Happy Book Birthday to
On the Bright Side!
On
the Bright Side is a hilarious road to guardian angeldom paved with so
much drama and due-paying that it makes middle school look painless.
As
if the devil’s food cake at her wake and the white fat pants she’s
stuck wearing for eternity weren’t bad enough, fourteen year-old Gabby
is quick to discover that Cirrus, the main rung of Heaven, is a
far cry from the Pearly Gates. Here, Skyphones and InnerNets are all the
rage. Until Gabby finds out she has to protect Angela, her school
nemesis, in order to move up through the training levels of
heaven. Problem is, Angela is now hitting on Gabby's should-have-been
boyfriend. (awkward!)
Instead of protecting Angela, Gabby pranks her (like tripping is a sin?) at the hopes of cooling off the new couple. At first, they seem harmless until the school dance sabotage gets completely out of control. Then, her Celestial Sky Agent, who happens to have anger management issues of his own, puts Gabby on probation, threatening her eternal future.
Determined
to right her wrongs, Gabby steals an ancient artifact that allows her
to return to Earth for just one day. Without knowing, she kicks off a
series of events and learns what can happen when you hate someone to death.
Praises
for On The Bright Side
Clever
and charming, ON THE BRIGHT SIDE is the story of a reluctant guardian angel,
her still-breathing crush, and the frenemy she’s assigned to protect. A great
read! -Suzanne Young, author of A Need So Beautiful, A Want So Wicket (6/12),
and The Program (2013)"
"With
a smart, snappy heroine and a heart-warming crush, ON THE BRIGHT SIDE
is a page-turning new take on guardian angels that left me begging for a
sequel!" - Gretchen McNeil, author of Possess and Ten (9/12) (Balzar + Bray)
S.R. Johannes delivers a cute paranormal thrill ride for middle graders! Even in death there is a BRIGHT SIDE!" - Addison Moore, author of the bestselling Celestra series and soon to be TV show
“ON THE
BRIGHT SIDE is both hilarious and heart-warming – a tale that’ll have you
hoping that there really *are* spunky and determined angels like Gabby who’ve
got our backs.” - Kristin O’Donnell Tubb, author of Selling Hope & The 13th Sign
(2013) (Feiwel & Friends)
Where did you get the idea for
writing On the Bright Side?
I have
always been kind of obsessed with death and the after life. After I reading
Lisa Schroeder’s I Haunt You…, I
found myself wondering more about Jackson’s world. Where was he? Was it so bad,
he needed to stay on Earth? I used to watch shows on those people who die for a
few minutes and come back. They always talk about how wonderful the OTHER SIDE
is. So I started writing a funny book about a great afterlife. The lighter it
got, the younger it got and eventually went from being YA to tween.
What can we expect from On the
Bright Side?
It is a
funny book about death. It looks at a brighter side of The After Life where
SKYfones and InnerNets are all the rage. Where you can dress in dolce and
Nirvana and eat at The Sacred Chow. But it is also a book about friendship,
loss, and acceptance.
Tell us something about Gabby that
we won't learn from reading the book.
She
almost failed home ec class due to her lack of sewing button. But luckily she
can cook a mean grilled cheese sandwich. Gabby walks dogs in her neighborhood
for extra money. Though she’s petrified of sheepdogs due to being dragged by
one down the street by one. In front of Michael no less. Nasty scabs on 3/4s of
your body is not cute.
Is there any of you in Gabby or
any of the other characters?
I think
there is some of me in ALL my characters. Gabby is like me at that age. She is
snarky always slightly moody. I was that way especially in middle school. But I
am also extremely loyal (probably too loyal) and I can somehow find humor in
the strangest of situations. But I am not very mischievous like Gabby.
If you could have one wish for
Gabby, no questions, what would it be?
For her
to accept her fate and let go of the past. I think she will be happier.
What's next for you?
I am in a
Valentine’s Day Anthology full of Indie authors called In His Eyes. It is filled with short stories from the hot boys in our
books and how they feel about girls and love.
On the Bright Side sounds like a cute and fun book. The more I have been seeing it around the more I want to read it. Thanks for the lovely interview!
ReplyDeleteI like the interview and I am waiting to read this book. The cover is also cute and I hope to like it ;))
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