Next we have Danielle from Love at First Page. She selected the Ask Again Later as her gust post focus.
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When Andi announced that she was hosting a series about parallel/time travel books, I knew right away I wanted to feature Ask Again Later by Liz Czukas. Reading it was one of the best surprises this year, especially since it’s a debut! What sets it a part from other books in this series is the fact that it’s not paranormal. It’s 100% realistic contemporary. If you haven’t yet read Ask Again Later (what is wrong with you?), you may be going, “What?” Here’s the Goodreads summary for you:
Despite what her name might suggest, Heart has zero interest in complicated romance. So when her brilliant plan to go to prom with a group of friends is disrupted by two surprise invites, Heart knows there’s only one drama-free solution: flip a coin.Heads: The jock. He might spend all night staring at his ex or throw up in the limo, but how bad can her brother’s best friend really be?Tails: The theater geek…with a secret. What could be better than a guy who shares all Heart’s interests–even if he wants to share all his feelings?
Heart’s simple coin flip has somehow given her the chance to live out both dates. But where her prom night ends up might be the most surprising thing of all…
Sounds amazing, right? Each chapter alternates between the two story lines, until they finally converge at the very end. I’ve lost count of how many times I wish I could have done something differently, or know what would have happened if I had chosen a different direction. Liz Czukas explores this conundrum in humorous, witty, and romantic ways.
For my post, I was able to ask Liz a few questions about the book. So without further ado!
1. How did you come up with the idea to tell Heart’s story from two separate timelines? Was the coin flip always there, or did you add it in later on?
The idea came from wondering how much easier it would be to make a tough decision if you could KNOW the outcome of either choice ahead of time. The coin flip idea came quickly after that, before I even started drafting the story.
2. What was the writing process like? Did you draft each timeline separately? Did you ever confuse yourself?
I tried writing both timelines simultaneously at first, alternating chapters, but I didn’t get very far before I knew I would end up screwing everything up! I had to write each timeline separately, then weave them together when I was done. I left myself signposts along the way–events that happened in both timelines–to make sure I was keeping the right pace in each story.
3. What was your favorite part to write?
I had a blast writing the trunk scene! It was fun to remove the easiest sense for description (sight) and rely on everything else. Plus, it was torture waiting so long for that moment! You know what I mean. 🙂
4. Um, yes, I definitely know what you mean. 🙂 My favorite part of the story was seeing how the two timelines interact, overlap, and come together at the end. It’s the idea that what’s meant to happen, will happen. Do you think fate plays a big part in real life?
You know, my gut instinct was to say that I don’t believe in fate, but I’m not sure that’s true. I often say “Everything happens for a reason.” It really does seem like everything works out the way it’s supposed to, even if you can’t see the ultimate outcome of something at first. Like, losing your job might lead you to go back to school and find something you really love doing instead. Is that fate, or is it just that I believe in making the best of every situation. I don’t know. But I know I trust in good to come out of bad situations.
5. What’s one decision you’ve had to face that you wish you could have seen the two possible outcomes for? Are you happy with how things turned out?
Graduate school! I considered not going back for my second year after I finished the first. Eventually I did, more for the sake of finishing what I’d started than anything. In the end, I have never used my master’s degree. If I’d known for sure that I would never go on to practice as a Nurse-Midwife (that’s what my master’s is in), I would definitely not have finished. I am still paying off student loans–ugh!! But on the other hand, I might not be where I am today if I hadn’t finished. Maybe I always would have wondered what it would have been like. Maybe it was my fate! If only I had Heart’s magic Chuck E. Cheese token…
About the AuthorLiz Czukas is a freelance writer (on sometimes sad or boring topics), and also writes books for young adults (which are rarely sad and full of kissing). Before that, she was a nurse and she still kind of misses starting IVs.She lives outside Milwaukee, WI with her husband, son and the world’s loudest cat. She types too loud (according to her husband), spends too much time on the Internet, and can’t get enough of disaster movies. There is *always* a song stuck in her head, and she once won a hula-hoop contest.If you are interested in honing your stalking skills (from a distance, please) Liz welcomes you to practice on Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram, or better yet, Twitter where she likes to hang out and talk about TV, writing, Harrison Ford, her kid, and all of the idiotic things she does to injure herself on a routine basis.
Liz is also the real person behind the New Adult novelist Ellie Cahill, who also writes books full of kissing (and more!). Ellie has remarkably similar interests to Liz.
Parallel Time Loop:
Introduction
Rachel – A Wrinkle in Time
Brittany – Dissonance
Lauren – The Ruby Red series
Rachel – The Time Traveler’s Wife
Alexa – All Our Yesterdays
Emma – Pivot Point
Lauren – Just Like Fate
Katie – Hourglass series
Thanks for having me, Andi! <3
Oh, and P.S., if/when I visit Boston, you’re totally showing me around. 😀
Yeah, Andi! You’re totally showing us around. 🙂 I’m so glad Danielle picked this book to talk about because I had NO CLUE this book was about any of this! Why? Because the cover led me to believe I wouldn’t like the story, without even reading the synopsis mind you. Thanks, Danielle!! I’m now really interested to read this. 😀