I'm so excited to be blogging Johanna Edwards this week, not only because she's a fabulous author -- as well as another Berkley-ite! -- but also because we're doing a teen vamp anthology together with Serena Robar (date to be announced later) called FENDI, FERRAGAMO & FANGS. Such fun!

But for now, it's all about Johanna and YOUR BIG BREAK (check out that cover; awesome, huh?):



Here's what Johanna had to say in response to my now-standard GCC tour questions:

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR TYPICAL “WRITING DAY”?
I usually start writing around 10 p.m. and don't stop until 3 or 4 a.m. Needless to say, this often means I am VERY sleepy the next day!


DO YOU RECALL THE KERNEL OF INSPIRATION FOR THIS BOOK?
As soon as I learned about breakup businesses, a.k.a. love separation services, I was off and running! Can you believe it's possible to hire a complete stranger to dump your lover? I couldn't, and I wanted to base a book around it.



PICK A CHARACTER IN THE BOOK AND TELL US WHAT TRAIT YOU SHARE (OR COME CLOSEST TO SHARING) WITH THAT CHARACTER.
The love interest, Brady Simms, loves writing poetry and so do I! His poetry is often a little cheesy, and mine is, too.


IF YOU WERE STUCK ON A DESERT ISLAND, WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE A MAGICAL TRUNK THAT GAVE YOU LIMITLESS BOOKS TO READ, OR A LIMITLESS SUPPLY OF PAPER ON WHICH TO WRITE?
Paper, definitely. I would go nuts if I couldn't write down my thoughts.

BEER OR WINE?
Wine -- I love yellow tail merlot.

CHOCOLATE OR VANILLA?
Chocolate -- I hate vanilla.

WHAT’S YOUR ALL-TIME FAVORITE BOOK?
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

JK again ... I have to admit I'm now motivated to re-read The Bell Jar.

Here's a bit more about the book:

Your Big Break

A new romantic comedy from Johanna Edwards, bestselling author of The Next Big Thing

About the book:

Danielle “Dani” Myers has become an expert at romantic breakups ever since she was hired to "facilitate" them for clients of Your Big Break, Inc. In other words, she dumps people for money. But company rule #5 (do not get personally involved) is getting harder to obey. One of her dumpees is turning out to be the kind of guy she might just want to pick up on the rebound. and a new client has just walked in, begging for Dani's help breaking up with The Big Jackass, who's been leading her on all this time-and now turns out to be married. It would be a routine job except for one problem: the so-called Big Jackass is married to none other than Dani's mother….

About the author:

Johanna Edwards is an award-winning journalist and a former radio/TV producer. Johanna's debut novel, The Next Big Thing, was released on March 1, 2005 and landed on both the Barnes & Noble bestseller list and the Neilsen BookScan bestseller list its first week out.

The Next Big Thing has been featured in USA Today, Us Weekly, The Boston Globe, Writer's Digest, The New York Post, The Daily Buzz, Figure Magazine, Entertainment Today, Publishers Weekly, The Arizona Daily Star, The Commercial Appeal, Memphis Magazine, The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, The Memphis Downtowner, San Diego Words Magazine, and The Romantic Times.

Johanna was born in 1978 in Memphis, Tennessee. She has published over 250 articles in both local and national magazines and newspapers and has interviewed some of the biggest names in entertainment, including 3 Doors Down, 'N Sync, Carrie-Anne Moss, Kevin Smith, Nick Stahl, Carmen Electra, Seann William Scott, Tori Spelling, Vivica A. Fox, Paul Walker, Jon Lithgow, Ivan Reitman, Steve Zahn, and David Duchovny.