Reading, Writing, and Me

Today, Chris Tebbetts stops by the blog to talk about Me, Myself, and Him , his writing process, and transitioning through genres. I loved hearing about how the book came together and his thoughts on balancing a dual timeline story. If you haven't heard about the book yet, click here for more background information. 1. The story has a very intriguing premise. What was the spark? First of all, I have to give a nod to the movie SLIDING DOORS, which was the first time I ever saw a story tackled in this way—following the main character through two different outcomes from the same incident. In the case of ME, MYSELF, AND HIM, that incident is something I drew from my own experience, a drug-fueled accident I had when I was nineteen. After that, the story explores what might have happened if my character lied about the accident, AND, it explores what might have happened if he got busted by his parents for it. As a storyteller, I love that kind of “what if?” thought experiment. It’s

Me Myself and Him  by Chris Tebbetts Overview & Review: If you love the idea that there are multiple timelines for every decision you make, you're going to love this book. After Chris takes a hit of whippets and falls, bashing his face in, his life is split in two. In one reality, he stays in town, getting away with it, allowed to spend his last summer before college with his best friends. In the other, he's forced to move to his father's place to live with his step mother and a dad he barely knows. As these stories parallel, Tebbetts does a great job of keeping the stories both fresh and on the same beat, balancing detailing events with flashing forward. It's a cinematic style of telling the story that's a lot of fun to visualize. I also love that it asks the "what if" question we all ask every time we take a turn. Come back on Friday to read my interview with Chris where we really dive into the origin of the story, the way his background influe

Please Send Help  by Gaby Dunn & Allison Raskin Overview:  Ava and Gen have been friends forever, and now they're long distance friendshiping (finally in the same time zone at least). In this story told through emails and texts, Ava and Gen offer each other moral support as they traverse the ups and downs of life at 22.  Overall: 4 Characters: 4  Ava and Gen both have a lot going on in their lives, and they handle these situations with varying degrees of success. Ava is living in New York working at a late night show. Office politics take her anxiety to new heights, and she makes her fair share of mistakes. What I really liked about Ava, though, was that no matter how catastrophic the scenario was or how overdramatic she got, she was always able to put a new spin on the bad things in a way that was not peppy and sort of annoying but refreshingly realistic. Gen, on the other hand, is a lot more out there. While Ava navigated a lot of more practical situations, Gen moves to

Queen of Geek  by Jen Wilde Overview: Charlie is a famous You Tuber whose indie film has exploded in popularity. It's landed her at SupaCon in San Diego with two of her best friends. While there, Taylor and Jamie try to find a way for Taylor to meet her favorite author, and Charlie has to do tons of press with her exboyfriend. Luckily, though, the magic of the con brings them all some good luck and memorable moments. Overall: 4  Characters: 4 Charlie is so much fun. She's confident, has pink hair, and is full of life. She has some interesting commentary on being famous and also on how fandom works when people ship actors together in real life. Taylor has anxiety and is on the autism spectrum. She's the biggest fan of the Firestone series, but winning the contests to meet the author requires her to step way outside of her comfort zone. With Jamie by her side, she reclaims a lot of confidence and makes the con her own. Plot: 4 If you love books about celebrity and cons