Summary
from Goodreads
Small
town country girl Elva Presley Hicks is about to attend her five-year class
reunion with her best friends, Shay and Margarett.
The discovery of an old fanfic manuscript stirs up memories of her summer job
as a plumber’s helper in Houston the summer before senior year. She earned a
lot of money that year, but was lonely as heck.
It's not like there weren't any suitors back then. Elva could have chosen
between Chase, the obese pig farmer, and Wyatt, the plumber with wandering
hands. But Elva yearned for something more, and found it that fateful summer,
with electrician, Mitch McCall.
It was magical. Mitch wasn't turned off by Elva's name or fan fiction writing,
and Elva didn't lose interest in Mitch after he cut off his nose at work.
Trials and triumphs followed including a friendship implosion, world-wide
fanfic humiliation, and goat salvation. It would go down as the most memorable
summer of high school.
But as these things sometimes do, the summer romance fizzled and Elva moved on
to life after high school. And while she's ready to reminisce, she is unnerved
when she runs into Mitch at the reunion. Can they give it another go after so
much time has passed, or are they too different now to even try?
Available from:Amazon * Barnes & Noble
About the Author
Molly Blaisdell's first crossover YA/NA romantic comedy, Plumb Crazy, is forthcoming from Swoon Romance. She is also the author of 30 books for children, including Rembrandt and the Boy Who Drew Dogs (Barron’s), The Truth About Unicorns (Capstone Press) and The Big Fuzzy Coat (MeeGenius!). She's written hundreds of articles for many internationally known publishers, including MSN, Scholastic, eHow, Hasbro, and Penguin's Author Learning Center.Molly is a Texan and a graduate of Texas A&M in Chemistry. She is a long-time member of SCBWI, and is a former Regional Advisor of the Western Washington region, a Blueboard Moderator Emeritus and a recipient of the Martha Weston Grant.She formed her first fan fiction group in junior high school and is still a huge fan gal of all things space, Star Trek, anime and blockbuster movies. She's the mom of four, and currently lives under the wide open skies of College Station, TX with her husband Tim. Her interestsinclude fine art, folk art, and Texas music.
Interview
Q. How did you come up with the title?
Molly - I find titles especially difficult. I turn to my
network for help. In the dark ages long before publication, I called this book Plumber Girl. It morphed over time into
just Plumb. A member of my critique
group, Kathy Whitehead, mentioned that I wanted people to read my book and that
I need to dress up that title or just not bother. She suggested adding Crazy to
Plumb and the rest was history. Plumb
Crazy was a slam dunk title – provocative, funny, and memorable.
Q. Do you have a big message that you are trying
give your readers?
Molly - I really hate when people try to shovel a message
down my throat. Not happy about that at all. What I love is a literary journey that
invites me to consider some truth. So what does truth look like? It doesn't hit me over the head. It allows me
to modify it to fit my life. It's there for me when my life goes up in flames.
It pulls me out of the rut and sets me on a journey. It helps me to be my best
self. I hope that my book does that for my readers.
Q. Is this book based on your real life
experience and on your real life friends?
Molly - None of the people in this book are based on real
people, but bits and pieces of my characters were inspired by real people. Yes,
I was a plumber's helper as a teen and college student. My sister's date might
have dumped her once because she was underage, and he didn't want to break
parole. I have lived with goats. I have spent much of my life in small towns in
Texas. I really do believe in writing what I know.
Q. Name one entity that has supported you (not
including family members).
Molly - Big shout out to SCBWI for this. The Society of
Children's Book Writers and Illustrators truly helped me on my journey. I give
big kudos to the Western Washington region and to the Brazos Valley region of
Texas, their programs and membership have helped me become the writer I am
today. I give special thanks to SCBWI's Martha Weston Grant committee who
believed that I would make a jump from young readers to older readers.
Q. Can you share a little of your current work
with us?
Molly - Oh, I am so jazzed about my next book (title still
top secret). In this one, a young woman remembers her junior year in high
school when she lived in downtown Austin, sought anime voice-over actress fame,
and found true romance with an intriguing film student at UT. I love the
characters in this book. MC and anime fangirl Gin Autry is so awesome! There
are hot college guys, sister wars, Zombie disasters, and sugar gliders. I'm
pretty sure I can't write a book without rescuing some animal. Prepare for
laughter, heart-break and love!
Q. Is there a reason why you write romance?
Molly - I am living a
pretty awesome romance so it makes sense to me that I write romance. When I was
in college, I discovered a tree house in a park near my home. This was my go-to
place to dream, to invent, and to renew. I began dating a guy my senior year.
He took me to that park and that tree house! He was the one who had built my
most special place years before I'd ever met him. I married him, and 26 years later,
he's still the love of my life.
Q. With so many fandoms to choose from, why did
you pick Star Trek for your
book?
Molly - I have to give
a big shout out to Gene Roddenberry here. His vision of an awesome exciting
future full of adventure has always been a huge encouragement. I can't imagine
my life without Star Trek. I wanted to pay homage to what was basically the
first modern day fandom. Doesn't this just whisper inside you? Explore strange
new worlds. Seek and discover new lifeforms. Boldly go, folks, boldly go!
Q. What
was the hardest part of writing your book?
Molly - I think the hardest part of writing books is digging
deep, toward the bone. Stories need bones and putting that on the page is
painful. I mean, I struggle with my own bull s**t. I struggle with my weight.
I've got a stupid temper. I really have to watch my inner self talk every day. I
have to do the work of honesty with myself to get honesty on the page. This is
the hardest thing in the world to do, but it makes you a better person.
Q. Did you learn anything from writing your book
and what was it?
Molly - I did learn something awesome from writing my book. I
did not know the strongest quality of my character when I wrote this book. I
put it on the page but I didn't see it. Elva
is full of grace. I just knew when I wrote the book that I liked her. It wasn't
until I completed the book I realized she is a manifestation of grace in this
world. She faces life with an effortlessness and brave spirit that I so admire.
I think ultimately journeying with her has made me a better person.
Q. Do you have any advice for other writers?
Molly - You can choke
your creativity by expecting too much of yourself. Give yourself permission to
try. Yoda said "there is no try." But I say, "Try there
is."
Author Links:
Giveaway
Blog Tour Organized by
