Author Investigations: Eileen Cook

 Today's another day to investigate YA authors and their mysterious writing lives, in search for that one, unknown author, who has written the perfect book! Until then, I'll keep looking for suspicious suspects until I find that author.

Today's suspect is Eileen Cook!

The Education of Hailey Kendrick book cover

1. Give me three words that start with a vowel about your book, THE EDUCATION OF HAILEY KENDRICK.

1. Intriguing: Hopefully people find the book interesting and fun and want to keep reading.
2. Anxious: The main character Hailey is super risk adverse and knows all sorts of odd things, such as the fact that more people are killed every year by falling vending machines than in shark attacks. This is true by the way. 
3. Eavesdrop: There are some misunderstandings and things that happen in the book because people over hear or think they overhear different things.

2. Who is your most favorite character out of your three books (What Would Emma Do?, Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood, and The Education of Hailey Kendrick)?

This question is too hard!  The character I like the most is always the character of the book I’m currently writing because I am in that person’s head all the time. So my favorite character is someone you won’t even have heard of yet!Emma was fun to write because she had such a fun way of seeing the world, Lauren was fun to write because she was such a cow. Hailey was fun to write because the book takes place in this sort of elite world that was fun to visit.

3. Do you have a playlist or any must haves with you while writing?

Eileen Cook herself and her adorable doggies!

I can’t play some music when I write because I start singing along. I guess this points towards me being easily distracted. A perfect writing day for me starts with a cup of tea (I’m a total tea junkie) and my two dogs lying around so I can rub their bellies for good luck. Most of the time I write at home either in my office or in the living room on the sofa. I write on a laptop so I find some days the best plan is to take my computer and get out of the house. I’ll write at a coffee shop, the library or even the beach.

4. Would you rather be stuck on a deserted island for a week (having a survival guide and knife in hand) or be stuck in the wilderness for a week (having only a knife and survival guide in hand)?

I don’t suppose I could be stuck in a fancy Four Seasons Hotel with only a spa gift certificate and a stack of books huh? If I had to choose I would go with the island.  I love sitting on the beach and swimming so at least I could keep busy while I tried to figure out how to make s’mores with my survival supplies.

5. What's the scariest movie you've seen?
I love scary movies, but I’m not crazy about the chop you up, gory, torture fest kind of movies. I like everything from old classics like Psycho to things like 28 Days Later.  I’ve been watching the Walking Dead series, and it’s a great zombie show. I can’t wait for it to start again in the fall.

6. Any future projects for us YA readers?

Unraveling Isobel cover = GORGEOUS!

Yes!  There are always projects!  I am super excited about my new book that will be out in January called Unraveling Isobel. 

 Here is the description: 

"Thrilling and creepy, super sexy, and so very hilarious." --Lisa McMann, bestselling author of the Wake trilogy  
Isobel’s life is falling apart. Her mom just married some guy she met on the internet only three months before, and is moving them to his sprawling, gothic mansion off the coast of nowhere. Goodbye, best friend. Goodbye, social life. Hello, icky new stepfather, crunchy granola town, and unbelievably good-looking, officially off-limits stepbrother. But on her first night in her new home, Isobel starts to fear that it isn’t only her life that’s unraveling—her sanity might be giving way too. Because either Isobel is losing her mind, just like her artist father did before her, or she’s seeing ghosts. Either way, Isobel’s fast on her way to being the talk of the town for all the wrong reasons.

 Thanks so much to Eileen for being here today!