Interview with Melissa Jensen, author of The Fine Art of Truth or Dare

Hello amigos! today is February 15! which means yesterday was Valentine's Day and tomorrow is the day The Fine Art of Truth or Dare finally comes out!

yay! fiesta!



Which means you should get it for yourself as a late Valentine's gift, because what better way to have a romantic and fun experience without even leaving your house.

You know what I think of this book, but now you can form your own opinion, folks! but before you go out to buy it, check out this short, fun interview I did with the author Melissa Jensen.

The Fine Art of Truth or Dare is a great title for the book. I love that it sums it up perfectly; was it your first choice? Did you have some other titles before you came up with it?

 

Thanks. Glad you like it. The book's original working title was just "Truth or Dare", but my editor and I agreed we needed something more or different. We debated "Willing Girl", which worked for numerous reasons, but decided against it, for numerous reasons. I came up with "The Fine Art of Truth or Dare" next. It made everyone happy and absolutely suits the book.

*I think I can see why they decided against Willing Girl haha it fit, though. But like I said TFAoToD is absolutely perfect!

 

Is Edward Willing story really true? What is it about him that captivated you enough to make him such a big part of your book?

Edward is totally a figment of my imagination. I wanted to create a talented but second-tier painter with strong ties to Philadelphia and a story that could complement Ella's. I needed him to be Ella's alter-ego in a sense-- someone who lived in ways she didn't and took chances she wouldn't. Having Edward speak to Ella was the best part. He's a little snarky and a little sweet, and the fact that he's dead makes their conversations a little more interesting.

*that's what I meant when I mentioned in my review that Edward was a character himself, cause he talks to Ella! oh and btw, don't judge me for not knowing Edward was fictional because a) I have a lot going on in my head and b) I'm not even american.

We get to see bit of a "song war" going on between Frankie and Ella. But what song do you think Alex would dedicate to Ella?

Um, well...Between you and me, Alex's taste in music is a bit, shall we say, guy and predictable. He would probably go for something like "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" by Aerosmith. Now, I would encourage him to splash out just a little, choose something like the classic "I Melt with You" by Modern English, or quirky "The Book of Love" by the Magnetic Fields, or my personal fave, the tragically overlooked "Throw Your Arms Around Me" by Hunters and Collectors. There's a slower version they did around 1990 that's just amazing. <good sigh.>

*Oh. I'm so guy cause I think "I don't want to miss a thing" is adorable haha. It's one of my local walmart's favorite. You can drop by at 2:00am sunday morning and it's likely you'll hear it (but "throw your arms around me" is great too).



 

Imagine a TV producer is trying to reach you because he wants two of your characters to have their own reality show. Which ones would you choose?

What/who comes to mind immediately is Amanda Alstead, the OTT bitchy Queen Bee of the Willing School, and I would totally pair her with my beloved Frankie Hobbes, Ella's best friend and a princely (if sometimes bitchy) guy. He's more than Amanda's match. I would put them in an RV and send them around the country, making them deal with each other and take on other people with Attitude, kinda "What Not to Wear" meets "Dr. Phil". Amanda would probably end up in physical catfights. Frankie might actually make the world a better place.

*haha I would so watch that! Frankie's snark remarks and sarcastic musical choices plus Amanda's bitchiness would make that reality show the next hunger games



 

Your novel is compared to Pretty in Pink, which is great because that movie is amazing. And I know you’ve seen it, so now tell us, who was your favorite character from that movie?

I loved Duckie. Who doesn't love Duckie? Funny, sweet, devoted, stylish. Blaine was fine; I like Andrew McCarthy. But he wasn't very interesting. Duckie endures. I gotta say "The Breakfast Club" remains my John Hughes movie of choice by a pretty big margin, but PiP will, I think, remain one of the classic Cinderella stories of teen film history. Only maybe in its next incarnation, the Duckie will get the girl. Did you know that's how the movie originally ended...?

*yeah, that would have been awesome! I've heard they didn't went for it cause they didn't ant people to think the poor girl will never get the rich guy or something like that. Oh & I agree about Breakfast Club being the best one, although I don't think Bender is that hot, my favorite was Andrew. But Duckie is my favorite character of all Hughes movies :D

Thanks to Ms. Jensen for her time and everyone else giving this book a chance! :)