Book Giveaway and Author Interview: Borrowing Abby Grace by Kelly Green

Borrowing Abby Grace by Kelly Green

Smart and sassy Abby Grace is a seventeen-year-old with a talent for getting out of trouble. Sent to repair the lives and loves of teenagers on the edge of disaster, Abby is the perfect girl for the job. She has everything going for her… except one thing: a body.
This fast-paced and exciting episode is the first installment in an ongoing mystery series with a supernatural twist.
Episode 1
When Abby Grace wakes up in the back of a van, she has no idea who she is, how she got there, or why anyone would want to kidnap her. After escaping her masked captors, she hurries home, only to discover that she unknowingly left her younger brother behind in the van. Unable to answer the police’s questions with her memories gone, she retreats to the safety of her bedroom where she tries to reconstruct her life. Just as she is settling into the belief that things will one day return to normal, she looks in the mirror—and sees a stranger’s face.
As Abby learns next, she has become a Shadow, sent to inhabit the lives of strangers in trouble. With nothing to go on except the vague hints of her cute but maddening Guardian, a 19th century ghostly teenager named Will, Abby sets out to rescue the missing brother. But she will need all of her intelligence, fearlessness, and wit, because if she fails to find him in time, she will remain trapped in this unfamiliar body forever.
Episode 2: Girl Steals Guy http://t.co/MZ01r1Aq
Dropped into the life of a gorgeous senior with a heartbroken best friend, Abby Grace must navigate high school keg parties, football games and power couples as she discovers that love and revenge are sometimes the same thing. (Linkable)
Episode 3: Teacher’s Pet (Nov 21st release date; preview at www.borrowingabbygrace.com)
Abby finds herself in a boy’s body for the first time, where she has to fumble her way through a secret love affair, while getting to the bottom of a grade-tampering scandal that could send her to jail.

Thank you Kelly for your time!

--The Twitter version: tell us about your book in 140 characters or less.
Abby Grace wakes up to find she is a ghost with missing memories and must rescue a kidnapped boy or be trapped in a strange body forever.

--How did you get the idea for the story?

I got approached by my publisher to do a series of Nancy Drew-esque novellas, only modernized with a sassy protagonist and a supernatural element. I’ve always loved sassy protagonists and supernatural books so I jumped at the chance. What especially excited me is reversing the traditional ghost story setup. Usually in ghost stories the protagonist is alive and solves an old unexplained mystery, some lingering hurt, and then the ghost goes away. But with Abby, she’s dealing with the very real problems of living people. They’re going on right now, these urgent and suspenseful dilemmas.

--Which character would you most/least like to have dinner with?

Wilhelm—he’s adorable. I have a total crush on him. And I’m in the middle of writing the next trilogy of Abby Grace books right now and learning a lot of interesting things about him! So dinner with my handsome, 19^th century quipster would be lovely …

--What are some of your favorite books? Do you still have much time to read?

I wish I had more time to read. I do still read at night, before going to bed, but not like I used to. Some of my all-time favorite books are: Coraline, The Hunger Games, Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy, A Wrinkle in Time, The Book Thief, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events series, and anything by Roald Dahl.

--Do you have any other works in progress? Any teasers or release dates?

My third book in the Borrowing Abby Grace series is scheduled for a December 7^th release. And I’m currently working on books 4, 5 and 6. They’re a trilogy I’m tentatively entitling “Nemesis.”

--If a fairy godmother told you your life could be like a favorite book for 24 hours, which book would you pick and why?
That’s hard. Hmm. Definitely not The Hunger Games! I need to start reading happier books… Maybe when Lyra and Will travel to the land of the Mulefa in The Amber Spyglass. That seemed like a lot of fun.

--Do you need anything to write (music, coffee, etc)? Are there any songs on your playlist- songs that inspired you or that were playing while you wrote?
I definitely need coffee! For music I listen to Pandora. Lots of different stations. 

--If you could have any superpower what would you choose?
Invisibility. I’d love to know what’s going on behind closed doors. It’s one of the appeals of writing Abby Grace (or any book for that matter)—seeing the secret lives of other people.

--Besides writing, what do you like to do in your free time?
Watching old episodes of the X-Files. Totally hooked.

--Is there anything else you want to add or say to your readers?

Thanks for reading my books! And get ready for some very cool twists…

Lightning round: this or that?

Vanilla or chocolate? Vanilla.

Edward or Jacob? Edward!

Hockey or soccer? Hockey.

Ebook or paper? Ebook.

Salty or sweet? Salty.

Beach or mountains? Mountains.

Phone call or email? Email.

Early bird or night owl? Night owl.

Dog or cat? Cat.

Messy or neat? Messy.

Ninjas or pirates? Ninjas!

And now for the contest:  
Whoever writes the best 140 character summary of the first episode of Borrowing Abby Grace wins a $10 Amazon voucher to use to download the books?

Contest ends 11/30 at 11:59pm EST, open to US. Please leave your 140 characters as a comment, along with a way to contact you if you win.