A Tasty Read: I am going to take a few seconds to be a Fan Girl and tell you how much Saving June Rocked! Especially the Music... How did you select the songs that would be featured throughout the book? Are you a music buff like Jake Tolan?
Hannah Harrington: Thank you so much! As for the music-- I'm definitely not quite the obsessive Jake is, but I'm a fan. A lot of the music included are songs and artists I grew up with or discovered as a teen and other favorites of mine. But I didn't want to just shoehorn any specific songs in, I wanted them to be relevant and organic to the story, so I tried to be careful about that.
Hannah Harrington: Thank you so much! As for the music-- I'm definitely not quite the obsessive Jake is, but I'm a fan. A lot of the music included are songs and artists I grew up with or discovered as a teen and other favorites of mine. But I didn't want to just shoehorn any specific songs in, I wanted them to be relevant and organic to the story, so I tried to be careful about that.
A Tasty Read: So many of the songs reminded me of my childhood. It was a nice experience to be taken back. So, speaking of Jake.....(Swoon....the seventeen year old girl inside me has a MEGA CRUSH), He takes Harper and Laney on a Road Trip across the country. have you ever done anything so CRAZY??
Hannah: Nothing that crazy! The closest I came as a teenager was when I was seventeen, a bunch of friends and I rented a van and drove from Michigan to New York City for a political protest. It was a sort of spur-of-the-moment decision for me to go, and I think I had maybe twenty dollars for the whole trip. It was my first time being in a big city like that too, which made it extra exciting. Of course, for my road trip I did have parental permission, unlike Harper and Laney!
A Tasty Read: Sounds like a great trip, slightly responsible, but still rebellious. I like it! As a fellow writer, I know about finding a great story in anything and everything, so where did the idea for Saving June come from?
Hannah: It didn't really come from one place. Some of my personal experiences informed the story, some of it was inspired by music I love. Using a road trip as a literal and figurative journey for characters isn't new, but it's one of my favorite tropes, and it felt fitting for the story!
Hannah: It didn't really come from one place. Some of my personal experiences informed the story, some of it was inspired by music I love. Using a road trip as a literal and figurative journey for characters isn't new, but it's one of my favorite tropes, and it felt fitting for the story!
A Tasty Read: Believe me, whatever you did, WORKED! I got choked up so many times reading Saving June. The emotions we follow Harper through were so real. How was the writing process for you? Was it a roller coaster of emotions everyday, or were you able to separate yourself from the characters pain?
Hannah: I didn't get too emotional while actually writing the story, and I love writing the heavy emotional stuff, so it wasn't a drain for me. The hardest scenes were probably the scattering of the ashes and June's letter, since they're two of the most important parts of the story and I really wanted them to live up to everything that came before. Actually, the most emotional I got was after I turned in the final version to my editor, after rounds of revisions-- just knowing it was officially out of my hands and letting those characters go after I'd spent so much time with the story. It was sort of sad and wonderful at the same time.
A Tasty Read: I can only imagine. Are you able to tell me about your next book, Speechless?
Hannah: Yes! SPEECHLESS will be published by Harlequin Teen in September 2012. It's the story of a girl named Chelsea Knot who takes a vow of silence after her gossip-mongering ways yield unexpected consequences. There's another romance involved with that one too, of course!
A Tasty Read: Of course...we have to have our romance, especially in a YA! Hannah, Thank You so much for chatting with me today. Saving June was such a Kick Ass book, and I will be recommending it to everyone. I will keep my eyes peeled for Speechless in 2012, and you will have to come back to chat with me about it!!
Hannah: Absolutely! Thank you so much for having me!
Delectable Guest
Saving June won Gold in the Young Adult-Mature Issues Category at the Moonbeam Children's Book Awards. Visit Hannah's Blog to Read More.
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