Authors Around the World

Welcome to my leg of the Authors Around the World blog hop! Today we are getting to know Jennifer Laurens, author of the fantastic book Grace Doll.

Synopsis:

Grace Doll had everything a girl could want: Fame. Fortune. Beauty.  
 
Everything except her freedom. So when a powerful movie producer forces an experimental treatment on Grace--one that's purported to make beauty immortal--she stages her own death to escape him. With the help of trusted friends, Grace slips into hiding. She's forever flawless. Forever young, and forever pursued by herpast. 
 
But when a stranger arrives on her doorstep, holding the key to a life she thought she'd left behind, Grace must decide between the safety she's known...andembracing the role she was born to play.

What gave you the idea for the book? 

After college I worked in the entertainment business. I met some fascinating people, saw some interesting human behaviors and learned a lot about the business having an on-set view.

Who are your main characters? Grace Doll, Brenden, Rufus Solomon, Oscar, Jonathan and Judy.

Who is your favorite character and why? Oooh Grace was challenging to write because she’s lived 80 years but she’s in a teenager’s body. I loved the complex nuances of her.
Share one quirky trait in one of your characters. Grace lived through the depression, so she can’t throw anything away.

What was your biggest challenge writing this book? No question—Grace’s character having lived a lot of life but having been immortalized at seventeen made her a challenge. Also, the entire book takes place over 3 days – making the love story bloom in a believable manner was also a challenge.

Spill a secret, mystery or hidden thing in your book: I do these ‘taylor swift-ish’ secrets in all of my books. In Grace Doll, the Vanity Fair article is ‘written by’ a fictitious character after a nickname given to me by my step father, L. Duvall. He passed away this year, and he’d have gotten a laugh out of that.

Where do you live? Utah.

What's a cool, unknown spot? Bear Lake – but every natural place here is well-known. Utah is an outdoors-man paradise.

Tell us a little about an interesting landmark in your country. 

The USA is diverse, and I’ve been lucky to travel to most of it. I adored the swamps of Louisiana and the mystic mood of New Orleans.

What’s the most well known city in your country and why? 

I’m from SoCal, so I have to cheer for Los Angeles. Hollywood. I think those two words say it all.

What's a little known fact about where you live? 

Utah is a very safe state. People leave their doors unlocked. Not me, because I’m from Los Angeles, haha.

Name two famous people who’ve been sighted in your corner of the world. 

Robert Redford and Donny Osmond.

What is the one thing tourists must do? 

See Temple Square in Salt Lake City. It’s the center of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and it’s beautifully done, and the heart of the state and why Utah is here today. A must see.

What's your favorite thing to do? 

Travel away from Utah.

What's your favorite restaurant and what type of food do they serve? 

Utah does ice cream better than any other state.

What are you giving away on your blog? 

An ARC of Grace Doll.

Who is the author you are highlighting on your blog?

Courtney Vail, author of Kings & Queens

Where can readers connect with you? www.jenniferlaurens.com. http://www.jenniferlaurens.blogspot.com. @jenniferlaurens on Twitter and on my Amazon author page.

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