Blog Tour for Emma Hearts LA: Guest Post by Keris Stainton

Emma Hearts LA 
by Keris Stainton

Release Date: June 7th, 2012

Publishers: Orchard
See Donna's Review: HERE

Visit Keris: Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads / Website

Buy : Amazon UK / Amazon US / The Book Depo

Emma's not sure that LA's for her, but when she accompanies her sister Jane to an audition, a chance meeting with a teen TV star starts to change her new sunshine lifestyle for the better...
<
 But what about Oscar, so far her only friend in LA, who's turning out NOT to be the idiot she thought he was?
<
Soon Emma begins to find herself torn between two boys and reconsidering her entire future. Maybe LA's not that bad after all.

Why LA?

Why LA? That's a very good question. I can't actually remember why I originally decided to set the book there, but after I'd sent the proposal to my publishers, I changed my mind. I didn't think I'd be able to go and do a research trip and I found that even though I've been watching films and TV shows set in LA all my life, I couldn't really picture it. 

In my mind, I had the Hollywood sign, Hollywood Boulevard (with the Walk of Fame and Graumann's Chinese Theatre), Rodeo Drive (from Pretty Woman) and the beach (from The OC), but no idea of where people lived or hung out. I'd discovered the Venice canals, which helped, because I knew I wanted to set the book in Venice Beach, but again, no real idea of what it might be like to live there. 

While I was waiting to hear back from my publishers about Emma (publishing takes forever!), I started writing another book set in Italy. And I fell madly in love with it. So when my publishers came back and said they loved Emma, I was sort of disappointed. I didn't want to write Emma, I wanted to write about Milly. In Italy. And have a research trip to Rome. And drink wine and eat pizza. 

My publishers didn't care about me getting to eat pizza. They just really loved the idea of Emma Hearts LA and they wanted me to stop whining and write it (they didn't actually say this, you understand).  

Fortunately, I was able to arrange a research trip to LA and that changed everything. I absolutely loved the place. And Venice was perfect for the book. 

I'd still like to finish the Italy book, though. And not only for the pizza...

About the author:

Keris Stainton was born in Canada, and brought up on the Wirral. She now lives in the Ribble Valley with her husband and two young sons, who make her laugh every day. Sometimes intentionally.

As a freelance journalist, Keris has written for publications as diverse as Practical Parenting, Scarlet and The Daily Express, and edited the women’s book site, Trashionista, for two years.

In 2005 she gave up her job as an administrator in Corporate Recovery and Personal Insolvency (which is exactly as exciting as it sounds) to write full time.

Her first novel, Della Says: OMG! was published by Orchard Books in 2010 and her second, Jessie Hearts NYC was published in 2011. Emma Hearts LA is out now.