Today, J.E. MacLeod is celebrating her debut! Let’s give her a big hand. Just so you know, J.E. lives near the Rocky Mountains and grew up with a hockey-coach father and two brothers who played hockey. Inspiration for the book? I think so …

A little bit about WAITING TO SCORE.

Zack Chase, new in town, gets a crash course in the dangerous, fast-paced lives of local teen athletes. A good-looking, book-loving hockey star, Zack’s also expected to be a womanizing, alcohol-abusing party animal, but it’s not who he is. As jealous, obnoxious team captain Mac hounds him, Zack falls for Goth-girl Jane and befriends her teammate brother, both with their own secrets. Tragedy strikes and affects them all in this true-to-life debut novel, giving readers an insight into the lives of high school students and athletes.

If you had to give your book a movie rating: G through Rated R, which one would you give and why?

I don’t know.  I think Waiting to Score deals with a lot of serious subject matter, but to me, it’s realistic. I don’t really believe in censoring what kids read. There are consequences to actions in this book, and honestly if a parent and a teen both read it, I think it could open up some interesting discussions.  How about PG?

What topics, issues, or themes does your book address? What drove you to write about them?

My book addresses teen alcoholism, suicide and even date rape,  but in a way that I hope is not depressing. (If that’s possible lol) It’s a book about making choices. I had a pretty tough time as a teen and all these issues touched my life in some way. I write about it, because I care and I remember how hard things can seem when you are in the middle of it.  The biggest thing I hope I portray is that there is always hope if you can believe in yourself.

Name three examples of readers who would identify or like your book.

• Teenage boys trying to figure out who they are and where they fit in, what they want versus what their parent(s) want FOR them
• Teenage girls who wonder if boys have real feelings too.
• Parents who are wondering what their kids might face in high school. Waiting To Score doesn’t tiptoe but it does go beneath surface impressions.

List a few statistically improbable phrases or sentences one might find in your book. These are phrases or sentences you might never find anywhere else.

Even I get a little sick of the kind of girls who usually hang around hockey rinks. We called them Pucks in Kirkdale. Blondes and brunettes with tight clothes and made-up eyes. Pucks, hockey groupies, whatever. I kind of thought girls should have better things to do with their time. Giggling and hanging around boys who weren’t very nice to them didn’t strike me as overly ambitious.

How can your book be used in the classroom? Or if this book isn’t that kind of book, tell us why you think this book is different from the rest.

I think Waiting To Score could easily be used to open up discussions of who people really are, versus who they appear to be. I’ve gotten good feedback that Waiting to Score collapses some stereotypes, and I think the characters would open up a good discussion about not judging a book by it’s cover.

It would be a great tool for examining pressures kids have on them from their parents as well as peer pressure from other kids.

Now tell us about other already-published books that readers of your book might enjoy.

One reader compared the feel of Waiting To Score to Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson. Now that’s a reader I love! I think Waiting To Score would appeal to readers of Chris Lynch’s, Inexcusable,  and Gordon Korman’s,  Jake, Reinvented.

Now whet our appetites with a teaser. Please provide the first few lines or opening paragraph of your book.

I didn’t want to look up. Didn’t want to care.

But I did.

Are you offering authors visits to schools, libraries, or other organizations?

Yes!

Are you willing to speak nationally?

Well, I live in Western Canada, but I do love to travel!

List a few example titles of presentations, talks, or workshops you might give for an author visit.

1. The Writing Life- From Book Idea to Book Store
2. Overcoming Stereotypes in Fiction
3. The Changing Genre of Young Adult Fiction

This concludes our interview with our latest author, JE MACLEOD.  We wish her much success with her debut novel WAITING TO SCORE.

To see what JE is up to these days, visit her website at http://www.jemacleod.com or her blog at http://jemacleod123.blogspot.com/.

*GIVEAWAY ALERT*  J.E. is giving away 5 glow-in-the dark hockey pucks to five lucky winners. Tell your friends and  leave a comment by saying Hello to the author!  Enter by March 4th, 2009 11:59 PM CST.

Your email will  address will not be displayed publicly and will only be used to contact you if you win! And don’t forget to participate in our other AuthorsNow! giveaways.

About The Author

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