Modern Ink Society-Featuring Author Gretchen McNeil

February 20, 2017

FEATURING GUEST

Gretchen McNeil

An Author’s Week in Photos

Welcome to the twenty-ninth session of

THE MODERN INK SOCIETY!

“Imagination is the key to my lyrics. The rest is painted with a little science fiction.”

— Jimi Hendrix

Introducing Gretchen

Bio: Gretchen McNeil is the author of the standalone YA horror novels POSSESS, TEN, 3:59, and RELIC; GET EVEN and GET DIRTY, part of the Don’t Get Mad series; and the contemporary comedy I’M NOT YOUR MANIC PIXIE DREAM GIRL. Gretchen is a former coloratura soprano, the voice of Mary on G4’s Code Monkeys and she sings with the LA-based circus troupe Cirque Berzerk.

Gretchen’s latest Novel

Here’s a little teaser

Beatrice Maria Estrella Giovannini has life all figured out. She’s starting senior year at the top of her class, she’s a shoo-in for a scholarship to M.I.T., and she’s got a new boyfriend she’s crazy about. The only problem: All through high school Bea and her best friends Spencer and Gabe have been the targets of horrific bullying.

So Bea uses her math skills to come up with The Formula, a 100% mathematically-guaranteed path to social happiness in high school. Now Gabe is on his way to becoming Student Body President, and Spencer is finally getting his art noticed. But when her boyfriend dumps her for Toile, the quirky new girl at school, Bea realizes it’s time to use The Formula for herself. She’ll be reinvented as the eccentric and lovable Trixie—a quintessential manic pixie dream girl—in order to win her boyfriend back and beat new-girl Toile at her own game.

Unfortunately, being a manic pixie dream girl isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, and “Trixie” is causing unexpected consequences for her friends. As The Formula begins to break down, can Bea find a way to reclaim her true identity, and fix everything she’s messed up? Or will the casualties of her manic pixie experiment go far deeper than she could possibly imagine?

An Author’s Week in Photos

Monday

NEW SHOES! I have to admit – I already owned two pairs of yellow pumps. But how could I resist these flowers? THEY ARE HAND STITCHED!!! *swoons*

Tuesday

I wore those new shoes to a school visit in Los Angeles with YA Author B.T. Gottfred. Check out the amazing book art at this library!

Wednesday

While walking my dog in the neighborhood, I came across these two off leash, running around a neighbor’s front yard. I finally managed to get a number from one of the tags and called the owner who lived across the street and fetched them. Crisis averted! Dogs off leash in Los Angeles make me incredibly nervous.

Thursday

The season open of the fabulous Book’d event in Los Angeles, with fellow YA author Romina Russell and adult authors Patricia Smiley and C.D. Reiss. Great turn out, great reaction to the passage I read from I’M NOT YOUR MANIC PIXIE DREAM GIRL, but clearly, seated is not my best look…

Friday

lunch with an old friend on a busy, rainy day in Los Angeles. Our waiter looked so much like Dominic Cooper I did a double take. Only in Los Angeles, right?

Saturday

Flight to Chicago! I packed some old horror favorites to read, looking for inspiration for my next book. I’m not sure horror is such a great choice for a four hour flight, but at least it wasn’t Matheson’s Nightmare at 20,000 Feet, right?

Sunday

Signing at The Book Stall in Winnetka, IL, again with my friend B.T. Gottfred. My husband’s cousins drove all the way up from Bloomington to see us! Absolutely charming bookstore, and I applaud the locals for coming out on a frigid SuperBowl Sunday to see us.

Wow thanks for sharing Gretchen! Her week looks like it was so much fun! It’s good to see that a writer’s life isn’t always deadlines and typing while hunched over a keyboard, sipping soda or coffee to stay awake. There are perks too! Book release day must be such a big moment in the life of an author.

For those of you who’d like to learn more about Gretchen and her books, go to her website.

Until next time,

Linda Louise Lotti

This entry was posted in Featuring Authors, The Modern Ink Society.

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Author Bio

Linda

I’m Linda Louise, one of the bloggers on this website and Colleen’s little sister. I’m just a girl in her mid-thirties who feels thirteen when I play outside with my boys, fifteen when I sing my heart out listening to tunes while driving by myself, and sixty five when I go out past ten at night. I have a thing for junior mints, Mt. Dew, shrimp and kale (though not all at once) and I have a crush on Superman. I still get girlish butterflies when I read Twilight, cry when I read These is My Words, and smile from ear to ear when I read Anne of Green Gables. I have nightmares about aliens on a regular basis and I have a bad habit of midnight snacking. I love everything sports, except golf (although can that honestly be considered a sport??), and I hate anything that slithers, hisses, or stings. I have a problem with giggling at inappropriate moments and I sometimes wish life was a musical. I love science, hate math, love Dr. Seuss, and hate olives. My family is my world and my joys come from their happiness. I’ve learned I don’t know much about anything and I live for a good adventure, naps, cuddles, stories, exceptional food and The Shire.

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