Waiting on Wednesday...I Knew You Were Trouble- Paige Toon

Is it really Wednesday again already?! It must be time for Waiting on Wednesday...

 

Having read and loved The Accidental Life of Jessie Jefferson last year, I am jigging about like an excited bumblebee for the next instalment! Paige Toon has a loyal fan base for her women's fiction titles, but she's now building a name for herself as an author of YA too.  I love the bright, summery cover-so very different to the first Jessie book, but equally as eye catching. 

 

I can't wait to read this one, it feels like I've been waiting for it for AGES!

 

The Blurb

Life as the undercover daughter of a rock god isn't going to be easy. How will Jessie adjust to her old boring life again after spending her summer living it up with her dad in LA? With tough decisions ahead (and not just choosing between two hot boys), can she cope juggling her two very different lives?

Summer may be over, but Jessie's story is just beginning…

I Knew You Were Trouble is released on 30th July 2015 and available for preorder now.

The Accidental Life of Jessie Jefferson- Paige Toon

 

Last week I travelled to Manchester to meet bestselling author Paige Toon (you can read about it here ). 

I was incredibly excited to delve into The Accidental Life of Jessie Jefferson, Paige's first young adult book, convinced it would be an entertaining and gripping read.  I wasn't wrong.  From the first page I was hooked and although I had a very busy week I devoted as much time as possible to reading it as I was so keen to find out what would happen!  This book travelled with me on buses, to work, into the kitchen whilst I cooked tea... I couldn't put it down!

Jessie Jefferson is an ordinary girl, from an ordinary suburban town in Britain, part of an ordinary family.  Yet when her Mum dies leaving her living with her stepfather, Jessie decides it is time to find out the truth about her biological father.  Imagine her shock when she finds out it is none other than rock star Johnny Jefferson...

Although written for a YA audience, there is plenty in this book for the NA or wider adult audience to get excited about.  Firstly, it is written in a way which is highly accessible without being patronising or belittling.  The pace is quick which allows the reader to become quickly immersed in Jessie's life, and for those who have read Paige's other books you will love finding out a bit more about your favourite characters (although this is a stand alone read there is an overlap with characters from the Johnny books).  I adored Jessie-she is the typical teenager-full of selfdoubt one minute and sass the next.

This is a perfect book for anyone who has ever fallen out with their best friend/fallen in love/lost someone they love/wished they had a celebrity lifestyle...so pretty much a perfect book for everyone.

Oh, and One Direction get a mention.  If you know me, you know that's a bonus.  Zayn and Harry get namechecks.  I can forgive the omission of Louis's name check just this once, seeing as it's Paige.

The Accidental Life of Jessie Jefferson is out now.

9/10

Paige Toon Book Signing- Waterstone's, Manchester 8/2/2014

 



It isn't every day you get to meet a bestselling author (well, admittedly, I do it reasonably regularly, but you know what I mean) and meeting the lovely Paige Toon at Waterstone's in Manchester's Arndale Centre today was an absolute pleasure.  Paige happily signed copies of her novels, including her YA debut The Accidental Life of Jessie Jefferson and made time to talk to her readers and pose for photos.  It was also lovely that she remembered the Books with Bunny blog and that she had taken part in a Q and A with us last year (you can read it here).



Me and my boy meet 'Page Two'

My excitable six year old was also delighted to meet Paige, he was slightly obsessed with her name being 'Paige Toon' which he noted is exceptionally close to 'Page Two'...  That boy and his imagination...I wonder where he gets it from ?!  He also says she was very pretty and that he liked that he got to sit in her chair (whilst we were waiting he decided to sit in the author hotseat-warming it up for Princess Paige!), and she was incredibly patient with his attempts to foist pens, post its and protractors onto her!

 

Another lovely aspect of going to book signings is being surrounded by likeminded people, people who have the same passion for reading, appreciation for the hard work involved in writing a novel and who still value the importance of a 'real' book.  After all, you can't get an ebook signed, and if you could it wouldn't have that same physical presence.  Today I finally met my twitter friend @EmmaLouAuthor who is a fellow book blogger and who is also trying to get her own writing published.  We seem to be incredibly similar so it was really lovely to meet in person and be able to give each other a real hug rather than a cyber hug!   I also got to meet Gemma who was a sweetheart as well, the time waiting for Paige flew by as we were jabbering away about Lego, Harry Potter, One Direction and of course, books. 

 

It was a wonderful day spent with genuinely nice people, well worth an early start for.  I also had the opportunity to start The Accidental Life of Jessie Jefferson on the train home, and I have a feeling it could be Paige's best book yet.  I was immersed in Jessie's world, completely and utterly.  The gamble to expand and write for the YA audience has definitely paid off in my eyes!









One Perfect Christmas - Paige Toon

Day three of the Advent-ures in Fiction feature and bestseller Paige Toon is back on the blog! 

One Perfect Christmas follows on from One Perfect Summer and updates us on the story of Alice and Joe.  Joe is now an international megastar and Alice can't escape her feelings for him any longer.  Find out what happened next in their relationship...

One Perfect Christmas is a novella rather than a full length book, and although it doesn't feel rushed I would have loved to have had a really meaty chunk of a festive read from Paige to sink my teeth into.  She writes cracking romantic chicklit with characters that come across as being very human, full of the neuroses we have about not being enough for the one we love. 

This isn't an especially festive read despite some seasonal references, so could be enjoyed at any time of year.  I'd definitely recommend reading One Perfect Summer first to get to know the characters and appreciate the journey Joe and Alice have been on together. 

This is short and sweet, a perfect winter treat.

One Perfect Christmas is out now in ebook format.

8/10

Paige Toon Q and A

Today I am delighted to welcome the wonderful
 Paige Toon to my blog!  Paige writes fantastically entertaining rom-com books, and today is the release day of her ebook novella Johnny's Girl.

Do you find it easier to write a novella than a full length novel, or do both have different challenges?
It's definitely easy to write a shorter book, but that's probably because my two short story ebooks have been sequels, so I already know the characters inside out and it's easy - and so lovely - to step in and continue their story.

Did you always plan to write books that have an overlap of characters/follow a sequence?
No. I got the idea from Marian Keyes, one of my favourite authors. Rachel's Holiday mentions the heroine from Watermelon and I was so happy to have that little update. I wanted readers to know what happened to Lucy and Nathan, so I decided at the last minute to make a minor character the main character in my next book, Johnny Be Good - just so I'd have an excuse to have her mention Lucy and Nathan. I've done it ever since and I like that it keeps my characters alive - my readers do, too!

Do you base your characters on people you know, or are they entirely fictional?
They're pretty much fictional - sometimes someone will say something funny and I'll put the comment in a book, but mostly they're figments of my imagination - or sometimes inspired by other fictional characters I've loved from films, for example.

Which of your books was the hardest to write?
Looking back, it was probably Johnny Be Good because I was pregnant and couldn't get my head around the big changes that were happening. I was desperate to write my book before I had my baby, but I wasn't connected to the book. After my son Indy was born, I actually went back and re-wrote the first half of the book, then wrote the second half in about two months - and I loved it. It was like an emotional block had been removed.

Which was the easiest?
Lucy in the Sky - or actually, possibly One Perfect Summer, which I wrote very quickly. It was the first book since Lucy in the Sky that I had childcare for - my son was at school, my daughter had a few hours at nursery - and I could write again to music and lose myself in the story without worrying that my child was about to wake up from nap time!


Which is your favourite out of your books?
My favourite changes, but I think it could be Pictures of Lily. I'll probably read The Longest Holiday in a couple of years and decide that's my favourite - my readers think it could be my best.

What is the best book that you have read in 2013 so far?
I have been absolutely addicted to The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. Can't wait for the last book to come out next year!

With huge thanks to Paige for answering my questions.  Johnny's Girl is out today and can be bought from Amazon here.