I stumbled upon Jessica Park in April because of my most beloved KINDLE PAPERWHITE. I cannot recommend to you enough to save the money (as in DON’T SPEND THE MONEY) and get the Kindle with Special Offers. I have discovered amazing authors because their of books magically appearing on my Kindle’s resting wallpaper. I saw Flat Out Love one morning and investigated it. I realized it wasn’t like anything I was reading but being recommended for people who like other authors I like.  I also knew I had a Prime book borrow coming to me, so I hit the button.

I devoured Flat Out Love and its short companion novel Flat Out Matt. Then I paid the money for Flat Out Love so I could get the best deal on the audiobook (just $1.99 – SWEET!) Then I do what I often do…I went all FANGIRL on Jessica and wrote to her about both books.

Then she wrote back…and I did THIS.

Then I do what I always do when I love a new author…I join their Facebook fan page and then I go to their blog and see what’s coming out next.

Turns out, today is THE DAY for her latest release, Left Drowning. Um, let’s just say that my fangirl status remains uninterrupted. Left Drowning was the second galley any publisher gave me and the first review I ever published here at Midwest Galley Girl. I read Left Drowning in one sitting. When I finished it at 2 a.m. I couldn’t go to sleep until I wrote to her about how much I LOVE THIS FREAKING BOOK.

Go out RIGHT NOW and download this book. Park’s books are published by a division of Amazon, so you can only buy them through Amazon. Nook and other e-reader users…please just get over it for this book. Download one of the 8,000 ways to read Kindle books on your other devices and read this book TODAY. Or go old school and get a hard copy. The art on this book is beautiful.

So, without further adieu, I give you our first ever Author Spotlight.

10 Things About…JESSICA PARK

1. What is your favorite book?

Possibly The Great Santini by Pat Conroy.

2. Which of your characters was hardest to write? Why?

My first instinct is to say Chris from Left Drowning. His scenes and character were incredibly easy to write all the time, except for one chapter. It was a chapter that I hated to write and that absolutely shredded me. So even though he was, in actuality,  easy to write, I always think of him as the hardest because of what I had to get through with him.

3. As a child were you a tomboy or princess? Have you changed?

Neither and no. I was miserable at all sports and didn’t care for Barbies. I compensate for the Barbie lapse (well, or in my book, reason) by occasionally wearing a tiara.

4. Given unlimited time, what volunteer work most appeals to you?

Animal rescue work.

5. Which junk food can you not live without?

Chips and salsa. Extra guac. Like, a vat of it.

6. Which motivates you more? Success or Failure?

Both scare the hell out of me. You know what really motivates me? Anger.

7. Which character on Sesame Street do you like most? Why?

Cookie Monster has always been my favorite. All that scruffy blue fur is just so damn huggable. Plus he’s got that infectious enthusiasm for everything that I can’t resist.

8. What is your guilty pleasure?

This implies there is just one, so we’ll go with that. I really have a Starbucks obsession. And just for a plain cup of coffee. I crave all those fancy drinks. Right now I am totally in love with the Caramel Ribbon Crunch Frappuccino. The other day my local Starbucks was out of the crunchies, and I literally yelled out, “OH NO! WHAT?” It was awful. Heads turned.

9. What is your favorite television show of all time?

This is a tough question for an addict like me.  I’ll go with “24,” because Kiefer Sutherland is KIEFER SUTHERLAND.

10. What is your personal motto or philosophy?

There’s a hysterical image that floats around Facebook from time to time (that I’ve posted with alarming regularity) that says, “My Momma told me I don’t have to be nice to stupid people.”

Yes, I’m a horrible person.

Bonus: What do you want people to know about Left Drowning?

This is my “everything” book, if that makes any sense. It’s about romance, trauma, death, sex, religion, addiction, hope, despair, survival… I threw so much into this book and tried to tie together a really tight plot to make a sort of “epic” story. I’m not sure that I’ll do this type of book again, so LD will always be special to me.

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Jessica Park is the author of the young adult novels FLAT-OUT LOVE and RELATIVELY FAMOUS; five Gourmet Girl mysteries (written as Jessica Conant-Park); and the e-shorts FACEBOOKING RICK SPRINGFIELD and WHAT THE KID SAYS (Parts 1 & 2).

Jessica grew up in the Boston area and attended Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota. After spending four years in the frigid north, including suffering through one memorable Halloween blizzard, Jessica hightailed it back to the east coast. She now lives in (relatively balmy) New Hampshire with her husband, son, bananas dog named Fritzy, and two selfish cats. When not writing, Jessica indulges her healthy addictions to Facebook, Rick Springfield, and super-sweet coffee beverages.