As part of the Girlfriend’s Cyber Circuit, I am pleased to host Wendy Toliver today. Her novel “Lifted” released this week and has received strong reviews from VOYA, Booklist and others! Here’s a description of the story.

Being Bad Never Felt So Good.

Poppy Browne had never stolen anything in her life before moving to Pleasant Acres, Texas and meeting Mary Jane and Whitney. But when Poppy walks out of the mall with her two new friends and her first pair of stolen jeans, she’s hooked. Before long, Poppy is lifting whenever she gets the urge—it’s never about the merchandise, it’s always about the thrill. But when her secret gets out, the girls in Poppy’s clique turn on one another. As she watches her life collapse around her, Poppy must decide where her loyalties lie … and how far she’ll go to protect herself. .

Lifted by Wendy Toliver

Daisy: If you met your 16 year old self, what piece of advice would you give her?
Wendy: I’d tell sixteen year-old Wendy to spend less time worrying about getting a boyfriend. I never even had a real kiss until I was almost 18, which means lots of wasted energy and stress for nothing.

Daisy: I have created magnificent ass dents in two couches from all the writing time I log. I also have a pair of white fuzzy boot slippers that look like something a yeti might wear if yetis wore boots. What piece of clothing or item in your home would provide the necessary evidence to prove to the authorities that you are a writer if questioned?
Wendy: My bed is NEVER made. Okay, well, if I’m having a party or something, but only a few minutes before the first guests arrive. I love writing in bed, that’s why.?

Daisy:When you tell people you write books for teens, what do you say when they ask, “Oh, like Twilight?”
Wendy: Haha! Good question. I say, “I wish!”

Daisy: When you’re not reading or writing, where can you most likely be found?
Wendy: In the laundry room, in the kitchen cooking, at the grocery store, in the car driving my sons around, coaching basketball or soccer, in the doctor’s office (I have three boys), volunteering, traveling, wakeboarding, snowboarding, going on a walk, in bed watching TV or a movie … yep, that about covers it!

Daisy: In my first novel The Mockingbirds, a group of boarding school students form an underground justice system to right the wrongs of their peers. Looking back on your high school experience, what type of secret society did your school need the most?
Wendy: One to make sure the coaches were putting the most deserving athletes on their teams and not giving in to politics, age, etc.

Daisy: Most people want to know who would play your main character if your novel became a film. But I’m a Broadway geek, so I want to know what you would call the show-stopping number from your novel when it becomes a Broadway musical.
Wendy: Sinfully Good.

Daisy: I’m going to tweet this blog post. So tell me in 140 characters or less, why people should buy your book.
Wendy: In a town where pedigrees, reputations, and church attendance is everything, what happens when 3 popular teens’ shoplifting secret gets out?

Thanks, Wendy!

Here’s a trailer for her novel!