Friends, I am absolutely thrilled to welcome Amy Patrick to the pond today. Her debut, CHANNEL 20 SOMETHING, released earlier this week. It’s such a fun read, and I gobbled it up in one sitting. But don’t take my recommendation alone! Here’s a blurb:
22-year-old Heidi Haynes is almost one year into her “real life”. She has her first reporting job and her first apartment, but she’s
yet to experience first love. Yes, she’s in a comfortable relationship with her college sweetheart, and according to her friends and family, he’s perfect for her. But for some reason she’s not as eager to talk about walking down the aisle as he is.
And while Heidi’s doing what she wants to do, she’s not where she wants to be. She longs for big cities, big-market breaking news, and real independence from her way-too-close-by helicopter parents. Problem is, the last time she left the security of home for new places and new people, things didn’t go so well. Disastrously, in fact, and she came running back to a local college and a “safe” boyfriend.
Well-traveled Californian Aric Serrano plans to stay in small-market-Southern-Hell just long enough to grab a cup of coffee and put together a kick-ass “escape tape”. He’ll serve his one-year contract, then he’s taking off for a higher rung on the TV sports ladder—alone—the way he likes it. But when he walks into the newsroom and meets Heidi, he may have finally found something and someone worth committing to.
Heidi would be so much more comfortable if she could avoid her new co-worker—he’s just her type—the type she’s so careful to avoid. But that becomes impossible when she and Aric are forced to work together on the weekend news. Now there’s no denying the attraction between them, and she’ll have to decide between settling for the “good enough” life she already has or taking the risk of going for what she dreams of, an exciting career and a real love.
This book was as fabulous as it sounds! Just as fabulous as Amy herself, who graciously agreed to answer a few of my questions…
Pintip: Amy, thanks so much for being here! You are particularly qualified to write this story. Can you tell us a little about your background in journalism?
Amy: This series is so much fun to write, because I get to call upon so many great (and not-so-great) experiences from my 12 year career in TV news. During that time I was climbing the career ladder, moving frequently, working at 6 different stations in 4 different states. I met so many “characters” through the years, and naturally they influence my fictional characters and events. I still work for a Boston TV station as a station host, so the story ideas keep piling up!
Pintip: Well, your expertise certainly showed in this book! Tell us the truth: did any of these scenes, or a version of them, ever happen to you? Such as, ahem, stealing kisses in the edit bay?
Amy: Hmmm. There was this one time… No actually I was not guilty of “fraternizing” during my first TV job, as Heidi and Aric are. But I was sorely tempted, because when I met my husband… he was the hot new sports guy. Unfortunately, the part about the nervous stomach and throwing up in front of the governor of Mississippi one minute before air time was also based on fact.
Pintip: Oooh. I didn’t know that was how you met your husband! How romantic! Or maybe I just think it’s romantic after reading your book, lol. What was your favorite scene to write?
Amy: I’m a sucker for first-kiss scenes, reading and writing them, so that was probably my favorite.
Pintip: What was the most difficult scene?
Amy: There were a couple scenes I cried through while writing, but I won’t tell you which ones– don’t want to ruin it for someone else.
Pintip: Good idea! We’ll see if the readers can figure it out once they get to those scenes. I adore your voice. Your heroine, Heidi, is utterly charming, and I love how she says, “Oh, sugar” when she curses. How did you come up with her character?
Amy: Oh, thank you! I’m so glad you found her charming– I can’t help but sympathize with her, because though she’s flawed, she tries so hard to please everyone (sometimes too hard), as many of us are apt to do in our early twenties. She’s a born and raised Southern girl, and there’s still a bit of a taboo about “ladies” cursing in the Deep South, thus the “sugar”. Also, Heidi has a really quirky boss who’s made public cursing, short skirts, and fraternizing grounds for firing at his TV station, so she has to be careful. She’s also living very close to her crazy-but-loving family, and struggling with being a daughter and sister to them while striving for real independence and trying to figure out who she really is. I started my first TV job at 21 years old, three weeks after graduation. So while I was a “professional” and a “grown-up” on TV, I was still very much developing as a person and sometimes felt like a kid faking my way through it all.
Pintip: Ha! I still feel like a kid faking my way through it all! You also write YA under the name Amy DeLuca. How is writing NA different from writing YA?
Amy: I’d say the voice is more mature, and the consequences of your character’s decisions are often more dire. By the time you’re out of college and starting life in the “real world”, you’re making decisions that can have lifelong repercussions, good or bad. And you’re making them with little (if any) influence from your parents. NA characters are in relationships that have a real chance of lasting forever, which is sometimes, but not often true of the relationships in YA books. Of course, everyone who marries their high school sweetheart and stays married for 60 years proves that wrong, but they may be the happy exception. My YA characters never even think about getting married, but I think twenty-somethings are much more likely to have that in their minds somewhere.
Pintip: So true. Lucky for us, we get to experience it all again by reading this book. And I hear there are going to be more books in the Channel 20 Something series. What’s coming up? Might these books involve Heidi’s friends, Mara and Kenley?
Amy: You guessed it! Book 2, STILL YOURS– A 20 SOMETHING NOVEL comes out in September and tells Mara’s story. She’s taken a new TV job in Providence, Rhode Island, the last place she wanted to work because it’s way to close to home and to him, the only guy who’s ever tempted her to abandon the Himbo-hunt and open herself up to actually loving someone.
And in October, Kenley’s story comes out. It’s called STILL ME- A 20 SOMETHING NOVEL. Kenley is reeling from a shocking change in her relationship status and regretting the day she ever left her on-air job for a man. Then she lands a new job at WNN in Atlanta and meets the network’s rising star, and even at the network level, what happens behind the scenes is the real story.
Pintip: Oh, wow! I can’t wait to read Mara’s and Kenley’s stories! I’ll be the first in line to purchase them. Thanks so much for being with us today, Amy!
Amy: Thank you for having me Pintip! It’s a thrill to be here with the Waterworld Mermaids today. And I’d love to give away a copy of the CHANNEL 20 SOMETHING e-book to one of the commenters. I’m curious to ask them: are there any moments from your own career that would make a great scene in a book?
Pintip: That’s a great question! Comment away, friends, and you’ll be entered to win this wonderful book!
BUY LINKS:
Amazon
NOOK/Barnes and Noble
KOBO
All Romance
Amy is a two-time Golden Heart finalist (2013 and 2014) who writes Young Adult fiction as Amy DeLuca and New Adult romance as Amy Patrick. She lives in Rhode Island with her husband and two sons and actually craves the heat and humidity of Mississippi, where she grew up. She’s been a professional singer and news anchor and currently narrates audio books as well as working as a station host for a Boston TV station.
Hi, friends! Love the interview! Love CTS and can’t wait for the next release in October! Love you guys!
Thanks for stopping by, McCall! We can anxiously wait for the next book together!
Thank you Pintip for all the Mermaid fun today. And thanks for stopping by McCall!
Welcome to the pond, Amy! Can I just say that I can feel Pintip’s excitement jumping off the screen in your interview. That alone makes me excited about this book, and together with the blurb and interview, I agree, great voice. And thanks for that explanation about New Adult verses Young Adult. I hear that come up a lot and you summed it up nicely.
Hahaha, to answer your question, I used to be a phlebotomist and I always think if I were ever going to write a paranormal book, some of those experiences would be great in one of those!
Good luck to our fishy friends visiting today on winning a copy of your book and again, thank you so much for being our guest today, Amy. Thanks for the great interview, Pintip!
xoxoxo
Carlene, I didn’t know you used to be a phlebotomist! I bet you have some really good stories. Thanks for stopping by!
Carlene, Pintip got ME more excited about my own book. And if we ever see a phlebotomy scene in one of your books, we’ll know what happened. Thank you for the warm welcome.
Great interview. Channel 20 Something is keeping me up past my bedtime. *yawns and rubs eyes*. Amy, what a fun read!
Ha, Julie, I did the same thing when reading CTS. 🙂
Hi Julie! Thank you for stopping by and for staying up late with CHANNEL 20 SOMETHING. I’m honored!
“Unfortunately, the part about the nervous stomach and throwing up in front of the governor of Mississippi one minute before air time was also based on fact.”
I was sold on this line alone. OMGYES!
Thank you for joining us, Amy, and best of luck with your release!
Princess, isn’t that a great line? Moments such as these in the book made me ask her that question.
Alethea, so glad I was able to amuse you with my public humiliation. 😉 Thank you for the good wishes!
Fantabulous interview, PIntip-Mermaid and welcome to the pond, Amy! Congrats on your first book – it sounds soooo awesome! right up my alley! Can’t wait to read it!
As for my job – absolutely, there are many, many experiences that could be in a book. But not a romance novel. It would have to be some kind of dark, demented, psychotic nonfiction type of thing. Or a reality show. Yes, that might be a much better fit! 😉
I think you’ll really like this book, Kerri. And I vote for reality show. 🙂
Thank you for letting me swim along today, Kerri! Now you’re making me reeeeaaally curious about your job.
Great interview! I’ve just started CTS and am loving it! Congratulations, again, Amy!! 🙂
Glad you liked the interview, Barbara!
Hi Barbara! Thanks for coming by today and especially for reading CTS!!
Yay, Amy! Congrats on releasing CHANNEL 20 SOMETHING! You didn’t throw up, did you? Lol.
I absolutely adore the southern setting in this book. I love when settings feel like real characters, and you do that with such fun and charm.
You can certainly tell that you were speaking from experience in your book. I loved the behind-the-scenes peeks, since that’s the real story. 😉
Can’t wait for the next release!
Off to start another long drive.
Hi Kim, you told me about CTS before I read it, and the book certainly lived up to the hype. Enjoy your drive, and be safe!
Kim! I might have, just a little in my mouth, before I hit publish. Thank you for all your help making this book readable. Drive carefully and play executive all the way!
Amy, you know how much I love everything about CHANNEL 20 SOMETHING. I’m thrilled I won’t have to wait long for STILL YOURS and STILL ME. Most of my scene-worthy (mis)adventures occur when I’m in school, traveling, writing, or living in Europe. Well, at least the ones I’m willing to share are.~Jillian
Please share, Jillian! 🙂
Hi Jillian! Now that you’ve teased us with your misadventures, you’ll have to leave some Easter eggs for us in your books when they’re published. Thank you for coming by and for being such a strong supportive Dreamweaver sister!
I’ve already read CTS and I loved it! Aric and Heidi are wonderful. I didn’t want to leave them at the end!
I was an ER nurse for 25 years, so have lots of stories. How about the one about the gal who came in with abdominal pain? She denied any chance she could be pregnant. As soon as she got to the ER room she crumpled to the floor in pain. The nurse, my friend Jessie, hit the HELP button, calling through the intercom, “I need a doctor!”
The doc promptly responds to the room. Jessie is kneeling next to the fully clothed patient. The doc hears an angry baby crying. “Where’s the baby?” he asks, looking around.
“In the pant leg,” Jessie replies.
True story. The staff teased Jessie for months, shaking one leg whenever she came on duty/entered the staff lounge/etc.
Mother and baby were fine.
Sheri, oh my goodness, what a story!! I’d love to hear more like this. Thanks for stopping by.
Wow. Just wow. Sheri, you could fill books just with true stories alone, I’m sure. I can’t wait to read them! And THANK YOU for reading CTS. Your kind words have meant so much to me.
Great interview, Pintip and Amy! Interestingly, I worked in the music industry before becoming a mom, but I never used it as a setting for my books. Didn’t even occur to me until a book I wrote in 2013–but it had nothing to do with my former job. It was just because of the particular protagonist and the world he fit in. Now I’ve got a whole series set in it. As for sharing personal experiences…well, you know how they say truth is stranger than fiction? Yeah, so I think I’d better not! That is one strange industry!
Looking forward to reading this series, Suzanne! I love how the setting grew organically from your protagonist and wasn’t forced. Thanks for stopping by.
Hi Suzanne! You have to change it *just* enough so it’s actually believable. 😉 I’m so excited about your upcoming releases and so happy to have gotten to know you a bit at RWA. Thank you for coming by today. Looking forward to reading your stories (whenever you want).
Hey Amy and Pintip!
I can’t wait to read this book. Just loaded it up on the Nook. And the cover is as fabulous as you are, Amy!
Congratulations on your debut book. Here’s hoping it soars to the top of all the lists!
Nan, the cover is fabulous, isn’t it? Thanks for your comment.
Hey Nan! Thank you for the cover love and for the good wishes, and especially for being willing to read CTS. I hope you love it!
Hi, Pintip! Hi, Amy! Fabulous interview!
Amy, I’ve bought Channel 20 Something and earmarked it as my “revision reward” book. I plan to dive in as soon as I meet my deadline. 🙂 I love that you’ve channeled real-life experience into your series.
I’m still learning about the distinction between YA and NA, and your explanation makes total sense to me — thank you!
Hi Vanessa! I wish I had the willpower for revision reward books, but alas, as soon as I have a book earmarked, I usually read it! Good luck on those revisions!
Hi Vanessa!! I miss you! Thank you for turning my book into a reward. That makes me feel special. 🙂 And like Pintip said, I admire your discipline– way to go girl! Good luck with your revisions.
So much fun to read this interview! Like Vanessa, CHANNEL 20 SOMETHING is waiting for me on my Nook once I finish revisions. Can’t wait!
Thanks for visiting and putting CTS on your Nook, Asa! I hope you love it. 🙂
Hi Asa! Thanks for stopping by and good luck with your revisions!
The winner of the e-book giveaway is Suzanne! Congrats! We will contact you directly. Thanks for your comments, everyone, and congrats again to Amy for this wonderful debut!