice
  • I've walked my legs off in the Acropolis in Athens 
As a special bonus, Jamie is meeting Conner and Olga at Dairy Treat. What better way to celebrate their journey than with an ice cream cone! (And Tara is the commentating fly on the wall)

J. Conner, we only got to know you a little bit in the first half of Olga’s journey. So for those who haven’t met you yet, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

C. Yo. My name’s Conner. I was killed by a lightning strike/hypothermia combo, then spent over a year in the Underworld until I got to see Olga again. I changed a lot while I was there – for the better, I think. But recently, not so much. I’m not sure what’s going on with me.  *licks ice cream cone while I swoon, until Olga elbows me in the ribs*

(I can't imagine being stuck in the Underworld! And hey, he's hot! Glad he came back)

O. No worries, I’m working on a way to help you. *gives Conner a one-armed hug*

(I bet you are!)

J. About this past summer though, from the moment both of you found out the other was in the Underworld, things drastically changed. Do you have any regrets? Is there anything you would have done differently?

O. It’s better to know the truth about things than live a lie—

C. Which is what I’d been doing my whole life by hiding my true feelings for Olga—

O. And what I did when I kept the truth from you this past summer. I regret doing that.

C. And I regret my reaction to hearing the truth the first time. You’ve been my best friend since kindergarten. I shouldn’t have reacted that way.

(Live and learn, kiddos! Good for you!)

J. I agree with that assessment, but don’t beat yourself up. Nobody’s perfect, not even Olga with her freakishly high IQ.

(Listen to Jamie!)

C. She’s pretty close to perfect though, not to mention insanely hot.

O. *blushes* He says that to all the girls.

C. But with you, I actually mean it.

(I think we'll need some proof to back that up, I've heard those lines before too…)

J. Aww. Now Olga, I know you’d planned on telling Conner your real feelings for him the night of Junior Prom. Conner, before you died, had you ever planned to tell Olga you were in love with her?

C. Looking back, I’ve always loved Olga—she’s my best friend; the only person I told all my secrets to, who could make me laugh when I was pissed, who I played all my new songs for first. She completely understood me. But I think I was just too immature before the lightning strike, and I couldn’t really see with my ‘friend’ lenses on. She’s definitely the most beautiful person I know, inside and out. It just sucks it took me dying to realize it.

(Lucky you got to come back, dude!)

J. Sadly, a lot of people don’t realize the truth until it’s too late. Olga, describe Conner in 3 words.

O. Confident, playful, and passionate.

J.*coughs the word ‘sexy’* Okay Conner, your turn!

(*cough* seconded)

C. Driven, caring, and sexy *smirks at Olga*

J. After everything that happened in the Underworld, at Limbo and Juvie and afterward, was there ever a time you lost hope?

C. Yeah, I lost hope. I couldn’t believe how royally I screwed up. Seeing Olga again was the only thing I had to hang onto.  

O. I lost hope as soon as I showed up to the estate and saw Sam.

J. Oh, yes, Sam. You were introduced to some colorful new characters this past summer, and he’s at the top of the list. What would you say is the bravest thing you’ve done?

O. I broke every rule in the spirit guide handbook to go after Conner. I made a deal with Sam, which was also the stupidest thing I’ve ever done, but it also took me being brave, I guess. Then I fought off some problematic demons.

(There's always a catch in every deal!)

C. I can’t top that one. Olga is by far the bravest person I know. As for me, after thirteen years, I finally told Olga I was in love with her.

J. Again, awwww! For those who have yet to embark upon this journey with you *points to Olga, then Conner* and Nate *Conner glares at me* What? Nate is part of this journey, whether you like it or not, Conner. Olga, tell us what can people expect?

O. Expect a complicated road filled with frustrations and surprising revelations, twists, and turns. Expect romance. Expect heartache and tears. Expect laughs. Because even though Nate and I spend our summer in the Underworld, we have some really fun moments.

C. Hey, we have some fun moments together, too!

O. Of course, that was implied since you’re here with me now. And if we didn’t end up having some fun moments together, then this whole summer in the Underworld would’ve been a complete waste of time.

C. Word. You ready to head out? We have some peeps waiting for us.

J. Yeah, we’re all done here. Thanks for meeting with us today! You two take care of each other. 

(Yeah. Such a cute couple! Very mature - but they've been through a ton!)

Thanks, Jamie for sharing that interview! It was fun! And now, here's some info about 18 Truths...

Lying is unbearable, betrayal is inevitable, and choosing which path to take is impossible.

Olga ended her senior year totally in love with Nate, enjoying their new romance and about to attend the university of her dreams. Now, she’s spending her summer in the weird subculture of the Underworld, with charmingly witty and powerful angels, and problematic demons, trying to rescue Connor, the best friend and secret crush she was unable to save during a freak accident.

But Nate is there too and has other things on his mind, mainly Grace. She’s their first assignment as joint spirit guides, and Olga’s feeling hurt and jealous. Nate's mysterious behavior has Olga questioning everything she believed about him and now she must decide whether to stick to their plan, or follow her heart. 

Only one thing is certain: the chilling truths uncovered during her journey will leave no one untouched. 


Jamie Ayres writes young adult love stories by night and teaches young adults as a middle school teacher by day. She lives in southwest Florida with her husband and two daughters. Her books include 18 Things and 18 Truths.

Jamie's links:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

22 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Conner and Olga are funny.
My guess is... the castle in Scotland is the lie.
See you at Kimberly's tomorrow!

Optimistic Existentialist said...

My guess is the Acropolis in Athens is a lie - because the other two would be awesome to be true :)

Robin said...

Great interview. These books are new to me, so I really enjoyed meeting these characters.

As for YOUR truths and lie, Tara...
I think the first one, the castle in Scotland, is the lie. ::drats::

Cathrina Constantine said...

I wish I had money to travel. One day I'd really like to go to a book conference!

Dana said...

I'm going to guess that the castle is the lie. (I would love to do that!)

Have a great weekend!

Anonymous said...

The Novel Experience sounds like a lot of fun. Congrats to your boy! I'm betting you never took a ride in a gondola.

M.J. Fifield said...

Hey—I'm celebrating the temperature rising, too. Just in time for it to drop again, probably, but we'll enjoy it while it lasts.

And I am never good at guessing the lie. But what an awesome way to celebrate a book release!

Elizabeth Seckman said...

Can;t wait to see you there Tara! It will be so awesome :)

Best of luck to Jamie!

Anonymous said...

Seems you have a lot to celebrate this week. Yay! Grats on the interview.

I'm also pretty bad at guessing ... but I'm gonna say Castle in Scotland is a lie (although it sounds so great I hope it's actually true. lol)

Julie Flanders said...

So cool that you and Elizabeth are both going to the Novel Experience! I hope you have a blast.

Kimberly rocks - I will be sure to check out your spotlight tomorrow. Happy weekend, Tara!

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

I guessing #1 though that would have been the one I really wanted to do if I could only pick one.

i'm erin. said...

Olga and Conner are cute! I'm excited to read this.

VikLit said...

I think the Acropolis is the lie...great celebrations! :)

Anonymous said...

I think #1? Thanks for playing and for hosting me . . . more people entered the giveaway today than all week! And sounds like great things are happening for you and your family :-) Wish I could make it to Atlanta!

Christine Rains said...

That was hilarious! And yay for Friday celebrations. Hmmm, I think #1 is the lie. Maybe?

Tara Tyler said...

thanks, y'all! that was fun!

and i'll reveal my truth on Monday =) ha!

congrats again, Jamie! glad to help!

cleemckenzie said...

The lie has to be the Acropolis unless you were there years ago. Congrats to your son and hope he has a great basketball year.

Ice cream cones are a super way to celebrate anything!

Nicole said...

I'm going with #2 as the lie!

Crystal Collier said...

I'm going with the gondola as a lie. *shrugs*

I'm stoked for Jamie's book.

Deniz Bevan said...

I'm going to say #1 even though I hope it's true!
Lucky you going to the writer's conference - I still haven't been to one!

Theresa Milstein said...

Enjoy your conference. I can't go to my usual one in May, so I'm looking for an alternative this summer. There's nothing like a conference to reenergize.

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