Welcome Debut Author Linda Kage

It is my pleasure to host debut author Linda Kage on my blog this week. Linda's Young Adult book, The Stillburrow Crush released last Friday in electronic form and can be found in paperback at The Wild Rose Press, BN.com, and Amazon.com.
When Linda and I talked about doing this blog we decided it would be fun to interview her heroine, sixteen-year-old, Carrie Paxton and let her tell you a bit about her story. Here's Carrie:
Hi Carrie, welcome to my blog.

Thank you so much! It's an honor to be here. And between you and me, I'm glad you chose to interview me instead of Luke (unlike that traitorous author of mine, Linda Kage who interview HIM on her February 25th blog) because, honestly, it was MY story, not his.

Why don't you start by telling us a little something about yourself?

Sure. My name is Carrie Paxton. I'm a junior in high school and live in the very small, very unknown (okay, okay. It's fictional) town of Stillburrow, Kansas with my parents and---until very recently--my older brother, Marty. I'm the editor of the school's newspaper and very proud of that fact. My best friend is the biggest geek a body could meet. And up until a few weeks ago, I'd never been kissed (blushes). But I can't say that anymore!

You write for the school paper. What do you love about it? What do you hate? What would you change about it, if you could?

The Central Record. Ahh (that's me sighing with delight). I love pretty much everything about the school paper. I like being in control of where each article is placed (well, mostly in control. The townspeople would flip if I moved their precious sports section). I love writing every article--even the sports section. And I love the smell of the paper fresh off the press. Heck, I even love going around and passing out each edition. The most annoying part of the paper is some of the people I write it for. But come on, who really cares where the sports section goes, especially if nothing is happening in sports that week. Geesh. I agree with E.T. on that count.

Want to tell me about your brother Marty? I mean, you care about him, don't you? Even though he teases you something horrible. What would you wish for him if you could give him a wish?

A year ago--heck, a MONTH ago--I would've answered, "Marty's an idiot. It's practically mandatory to give back to him as good as he gives me in the teasing department. But since he's my brother, I guess I gotta love him." But these days, I'm more in the mind to say, "I love Marty, but since we're brother and sister, we simply MUST pick on each other from time to time--more often than not!" You see, everything changed that day in the cemetery when he turned to me and my parents for support. It made me realize how much I really did care for my big bro. And the fact that he was still worried about me being with Luke, even though he was suffering through his own crisis, was really very sweet, even if it was totally unnecessary. If I could give him anything right now, I would take away all his pain and suffering.

Stillburrow is a very small town with what you see as an obvious social order. How do you feel about that? Do you think it will ever change?

I'm gonna feel like I'm repeating myself, but....a month ago, I would've said, "Nope. This place will never progress into the twenty-first century." But, like in my Marty answer, things have really changed around here, or maybe I've just changed my perspective on things. I would've thought me being seen walking hand in hand with Luke Carter down the school hallways would cause a national scandal. But, honestly, no one flipped out. And now, after everything that went down with my brother and his tragedy, I think the entire town has been shaken up. Maybe the good citizens of Stillburrow will surprise me and band together, kind of like my family has done in the face of such heartbreak. We'll see.

Now the big question--Luke Carter, football quarterback, secret poet, crush worthy hunk--what's really going on there? And why, oh, why do you feel as if he is "above" you in status. I mean, you are a smart, sassy, strong young lady, Editor of the what is in essence the town's newspaper. Why is it so hard to believe he might find you interesting and attractive?

Ha! Thank you so much for the poet comment. He'll just LOVE that being exposed...again. I'm going to have so much fun teasing him. I just love teasing that boy. I think that's why we like each other so much. We both have a secret obsession with getting a rise out of other people, or maybe just getting out of each other. Whatever it is, it's pretty serious and I think it's pretty permanent too. Now that we're together, I can't imagine being away from him.

And onto the "I'm not worthy" question: Thank you so much for all your compliments about me. I've never seen myself the way you described me, and I probably never will. I'm just plain ol' me. But it's entirely too easy to see Luke as amazing. Maybe you just have to get within five feet of him to experience the sensation, but something about him simply takes your breath away. Even when I thought he was merely a pretty face, and I hadn't seen any of his hidden depths yet, he made my heart pound and my skin tingle. It's just easier to look past his faults than it is to look past my own.
Oh and between us- weren't you just a little jealous of his gift for poetry?

A little?! (SNORT). Try a lot. I still think it's totally not fair.

What do you feel about Linda Kage your author? If given the chance would you want to write her story?

Other than the fact that I'm still miffed she interviewed Luke and not me on her blog, I gotta like the woman. She honestly tried to keep herself out of MY story. She let me tell it my way, giving me the opportunity to spill my own opinions--not hers--and react however I pleased to everything. As a fellow writer, I respect that. And of course, I'd love to write her story. I'd love to write YOUR story, Ms. Parra. But that's just me. I like to write people's stories and find that hidden part inside them that makes them unique from everyone else.

Now for a few easy questions:
What is your favorite color?

Blue, like the color of Luke's eyes (SIGH).

Favorite hobby?

Writing. Wow, you really meant it when you said easy questions.

And most importantly, your favorite flavor of Lip Smackers?

Yikes. Hmm. I've never much been into lip smackers until recently, so I'm pretty new to all the flavors. But I heard there was a Dr. Pepper brand. Since that's my favorite soda pop, I'll go with that for now. But I'd still like to experience all of them before making my final decision!

Thanks for coming by and talking with us.

Thank you so much for having me here. This was really fun.

I had the opportunity to read The Stillburrow Crush and while I'm not a reviewer I would like to say it was a fun story. I grew up in a small Kansas town and boy did this bring back memories. Kage captures small town characters and teen emotions perfectly. The story will take you back to another place and time when all that mattered was what grade you got on your math test and who did or did not see you with the most popular boy in school.

Feel free to leave a comment-the blog will be up most of the week. On Friday I will put all the commenter's names in Gracie Boo-boo's dish and she will draw a winning name. The winner will receive a prize package that includes a paperback copy of the book, a Dr. Pepper Lip Smacker, and a cocoa hand lotion. Cheers~