Harlie here: I know this is going to be weird seeing some YA/NA on the blog but I just adore the authors that have written this series. Separately, the are two of my favorite Harlequin Blaze writers…period. Just this series out…I have and its wonderful. 🙂
This is my stop during the book blitz for Camp Christmas (Camp Boyfriend #1.5) by JK Rock, Camp Christmas is a novella which is part of the Camp Boyfriend series and is free to download on the publisher website . While it is part of the Camp Boyfriend series it can also be read as a stand alone. This book blitz is organized by Lola’s Blog Tours . The book blitz runs from 17 December till 21 December, you can view the complete tour schedule on the website of Lola’s Blog Tours. So far this series contains 3 book: Camp Kiss (Camp Boyfriend #0.5), Camp Boyfriend (camp Boyfriend #1) and Camp Christmas (Camp Boyfriend #1.5).
Camp Christmas (Camp Boyfriend #1.5)
by JK Rock
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age Category: Young Adult
Release date: 17 December 2013
Blurb:
Hannah never meant to be a mean girl – at Camp Juniper Point or at her high school. It just sort of happened during one painful year when her parents split and her life fell apart. Who knew being mad at the world would catapult her to popularity? But since changing the status quo would make her some serious enemies, she’s prepared to ride out her time until graduation. That is, until a camp friend calls her on the act during their school ski trip. Will Julian out her to her friends? Or will the guy she once accused of being King of the Nerds make her wish she was a whole lot more like him?
You can find Camp Christmas on Goodreads
Earlier books in this series:
Camp Kiss (Camp Boyfriend #0.5)
by JK Rock
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age Category: Young Adult
Blurb:
The Camp Kiss That Started It All…Lauren Carlson, a fourteen-year-old expert on the cosmos, superheroes, and science fiction trivia has a crush on her longtime camp friend, Seth. Last summer she’d dreamed about upgrading their relationship to BF/GF status and this year she has a plan… if only her well-meaning cabin mates wouldn’t interfere before she’s ready. She hasn’t even adjusted to her new braces yet, let alone imagined kissing Seth with them. When a dare pushes her out of her comfort zone, will she and Seth rocket out of the friendzone at last? There’s only one way to find out…
You can find Camp Kiss on Goodreads. It is free to download on the Spencer Hill Contemporary website or you can buy it on Amazon .
Camp Boyfriend (Camp Boyfriend #1)
by JK Rock
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age Category: Young Adult
Blurb:
The summer of her dreams is about to get a reality check.They said it couldn’t be done, but geeky sophomore Lauren Carlson transformed herself into a popular girl after moving to a new school halfway across the country. Amazing what losing her braces and going out for cheerleading will do. Only trouble is, the popular crowd is wearing on Lauren’s nerves and she can’t wait to return to summer camp where she’s valued for her brain instead of her handsprings. She misses her old friends and most of all, her long time camp-only boyfriend, Seth. This year she intends to upgrade their relationship to year-round status once she’s broken up with her new, jock boyfriend, Matt. He doesn’t even begin to know the real her, a girl fascinated by the night sky who dreams of discovering new planets and galaxies.
But Matt isn’t giving her up without a fight. As he makes his case to stay together, Lauren begins to realize his feelings run deeper than she ever would have guessed. What if the guy she thought she was meant to be with forever isn’t really The One? Returning to Camp Juniper Point was supposed to ground her uprooted life, but she’s more adrift than ever. Everything feels different and soon Lauren’s friends are turning on her and both guys question what she really wants. As summer tensions escalate, Lauren wonders if she’s changed more than she thought. Will her first big discovery be herself?
You can find Camp Boyfriend on Goodreads
You can buy Camp Boyfriend here:
– Amazon (kindle)
– Amazon (paperback)
– B&N
– Kobo
– The Bookdepository
Interview questions
– How did you come up with the inspiration for the Camp Boyfriend series?
The brainstorming process is so fluid and fast-moving sometimes it can be tricky to trace where an idea originated! But we talked about writing a “summer” story since so many interesting changes happen over a summer when you are in high school. From there, we jumped to the possibility of summer camp, and the idea for Camp Boyfriend started developing. We were both inspired by our own experiences at summer camp.
-Who is the main character in the Camp Christmas book and what was the inspiration for her?
Hannah is the main character, which we’re very excited about because it can be interesting to write a character who is viewed one way and sees herself in another way. The girls in Munchies Manor see Hannah as a mean girl. But we wondered… are they right? Is she really mean and if so, why? We ended up really connecting with Hannah and we hope readers will too. She goes on to have some interesting roles in future books, too.
– What does the main character in camp Christmas like to do in her spare time?
Hannah has a secret geeky side and she knows way too much about Star Trek, but she would die before she let that particular bit of information get out! But for the right guy, she does let her guard down so we can know her better.
-How many books will the Camp Boyfriend series contain?
We have three books planned and three novellas, so six stories in all. We’ve staggered the releases to that there is a free novella to precede each book.
-Who designed the covers for your books and how went the process of developing them?
The tremendously talented author/designer Jennifer Rush designed the first two covers in the series. You can see more of her work here. Since Jennifer’s writing career keeps her plenty busy these days, we’ve been working closely with our publisher, Spencer Hill Contemporary, to maintain the spirit of her wonderful layouts in the rest of the artwork.
-Which scenes do you find the easiest to write?
K- I’ve always loved writing dynamic scenes full of interesting action with lots of dialogue and a bit of fun thrown in.
J- Scenes with a lot of action and momentum. When a lot is going on, words fill the pages in no time!
-Which scenes do you find most difficult to write?
K- Deeply emotional scenes are sometimes the most challenging, but ultimately the ones I love the most! I feel so strongly for these characters and if it’s a breakup scene or a setback, I agonize with them. If it’s a love scene, I want to make sure that each word sound real, raw and genuine, not clichéd or expected.
J- Any scene where I’m not sure of the character’s goals or motivations. To which, of course, I tell myself to *stop writing* until I know those things <G>. But sometimes I’ll be excited about a scene because I know the basic action and I think it sounds fun to write. Then I get midway through and realize I’m losing focus because I forgot a story element that’s really fundamental and needs to be in there.
-What do you like to do in your spare time?
K- I read… surprise J I love all genres including fantasy, horror, contemporary, supernatural, sci-fi, suspense, dystopian, romance… you name it- I’ll read it. Or at least give it a chance. I have to admit that once I start a book, even if I don’t really like it, I feel like I should finish it just to see how it ends.
J- I watch a lot of hockey games with my husband and sons. None of them play hockey competitively, so the sport is pure fun for me and there are many, many cute players to sigh over. I’ve written a couple of romances with hockey player heroes, you know, so I put all the fun to practical use!
– Are there things you have in common with your main characters in the Camp Boyfriend series?
K- I think I see a bit of myself in every character in the series. If I had to narrow it down to one or two, I would say Kayla and Emily. Kayla, the main character in the third book of our series, CAMP FORGET-ME-NOT, describes herself as a girl who speaks her mind IN her mind- but never really says what she’s thinking for fear of offending her friends. She wants to blend in with the crowd and not be judged, picked on, or left out. I felt like that a lot as a teenager. There were times that I wished I’d been truer to myself, or stood up and did exactly what I wanted, instead of going along with my friends. Kayla’s not a bad person, and neither was I. But we both needed to get a voice and speak up for ourselves, whether people wanted to hear what we had to say or not. Emily reminds me a bit of my adult self because once I’d learned not to care so much about what other people thought of me, I got in touch with my goofy, real personality. Emily cares a lot about the girls she supervises, much in the way I cared about my students when I was a teacher. Yet I never forgot that it was important to have fun while doing activities and to encourage kids to be kind instead of mean, interested instead of apathetic, and act goofy instead of cool because there isn’t anything fun about being cool- too much pressure!
J- I relate well to characters like Trinity and Brittany. They seem a little kooky on the outside sometimes, but only because their passions are a bit outside the norm. I feel like that was me as a teen because I my head was in a story half the time. I was more interested in Catherine and Heathcliff than anything that happened in social studies, and I may have come across as a bit spacey because of it. Also, I was mapping out diagrams of the relationships between the Greek Gods in my spare time or checking out twelve books on Italian art while at the library on my bicycle. I have a quirky side and that’s why I love Brittany for wearing fangs. If you have a passion… own it.
Favourites
– What is your favourite season?
Joanne: Fall
Karen: Fall… cider donuts, carving pumpkins, leaf peeping, the smell of woodsmoke…
– What is your favourite time of the day?
Joanne: Whatever time is quietest. Usually morning.
Karen: I love mornings too. Though not too early!
– What is your favourite animal?
Joanne: I like to watch tigers or any big, fast, powerful feline.
Karen: I love dogs! Any kind. Even pit bulls are cute. Have you seen one when it’s on its back, belly to the sky, tongue hanging out? Irresistible.
– What is your favourite colour?
Joanne: pink
Karen: pink (all shades!)
– Favourite quote from a book?
Joanne: “Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.” From the Diary of Anais Nin
Karen: “Sometimes, you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book.”
― John Green, The Fault in Our Stars
This or That?
Tea or Coffee?
Joanne: Coffee
Karen: Is soda an option? Lol.
E-book or hardcopy?
Joanne: hardcopy
Karen: E-book for reading and hardcopy for my shelves.
Cake or cookies?
Joanne: cookies, especially gingersnaps
Karen: love baking cookies, but I have to give it to cake- especially cheesecake- YUM.
Cats or dogs?
Joanne: cats
Karen: Ahhhhh- I love both. Okay. Dogs.
Books or movies?
Joanne: always books!
Karen: books- unless it is Nicholas Sparks, and then I love the movies even better.
Laptop or desktop?
Joanne: laptop. Freedom from my desk is so liberating!
Karen: laptop. You can’t drag a recliner over to a desktop… or nap in front of one J
About the Authors:
Sisters in law Joanne and Karen Rock write Young Adult books under the pseudonym J.K. Rock. They bonded on a set of bleachers, watching their respective Rock boyfriends play baseball, and later, as young wives married into the same big family. Today, they have fun reliving teen drama on the pages of their YA books in their ongoing Camp Boyfriend series, which reviewers have noted for its authentic treatment of navigating relationships and self-identity. Individually, Joanne and Karen write adult romance books for Harlequin. Joanne is a three-time RITA Award nominee and Golden Heart winner. Her books have been reprinted in twenty-six countries and translated into twenty different languages. Karen’s debut romance, WISH ME TOMORROW, has garnered critical acclaim for its sensitive portrayal of a cancer survivor’s journey. You can learn more about their upcoming projects and previous releases at http://jkrock.net
You can find JK Rock here:
– Website
– Series website
– Joanne’s Twitter
– Karen’s Twitter
– Facebook
– Pinterest
– Goodreads
There are two blitz wide giveaways!
One of the giveaways is US Only, here is what you can win: signed copies of J. Lynn’s FRIGID, Kimberly Sabatini’s TOUCHING THE SURFACE, J.K. Rock’s CAMP BOYFRIEND, journal, chinese lantern, pen, stickers, assorted bookmarks, friendship bracelets, Camp Boyfriend pen and mini-flashlight and Bath and Body Works Triple Moisture Cream in Aruba Coconut.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
The other giveaway is open international and is for a 25$ gift card. You can enter the rafflecopter below: a Rafflecopter giveaway
