Book Giveaway & Author Interview: Keep Holding On by Susane Colasanti

Welcome to Author Susane Colasanti

Susane Colasanti is the author of When It Happens, Take Me There, Waiting for You, Something Like Fate, and So Much Closer. She has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a master’s degree from New York University. Before becoming a full-time author, Susane was a high school science teacher for almost ten years. As a teenage Jersey girl, she felt like her true home was across the water in New York City. She now lives in the West Village.

Susane's sixth book, Keep Holding On, will be released in June 2012.

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INTERVIEW:
If you could travel in a Time Machine would you go back to the past or into the future?
Surviving high school again is not something I’d want to try. But if I could go back to high school for one day, I would try to be a lot more confident. I wouldn’t be so afraid to let my unique qualities shine. I wouldn’t care so much about fitting in. Because now I know that it’s not worth compromising who I am for a bunch of people I’m probably never going to see again. Ever. Basically, if I could go back to high school knowing what I know now, I would love to see what happens.

What is one book everyone should read?
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. A phenomenal book with a powerful message.

Night owl, or early bird?
I’ve always been a night person. I was the girl who read under the covers with a flashlight when she was little. As a teen, I would stay up way too late reading and have the hardest time getting up for school in the morning. One thing I love about being my own boss is that I can stay up reading as late as I want now. Which is crucial when I’m reading a book that’s so good I cannot put it down, like The Hunger Games.

Skittles or M&Ms?
Oh, M&Ms for sure. Preferably peanut. I know it’s weird, but I don’t like Skittles.

What is your dream cast for your book?
One of my biggest dreams is for one of my books to be adapted into a movie. While I was writing When It Happens, I pictured each scene as a scene from a movie. That book was meant for the big screen! I also think Take Me There or Something Like Fate would make good movies. They all have tons of drama and action. Since When It Happens is the book I’d most like to see as a movie, I’ll cast that one. Ellen Page, Emma Roberts, or Kristen Stewart would be excellent as Sara. Casting Tobey is harder, but I think Douglas Smith would rock.

If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?
Right here in New York City! I think New York is the greatest city in the world. I’m very thankful to be living in my dream neighborhood, the West Village. It took several years of paying off student loans and saving, but I never stopped believing I could turn my dream into reality.

What's one piece of advice you would give aspiring authors?
Read. Read all the time. Always bring a book with you. Times like waiting in line or riding the bus are good opportunities for reading. The more you read, the better your writing will become. I learned to write mostly by reading. I've never even taken a creative writing class. One more piece of advice I want to share is to never, ever give up. Visualize your goal and take steps towards achieving it every day.

What is your favorite quote?
“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupery, The Little Prince

What's your favorite season/weather?
Spring rules. I don’t do winter. Cramming into puffy coats and scarves and hats and gloves is not my idea of fun times. My ideal weather scenario would be 73 degrees and sunny every day with very low humidity. I’d wear tees, jeans, and flip-flops every day. No puffy coats allowed.

Favorite places to travel?
SoCal has such a relaxing sparkly sunshine glimmering ocean palm trees happy mellow vibe. And I’m pretty sure that Santorini is the most beautiful place in the world.

Beach or Pool?
Pool for lounging during the day (sipping fruity drinks with lots of colorful umbrellas). Beach for walks at sunset.

PC or Mac?
Dude. Shiny Happy Apple World changed my life. I cannot even tell you the nightmares I endured with PCs in the 90s. Steve Jobs was a brilliant visionary who changed the world. I’m so thankful that he changed my world into one with way less stress and beautiful tools to work with every day.

Is there a song you could list as the theme song for your book or any of your characters?
“Keep Holding On” by Avril Lavigne. I also love the Glee version. That’s what inspired the title of Keep Holding On!

Please tell us in one sentence only, why we should read your book.
Keep Holding On will hopefully make you feel less alone and inspire you to never give up.

Keep Holding On

Chew. Swallow.
Chew. Swallow.
Don’t look up.

Lunch is the worst, but there’s no safe place at school for Noelle. Keeping her mortifying home life a secret and trying to ignore the kids who make her life miserable are Noelle’s survival strategies. Her emotionally distant boyfriend, Matt, isn’t the one she really wants to be with. But there’s no way she could ever be with Julian Porter.

When Julian starts talking to her, Noelle is terrified. It seems safer to stay with Matt than risk a broken heart. But when the bullying of a friend goes too far, Noelle realizes it’s time to stand up for herself—and for everything that makes her keep holding on.

Giveaway Details
1 ARC of Keep Holding On
Open to US only
Ends 2/29/12


a Rafflecopter giveaway


Also by Susane Colasanti: