From Good Reads: For Kellie Brooks, family has always been a tough word to define. Combine her hippie mom and tattooist stepdad, her adopted overachieving sister, her younger half brother, and her tough-love dad, and average Kellie’s the one stuck in the middle, overlooked and impermanent. When Kellie’s sister finally meets her birth mother and her best friend starts hanging with a cooler crowd, the feeling only grows stronger.
But then she reconnects with Oliver, the sweet and sensitive college guy she had a near hookup with last year. Oliver is intense and attractive, and she’s sure he’s totally out of her league. But as she discovers that maybe intensity isn’t always a good thing, it’s yet another relationship she feels is spiraling out of her control.
It’ll take a new role on the school newspaper and a new job at her mom’s tattoo shop for Kellie to realize that defining herself both outside and within her family is what can finally allow her to feel permanent, just like a tattoo.
The Los Angeles release party for INK is in one month at Skylight Books! If you live in Southern California, come join the fun on January 18th at 5pm!
In the meantime, kick back and learn some more about Amy and INK, of which author Trish Doller (WHERE THE STARS STILL SHINE) says, "Spalding depicts a blended family with compassion, humor, love, and pitch-perfect authenticity."
Photo by Jesse Weinberg |
A: I absolutely went to places mentioned in the book, mainly
lots of coffee from Mokabe's, but it wasn't so much because I mentioned
them in INK but because these are the places I love going anyway. I
liked being able to write about the places I love in St. Louis,
particularly spots like Fitz's and Vintage Vinyl, where I logged A LOT
of hours growing up.
Most of my friends in St. Louis have known me since I was in high school (or earlier, even) so there's a lot of history there. I just had to be careful writing about teenage hangouts and such that I checked my favorite places were all still open (the ones that weren't...HEARTBREAKING!).
Most of my friends in St. Louis have known me since I was in high school (or earlier, even) so there's a lot of history there. I just had to be careful writing about teenage hangouts and such that I checked my favorite places were all still open (the ones that weren't...HEARTBREAKING!).
Q: You have a beautiful and personal
variety of tattoos that reference musical theatre as well as other
passions of yours. Are there any tattoos you've seen on other people
that stand out for you, in either good or bad ways?
A: Thank you! I love other people's tattoos, so, yes,
absolutely, all the time. I usually get really envious when people are
more inked than I am, because due to my dayjob, I know there are certain
limits I need to hold myself to. So whenever I see amazing hand
tattoos, for example, I get pretty dreamy.
A: That's totally my dream! I love ABC Family, and I love teen-centric
and family-centric shows. I just watched all of THE FOSTERS that's
available on Netflix, and it's completely up my alley. PARENTHOOD is
probably my favorite (and the best) of family shows on TV. I also love
love love THE CARRIE DIARIES and wish it got more credit for being such a
good teen show, considering it has so little to do with SEX & THE
CITY.
I was a big fan of The WB back in the day, and loved
EVERWOOD, GILMORE GIRLS, and BUFFY. And probably my favorite family
show ever is SIX FEET UNDER.
Q: What other TV shows, if any, inspire or teach you about character, setting, dialogue, or tone?
A: Definitely all the above, but I think any serialized TV show can be
great for writers to watch (or at least I tell myself that when I'm
mainlining shows on Netflix and not actually writing). Novel-writing and
TV seasons have a lot in common, and there are lessons to take
everywhere. There's hardly a better place to watch expectations pay off
than SCANDAL. I'm not sure anyone has been so economical with writing as
the BREAKING BAD staff, in that not a damn thing went to waste. PARKS
& REC is a good reminder that you can still find comedy and drama in
people mainly being good to each other. THE GOOD WIFE does great things
like throw characters into interpersonal drama and then quickly remind
you, the viewer, that these people still have to attend to other
responsibilities like work, which is great for a YA writer because my
characters still have school and extracurriculars and chores and such.
Basically I just love TV.
KISSING
TED CALLAHAN (AND OTHER GUYS) is a romantic comedy set in L.A.'s
eastside. It's about bands, friends, and making out. And it's out in
2015, which is...the future!!
Thanks for stopping by, Amy!
Musical theatre tattoos - cool. Details - Sondheim? Rodgers and Hammerstein? Best of luck with the book, Amy.
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