The time it was about Tonight the Streets Are Ours

Posted September 7, 2015 by Stacee in Blog Tours, Giveaways, Interviews | 12 Comments

When I got the invite to be part of the blog tour for Tonight the Streets Are Ours, I was pretty excited.  I had just finished reading the book and I really enjoyed the story. This blog tour is a little different from other tours…not only did I get to interview Leila, but she interviewed me as well.

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Before we get to all of those goodies, let’s check out the book!

JV81c71FvhNNqxui9kn9tL4-3i5UkpOCLVJoFdqz4vwFrom the author of This Song Will Save Your Life comes a funny and relatable book about the hazards of falling for a person you haven’t met yet.

Seventeen-year-old Arden Huntley is recklessly loyal. Taking care of her loved ones is what gives Arden purpose in her life and makes her feel like she matters. But she’s tired of being loyal to people who don’t appreciate her—including her needy best friend and her absent mom.

Arden finds comfort in a blog she stumbles upon called “Tonight the Streets Are Ours,” the musings of a young New York City writer named Peter. When Peter is dumped by the girlfriend he blogs about, Arden decides to take a road trip to see him.

During one crazy night out in NYC filled with parties, dancing, and music—the type of night when anything can happen, and nearly everything does—Arden discovers that Peter isn’t exactly who she thought he was. And maybe she isn’t exactly who she thought she was, either.

Sounds good, right?

right

1. Where did the idea of Tonight the Streets are Ours come from?

I often have this experience of looking at other people’s facebook pages and feeling bad about my own life in comparison to theirs. On any given Saturday it seems like half my friends have run a marathon or cooked a feast by the time I’ve managed to change out of pajamas and into yoga pants.

The truth is that everyone is just painting themselves the way they want to be seen online. Everyone is lying a little bit on the internet, or at least omitting some relevant information. It’s hard to remember that, though, when you’re faced with yet another status update about yet another masterful career success or creative breakthrough. So I wanted to write a book about that experience and what impact it can have on your life and your sense of self-worth.

Also, I have over the course of my life tracked down in person my fair share of bloggers. When I think someone is a really talented writer, I just want to meet them and be friends with them. That’s actually how I met one of my very dear friends. So I wanted to write about that, too.

2. Why do you love Arden and why should be root for her?

One of the things I love about Arden is that her kindness and generosity are her strengths. Her sense of empathy and the ferocity of her love are what motivate her. Often when we talk about people being “nice,” we mean that they’re doormats or boring, but that’s not Arden at all—she’s very strong-willed. She’s described as “recklessly loyal,” and I think what we’re rooting for in the book is for her to learn how to claim that strong loyalty, while also releasing herself from the reckless part of it that often gets her in trouble. Loyalty is incredibly important. But you can take it so far that it becomes destructive, and that’s what Arden does.

3. Without spoilers, were there any scenes that had to be deleted that you wish could have stayed?

I don’t think so. I rewrote the beginning of the book a bazillion times—from first person, from third person, in present tense, in past tense, with Arden as a senior in high school, then as a junior… But I don’t wish I could have kept any of those versions, because this one is clearly the best of the bunch!

4. What was your favorite part of writing this book?

I loved writing Peter’s blog posts, because his voice is so distinctive: over-romanticized and dramatic. Writing his and Arden’s crazy NYC night together was also a blast. I don’t want to give away any of it, but I’d LOVE to have a night like theirs.

5. Describe Tonight in 5 words.

One night with a blogger. (That is only PART of the book though… I am way too verbose to say anything substantial in only five words. That is why I write novels and not flash fiction.)

Speed [ish] round:

1. You get the call/email/letter that says you’re being published for the first time. Describe the next 5 minutes.

My first book was MOSTLY GOOD GIRLS, and I could barely eat from the time my agent first told me an editor was interested to the time when we closed the deal. Then I jumped up and down and ran around and went out to a fancy dinner… and then took the subway home and did dishes, because even when you’re a published author, you still have to make your normal life happen.

2. What three things would you take to a desert island?

Chocolate, books, music. And nasal spray.

3. You can only read one book for the rest of your life. What is it?

The entire Harry Potter series. But, you know, in one-book form.

4. Who are your favorite swoony boys/girls?

I am in love with Michael Moscovitz from the Princess Diaries. I think we have a lot in common and would get along very well. I’m confident that he would feel the same.

5. What is the one thing about publishing you wish someone would have told you?

Maybe someone did tell me this and I just didn’t hear them, but: your career is a marathon, not a sprint. Write and revise every book to the best of your ability, but don’t freak out if the cover or reviews aren’t exactly what you wanted them to be. Just start focusing on your next book.

6. You wake up and discover you are Bella in Twilight. You know how it plays out. What do you do differently? {Huge thanks to Bookish Broads for letting me use this question}

Switch schools. Immediately. Ideally a school in rural Halifax or someplace.

And now Leila’s questions for me:

1. For how long have you been a blogger, and what inspired you to start blogging?

In October, it will be 4 years that I’ve been blogging and honestly, I can’t believe it’s been that long.

I got the idea to blog from LeAnna at Mysterious Galaxy in Redondo Beach.  I was on my way to see Margaret Stohl and Kami Garcia in Santa Monica and stopped at MG to pick up a signed Laini Taylor book that I had ordered.  We started chatting about how I was in the middle of going to 4 signings in 5 days and she said I should be blogging about it. Before she said anything, the idea hadn’t even crossed my mind.

2. What’s your favorite post you’ve ever written?

That’s like Sophie’s choice.

One of my favorites is definitely when I was asked to be a Throne of Glass ambassador for Sarah J. Maas.  In the email, the publicist actually said that I was known around the office for my fangirling over Sarah and the books. Even knowing that, they still asked me to participate.

I do tend to travel for events and some of my favorites have been traveling up to San Francisco to attend Tamara Ireland Stone’s launch parties for Time Between Us, Time After Time, and Every Last Word. And of course, we did fly to Chicago to get Noah see Michelle Hodkin.

3. TONIGHT THE STREETS ARE OURS is not only the title of my novel; it’s also the name of Peter’s blog in the book. He got it from a Richard Hawley song. How did you choose the name for your blog?

After talking with LeAnna, I immediately started brainstorming with Hubs. I knew that I was going to focus on recapping the events I go to, so I wanted the title to reflect that in some way. Adventures of a Book Junkie came to us pretty quickly, but it wasn’t available as a URL. We came up with something else and away I went.

Of course, that URL has since been released and I’ve been toying with the idea of changing to it. It’s hard to make that decision when the blog has been established at this one for so long; however, it does get a bit old having to constantly ask publicists, etc to amend their posts when they list the blog name as Too Fond of Books.

Sigh.  The struggle is real.

4. How do you fit in blogging with the rest of your life? Is it hard to make time for?

I have an awesome boss who pretty much lets me do whatever I want.  It makes it easy to leave early for a signing or come in late when I’ve had a long drive home the night before.   I’m also home from work a few hours before Hubs, so I try to get things done in those hours.  We don’t have kids or any real responsibilities, so usually it’s not too hard to find the time.  And it helps that Hubs is very supportive.

5. Have you ever written a blog post that you later regretted?

Not really.  Thankfully, the majority of authors and publicists that I’ve worked with are all awesome.  There have been some behind the scenes things that were difficult for a few of the posts, but I’ve been quite lucky compared to some of the horror stories I’ve heard from other bloggers.

When it comes to an event or signing, I’m 100% truthful about the things that happen to me.  Obviously my recap doesn’t mean that my experience is the same as everyone else who attended, but I think it’s important to be honest. Sometimes I’ve been treated very rudely and people should know that. Same for when I’m treated amazingly or if an employee goes above and beyond.

Overall, I try to only promote books/authors that I love and I hope that shines through in my content.

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Xr23Q4oiqNk8eB_siSQ4vf7_wHscXL9QqXv6-KJJvgYLeila Sales was born in 1984 and grew up outside of Boston, Massachusetts. She graduated from the University of Chicago with a degree in psychology in 2006. Now she lives in Brooklyn, New York, and works in the mostly glamorous world of children’s book publishing. Leila spends most of her time thinking about sleeping, kittens, dance parties, and stories that she wants to write.

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Huge thanks to Macmillan for the invite and to Leila for taking the time.  Make sure you’re checking out her website, following her on Twitter, liking her Facebook page, and adding all of her books to your Goodreads TBR list.

And definitely check out the rest of the blog tour for all sorts of goodies.

On September 19th, Leila is doing an awesome event to celebrate the release of her book and she wants everyone to participate and share! Click here for all of the details.

Now.  As always, the awesome ladies of Macmillan are offering up a copy of Tonight.  Giveaway is US/Canada and additional rules are here.

**Good Luck**

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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12 responses to “The time it was about Tonight the Streets Are Ours

  1. Tatiana S.

    I would like to visit Ireland. It seems so magical there, to see the castles or Italy. Would love to get pizza and go to the Spanish Steps in Rome.

  2. Hana

    i really want to go to Athens and Santorini and inside the colosseum. And Japan. Have to go to Japan. And Australia. And Singapore. And Malaysia. the whole world.

  3. I want to visit the British Isles :) I want to tour Scotland, and see Jane Austen’s home, and go to the Sherlock Museum, and get lost in Ireland, and just… BE in England. It’s my life long dream.

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