Best Friends with Jennifer Brown

What a great way to start off the Best Friend series of chats by talking with Jennifer Brown. Jennifer became one of my must read authors way back in 2009 with her Debut novel, Hate List and I devour everything she's read since then.  She's an amazing author, funny funny on Facebook and exactly the kind of person you can imagine being best friends with! I'd love to do Jazzercise with Jennifer one day!

Jennifer's newest novel, THOUSAND WORDS comes out May 21, 2013!

Ashleigh's boyfriend, Kaleb, is about to leave for college, and Ashleigh is worried that he'll forget about her while he's away. So at a legendary end-of-summer pool party, Ashleigh's friends suggest she text him a picture of herself -- sans swimsuit -- to take with him. Before she can talk herself out of it, Ashleigh strides off to the bathroom, snaps a photo in the full-length mirror, and hits "send."

But when Kaleb and Ashleigh go through a bad breakup, Kaleb takes revenge by forwarding the text to his baseball team. Soon the photo has gone viral, attracting the attention of the school board, the local police, and the media. As her friends and family try to distance themselves from the scandal, Ashleigh feels completely alone -- until she meets Mack while serving her court-ordered community service. Not only does Mack offer a fresh chance at friendship, but he's the one person in town who received the text of Ashleigh's photo -- and didn't look.

Acclaimed author Jennifer Brown brings readers a gripping novel about honesty and betrayal, redemption and friendship, attraction and integrity, as Ashleigh finds that while a picture may be worth a thousand words . . . it doesn't always tell the whole story.

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So, hey Jennifer! Have you noticed how many awesome people share your name? Okay. Tell us. Did you have a best friend in high school? If you did, are you still in touch in any way? How involved are you in each other’s lives now?

JB: Yes, though she moved away years ago. She now lives in Alabama—a long way from Missouri—and we only see each other once every few years or so, and it’s always in drive-by form. She once drove to Kansas City to celebrate the launch of my first book; I once drove to the airport to hug her in between connecting flights; and we met up for a couple hours at Disney World last year. We text every so often (usually silly stuff), and we keep in touch via Facebook when we can.
...But it’s never enough. I miss her every day.

Facebook is really great for keeping up with friends. Not quite the same, but still, contact.  If applicable tell us about a time when a best friend betrayed you. How old were you? Did you ever make up?  How did you handle it?

JB: I can’t imagine her betraying me (or anyone, for that matter), though we did fall out of touch for a while in high school. Those were truly my bleakest years, the years I liked myself the least. I needed her. I still do.

 Aww. That's so sweet. If you never had a betrayal or fight, what is something your best friend did for you that probably no other person would ever do?

JB: My best friend drove from Alabama to Kansas City just to see me for a few hours and celebrate the launch of my first book.

Coolest thing EVER. She makes the Best Friend Honor Roll list. So tell us, what did you love most about you teenage best friend?

JB: She is so funny, and so vibrant—it’s like a ray of sunshine has come into the room when she appears. She is bold and adventurous and never seems to worry about what people think of her. She loves to laugh and loves to dance and loves pretty things. I have a tendency to gravitate toward darkness, and she always, always pulls me toward the light. She kept me laughing, even when I wanted to cry. No, make that especially when I wanted to cry.

Ying and yang. It sounds like a great match.  People who don't worry about  what others think are my very favorite!!! Okay, I have to ask, what drove you most crazy about your teenage best friend?

JB: She always had doting boyfriends who sent her flowers and gave her gifts and danced with her, and I always dated losers who never paid any attention to me. I was so jealous!

I totally get that. I would be jealous too! I was never the girl who got flowers in high school. So what did you learn from your best teen friend?

JB: Forgiveness. She always forgave me, even when she shouldn’t have.

Yeah. She's definitely on the honor roll list! She sounds like an amazing best friend! Both of you are truly lucky to have each other. Yay for girl love! Girl Power!
Thanks JENNIFER BROWN, for stopping by!

Check out Jennifer's book and find buying links here!