Book Giveaway: Saving Yesterday by Jessica Keller

Back cover copy:       

Her blood holds secrets she never knew existed.

Despite the fact that she acts as a parent to her alcoholic father, Gabby Creed feels pretty normal. But her life is turned upside-down on her seventeenth birthday when a bracelet appears on her wrist and sucks her back through time.

Turns out she’s not even a little bit normal. She’s a Shifter—a protector of humans and of history itself. And she’s not alone. The other Shifters believe Gabby is special, even more special than the mysterious Michael Pace. Oh, and the Shades—seriously creepy creatures who feed off of human despair—are determined to capture her.

It’s all a lot to absorb. So Gabby’s grateful to have Michael as her Trainer—or she would be if she could get her rebellious heart under control. Then again, if the rumors about her blood are true, saving yesterday will be the least of her worries.

My thoughts:

I love a good romance, it doesn’t matter if it’s a historical or not. I love to be swept away in a good story line, so when Jessica asked me to feature her new book on my blog I said sure! I knew she wrote romance, so we were good to go.  Boy was I surprised when to find out she also writes Young Adult Fantasy.  This is way outside my realm of normal, but you know what?   This book is AWESOME! This is the first book of Jessica’s I have read and I’m hooked.  She is an amazing writer. I loved how she developed Gabby and Michael’s story.  At the core of every love story there has to be a friendship, and Jessica showed us how to masterfully write a love story between two teenagers.  I closed this book and asked the empty room, “WHERE IS BOOK 2??” It’s that good, people.  Do you like time travel, creepy things that lurk in the shadows, alternate worlds, real people trying to work out the problems of the world? Well, then this book is for you. It’s a high paced action packed book and trust me you will not be able to put it down. 

 

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Jessica was kind enough to be a guest on our blog today.   Hello, Jessica! Welcome to suburbanthoughts!

Please tell us about the characters and how you picture them. I love finding out how an author pictures a character. I feel like we are being let in on a secret.

When a story idea strolls into my mind the very first thing I have to do (before I can even start plotting!) is find images of people who match the characters I’m seeing in my head. I usually print out pictures

and put them where I’m writing. They serve as inspiration and also help me keep the physical descriptions consistent throughout the book.

There are many sites that you can use to find images—modeling websites, stock photo sites, hair styling sites, and sales catalogues all work well, but my go-to is often image searches for actors, actresses, and musicians. Why do I choose famous people? Mostly because I’ve discovered it’s easier for someone to form a frame of reference if you equate your character’s looks to someone popular.

The hero and heroine for Saving Yesterday have been clear in my head from the beginning, but oddly enough, both of them evolved as I wrote the story.

Let’s start with the heroine, Gabby Creed. Gabby’s seventeen and has long, black hair. She’s petite and needed to be of Spanish descent. Though small, Gabby isn’t someone who can be shoved around. She possesses a quick wit and isn’t afraid to stand against opposition. Add to the mix that she’s trained in self-defense and is fiercely loyal to those she calls friends and finding a person that matched her became a tall order.

I finally settled on a young Selena Gomez, but she never felt quite right. Selena’s smile is a little too sweet for Gabby. Then I sent my manuscript out to beta readers and one of my readers sent me a link to some pictures of Spanish actress Martha Higareda—we’d found Gabby. What do you think? Does she fit the description better?

Now the hero. Dear, wonderful, Michael Pace. Michael’s a bit of a wounded hero—he’s selfless, but sometimes for the wrong reasons. He has dark hair, kind eyes, and a dimple that appears on only one cheek. When Gabby first sees him she can’t place his age because he looks like a mixture of man and boy. Michael’s lean, but packs a lot of strength at the same time. I knew right away that Michael could only ever be one actor for me—Josh Hutcherson (and this was BEFORE Hunger Games).

Josh wasn’t exactly the person I had in my head either, but he was a very, very close fit and all the interviews I’d seen of JHutch (okay, I might be 30 but I’m a big fan!) he fit how Michael often acted. Then recently when I was pulling together promotional images for the release of Saving Yesterday, I stumbled upon the image below (I added the text) and low and behold Michael Pace was found. The young man in the photo might as well have walked right out of my brain. Seriously.

What do you think? Do you like when authors can compare their characters to movie stars, or would you rather image the hero/heroine on your own? Leave a comment and be entered to win your own copy of this book!  I will draw a name on Friday, March 7th.

Bio:        

A Starbucks drinker, avid reader, professional fangirl, and chocolate aficionado, Jessica Keller is multi-published in both Young Adult Fiction and Romance. When she’s not dancing in her car at a stoplight, you can find her at www.JessicaKellerBooks.com, on Twitter @AuthorKeller or on her Facebook Author Page. (www.facebook.com/jessicakellerauthor)