Character Interview with Harper Kingsley (age 15)
Where do you live? San
Francisco
I'm reading I’m
reading A Wrinkle In TIme by
Madeleine L’Engle. It’s part of a summer
reading list I got at North Star. I’m
hoping to get through the entire list!
Favorite sport is tennis
Favorite food is sushi
or pizza
Top 3 people I text the
most...Piper, Jeremy and Cassie
Favorite place to shop
is I love Anthropologie! But my
friends and I also like to go to vintage stores and find one of a kind items!
On my iPod is Taylor
Swift
Favorite vacation spot
is North Star
Last movie I saw was Honestly,
I haven’t been into a movie in a while.
My family and I used to have a weekly family movie night. We haven’t done that since Braydon passed
away.
I drive a blue Jeep
Cherokee
Last family vacation
was before my brother died, but Mom, Dad and I are going to Cabo after the
holidays.
Last friend I talked to
was...Piper. We talk several times a day.
Five things you don't
know about me:
1) My newest obsession is hiking. It gives me time to forget everything and
just appreciate the beautiful city I live in.
2) I take a bath every night- I prefer them to
showers!
3) When I grow up I want to be a social
worker. I want to help people who are
going through difficult times.
4) I speak English,
Spanish and French
5) I never walk under a ladder but I don't
consider myself to be supersticious
*****
Benchmark
Georgie Hanlin and Shannon Swann
Release: December 12, 2014 from Evernight
Teen
55K/ contemporary/romance/minor fantasy element
Editor's Pick
Harper Kingsley has the
perfect life until her brother, Braydon, commits suicide. After his
death, Harper returns to North Star, a sailing camp on Whidbey Island where she
and Braydon spent eight summers together. Joining her are her three best
friends who are ready to rule Senior Hill. Harper just wants to escape to the
only place she feels is truly magical.
At North Star, Harper tries to forget her reality, but
it’s impossible because she comes face-to-face with her brother at a hidden
bench in the garden. Is it really him or just her imagination? She
knows Braydon is dead. Why is appearing in front of her? Scared at first,
Harper rejects his presence, but once he explains that she is the one who
brought him back, she wants to hear him out.
Harper chooses to keep these encounters to herself. Who
would believe her anyway? It’s Jeremy Miller, the camp’s ultimate
heartthrob and Piper’s ex, to
whom she will eventually reveal her secret. And he has a secret of his
own. Their camp romance turns Harper’s friends against her, giving her
one more thing to juggle this summer at North Star.
Excerpt:
“Seriously,
Harp,” she began, “if you and Jeremy like each other, you should just be honest
about it.” It was obvious to me that the three of them had been talking about
this behind my back.
“That’s not
even the point, Anna,” I barked defensively. “We don’t, I mean, I… he…
look, Jeremy’s a nice guy and he was friends with my brother.” I felt short of
breath trying to explain myself. “But that’s all irrelevant. The point
is: everything in this world can’t always be about Piper. At school, at
camp, wherever we are, it’s always about Piper and her boyfriends or her exes
or her soccer or her clothes or her life or whatever. I am so tired of her.” Those
were my honest feelings right at that moment, but deep, deep down, I knew I was
just jealous of her uninterrupted life.
“Look, I
know you’ve gone through a lot, this year Harp,” she whispered sympathetically,
undoubtedly trying to calm me down before we started to draw a bigger
crowd.
There was
the pity. I hated being pitied. I could feel my eyes start to well up so
I began to blink frantically to stop tears from falling down my face. I was so
sick of crying.
“Thanks
anyway, Anna, but you actually have no idea.” Anna had been nothing but a
friend to me, and I knew my words had hurt her. “One year ago, my life was
normal. It was happy and calm and predictable. I was up here having fun
with my brother and you guys, loving it all, probably just like you are this
summer. But, for me, it’s different now. Everything’s different. And it
won’t ever be the same again.” I was barely able to finish my sentence, but I
could see through my teary eyes that Anna looked uncomfortable, like she didn’t
know what to do with me. We had inched our way from the center to the
edge of the art shed, far enough from other people’s earshot, but close enough
for anyone paying attention to clue in on all the drama. I had to get out
of there. People were starting to stare.
About the Authors:
Georgie
Hanlin
Georgie
Hanlin grew up in San Francisco. She has a Bachelor’s degree from Scripps
College in French and History and spent her Junior Year abroad studying in
Paris. Georgie has Master of Arts degree in Education from Teachers College,
Columbia University. Her writing has been featured in The New York Times/International Herald Tribune, The Washington Post, The Christian Science Monitor, The San Francisco Chronicle and NPR. Georgie is a
teacher in Mill Valley and lives in San Francisco.
Shannon
Swann
Shannon Swann was born in Honolulu, but moved to New Jersey as a
child. She has a Bachelor’s degree from California State University, San
Francisco in Liberal Studies with an emphasis on Speech Communication. For
close to a decade, she worked in the fashion industry for some of most
well-known retail giants (GAP, Coach, Reebok) in San Francisco, New York and
Boston doing Product Development. She currently owns her own small
business, MooseCouture, and resides in Chicago where she is an avid animal
rights supporter (PAWS Chicago).
Giveaway:
$20 Amazon
Gift Card
Thanks so much for hosting us today, Krista.
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