Welcome to The Bookish Babe's stop on the Vain Blog Tour! The tour is hosted by InkSlinger PR Blog Tours. My stop includes a guest post and giveaway!
Category/Genre: Young Adult ContemporaryPublisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: 12/25/12
If you’re looking for a story about a good, humble girl, who’s been hurt by someone she thought she could trust, only to find out she’s not as vulnerable as she thought she was and discovers an empowering side of herself that falls in love with the guy who helps her find that self, blah, blah, blah...then you’re gonna’ hate my story.
Because mine is not the story you read every time you bend back the cover of the latest trend novel. It’s not the “I can do anything, now that I’ve found you/I’m misunderstood but one day you’ll find me irresistible because of it” tale. Why? Because, if I was being honest with you, I’m a complete witch. There’s nothing redeeming about me. I’m a friend using, drug abusing, sex addict from Los Angeles. I’m every girlfriend’s worst nightmare and every boy’s fantasy.
I’m Sophie Price...And this is the story about how I went from the world’s most envied girl to the girl no one wanted around and why I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.
***
“Hold me tighter,” I whispered against his teeth. He clutched me closer yet not tight enough. “More,” I demanded.
He drew me firmer against him and I felt every ridge of his body.
“Is that close enough?” he laughed into my throat.
“Perfect,” I told him.
GUEST POST
The Hellacious Sophie Price
Sophie. Sophie. Sophie. *sighs* Where do I even begin?
When I sat down that first night after hashing her character out, my fingers sat motionless on the keyboard. Not because I couldn’t conjure up some nasty things. After all, what are imaginations for? It was because I struggled with the delicate balance that is her character.
I knew she had to be salacious, cruel, egotistical, of course, vain and someone with a complete disregard for anyone other than herself but I also knew that there had to be room for the reader to still believe in her, still find her likeable or at least hope to like her. In the beginning, she was the hardest character I’ve ever written simply for the fact that I felt I had to somehow convince the reader she was beyond redemption then turn around and redeem her but also make it believable.
I decided to fill her up with every conceivably vile attribute I’ve ever encountered in a girl. The sum of which would turn people off but keep them drooling over the pages to see what terrible thing she would do next. We’re voyeurs all of us. You’d be lying if you said you weren’t. (But that’s okay because we’re all human and what makes us human is what makes us so wonderful, so beautiful.) So I took that along with me. I also knew that she would only be convincing enough in that respect because, in order for people to act as Sophie did, they’d have to be one of two things: evil or truly lost. If I’d gone the way of evil, no one would have read past the first page because evil turned good isn’t as convincing nor as dramatic as someone lost. You lose a connection to that type of character but lost? Lost has potential to be believable because nothing is more attractive in someone than hope. It’s limitless.
Which is why I went with my gut. I told myself over and over again, “Write this book for you and for no one else.”
So I did.
Truthfully, I never thought anyone would read it. I thought its subject matter was unattractive because the character was so impossibly rancid or that her route to redemption was too heavy. I thought many would read the first few pages and drop it or get the gist of her from the synopsis and let her go which is why I wrote with such abandon. I wrote her the way I wanted her, never thinking for a single moment what anyone else would think or want because I just never thought another soul would truly read it besides the occasional Fisher Amelie fan.
And writing with such abandon was more freeing after the first chapter than I thought it could be.
Which is why when The Bookish Babe asked me to describe the challenges of writing an unlikeable female character, I knew my answer would be an unexpected one because the challenges of writing Sophie Price weren’t the character itself, really, it was my own insecure hang-up’s.
So I hung up my hang-up’s and wrote what I felt and what I felt was Sophie Price and all her ugliness and all her beauty. She’s my favorite so far, not because she was the last character I wrote but because she came from the depths of my heart.
VAIN Playlist Here!
The Hellacious Sophie Price
Sophie. Sophie. Sophie. *sighs* Where do I even begin?
When I sat down that first night after hashing her character out, my fingers sat motionless on the keyboard. Not because I couldn’t conjure up some nasty things. After all, what are imaginations for? It was because I struggled with the delicate balance that is her character.
I knew she had to be salacious, cruel, egotistical, of course, vain and someone with a complete disregard for anyone other than herself but I also knew that there had to be room for the reader to still believe in her, still find her likeable or at least hope to like her. In the beginning, she was the hardest character I’ve ever written simply for the fact that I felt I had to somehow convince the reader she was beyond redemption then turn around and redeem her but also make it believable.
I decided to fill her up with every conceivably vile attribute I’ve ever encountered in a girl. The sum of which would turn people off but keep them drooling over the pages to see what terrible thing she would do next. We’re voyeurs all of us. You’d be lying if you said you weren’t. (But that’s okay because we’re all human and what makes us human is what makes us so wonderful, so beautiful.) So I took that along with me. I also knew that she would only be convincing enough in that respect because, in order for people to act as Sophie did, they’d have to be one of two things: evil or truly lost. If I’d gone the way of evil, no one would have read past the first page because evil turned good isn’t as convincing nor as dramatic as someone lost. You lose a connection to that type of character but lost? Lost has potential to be believable because nothing is more attractive in someone than hope. It’s limitless.
Which is why I went with my gut. I told myself over and over again, “Write this book for you and for no one else.”
So I did.
Truthfully, I never thought anyone would read it. I thought its subject matter was unattractive because the character was so impossibly rancid or that her route to redemption was too heavy. I thought many would read the first few pages and drop it or get the gist of her from the synopsis and let her go which is why I wrote with such abandon. I wrote her the way I wanted her, never thinking for a single moment what anyone else would think or want because I just never thought another soul would truly read it besides the occasional Fisher Amelie fan.
And writing with such abandon was more freeing after the first chapter than I thought it could be.
Which is why when The Bookish Babe asked me to describe the challenges of writing an unlikeable female character, I knew my answer would be an unexpected one because the challenges of writing Sophie Price weren’t the character itself, really, it was my own insecure hang-up’s.
So I hung up my hang-up’s and wrote what I felt and what I felt was Sophie Price and all her ugliness and all her beauty. She’s my favorite so far, not because she was the last character I wrote but because she came from the depths of my heart.
VAIN Playlist Here!
Purchase Vain at:
About the author: Fisher Amelie is the author of The Leaving Series, Callum & Harper and Thomas & January. She began her writing career as a copywriter for an internet marketing company wherein one of their client's said, 'Hey! You're funny. You should write books'. Which in turn she said, 'Hey, get out of here! This is the lady's restroom.' While washing her hands and the embarrassment from her face, she thought they may have had a valid point. So, she took the thousands of hours of writing stories growing up, tucked them into her pocket and began writing and writing and writing.
Connect with Fisher at:
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GIVEAWAY
I've heard great things about this one! I am curious to try reading a book with such an unlikable character. Should be a unique read!
ReplyDeleteI haven't heard of this until now but I really like that Fisher knew exactly what character she wanted to write and that Sophie sounds completely different to most YA/NA characters!
ReplyDeleteGreat book and I absolutely adore Fisher! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a very interesting character. I love that Fisher just wrote what she wanted and didnt worry
ReplyDeleteWhat a fantastic guest post. I wanted to read this book before, but after reading this guest post, it makes me want to read it even more. I am glad that she just wrote the character how she wanted and didn't worry about what anyone else would think.
ReplyDeleteWow. I feel like I need to read it just to see how you pull off redeeming Sophie because at first I was pretty sure this wasn't a book for me.
ReplyDeleteGreat post.
I want to read it because it definitely sounds different from every other book that's out there today.
ReplyDeleteI've had this recommended to me by a friend. She had nothing but good things to say. I love to see an unlikeable character turn around and grow as a person. I'm dying to read this! Thanks for the post and giveaway ladies! :)
ReplyDeleteLooks like an amazing book! Love finding new authors and books! Thanks for sharing this!
ReplyDeleteWhat a brilliant post! I can already see that Fisher put a lot of thought into Sophie's character. I definitely think unlikeable characters can still be easy to root for if the author strikes the balance well. Thanks for sharing. :)
ReplyDeleteLove this guest post!
ReplyDeleteI've heard so many good things about the book.Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI've read it, loved it, and now I wanna own it!!!
ReplyDeleteI already read it but would love to have a signed hard copy instead of just an e-copy! This book was just amazing to me. NO spoilers here, but it's a fabulous "must read" unlike anything else out there.:) Thanks for the giveaway!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that you went with your gut instinct when writing Sophie, as the reviews I've read so far seem to be impressed with her character progression over the course of this book. Thanks for sharing this great post with us Fisher and Andrea! :)
ReplyDeleteBecause I've heard nothing but amazing things about it from all the bloggers!
ReplyDeleteI want to read Vain because it sounds like a really different story from everything out there right now and I loved Fisher's other two books.
ReplyDeleteI've wanted to read Vain since I first read about it. Then I read ALL these glowing reviews of it. And now, I've read about how Fisher Amelie went about writing Vain - following her heart and writing an unlikable character. Wow - it's just something I need to read! :)
ReplyDeleteJust finished Vain today and I loved it! It was refreshing to read something a little different, definitely glad to have bought it.
ReplyDeleteI want to win it because I've heard it's amazing. Thanks for the giveaway!
ReplyDeleteIt sounds different.
ReplyDeleteThis is on my TBR list. I loved Callum & Harper so I'm excited to read this.
ReplyDelete