Author Interview & Giveaway for Danielle Weiler's Friendship on Fire

Today we welcome debut author Danielle Weiler to the blog. Her debut book, Friendship on Fire was released earlier this year. Here's a little bit about the book and you read my review here

The first few days of year 12 are disastrous for school captain Daisy Brooks.

But Daisy’s life takes a sudden turn when she is dared by Skye, the leader of the Blonde Brigade, to meet the mysterious, drop-dead gorgeous stranger, Nate, from rival school Addison Grammar. Daisy’s instant attraction to him disrupts her world. But what about her best friend Roman? How will he respond to this intruder?

Daisy is a vulnerable, yet fiery girl going through the chaotic phase between teenage and adulthood. She is about to discover the complexities of relationships, the etiquette of friendship and, most of all, her development as a woman.Is it too late for Daisy to realise that the choices she makes shapes who she is and who she will become?

Congratulations on your debut Friendship on Fire, which was released earlier this year. What can you tell our readers about your book?

Friendship on Fire is about a girl called Daisy who is going through her last year of school. It's set in the amazing Australia (but I'm biased). It details all the highlights and issues of teenage hood, including meeting the hottest guy in the world, Nate. Daisy shows us what it means to find yourself, to keep your head high through the good times and the bad, to make better choices. Without giving too much away, Daisy has to learn to cope with the errors of the people around her, and hold onto the good ones who make her smile. I could talk about Daisy's journey forever, but I can't. So there's betrayal, love, teenage drinking, mistakes to be made, friendships to be changed, and fun.

In what ways are you and your main character Daisy alike?

I suppose we've all dated a bad-boy like Nate. He is a mixture of all the guys I've ever dated - good and bad. I have a strong sense of justice like Daisy but she gets to say what she thinks more than me! Having her as a character makes it fun because I couldn't say the things she does and I get to play it all out on paper. I have 5 older brothers therefore it was easy to write about Daisy's 3. My parents are very supportive and fun. I am a 'nice' girl too so finding Daisy's voice was easy. I LOVE the beach. Everyone has had friends who've let them down and those feelings were easy to draw on. Other than that, she's a person of her own.

What's something you've learned about yourself during your time writing Friendship on Fire?

That I can write. I can be disciplined and finish something worth finishing. That I can flesh out characters and issues and they might just work. That the teenager inside me is still there, it's just been a while.

What influences you as an author?

Memories. Reading, although I hadn't read anything YA for years before opening my laptop to write Friendship on Fire. Sometimes just reading gives me the urge to start a new story, but I need inspiration to start writing. I'm not one of those authors who writes all the time just to practice writing. That would do my head in, and I have a day job anyway. At the moment, I'm editing, not writing. The discipline doesn't work for me if there's nothing at the end of it.

Have you read any YA books lately that you'd recommend we pick up?

I've just ordered Raw Blue by Kirsty Eagar online so I'm excited to start that. Awesome books I've read this year are Stolen, by Lucy Christopher, Beautiful Malice by Rebecca James, Girl, Aloud by Emily Gale and various others. I LOVE Everything Beautiful by Simmone Howell. I'm reading The Land of Painted Caves at the moment by Jean Auel - half way through - but it's not YA. I'm also waiting to get my signed copy of Fury from Shirley Marr!!!

Thank you so much for visiting with us today!

Thanks for having me! :)

You can follow Danielle on her website, facebook

You can purchase the book from Amazon | The Book Depository

You can also find the book on Goodreads

Thank you to Danielle, we also have a copy of her book, Friendship on Fire to giveaway. This is open internationally. To enter, please fill out the form below.

- 1 entry per person

- you must be 13 yrs & older to enter

- this giveaway will end on October 29th, 2011