Jennifer Echols: Going Too Far
Teen Book Clubs
April 16, 2009. Queenie C chats with Jennifer Echols, author of the young adult novel
Going Too Far.
Teen Book Clubs Author: Interview with Jennifer Echols
Many
people, young adults and those that are grown, hide behind their appearances and behaviors as a type of defense mechanism. Have you ever done so?
Can you relate to Meg?
I
am fascinated by the show What Not to Wear (as you know if you've read my book The Boys Next Door). Personally, I have absolutely no
interest in fashion. However, as a salesman, my husband is very attuned to appearances and what they say about people. He knows that people really
do make split-second decisions about how they'll treat a person based on how that person looks. (This is why everyone is so fascinated right now
with the Susan Boyle audition on Britain's Got Talent--it defies expectations.)
Meg looks the way she does for a reason, as she explains in the book. But once she looks that way, people treat her a certain way, she reacts, and
her look becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. She realizes this and changes. In that sense, this book is a makeover story just like What Not to Wear.
Teen Book Clubs Author: Interview with Jennifer Echols
To
me, this book is about living life to its fullest and fulfilling dreams. Do you believe that you have fulfilled the majority of your dreams?
Besides writing, do you have any more dreams that you are working towards or have accomplished?
It
took me 15 years of trying to get a book published. I thought that was my dream fulfilled. However, my friends who were already published warned
me that the struggle would not end there. Indeed, after you finally sell a book, there is no guarantee you will sell another. And there is a constant
tug-of-war between your artistic vision and the types of books that sell. As it turns out, my real dream was not to be published, but to be successful
enough in publication that I could really concentrate on my writing and not worry so much about that next phone call from my literary agent. I'm
still working on it.
Teen Book Clubs Author: Interview with Jennifer Echols
Teen Book Clubs Author: Interview with Jennifer Echols
The
friendship between Tiffany and Meg seemed unnatural at first, but opposites do attract. Do you have friends that are the complete opposite of
yourself and turned out to be exactly what you needed in life?
I
grew up in a town of about 15,000 people in Alabama. Of my three best friends, one was very much like me, and two were my opposites in interests,
taste, demeanor, politics, religion, you name it. I'm still close to all three of them.
One of the great things about growing up in that town was that there was only one public school for each grade and no private school, so we all
became friends with people who were very different from ourselves in terms of race, religion, and socioeconomic status. In that situation you
learn to get along with people and value what they have to offer you. I would not trade that experience for anything.
Teen Book Clubs Author: Interview with Jennifer Echols
Teen Book Clubs Author: Interview with Jennifer Echols
The
relationship between Meg and her parents seemed strained due to aggravation, grief and misunderstandings. Why did you take this angle on their
relationship?
I
work as a copyeditor for medical journals. I've read so many articles about the support systems offered to families caring for a sick loved one,
and how many people fall through the cracks. I became interested in telling the story of those people left behind. You can see in the novel that
help is being offered to Meg and her family, but because of their relationships with each other and their financial situation going into this
stressful time, they are not able to take advantage of that help.
Teen Book Clubs Author: Interview with Jennifer Echols
Teen Book Clubs Author: Interview with Jennifer Echols
If
the young adult audience that reads this book can take away one lesson from it, what would you want that to be?
Accept
help when you need it.
Teen Book Clubs Author: Interview with Jennifer Echols
Can
you share anything about your current writing projects with us?
This is my only dramatic novel so far. My other books out right now are the Simon Pulse Romantic Comedies Major Crush and The Boys Next Door.
My third romantic comedy, The Ex Games, will be published on October 6. It's about a snowboarder who challenges her ex-boyfriend to a battle
of the sexes on the slopes.
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