(Blog Tour) Guest Post: THROUGH HER EYES Author Jennifer Archer

AUTHOR BIO (the short version)
Jennifer Archer was born in a small town in North Central Texas the same year Humphrey Bogart died, the same year "Beatnik" becomes a commonly used word in the American vocabulary and the first living being…a dog…orbits outer space on Sputnik II. Author Jack Kerouac’s ON THE ROAD and Dr. Seuss’s THE CAT IN THE HAT hit bookstore shelves that year, the play WEST SIDE STORY opens in New York City, and Bridgette Bardot’s movie AND GOD CREATED WOMAN sparks controversy over its sexual content. What is the year of her birth? She’ll let you figure it out.

Fast forward through a few unsatisfying jobs, running a business with her husband, and two beautiful babies. She decides to stay home and raise her kids. While doing so, the old dream awakes and nudges her. Jennifer signs up for a night class in creative writing at the local community college. Soon she's hooked. Six years, two completed novel manuscripts, a couple of children’s book manuscripts, four or five short stories, and a big fat folder of rejection letters later, She got “the call.” She's sold a novel! Her contemporary paranormal romantic comedy “Body and Soul.”

Being a published writer continually brings more fascinating people and fun experiences into Jennifer's life. Some are real, some only in her imagination…. she reminds myself daily how lucky sheis to be able to do work she loves. And, perhaps best of all, no pantyhose are required.

In THROUGH HER EYES, the main character, Tansy uses photography as a way to escape her loneliness. As a teenager, what type of activity or hobby would you engage in when you were having a bad day/week, etc.? What was it about this activity that soothed you or made you happier?

Tansy’s photography is a great source of comfort and distraction from her problems in THROUGH HER EYES. Like her, I moved a lot when I was growing up, and I turned to movies, music and books to get me through tough times in much the same way that she turns to taking pictures. I loved spending time in a dark movie theatre and getting lost in the story taking place on the screen. It was a great escape from my real life, and I learned a lot about storytelling through this hobby. My lifelong interest in movies may be one reason I’m a visual writer. I usually picture what is taking place in the story as if it’s unfolding before me like a movie.

Music was less of an escape from my troubles, and more of an aid in helping me think through them. I was quite a brooder! I was a teen in the days of vinyl albums and stereos, otherwise known as ‘record players,’ rather than iPods and digital music. If ‘album’ and ‘stereo’ are foreign words to you, do a little research on Google and learn about the golden oldie days of turntables and skipping needles! If something was bothering me back then, I put an album on the stereo. Then I’d sprawl out on my bed or in my beanbag chair and engage in a little self-pity! I chose music that suited my mood – usually angst-ridden or sad, soulful rock. Some favorites were songs by James Taylor, a somewhat obscure Elton John album called Friends, and most anything by Neil Young. This habit has carried over into my writing rituals today. I make a music soundtrack for each book I’m writing and listen to it often while working. I choose music that fits the tone and mood of the story. If I’m stuck or just need a little help getting started on my work for the day, it instantly throws me back into the fictional world of the book.

However, my favorite pastime during times of stress was, and still is, reading. I found that books can be great sources of escape, comfort, and companionship, as well as entertaining. I loved losing myself in someone else’s life and world for awhile. I also loved the way books looked and felt and smelled. By that, I mean, I enjoyed looking at the covers, and the feel of the pages and the weight of the book in my hands. Yes, books have a scent! I still like the smell of libraries! All of the sensory detail associated with real paper and ink books is one reason I’m so resistant to take the plunge and buy an e-reader. I’m intrigued, and I can definitely see the advantages of having one (plus I’m all for saving trees) but I don’t ever want the day to come when “old-fashioned” books are a thing of the past. That would be a very sad day, in my opinion. Still, I believe it’s important to change with the times, and I’m sure the day is near when I’ll give in and buy a Kindle or a Nook. Besides being convenient, they’re just cool! I will continue to buy real books, though, for my keeper.

For more information on Jennifer Archer, visit her WEBSITE

TITLE: THROUGH HER EYES
AUTHOR: Jennifer Archer
IMPRINT: HarperTeen
PUBLICATION DATE: 5 April 2011
PREVIOUS TITLES IN SERIES: Standalone

Sixteen-year-old Tansy Piper moves with her grandfather and her mother, a horror writer, to the setting of her mother's next book--a secluded house outside of a tiny, desolate West Texas town. Lonely and upset over the move, Tansy escapes into her photography and the dark, seductive poems she finds hidden in the cellar, both of which lure her into the mind and world of a mysterious, troubled young man who died sixty years earlier.

THROUGH HER EYES description and cover art courtesy of Goodreads.

I received an ARC of THROUGH HER EYES as part of a blog tour arranged by TEEN BOOK SCENE.

Click here to purchase THROUGH HER EYES from The Book Depository.