BookCatPin: Blog Tour - Guest Post & Excerpt: Me (and) Me by Alice Kuipers

Hey everyone! Today on the blog I have author Alice Kuipers here to talk about her writing companion. Spoilers: she's adorable ;) There's also an excerpt to her newest YA release Me (and) Me that you definitely want to check out!

Me and Me

by Alice Kuipers

April 11, 2017

288 pages

Goodreads Indigo Amazon

Goodreads Summary:

It’s Lark’s seventeenth birthday, and although she’s hated to be reminded of the day ever since her mom’s death three years ago, it’s off to a great start. Lark has written a killer song to perform with her band, the weather is stunning and she’s got a date with gorgeous Alec. The two take a canoe out on the lake, and everything is perfect—until Lark hears the screams. Annabelle, a little girl she used to babysit, is drowning in the nearby reeds while Annabelle’s mom tries desperately to reach her. Lark and Alec are closer, and they both dive in. But Alec hits his head on a rock in the water and begins to flail.

Alec and Annabelle are drowning. And Lark can save only one of them.

Lark chooses, and in that moment her world splits into two distinct lives. She must live with the consequences of both choices. As Lark finds herself going down more than one path, she has to decide: Which life is the right one?

Alice Kuipers, the award-winning author of 40 Things I Want to Tell You and Life on the Refrigerator Door, is an expert chronicler of the teenage heart, and she takes her work to new heights here. A riveting, high-concept novel with heart, Me and Me is about what it feels like to be torn in pieces, and about finally finding out who you really are.

Writing with My Dog

I’m allergic to furry animals. All of them. Cats make me sneeze and wheeze, dogs make me itch and cough, horses practically kill me. But I love animals. As I child, I used to dream of a perfect fur-free (yet beautiful, often rainbow-coloured) pet. We actually had cats when I was little but if I let them sit on my lap, I’d come up in hives. As an adult, my partner and I bought a parrot, but after two years of using my inhaler all the time, I knew we’d have to give our darling bird to a better home.

Then, when I was pregnant with my fourth child, I decided to get a puppy. Pregnancy made me soft and mushy and a puppy seemed like the cutest idea. I researched hypoallergenic breeds, found a breeder and went with my children to see if I would be allergic to this type of dog.

After all these years of sneezing around pets, it turned out that with Havanese Dogs, like the internet promised, I wasn’t allergic. I couldn’t believe it. And then I couldn’t believe I’d got our family into a situation where we were going to have a new baby and a new dog all at once.

But my children were in love with her. So Bamboo (the kids named her) came to us when she was thirteen weeks old. At first, having a puppy and a newborn all at the same time was, well, a bit much. But then Bamboo stopped peeing on the floor and my baby started sleeping a bit better. And I got back to work. Only to discover that my small furry friend wanted to come and lay in my office while I was writing.

As I wrote and rewrote my new novel, Me (and) Me, Bamboo rested in her dog-bed at my feet. When I did my edits, she curled up on the couch with me. During the moments that I was losing my mind trying to figure out how to tell my story best, I took long walks by the river with Bamboo racing by my side.

Bamboo may not be rainbow-coloured, or fur-free, but she’s turned out to be the perfect pet for me. And not just because she doesn’t make me sneeze, but because she’s a companion during the lonely hours I spend writing. A quiet, soulful-eyed, non-shedding companion. I suspect that she’ll find her way into my next novel—just as she’s found her way into my office.

Excerpt

Faltering and goofing off, suddenly we’re giggling as he crouches and tugs off his jeans and I do the same—tricky in a canoe. We’re stripped down to our underwear. The sun is amazing-warm against my skin. He steps closer along the canoe, causing it to wobble again. I bet he’s gonna come up to me and kiss me.

Instead he turns to the water. “Come on.”

A shout stops us. “Help! Oh my God, someone help me!”

It’s Suzanne. I thought we were far from everyone, but I catch a glimpse of her flailing in the water just through the reeds.

And a red life jacket.

Annabelle!

She’s floating face down on the other side of the canoe from Suzanne. Alec and I glance at each other. Alec dives and I jump. The water is as cold as death. I lift my face to orient myself, pushing hair out of my eyes, and then, focused, I knife through the water.

Now Annabelle is about ten metres away from me. Suzanne still flounders in the reeds.

“Help her!”

Just then, Alec cries out. I glance back. He’s about ten metres behind me, blood pouring from his temple. His eyes are glassy.

“I banged my . . . I . . .”

He’s sinking. “Alec!”

“I can’t get to her!” Suzanne fights the reeds that have entangled her.

I turn back. I’m halfway between Annabelle and Alec. I have to save them. Alec is going under. Annabelle is face down. I can’t breathe. Pain radiates through my chest. I tread water, frantically looking one way and then the other.

I do not know who to choose.

Suzanne screams, “Lark!

DO SOMETHING!”

But I can’t.

Author Bio:
Bestselling, award winning author Alice Kuipers has published four award-winning YA novels. Internationally, most recently, The Death of Us, is a CLA shortlisted title. Her two picture books feature twins Violet and Victor and she has an upcoming chapter books series with Chronicle Press. Me (and) Me, her fifth YA novel, is described by Bif Naked as mesmerising. Alice has four children.

Website Goodreads

Follow the tour below!