Blog Tour Guest Post: Courtney Vail

I haven’t told a soul this, ’cause it’s kind of embarrassing, and frankly, quite sad, but the first glimmer of inspiration I got for my novel, Kings & Queens, came from the movie, Drive Me Crazy…yep, the one with Melissa Joan Hart and Adrian Grenier. Didn’t I warn you about the sad?

In that movie, the leads live next door to each other, and something about that scenario seemed cool and interesting to me. And in my mind, I discovered this character Majesty. All I knew was that she was feisty, tomboyish and the manager of her school’s baseball team and the BFF of two guys: Derek and Alec. Although not a direct source of inspiration, it was kind of a Dawson’s Creek thing I guess.

But I’m not a romance writer. I need plot, beyond character conflict. I love suspense and weirdness, like the Dean Koontz, John Saul, Lois Duncan variety, so I wanted to work in something odd and compelling, but had nothing. Well, one night, I dreamt I was running for exercise, yes I do that, crazy I know, and overheard these two guys planning a church massacre and escaped them in this little town. Boom! Exactly what I needed. I found the seedling for my dark plot, as well as the setting for my story.

So, I brainstormed, wrote character sketches, spun out bits of dialogue and jotted a few key points, then just dove in. And the story grew into something totally shocking, unexpected and awesome. Incidentally, Majesty and Derek ended up living on opposite sides of the river in their class-divided town rather than next door to one another. That just worked better.

Sometimes, I’ll be rereading some of my favorite scenes, and thinking, wow, I wrote that? Yeah, I actually WROTE that. Several of Derek’s scenes, especially, are so intense and heartbreaking.

One of my friends was abused as a child and ended up shooting his puppy out of anger, so Derek’s tumultuous childhood was spawned from that awful and very real place. I wanted to explore that and see what a character would do with that past, where he’d go, how he’d ever find peace and love when he kept everyone at a distance with biting remarks, when he didn’t have the guts to trust anyone. Because Derek is so complex and scarred, most of my early readers ended up caring for him the most. And I actually did too. He’s definitely my fave.

I had a blast taking the sparks of inspiration I found and weaving them together to create a wild and twisty read, one that I hope will not only entertain, but also be difficult to put down and forget.

Thanks for reading!

Kings & Queens Review

Kings & Queens
Courtney Vail

Publisher: Little Prince Publishing
Release Date: July 16, 2011
Series: N/A
Genre: YA, Mystery
Pages: Paperback, 316 pages
Source: Publisher
Rating: 5/5 (Avg 4/5)

Seventeen-year-old Majesty Alistair wants police to look further into her father’s fatal car wreck, hopes the baseball team she manages can reclaim the state crown, aches for Derek…or, no…maybe Alec…maybe. And she mostly wishes to retract the hateful words she said to her dad right before slamming the door in his face, only to never see him again.

All her desires get sidelined, though, when she overhears two fellow students planning a church massacre. She doubts cops will follow up on her tip since they’re sick of her coming around with notions of possible crimes-in-the-works. And it’s not like she cries wolf. Not really. They’d be freaked too, but they’re not the ones suffering from bloody dreams that hint at disaster like some crazy, street guy forecasting the Apocalypse.

So, she does what any habitual winner with zero cred would do…try to I.D. the nutjobs before they act. But, when their agenda turns out to be far bigger than she ever assumed, and even friends start looking suspect, the truth and her actions threaten to haunt her forever, especially since she’s left with blood on her hands, the blood of someone she loves.

This book... was something else. I'll start with the outside and work my way in so I can form the right words for what I want to say about Kings & Queens. The cover is gorgeous. I love the colors, I love the slight grunge feel to it with the text and brushes. The lips and everything about the cover sums up what you'll get to look forward to in the book. Confused? You should be.

I think the best way for me to describe the book is quirky. "Beautifully unique" would be another term I'd use. I just.. I love this book, and I don't know how to review this book without giving away too much. Reading the book through will keep you frustratingly frazzled most of the time, and you will think you're more confused than you really are. Once I was done with the story, I sat it down and just thought about it for a few moments. To my absolute amazement, I understood everything that went on in the book in almost perfect detail. Brilliant!

Each character, especially Majesty, was like a 20-Layer Cake. There was so much dimension and character development that it was almost too much to take... almost. The book was both character-driven and plot-driven, which promises to be an exciting ride for every type of YA reader. Add to this Courtney's incredible writing style and you have a story that you want to devour in one sitting.

When the spindly finger of doom first poked Majesty five months ago, she’d shrugged it off with a “yeah, right,” only to have her father end up near-headless in a ditch under a blanket of safety glass.