I’m pleased to present the first of many Girlfriend Cyber Circuit interviews to be posted here on A/B as well as on my author site www.malenalott.com. GCC is a group of authors who tour each other for a year, and in return, get toured when her book is released.
INVISIBLE TOUCH by Kelly Parra, Young Adult (13+)
From the publisher:
Do you believe in fate?
Kara Martinez has been trying to be “normal” ever since the accident that took her father’s life when she was eleven years old. She’s buried the caliente side of her Mexican heritage with her father and tried to be the girl her rigid mother wants her to be — compliant and dressed in pink, and certainly not acting out like her older brother Jason. Not even Danielle, her best friend at Valdez High, has seen the real Kara; only those who read her anonymous blog know the deepest secrets of the Sign Seer.
Because Kara has a gift — one that often feels like a curse. She sees signs, visions that are clues to a person’s fate, if she can put together the pieces of the puzzle in time. So far, she’s been able to solve the clues and avert disaster for those she’s been warned about — until she sees the flash of a gun on a fellow classmate, and the stakes are raised higher than ever before. Kara does her best to follow the signs, but it’s her heart that wanders into new territory when she falls for a mysterious guy from the wrong side of town, taking her closer to answers she may not be able to handle. Will her forbidden romance help her solve the deadly puzzle before it’s too late…or lead her even further into danger?
Welcome, Kelly! Wow, the book sounds great. Now let’s roll with my hard-hitting Couric-esque questions.
1. If Oprah invited you on her show to talk about your book, what would the theme of that show be?
“Near death experiences and what happens after.” My character Kara in Invisible Touch is in a tragic accident and loses her father, but she gains a gift–or is it a curse?–of seeing psychic signs on individuals. She must piece the signs together in order to stop unfortunate fates. She’d be sharing her surreal experience and all her feelings with Oprah.
2. Oprah loves surreal experiences! What was the most fun scene in your book to write? The most difficult?
The most fun scene was the first meeting of the hero and heroine. It’s really neat to write the first impressions of two strangers. The most difficult part was the writing about the grief in the book with the family losing their father and husband. I had lost my father so I wrote in some honest feelings in the story.
3. I’m sorry to hear about your loss. I know how writers use real emotion to propel our character’s stories. Do you have a muse, good luck charm, writing vice?
No. I am totally boring. LOL. All I need is a my trusty laptop and a little quiet, and with a family I squeeze in writing time when I can.
4. Quiet? What’s that. No, seriously. That word is not even in my dictionary! Laptop, I can relate to. What do you write on and where do you write?
I either set my laptop on my desk where I have my Internet computer if its not too cluttered, or I take my laptop to my recliner.
5. Cluttered! Okay, *that* word is most def in my dictionary! And recliner. I love my recliner, too. But my messy kitchen desk? Not so much. On to better topics: have you had a “rock star” moment regarding your writing career? If so, what was it?
I was double nominated for RWA’s RITA award for my novel Graffiti Girl. That was a big WOW moment, but when a producer contacted me about the film rights, I was blown away.
6. RITA? Film rights? You are a ROCK STAR! For readers who aren’t familiar, the RITA is like the Oscars of the romance industry with lots of great categories. So, spill it! What do you do to celebrate your (many!) writing successes?
I give myself a small treat every now and then, but if its a big deal sometimes I’ll buy something really extravagant or take the family out to a special treat. It all depends on how big the success.
7. I can see those sparkling diamonds from here, darling! And I’m sure the kids love that you splurge for an extra scoop of ice cream. (Or perhaps your fam’s treats are a tad bit bigger than mine.) Describe your personality with five adjectives that would make your 5th grade English teacher proud.
Creative. Introvert. Humorous. Giving. Fair.
Love those, Kelly. Thank YOU for being giving and I hope my questions were “fair.” Not one foreign policy question in the bunch, huh? Take care and have fun on the rest of your tour!
For my first YA review, I’m keeping safely within my comfort zone. (This will change, I promise.) I am a huge fan of historicals and mysteries — particularly those set in the Victorian era — and thus when I saw Y.S. Lee’s The Agency: A Spy in the House, I knew I couldn’t leave the store without it. And what a great read!
Book End Babes is Girls Night Out meets great reads, celebrating books and girlfriends. With real-life chapters around the country, we'll feature 4 Top Picks each month, share book reviews, recipes and prizes to start a reading revolution. The reviewed books are typically supplied by the publisher, though reviews are not guaranteed. BEbabes was founded by author Malena Lott. Our group blog features a dozen book babes. If you'd like to start a BEbabes chapter, click the envelope button below to contact me! 
