Debs Blog Tour: This is What I Want to Tell You by Heather Duffy Stone

Today on the Debs Blog Tour I bring you This Is What I Want To Tell You by Heather Duffy Stone!  And congrats to Heather for having her first reading last night!!  How cool is that?  Plus, I totally love this cover!

About the book:

The stories people tell are always about the things we left behind, and about the things we wish we could do again. The real story isn't about what you know; it's about what you wish you knew then. When my brother and my best friend fell in love—that was the end of everything I knew.

Fraternal twins Nadio and Noelle share a close connection—and as Noelle's best friend since they were five, Keeley Shipley fit perfectly into their world. But everything changes after Keeley spends the summer before junior year at Oxford. When Keeley returns, Nadio falls in love with her. Noelle, ripped apart by resentment, sees her as an ungrateful rich girl. But Keeley has a painful story that she can't tell yet. As Nadio and Keeley hide their romance, Noelle dives into something of her own—a destructive affair with an older boy.

Beautifully presented by dual narrators in a haunting stream of memories, this is the deeply moving story of how secrets can consume a friendship—and how love can heal it.

About the Author:

Heather Duffy Stone writes stories and essays that are mostly inspired by high school—either her own or someone else’s. This Is What I Want to Tell You is her first novel. She has lived in Vermont, England, Los Angeles, rural New York and Rome, Italy. For now she cooks, sleeps, explores, writes and teaches in Brooklyn, New York.

The interview:

What's been one of the most exciting moments in your journey to publication?

Actually just last night I had my very first reading from the book. I read at a branch of the New York Public Library with a group of other writers, including the wonderful amazing Deb Sarah MacLean, and so many of my friends and family came and I was terrified… but as I started to read I could feel my voice steady and I felt so firmly within the voice of my narrator Noelle and I thought, this is real. I am a writer… I suppose that’s the path AFTER publication… but it was exciting.

Is there anything you can't write without?

No… but I like coffee, music, sunlight… I can adapt to most situations though, if I’m feeling inspired!

When stuck on a story which do you choose: write make-out scene or explode something?

Oh, make out scene. Publisher’s Weekly just said something like I offer real insight into feelings of jealousy and lust and that made me so happy. I love writing about lust!

Can you share a favorite line you've written either in this book or a WIP?

It’s actually on the back of my book, in place of a description, which I absolutely love. It is the line. “Why don’t people ever see the way other kinds of love can wreck you? What about the way being left out of love can wreck you?”

Finally: pro fast zombie or anti fast zombies?

Uh oh… I don’t know what this means!

My blog readers love to hear about the journey to publication - do you have a link you can share about that?

As for my journey… this is a link to my very first blog post … which feels a million miles away. Thanks for having me, Carrie!!