Ginger Scott - Waiting on the Sidelines
• Pub Date: April 14, 2013
• Publisher: Ginger Scott
• Format: Paperback/Ebook, 335 pages
• Age Range: Young Adult
Nolan Lennox had things figured out. Named after a baseball legend, she enjoyed being the Tomboy, her closet filled with her brother’s hand-me-downs, cut-off jeans and soccer shorts. But when her first trip to high school results in a broken heart from the first boy to ever make her heart flutter and cruel words from an older girl she once thought a family friend, Nolan starts to question the very person she thought she was and wonders if her humble upbringing can compete with the afforded luxuries of her privileged peers.
Throughout the next four years, Nolan struggles to maintain herself throughout her path of discovery, learning just how cruel teenagers can be through the pressures of underage drinking, sexuality and class. And despite how life seems to continue to work against her, she still manages to listen to her heart, falling deeper and deeper for the guy the entire town adores, even if he only sees her as a friend. Can Nolan strike a compromise between her own integrity and the boy she loves? And can she make him notice her before it’s too late?
Reed Johnson came to Coolidge High School with a lot of fanfare. The son of a hometown football legend and the brother of a local football hero, Reed wore all the pressures of carrying a town without hope into the spotlight. Thankfully, he had the talent to back it up. But when he meets a girl who makes him think twice about exactly what being a hero means, he starts to wonder if following in his brother’s footsteps might be all wrong.
Nolan Lennox was everything that was opposite of expected. She didn’t flirt, she didn’t drink and she didn’t sleep around. Nothing about her was easy, but something about her made Reed want to try harder. Though she didn’t look the part, she seemed to be spending a lot of time in Reed’s thoughts, and he wondered if she could be the one who made it all worthwhile. But could Reed handle letting her down? And would breaking her heart break him beyond repair?
Waiting on the Sidelines explores young love to its fullest, exposing how real young heartbreak and passion is and how important it is to discover yourself and hold onto your own identity. The story follows two young characters as they deal with mature situations, including the prevalence of bullying and promiscuity in today’s high school setting. Ultimately, Waiting on the Sidelines is a story of hope, honesty and those powerful, first true loves—the ones worth holding onto at any cost.
Interview with Ginger Scott
Ginger: Well, I'm an Arizona girl, bit of a Tomboy and a sucker for heartbreak and romance. I've recently published my first novel called Waiting on the Sidelines, a coming-of-age romance that takes readers along for every first in the young heroine's life—from her first kiss to her first broken heart.
Mickey: How long have you been writing? Was this something you've always wanted to do?
Ginger: I have been writing since I was a teenager...though my work then was probably not very good. I went to ASU and studied journalism because I knew I wanted a career that let me tell stories. I worked for the Arizona Republic, Tribune papers and a whole host of magazines, but my heart was always in the creative side. I've wanted to write a coming-of-age love story since I was in high school and experiencing the angst and drama and growing pains myself. I've probably had the heart of my story written for years, but this year I finally found the courage to finish it, put it to paper (digital paper, of course) and share it with the reading world.
Mickey: Tell us a little bit about your book, Waiting on the Sidelines.
Ginger: Waiting on the Sidelines is about the anxieties young girls feel over not being good enough, pretty enough, sexy enough, rich enough or daring enough to fit in. It’s about wanting someone so badly but not feeling confident enough in yourself to put your heart on the line. And it’s about desperately craving attention, but also fighting to blend in. My story follows Nolan Lennox, a girl with a boy’s name, as she matures through high school and struggles with being tortured by a cruel bully and loving the emotionally flawed quarterback who is beloved by their small Arizona town. Character-driven, Waiting on the Sidelines takes you along for every heartbreak, celebration and moment of self-doubt Nolan has as she becomes a woman. Readers experience the rush of Nolan’s first kiss as well as the crushing shame she harbors over her own weakness and inability to stand up to her tormentors. Ultimately, you are immersed in the small town and will come away feeling as if you are also one of Nolan’s closest friends, and possibly in love with the same, irresistible boy she is.
Mickey: What's your writing process like? And how do you name your characters?
Ginger: I get flashes of scenes in my head constantly and I write them in my notebook that I carry in my purse at all times. When I am finally ready to string things together into a story, I put together a bit of an outline. Nothing too concrete, but a guide—mostly so I don’t forget some of those golden nuggets I’ve scribbled down and so I can find threads to connect them. I’m almost telling myself the story when I start writing, and I get excited when I’m approaching a chapter that I know has a lot of emotion and grit to it.
Now, as for naming characters, that’s a bit of a gut instinct. The first characters I named in “Waiting on the Sidelines” were Nolan (my heroine who I adore with all my heart) and Buck Johnson, the wealthy car dealer with the biggest ranch in town who, despite his position in life, has a heart of gold. I feel like a name paints a picture of what someone looks like in reader’s heads, so I play a lot of “What does that name look like?”
Mickey: Do you have any writing rituals
Ginger: I do most of my writing in the wee hours, well after the rest of the family is in bed. I’m at my best then, plus the house is nice and quiet. I usually have a soundtrack going that fits the mood—the Lumineers really influenced my first novel. As I’m writing the second one, which is due out in October, I’m finding I’m listening to a lot of The National and Cold War Kids.
Mickey: Any plans for an audio book? If you could pick anyone to narrate your novel, who would you choose?
Ginger: No audio plans at this point, though I would love it if there were. If I had my pick? I’d go with Drew Barrymore. She’s always been the every-woman to me, and I think she fits the voice of Nolan.
Mickey: So you live in Arizona like I do! Tell me: Sun Devil or Wildcat?
Ginger: Sun Devil. There is no other choice. Lumberjacks are tolerable, but Wildcat? No way!
The irony here is that one of my main characters has major ties to the University of Arizona and the Wildcat football program. We have a joke in our household, though, that the only way the UofA football team could be this good is in a fictional setting.
Mickey: It's been in the 110s for a while now. How do you deal with the summer heat?
Ginger: I’m an Arizona native, and us desert-dwellers know that the trade off for the absolutely stunning sunsets and glorious winters is the drip-down-your-back, constant-sweaty summers. You just learn to love the air conditioning and resolve yourself to the fact that it is the best money you will ever spend. I probably shouldn’t let the secret out, either, but our northern towns are pretty amazing in the summer months. The occasional escape is called for (yes, we actually do have pine trees here in the southwest).
Mickey: What's your favorite fruit to eat?
Ginger: Hmmmmm, I’d have to go with pineapple. I love lemon, too. Anything lemon-flavored takes the cake for me…mmmmmm, lemon cake.
Mickey: Thanks for being on the blog today! What's up next for Ginger Scott?
Ginger: I’m finishing up the follow up to Waiting on the Sidelines. It’s called Going Long, and follows the main characters into college. I have been overwhelmed with the response to my first book and am awed and so deeply touched that people have embraced Reed and Nolan and their push-and-pull love for one another. The fact that I get to continue their story is just the cherry on top. Going Long is set to be launched in October. And I have a notebook full of scenes introducing an entirely new set of characters that I can’t wait to spend the late hours of the night bringing to life.
Ginger Scott is a writer and journalist from Peoria, Arizona. Her book, "Waiting on the Sidelines," is a coming-of-age love story that explores the real heartbreak we all feel as we become adults throughout our high school years. The story follows two characters, Nolan (a Tomboy with a boy's name) and Reed (the quarterback she wishes would notice her) as they struggle with peer-pressure, underage drinking, bullying and finding a balance between what your heart wants and what society says you should want -- even if you aren't ready. You can read her book now in Amazon's kindle store.
Scott has been writing and editing for newspapers, magazines and blogs for more than 15 years. She has told the stories of Olympians, politicians, actors, scientists, cowboys, criminals and towns. For more on her and her work, visit her website at http://www.littlemisswrite.com.
When she's not writing, the odds are high that she's somewhere near a baseball diamond, either watching her 9-year-old field pop flies like Bryce Harper or cheering on her favorite baseball team, the Arizona Diamondbacks. Scott is married to her college sweetheart whom she met at ASU (fork 'em, Devils).
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