by 
Book & Author Details:
by Christine DuvalPublished by: Bloomsbury Spark
Publication date: December 19th, 2013
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult
An imperfect heroine plagued by bad choices and isolated
during what should be the best time of her life, readers are sure to identify with Laurel as she confronts teen pregnancy, in secret.
Barnes&noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/positively-mine-christine-duval/1117666255?ean=9781619634657&itm=1&usri=9781619634657&r=1
Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-CA/ebook/positively-mine
AUTHOR BIO:
“Hey Christine! I’m curious about where you got your inspiration for the
idea behind Positively Mine? It was unlike any book I’ve read, in a refreshing
way!”
A couple years ago my dearest friend announced she was pregnant and at the same
time my babysitter was going off to her freshman year of college. I don’t know
why but I started thinking, wow, if you were newly pregnant and heading away to
college, you really could hide it from people back home (I know I have a weird
brain). I’ve had 2 kids, so I know how the weight comes on and realized Laurel
could easily hide it through Thanksgiving and Christmas. Then I just let Laurel
tell me her story.
Christine, I really enjoyed Positively Mine. How did you weave together
elements of fiction with such a strong sense of place that was based on a
specific area of upstate?”
Easy…I lived up in the Finger Lakes for 4 years. It is a beautiful place when
the sun is shining but there are a ton of dark, grey, cold days. You live for
the sunny ones but honestly, when I was there in college, my mom received more
than her share of phone calls from me begging to come home just to see the sun.
Ultimately, the good friends I made kept me planted but it is a long, hard
winter (thus easy to hide behind a big coat).
“Hi Christine! Really enjoyed Positively Mine! What is your writing
process? Do you find you write better at certain times of the day or do you run
to the computer when inspired? Also, how did you connect with your publisher?”
I am the most undisciplined writer that ever lived! I have no process. I drive
a lot in my car and let the story unfold in my head and then go back home and
recreate it when I have time. Still, that usually backfires because at that
point my characters have changed their minds and all of a sudden I am writing a
completely different story. A prime example of this is in Positively Mine. I
never meant for Sheryl to end up pregnant. It happened as shocking for me as it
was for Laurel! Seriously, I was writing and all of sudden she just cleared the
room and announced it. I had no plan of this, no outline. Regarding Bloomsbury,
I saw on NA Alley – a blog I follow – that they were starting Bloomsbury Spark
and I sent an inquiry to Meredith Rich and a few months later the rest is
history!
“Hi Christine, I really enjoyed reading your book. Congratulations! Are
you working on a sequel? If so when can we expect it by 🙂 I would like to know
how long did it take you to complete your book?”
Thanks so much Beatriz! I am working on the sequel and hopefully will have it
complete this winter, afterPositively Mine is released. I wrote the first draft
two years ago during a NANOWRIMO competition (National Novel Writing Month),
where you are challenged to write 50,000 words in 30 days. Then I put it away
for December, picked it back up in January and had it complete to enter into
the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest around the third week of that month. But
it has evolved quite a bit since that version thanks to a bunch of beta readers
and a really good critique group who demanded more of my characters and more
from the plot.
starting out writing your first novel. It really is an inspiring month and
around the clock, through Twitter, there is someone in the world working on
their novel. I remember I used to do word sprints in the middle of the night
with a girl in South Africa. We’d turn on the timer and race write for ten
minutes then compare how many words we wrote. With NANOWRIMO, it is all about
quantity, not quality. You push yourself to write as much as you can and
amazingly by doing that, you let your guard down and really surprise yourself
with what you come up with. Plus, it forces you to look at your novel every day
so it is always with you, you are always thinking about your characters. And, there’s
one right around the corner since it is an annual event. Best of luck with your
project!
“One of the things that struck me about your book is the very strong and
distinct voice of Laurel. She feels very real. Is she based on anyone, or a
group of people, you know?”
She really isn’t based on any one person or even a group of people. Some of the
situations she finds herself in are based on real things. Not the pregnancy but
the premature death of her mom, the places, the struggle to move on while her
dad is building a new life with someone. I don’t think there is one person out
there who hasn’t witnessed, whether first hand or via a good friend, someone
who needs to accept a parent’s new husband or wife. And the gossipy
doorman…yeah.
I think the choice to write the book in first person, present tense helped to
strengthen Laurel’s voice. It isn’t an easy way to write because everything is
happening to your character while you are writing it. I was very influenced by
two books when I set out to create this story: Laurie Halse Anderson’s
“Speak” and Julie Buxbaum’s “The Opposite of Love.” I loved
how Laurie was able to keep Melinda quiet the whole year in a believable way
when she had such a big secret to tell. And, I love the way Julie balances
strong emotion and humor as her main character Emily is forced to face her
fears.
