When shy 17-year-old Andy winds up at a summer leadership camp, she'll have to muster up all her courage to survive, meeting friends and a very special guy along the way.
by Jessica K. Foster
Genre: YA Contemporary Sweet Romance
Seventeen-year-old bookish Andy has no
friends. When her over-involved mother has the audacity to ship her off to
summer leadership camp, she's thrust into an introvert's nightmare. Everyone is
a Communicator with a capital C, icebreaker activities are scheduled into every
waking moment, and horror of all horrors: there's no coffee. Even the girls who
take her under their wing are the kind of self-assured people Andy could never
dream of becoming.
Then she meets Lucas—hot, attentive, and everything Andy reads about in her
books. Though the girls in her cottage try to warn her about him, she's swept
into the first romance of her life. But when she discovers her friends may be
right, she'll have to find her inner confidence to save her summer and become
the leader she was always meant to be.
What is something unique/quirky
about you?
I can roll my tongue in many different ways. I’m
embarrassed to admit how much time I spent in the mirror learning how to do
this and to tie a cherry stem with my tongue. I must have been really bored in
middle school.
Where were you born/grew up at?
I was born in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania but two
months later, my family moved to Portland, Michigan. That’s where I grew up: in
a four-square-mile town at the edge of Lansing. It was country living with the
city at our fingertips as soon as we got our driver’s licenses.
What are you passionate about these
days?
I’m passionate about happiness and enjoying life these
days. It has come to a point for me where if it doesn’t bring me joy or doesn’t
have the potential to bring me joy, I’m going to throw it out. That said, I
still struggle to DNF books because I’m an eternal optimist. If I just read one
more chapter, I’ll probably like it.
What do you do to unwind and relax?
I spend time with my family, take really hot baths,
and listen to music. I re-read my favorite romance books (shout out to Jude
Deveraux and Elle Kennedy!), and I am a big fan of the nap.
Describe yourself in 5 words or
less!
Determined, Curious, Resilient, Caring… Sarcastic.
When did you first consider
yourself a writer?
I have had a few poems picked up by journals before I
began writing novels, but I think the very first time I considered myself an
actual writer was when I signed a publishing contract with Winding Road Stories
(my publisher).
Do you have a favorite movie?
Yes! It’s a little obscure, but I’m obsessed with the
movie Gidget. It came out in 1959. It’s about a girl who learns how to surf
when it was a male-dominated sport. Obviously, she falls for another surfer. I
have to have my romance!
Which of your novels can you
imagine made into a movie?
Andy and the Extroverts! It would be perfect
for today’s audience, because we all want to see a resurgence of the teenage
romcom, and camp romance is the perfect way to do it. Andy also struggles to
relate to people, and we’re all coming off of Covid years. A lot of teens are struggling
with this right now, too!
What literary pilgrimages have you
gone on?
The one that comes to mind was my first ever writing
conference down in Chicago, Illinois. I went there when I was querying my first
book (which shall never see the light of day). I learned so much about the
publishing industry and got to meet up with other authors and started some
really great friendships. I hope one day, when my kids are older, to go on a
solitary pilgrimage to a really lovely, remote place and write for a few days.
Right now I’m content with my couch!
EXCERPT
Andy
and the Extroverts Excerpt
“Okay,
campers!” Suzie screeched the second we got back to the cottage.
It was like doomsday every time she
used that phrase because right after it, she’d announce the next stupid
activity and expect everyone to be excited about it.
“It’s time for the next awesome
leadership activity! I know you’ve been enjoying them so far, but you’re really
going to like this one.” She gave an exaggerated wink. Wait. That meant…
“We’re
going to do this with our male counterparts, Beavers, so pair on up so we can
get started.”
Pair? I looked to Paige helplessly,
but she was already out the door. I sighed and followed her to where the Hippo
cottage stood outside waiting for us. How did they get here so fast? Even more
alarming was how fast everyone broke off into pairs. My hands tingled as
Marshall sidled up next to Paige. I craned my neck and looked for Emma.
“Good thing I’ve forgiven you,”
Lucas said as he walked toward me. “Or this might be awkward.”
I rolled my eyes. Like it was so
hard to get pushed off a dock when you had the skills of a gold medal swimmer.
I raised my eyebrows, but he didn’t say any more. Unlike me, he focused his
attention on the instructions Tyler gave the group.
“…so choose who the person with the
blindfold will be and who will give directions. We’ll start once you’ve got it
sorted out.”
I peeked between Lucas and Paige and
held back a groan when the course came into view. A grove of trees spanned the
area in front of us, and pieces of red tape were strung between their wide
trunks like trip wires. Stumps littered the ground. I’d seen this before on
reality television. Minefield. One of us would have to be all yelly and tell
the other one to go right or left or whatever to get through an obstacle
course.
“What do you want to be?” Lucas
asked like I had a choice. I couldn’t yell for crap, so it looked like I’d have
to trust him not to kill me.
“Blindfolded.”
He frowned. “What?”
I snatched the red bandana from his
hand with a scowl. I wasn’t talking that quietly.
“Oh, okay.” He smiled. “Don’t worry.
I’ll be with you every step of the way.”
No, he wouldn’t. He’d be yelling at
me every step of the way.
“Now, remember,” Suzie chirped as I
struggled to tie the bandana around my eyes. “You can be next to your partner,
but don’t touch the unless they look like their about to fall. This is a trust
exercise. It’s also an exercise in giving clear, concise directions. Learn how
to be the kind of leader who knows how to follow. Don’t peek!” She giggled.
Lucas brushed my hands away when the
bandana came undone an tied it snugly around my eyes. He pushed the folds into
layers until it blacked out everything.
“Good?” he asked.
If good meant helpless, then yes. I
should’ve chosen to be his voice if partners could walk with each other the
whole way—too late now.
I nodded.
“Okay, partners,” Tyler shouted,
“the goal is to get them around—that—and back to your starting positions. It
isn’t a race. It’s about finishing. Good luck! And go!”
“Okay, walk ten steps forward and
then stop.” Lucas’s hot breath on my neck made my heartbeat triple. This was
such a bad idea. A very sexy, very bad idea.
Amazon * B&N * Bookbub * Goodreads
Book Links:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Andy-Extroverts-Jessica-K-Foster-ebook/dp/B0C3T75PPJ
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/andy-and-the-extroverts-by-jessica-k-foster
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/129337132
About the Author
Jessica K. Foster writes funny, heartfelt
Young Adult Contemporary fiction with a dash of romance. She is a middle school
Language Arts teacher with a penchant for hot tea and romantic beach reads.
Jessica lives in West Michigan with her husband, two boys, and their ragtag
crew of rescue animals.
Website
* Facebook
* X * Instagram * Amazon
* Goodreads
Author
Links
Website: https://jessicakfoster.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JessicaKFosterAuthor
X: https://twitter.com/JessicaKFoster
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/JessicaKFosterAuthor
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Jessica-K.-Foster/author/B0C3W2RK8B
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/24289158.Jessica_K_Foster
Giveaway
$10 Amazon
Follow
the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!
https://www.silverdaggertours.com/sdsxx-tours/andy-and-the-extroverts-book-tour-and-giveaway
No comments:
Post a Comment