Haven’t we all wanted to be in a secret society? Now imagine instead of that society seeking power and money, it seeks to right the wrongs of others. Cool, huh? That’s the premise in GCC member Daisy Whitney’s new YA novel, MOCKINGBIRDS, which debuted this week through Little, Brown.
As always, here’s a little bit about her book to get you hooked:
Some schools have honor codes.
Others have handbooks.
Themis Academy has the Mockingbirds.
Themis Academy is a quiet boarding school with an exceptional student body that the administration trusts to always behave the honorable way–the Themis Way. So when Alex is date raped during her junior year, she has two options: stay silent and hope someone helps her, or enlist the Mockingbirds–a secret society of students dedicated to righting the wrongs of their fellow peers.
In this honest, page-turning account of a teen girl’s struggle to stand up for herself, debut author Daisy Whitney reminds readers that if you love something or someone–especially yourself–you fight for it.
Here’s what Daisy had to say:
Q: In AMIGAS AND SCHOOL SCANDALS, Mariana takes a road trip to Cornell. What’s your funniest road trip story?
Daisy: I don’t like being in the car more than an hour, so I avoid road trips!
Q: I often talk about how I didn’t always “know” I wanted to be a writer. Did you? Or did you have other plans when you were little?
Daisy: When I was younger I wanted to be a Broadway actor. That I couldn’t sing, dance or act seemed to have little bearing on my desire!
Q: Throughout the AMOR series, Mariana and her friends celebrate their Sweet 16s (and 15s). What did you do for your Sweet 16 or Quinceanera?
Daisy: I’m pretty sure it was my night to stock candy and pop popcorn at the movie theater where I worked!
Q: I wrote the AMOR series organically, no outlines. My new manuscripts, I’ve outlined extensively. How about you? Are you an outliner?
Daisy: I used to be a pantser but then I had to write an outline for my editor’s approval for book 2 so I’ve become more of an outliner. I still prefer to wing the first few chapters though and then write a rough outline.
Q: Where were you when you found out that your novel was going to be published? Tell us the story.
Daisy: I was driving to my daughter’s preschool to pick her up! There’s no cell service at her school so I missed the first call. The second call from my agent came when I was driving home so I pulled into a nearby realtor’s office and cried happy tears!
Thank you, Daisy! Now, everyone go out and buy books, lots and lots of books!
