YA Fresh

What's Fresh with Jennifer Echols's The Boys Next Door

Lori lives for summertime on the lake. She spends all season wakeboarding, swimming, and hanging with her friends -- including the two hotties in the house next door. With the Vader brothers, Lori's always been one of the guys.

But while Lori and the "baby" brother, Adam, are inseparable friends, she can't deny a secret crush on Sean, the older Vader boy. This year Sean's been paying Lori a lot of attention, and not in a brotherly way.

But just as Lori decides to prove to Sean she's girlfriend material, she realizes that her role as girl friend to Adam may be even more important. And by trying so hard for the perfect summer romance, she could be going way overboard....

Hi Jennifer, thanks for agreeing to chat! Could you please tell us a little about your writing background and how you made your first sale?

Jennifer: I’ve worked as a newspaper writer and editor, a freelance writer and editor, and a writing instructor at three universities. I struggled for years to get a novel published and went through several agents, but finally Simon Pulse bought MAJOR CRUSH in 2005. It was published in 2006.

Readers and writers often like to get a behind the scenes peek of an author's writing routine. It would be great if you could please share your typical writing day schedule.

Jennifer: I get up at 4:30 and write until I have 1350 words or whatever my quota is for that day. When the weather’s as nice as it is now, I do this on the screened porch off my kitchen. Then I wander into my home office and start my “real” job as a freelance copyeditor. Lots of coffee is involved.

Please tell us about your latest novel, THE BOYS NEXT DOOR, and what we can expect from your characters.

Jennifer: THE BOYS NEXT DOOR was released by Simon Pulse in June. Lori is a tomboy who’s had a crush on her next-door neighbor Sean forever, and she decides this is the summer she’ll make her move. But Sean’s swashbuckling younger brother Adam, who’s actually Lori’s age, seems like a better and better match for her every time he sets something on fire.

Great, Jennifer! What's up next? Do you have another project in the works? If so, please tell us about it.

Jennifer: My teen drama BOY IN BLUE will be published by MTV books in February 2009. It’s about a rebellious teenager who is sentenced to accompany a police officer on his night shift patrol--and winds up falling for him.

Yay, MTV! :) Thank you again for chatting, Jennifer, I wish you the best with your writing. Would you like to close with a writing tip?

Jennifer: Write the book you want to read!

Jennifer Echols is the author of the National Readers Choice Award-winning Major Crush, about a high school pageant queen turned band geek in a small southern town. Boy in Blue, about a rebellious teen who is sentence to accompany a police officer on his night shift patrol—and falls for him, will be published by MTV Books in February 2009. Growing up on beautiful Lake Martin in Alabama, Jennifer learned to water-ski when she was five (wakeboarding wasn't invented yet). She now lives high and dry with her husband and son in Birmingham. Visit her on the web at www.jennifer-echols.com.