Racing Savannah Blog Tour - Interview with Miranda Kenneally

As part of the blog tour for her upcoming book Racing Savannah, I have the pleasure of having author Miranda Kenneally here on the blog today to answer some questions about her books and her writing process. Without further ado, here is what she had to say!

All of your characters, and what they go through, feels incredibly real. How much is taken out of your own experiences or from the people around you?

Ideas and jokes from all over the place have definitely made their way into my books in some form or another. I can't say that I've ever met a girl football player, but Jordan's feelings for Sam Henry are definitely pulled from crushes I've had in the past.

Real-life experiences inspired Things I Can't Forget. The situation wasn't anywhere near the same, but I did have a friend get an abortion and it affected me more than I thought it would. 

To make my books feel "real," I imagine the scene in my mind as I'm putting words on paper. I've found that helps my book pop.

Except for Things I Can't Forget, your books all have a sports element. Why did you choose to write about female athletes and those specific sports that aren't typically associated with girls.

To show girls they can do anything they want to do as long as they work hard.

What is your writing process like: do you outline and do a lot of research or just start writing and see where the story takes you? Or is it different for each book?

It depends on the book. Before I started writing Racing Savannah, I did research for two months and even took a trip to Kentucky to visit some big farms. With Catching Jordan and Staling Parker, I just started writing and did tons of drafts. For Catching Jordan, I researched football and went to some college and NFL games along the way. With Stealing Parker, I played softball for 8 years, so that made things easier. Things I Can't Forget had an outline, and I actually stuck to it for the most part. I didn't have to research camping at all because I'm foot at that, but I did do research on Planned Parenthood and other family planning issues. I sort of outline each book, but I rarely stick to it. I just go wherever the story takes me. 

Can you tell us anything about what you're currently working on or what we can expect from your future book(s)?

Yes! My July 2014 book, most likely titled BREATHE, ANNIE, BREATHE, is about a girl training to run a marathon in honor of her boyfriend who died. Before he passed away, he had been training for a marathon, and now Annie is going to attempt to finish on his behalf. But it will be hard because she can barely run two laps around the high school track.

Emilie: I personally CANNOT WAIT to read this!

How would you describe your Hundred Oaks books to someone who has never heard of them before?

My books are teen romances featuring a girl football player, a girl horse jockey, and a slightly naughty, misunderstood former softball player who goes after the school baseball coach.

Can you describe Racing Savannah in five words?

Badass girl horse jockey rocks!

About the Author

Miranda Kenneally is the author of CATCHING JORDAN, STEALING PARKER, THINGS I CAN'T FORGET, and RACING SAVANNAH. Her fifth book, most likely to be titled BREATHE, ANNIE, BREATHE, is doing out in July 2014. She enjoyed reading and writing young adult literature, and loves Star Trek, music, sports, Mexican food, Twitter, coffee, and her husband.

Find Miranda online on her Twitter or visit her website to find out more about her and her books.

Stealing Parker by Miranda Kenneally

Title: Stealing Parker (Hundred Oaks #2)

Author: Miranda Kenneally

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Release Date: October 1st, 2012

Source: Purchased

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository

Red-hot author Miranda Kenneally hits one out of the park in this return to Catching Jordan's Hundred Oaks High.

Parker Shelton pretty much has the perfect life. She's on her way to becoming valedictorian at Hundred Oaks High, she's made the all-start softball team, and she has plenty of friends. Then her mother's scandal rocks their small town and suddenly no one will talk to her.

Now Parker wants a new life.

So she quits softball. Drops twenty pounds. And she figures why kiss one guy when she can kiss three? Or four. Why limit herself to high school boys when the majorly cute new baseball cache seems especially flirty?

But how far is too far before she loses herself completely?

I pretty much adored Miranda Kenneally's debut Catching Jordan so I was very excited at the prospect of finally being able to read Stealing Parker. And once again Miranda Kenneally completely captured my heart with the story she wrote in this book. 

Parker always thought she would go on to being the valedictorian of her class, and as star of the softball team she was sure she would be able to play in college. But when her mom's secret comes out and causes a scandal in their small town, Parker turns her back on softball for fear of being told she's just like her mom. And to prove she's not like her mom, Parker decides the best way to do so if by kissing boys. Lots of boys. But that doesn't mean she doesn't want a relationship. So when the new baseball coach comes into town, Parker things that maybe he will finally be the one she's been looking for and the one she'll fall far. But what if it means losing herself in the process?

I started reading Stealing Parker one relaxing Saturday afternoon. The next thing I knew it was a few hours later and I was hugging the book to myself. Because that's exactly the kind of story it is. Right from the start you'll find yourself getting immersed in the story, picturing the characters as real people you are just spending time with. But I'll get to the characters later. On the surface, the story Miranda Kenneally wrote in this book sounds like a nice, fun, light story but it ends up being so much more than that. This is a story about a girl trying to find a place in a small town where everyone is judging her for things she hasn't done. It's also a story about faith, and figuring out when not to give up faith even when it seems like there isn't much to hold on to. And of course it's a story about friendship and romance. And that's what makes Stealing Parker so amazing. It's this mix of all these different stories and how they have been woven together perfectly by Miranda Kenneally.

Oh Parker. I feel for you, I really do. But sometimes you made some truly questionable decisions. Like the baseball coach for instance. But it's not really something I can hold against you in the grand scheme of things. But seriously, Parker from now on holds a place in my heart. It was great being able to see her growth over the course of the book, especially when it came to her faith and her relationship with others, in particular with her mom. And with Corndog/Will. This book has made me realize that I need Will Whitfield in my life. I just do. He is possibly the sweetest person ever and just seeing him with his little brother made my heart melt. And though he wasn't a main character in Stealing Parker I may just love Sam Henry even more than I did after reading Catching Jordan. For no reason in particular other than just because he is who he is. So moral of the story, I want Will Whitfield and Sam Henry in my life. That's really all I need to say about these two characters. 

Miranda Kenneally's Stealing Parker simply stole my heart, there's no other way to really explain how I feel about this book. From start to finish it was amazing and it truly felt like I was living it all with the characters at my side. I simply cannot wait for Miranda Kenneally's next book, Things I Can't Forget.