Thursday, October 29, 2015

HOLLY HEARTS HEADLINES BY KENLEY CONRAD Giveaway & Interview



Tour Date:

October 26-November 6, 2015

Link to Goodreads:

Purchase Links:
Amazon 

Link to Tour Schedule:

Giveaway Information:  Contest ends November 20, 2015

·         One (1) winner will receive a digital copy of Holly Hearts Headlines and a $10 Amazon Gift Card (INT)





Holly Hearts Headlines
(Holly Hearts Hollywood Book 2)
by Kenley Conrad
Publication Date: Oct 27, 2015
Publisher: Swoon Romance
Genre: YA, Romance


Holly Hart has it all: designer clothes, affluent friends, a recording contract, and she’s dating the biggest pop star in America.

It’s too bad he can’t be seen with her in public. It’s even worse that he seems so very cozy with Lacey, the girl who seems to enjoy stealing Holly’s dream and taking all the credit for their platinum-selling album.

And Lacey? Well she couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket, but that hasn’t stopped her from basking in the glow of the fame and fortune that comes with pretending to be Holly.

Yet, Holly signed a contract vowing to never reveal her true identity as the girl behind the hit songs. Her record label doesn’t want anyone to know their teen dream is really a chubby, insecure girl from Iowa.

Holly needs to focus on finals. She can’t let herself be distracted by the extremely hot and talented Grayson Frost or his prevailing attachment to Lacey. This is the deal Holly made, and she has to honor it no matter how much she hates it.

As if that’s not enough pressure, her grandparents have come to stay, her mom is dating a guy who makes his own deodorant, Shell Shocked Records want Holly to distance herself from Grayson, and she’ll probably end up failing Driver’s Ed.
In a town full of gossip and secrets, Holly wonders just how much longer she can continue to live a double life.

When the media gets a little too close for comfort, both Holly and Lacey are at risk. Soon Holly realizes her dream isn’t only about her and if she is to ever be truly happy, she’ll need to find a way past her insecurities.

Filled with laugh out loud and hold your breath moments, Holly Hearts Headlines is the follow-up to Holly Hearts Hollywood by Kenley Conrad.



Holly Hearts Hollywood (Holly Hearts Hollywood #1)
by Kenley Conrad
Publication Date: September 2014
Publisher: Swoon Romance


Holly Hearts Hollywood is the first book in a series.
Seventeen-year-old Holly Hart wants to be a star. She moves to Los Angeles from the small town of Cedar Junction, only to hear she’s too fat and ugly to be a famous singer.
But when Shell Shocked Records looks past Holly’s plus-size and less-than-graceful-personality to offer her a recording contract, Holly cannot believe her good fortune. On closer inspection, however, the the record execs want Holly to do all the singing, and a thinner and more beautiful girl, Lacey, would lip-sync and get all the credit. Holly goes for it because after all, she wanted to sing.
Contractually bound to secrecy, Holly is more than happy to sit backstage and write in her journal while Lacey shimmies in the limelight and basks in the fame. Before she knows it, Holly is friends with Serena, the pop-star daughter of a music-mogul, flirting with an intern, and developing a strange half-friendship with Lacey.
When Grayson Frost, the biggest country star in America, and coincidentally, a former school bully begins dating Lacey, Holly hopes that he won’t recognize or torment her.
Through a series of embarrassing and weird events, Holly gets to know Grayson and learns that he is much nicer and more mature than he was four years ago. Holly is horrified when she starts falling for him. When Grayson admits he fell for Lacey’s voice, what is a girl to do when she can’t legally tell the truth at the moment when the truth matters the most?



Kenley is a twenty-something cat lady who lives in Phoenix, Arizona. When she’s not working her office day job or writing books, you can find her either singing and dancing or binge-watching TV shows on Netflix.

Connect with the Author:  Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

1.  When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
  I started writing stories at a really young age. My first story was written on a yellow legal pad and it was about a magical land of unicorns that you could visit if you touched a magical horseshoe. I think I wrote it when I was in third grade. I was always writing stories, but it wasn’t until I was eighteen that I finally said to myself, “I want to do this for a living”. And the rest was history.
2.  How long does it take you to write a book?
  If we are starting from concept, outline, first draft, and second draft I would say it’ll probably be a year or so. If I could be a full-time writer it would be a lot faster, but unfortunately I have to balance writing and my day job.
3.  What is your work schedule like when you're writing?
  It depends on where I am in the process. If everything’s outlined and ready to go then I just sit and I write until I can’t write anymore. Sometimes I’ll get on a writing streak that’ll last for hours. Sometimes I can only get a few pages out. It really depends. I’m hoping I get to the point soon where I have more freedom in my day-to-day life to spend my days writing.
4.  What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I’m probably the only writer I know who doesn’t like to write with music playing. It actually distracts me. I prefer to have my TV on. I’ll watch a TV show or a movie in the background. It needs to be something I’ve seen before so I don’t get distracted.
5.  How do books get published?
  Pixie dust, I think. No, I’m kidding of course. Actually, Twitter helped my book get published. I was part of an event called PitMad where I had to pitch my book on twitter in 140 characters or less. My current agent and editor saw the Tweet and they reached out to me. It was the start of a beautiful thing.
6.  Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?
Well, the internet is a valuable resource. I don’t know how authors managed to do any research before the internet was invented. I get my ideas from all kinds of places. It could be from things that happened to me personally or from something I saw happen on the side of the road. It depends. 
7.  When did you write your first book and how old were you?
  My first book (I wrote many short stories when I was younger but not full length books) was called Amethyst and I wrote it when I was sixteen or so. It was a terrible Alanna: The First Adventure and Eragon combination. My main character had purple eyes and I had never heard of a Mary Sue before.
8.  What do you like to do when you're not writing?
  I love to spend time with my boyfriend and our cats. I love Netflix and audiobooks. I also like to spend time with my best friend Emily and watching period dramas like Jane Eyre. And when I have the time, I love to perform in local musical theatre productions!
9.  What does your family think of your writing?
 They’re my family! Of course they love it. They’ve always known I was too creative for my own good, so they aren’t surprised by anything I do anymore.
10.             What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books?
  Today I did a Google search of “what is the difference between overalls and dungarees” and I was surprised to learn there is practically no difference.
Once I was working on a book about Jack the Ripper (it was a horrible mistake) and I learned A LOT about the Ripper. The creepiest fact being that he was never found.
11.             How many books have you written? Which is your favorite?
 If we count books that I finished from beginning to end, including ones that weren’t published, nine. My favorite is actually the soon-to-be-released third and final installment of Holly Hart! It should be out in early 2016.
12.             Do you have any suggestions to help me become a better writer? If so, what are they?
  Listen to others, but listen with a grain of salt. Know when to take criticism, but know when to trust yourself instead of the opinions of others. Write about what you know, but also write about what you wish to know. Kill your darlings, know when to let things go. And above all else, remember that your characters should exist outside of a computer document or a piece of paper. Remember that everyone does something for a reason, so don’t forget to give your characters depth and make them real people with real hopes and fears. 
13.             Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say?
  The best thing a reader ever told me happened shortly after Netflix put Gilmore Girls on instant viewing. Someone tweeted me and told me that they loved my book so much that they completely ignored their favorite TV show and read my book in one sitting. That was a really great compliment. I do hear from them pretty often! I always wish to hear what my readers think!
14.             Do you like to create books for adults?
  I would like to, but I find that adults are bigger critics and they don’t tend to have as much fun as teenagers. They tend to want realism more and that’s not something I want to deliver.
15.             What do you think makes a good story?
  A good story should make you forget where you are and what problems you’re facing. You should laugh and you should cry in equal measures.
16.             As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?
 I wanted to be a teacher for a long time! After that I wanted to be an actress, a mother, and a writer. Maybe I can be a combo of all four one day.
17.             What Would you like my readers to know?
If you choose to read my book (and please do! Although I’d recommend you start with the first one) be prepared to have fun! Don’t take yourself too seriously. Expect to laugh and groan at Holly’s ridiculous antics. But like I said, most of all have fun!


5 comments:

  1. Thank you for the chance to win :)

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  2. Thank you for informing me about this awesome book.

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  3. Excellent post! I really enjoyed reading the interview and learning more about this book series. These books sound wonderful! I totally can't wait to read them!

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  4. thanks for the chance

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