Title: The Way to Game the Walk of Shame
Author: Jenn P Nguyen
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary Romance
Release Date: June 7, 2016
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Taylor Simmons is screwed.
Things were hard enough when her single-minded dedication to her studies earned her the reputation of being an Ice Queen, but after getting drunk at a party and waking up next to bad boy surfer Evan McKinley, the entire school seems intent on tearing Taylor down with mockery and gossip.
Desperate to salvage her reputation, Taylor persuades Evan to pretend they’re in a serious romantic relationship. After all, it’s better to be the girl who tames the wild surfer than just another notch on his surfboard.
Definitely my love for Asian dramas. Specifically Korean dramas. I’ve watched so many of these dramas my whole life that I’ve sort of programmed myself to always have a romantic storyline in anything that I write. Plus the format of these dramas are very similar to books. They’re generally about twenty episodes and each episode is like a chapter. I think this is why I always visualize my novel like a movie when I plot.
2. When writing a book, what is your favorite part of the creative process(outline, plot, character names, editing, etc)?
My favorite part would definitely be the outlining and plotting part. Is it cheating if I pick two? For me, both of these goes hand in hand as its just preparation before I start my first draft. Once I have a plot in mind, I usually expand it until it becomes a chapter by chapter outline. I can never start writing until I have a solid chapter outline in place. Preferably printed out if I could. I like having it next to me while I write.
3. When reading a book, what genre do you find most interesting/intriguing?
Although I am drawn the most to YA contemporary romance (obviously), I really admire all fantasy authors. Especially high fantasy. The world building possibilities are endless. Anything can happen. ANYTHING. Which is really daunting to me. How can you ever plot or outline when there are so many options? Everyone could have powers or only an elite few does. Or maybe you could trade your powers or lend it out as currency. Seriously, the possibilities are endless.
Maybe one day I’ll give into the fear and try to write a fantasy novel, but for now I’ll just bow down to fantasy authors and stick to my contemporary romances.
4. If you could co-author with any author, past or present, who would you choose?
I have a serious writer girl crush on Stephanie Perkins. Like very embarrassing, I-can’t-believe-I’m-admitting-this-to-everyone-online kind of crush. The first time I met her was at the Romantic Times convention a few years ago and I completely fangirled out. I’m fairly sure I just babbled nonsense words to her. But she was very sweet about it. Plus, her type of writing is just happy and swooningly romantic. It never fails to bring a smile to my face and that’s how I hope people will feel about my writing.
5. Have you always wanted to write or did it come to you "later in life"?
I’ve always loved books. Mainly because my sisters were all older than me so when they sat around and read so did I. I never thought about actually writing though until 7th grade when my English teacher, Mr. Tiller, told to write a story about a character in Harry Potter. While everyone else chose Ron or Hermione, I chose to write about Dudley’s birthday through his eyes. It was such a simple assignment, but I had so much fun that I couldn’t help wanting to do this for a living. It took a while for me to try my hand at finishing a full length novel though.
Jenn Nguyen fell in love with books in third grade and spent the rest of her school years reading through lunchtime and giving up recess to organize the school library. She has a degree in business administration from the University of New Orleans and still lives in the city with her husband. Jenn spends her days reading, dreaming up YA romances, and binge watching Korean dramas all in the name of ‘research’. The Way to Game the Walk of Shame is her debut novel.
