Today I'm welcoming Jennifer Caloyeras, author of the recently released contemporary novel, Strays, to The Book Rat. Jennifer is here to share a few facts that we may not know about both herself, and the main character of Strays! Check it out below, and then if it sounds like it's up your alley, make sure to enter to win a copy of the book!
And don't forget to leave Jennifer some love in the comments, as well as maybe sharing a few facts yourself!
Five Things to Learn about Author Jennifer Caloyeras and her main character, Iris Moody (from the new novel, Strays).
Jennifer:
- I spent an entire summer living in a tree. The trunk had been hollowed out and there was space for a mattress and a wood-burning oven to stay warm. There was a window and a swinging door. I quickly learned that I had to leave the window open at night because bats lived at the top of the tree and flew out to hunt each night.
- I sang on movie soundtracks. When I was in high school I sang with a choir on the soundtrack to Home Alone 1 and 2 and the movie, Hook. It was an amazing experience with John Williams directing us.
- I sew. I took up sewing about six years ago. I’ve made children’s clothing, dog beds, baby bassinets, a few dresses and ties. All of my projects are perfectly imperfect!
- I used to live in France. I spent my junior year in college living in Aix-en-Provence, in the South of France and home to the artist, Cezanne. It was a magical year filled with tons of travel and lots of lavender fields.
- I have a fear of clowns. Painted faces. Red noses. Oversized shoes. I just don’t like them. If I see one I run away. It’s pretty much eliminated the circus as an activity I can do.
Iris:
- She loves coffee. And not just the fact that it gives her energy, but she actually appreciates the flavor. She has even learned to ride her bike with one hand so that she can hold her coffee cup with the other.
- She is an animal fact aficionado. She is especially fond of nature shows on TV and likes to regurgitate facts, even if her friends aren’t that impressed.
- She is afraid of dogs. When her mom was younger, she was attacked by a dog and would often show Iris the scar on her arm.
- She lives in Santa Cruz, California. Iris is still getting used to her new beachside community. She feels calm staring out at the waves of the Pacific and she loves the freedom she finds on her bike.
- Iris has a temper. When things don’t go her way, she keeps everything inside until she explodes. But she’s working on it!
****GIVEAWAY****
Jennifer has offered up a copy of Strays (choice of physical or ebook) to one lucky winner!
This giveaway is US only, and ends
Fill out the Rafflecopter to enter.
Please do not leave email addresses or sensitive info in the comments -- these will be deleted!
Best of luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Get It | Add It
Contemporary, 232 pages
Published May 1st 2015 by Ashland Creek Press
Sometimes, life becomes unleashed...
Sixteen-year-old Iris Moody has a problem controlling her temper—but then, she has a lot to be angry about. Dead mother. Workaholic father. Dumped by her boyfriend. Failing English.
When a note in Iris’s journal is mistaken as a threat against her English teacher, she finds herself in trouble not only with school authorities but with the law.
In addition to summer school, dog-phobic Iris is sentenced to an entire summer of community service, rehabilitating troubled dogs. Iris believes she is nothing like Roman, the three-legged pit bull who is struggling to overcome his own dark past, not to mention the other humans in the program. But when Roman’s life is on the line, Iris learns that counting on the help of others may be the only way to save him.
With sparkling prose and delightful humor, Jennifer Caloyeras’s novel beautifully portrays the human-animal bond.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Jennifer Caloyeras is a novelist and short fiction writer living in Los Angeles. She holds a B.A. In English from the University of California at Santa Cruz, an M.A. in English Literature from California State University Los Angeles and an M.F.A. In creative writing through the University of British Columbia.
She is the author of two young adult novels: Strays (2015) and Urban Falcon (2009). Her short stories have been published in Monday Night Literary, Wilde Magazine, Storm Cellar and Booth. She has been a college instructor, elementary school teacher and camp counselor. She is the dog columnist for the Los Feliz Ledger and the Larchmont Ledger.
Sixteen-year-old Iris Moody has a problem controlling her temper—but then, she has a lot to be angry about. Dead mother. Workaholic father. Dumped by her boyfriend. Failing English.
When a note in Iris’s journal is mistaken as a threat against her English teacher, she finds herself in trouble not only with school authorities but with the law.
In addition to summer school, dog-phobic Iris is sentenced to an entire summer of community service, rehabilitating troubled dogs. Iris believes she is nothing like Roman, the three-legged pit bull who is struggling to overcome his own dark past, not to mention the other humans in the program. But when Roman’s life is on the line, Iris learns that counting on the help of others may be the only way to save him.
With sparkling prose and delightful humor, Jennifer Caloyeras’s novel beautifully portrays the human-animal bond.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
She is the author of two young adult novels: Strays (2015) and Urban Falcon (2009). Her short stories have been published in Monday Night Literary, Wilde Magazine, Storm Cellar and Booth. She has been a college instructor, elementary school teacher and camp counselor. She is the dog columnist for the Los Feliz Ledger and the Larchmont Ledger.
Odd facts about myself:
ReplyDelete* I literally cannot sleep with no socks on.
* I like to dip my watermelon in fish sauce.
* I have a phobia of butterflies.
* I like my bread flat. I couldn't care less that it's a hamburger, I want it flat.
* I have a fondness for the name Charlie.
It's great fun to read fun facts about people!
ReplyDeleteWe are all so unique and interesting in very
different ways. For example, I am crazy for hippos and have a collection of hundreds.