Awesome Authors: Jessica Verday

Jessica Verday wrote the first draft of The Hollow by hand, using thirteen spiral-bound notebooks and fifteen black pens. She is currently handwriting the second novel and highly contemplating whether or not she should add in a Zombie unicorn. Visit her at www.JessicaVerday.com.

Blogs are a central part of the Bradford Novels universe. If you have a blog, why did you start blogging, and how did you come up with the name for your blog?
After I signed on with an agent, I knew I should probably start blogging to get a feel for it and to get my name out there! The name of my blog (Jibberings) was just a completely random word that came to me in the shower one day. (That's usually where my best ideas come from)

What's your favorite thing about blogging? Reading other people's blogs.

What's the difference between a blog and a diary?
When I'm composing a blog, I think of several things:
1) That I'm not putting too much personal identifying information out there,
2) That what I'm saying will benefit someone, somewhere (even if it is just a silly post - laughing is good too!), and
3) That what I'm saying won't offend anyone.
When I'm writing in a diary, the only one who will read it is me, so I don't have to worry about my words as much. I think that keeping a blog can help us become better people since we are forced to recognize that our words have power. (Cyber-bullying? Not cool.)

Spencer Grace Kelly, the main character in GoldenGirl, is named after her distant relative, the Princess of Monaco. What's your favorite Grace Kelly movie, and why?
Believe it or not, I've never seen a Grace Kelly movie. Which one do you suggest?

GoldenGirl is full of scandals and exposed secrets. What was the biggest scandal at your high school? Did your classmates discover any of your deep, dark secrets? I went to a strict private school, so probably the biggest scandal would be each year when the inevitable teen pregnancy would happen. As for my deep, dark secrets? They are all still safe. ;)

What's the worst thing you ever did to a friend? Are you still friends with her or him?
I don't really have anything specific that I did, but I was forced to "stop" being friends with someone. Looking back now, I wish I would have been able to find a way to talk to that friend and explain why that happened. Luckily, I've been able to reconnect with them recently via MySpace and Facebook and I'm looking forward to getting the chance to grow our friendship again.

What are your most recent books? What new projects are you working on now?
My debut novel, The Hollow, will be published October 6, 2009. It's the first in a trilogy, and I am working on the second book right now.