Q&A with author Laurel Gans

Meet the Author

Laurel Gans is a graduate of Bowling Green State University where she studied Spanish. She is currently a dental student at The Ohio State University with her twin sister, Stephanie. She enjoys writing, water sports and spending time with her family and friends.

Q&A:

Q.  What inspires your writing?

A.  I find common, everyday things to be the most inspiring. Oftentimes, it’s the little things in life that contain the most humor and heart.

Q.  What is your favorite thing about being an author?

A.  There’s no better feeling than when I hear the audience laugh at my work--especially when it’s a comedy. I enjoy giving people something to smile about even when I’m not there.

Q.  What is the toughest part of being an author?

A.  That moment when an actor delivers a line that I thought was absolutely hysterical and the audience doesn’t make a sound. Whoops!

Q.  If you could not be author, what would you do/be?

A. I’ve always thought being a house flipper would be the most amazing job! I’d have my own show on HGTV and call it “Yeah--We’re Gonna Need Another Week.”

Q.  What would the story of your life be entitled?

A.   I would call it: “Don’t Post That on Facebook!”

Q.  What is your favorite book of all time?

A.  I love the book Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult. I read it when I was 17 and it was the first time I ever enjoyed reading a book.

Q.  Which character from ANY book are you most like?

A.  I’m going to have to go with Rebecca Bloomwood from Confessions of a Shopaholic . We’re both goofy, fun and love to shop. Most importantly, we can both convince ourselves that any purchase is justified! I don’t need much convincing though. A kitchen just isn’t complete without a Magic Bullet, Food Saver, and those little plastic things you snap onto coke cans to make them into coke bottles!

Q.  What character from all of your book(s) are you most like?

A. I put a (slightly) exaggerated version of my twin sister, Stephanie, and myself in the book as the twins Cara and Tara Lewis. We’re both giggly, overly co-dependent, and half the time people can’t follow our conversations.

Q.  What is your favorite season?

A. Summer! I love being outside and on the water!

Q.  Tell me something funny that happened while on a book tour or while promoting your book(s).

A. During readings of Waitlisted the audience was always given a chance to give feedback. I always found it funny when people would refer to Kacey as “Laurel.” They’d say “I love the scene when Laurel is in o-chem lab” or “I felt so bad for Laurel during the DAT…” It was so flattering that they found the writing natural enough and the storylines true enough to be real. However, Kacey can be pretty nasty and does some questionable things. I was little concerned they thought I would actually do those things!

Q.  Are you working on something new?

A.  I would love to write a fictional comedy about being a substitute teacher. The year between college and dental school I worked as a substitute at my cousins’ school district and I had an amazing time. I had five little cousins at the elementary school and had a blast seeing them every day.  I was everything from the gym teacher to the biology lab teacher. I think it would be really fun time of my life to write about!

Q.  Anything you want to say to followers of this blog or those that are just stopping by?

A.  Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to check out Waitlisted at www.facebook.com/Waitlistedthenovel to watch videos of the readings and to learn more about the book! 

About the Book:

Overview

Kacey Barlow had no idea it would be this hard to get into grad school. Her well-to-do family has been attending UI for generations, and admissions had been recruiting her since high school! She was a shoo-in—that is, until they gave her the boot.

She can’t tell her parents, and can’t stand the thought of her friends going off to grad school without her. Her grades are slipping. Her professors can’t remember her name, and her tutor, Taylor, won’t stop hitting on her when they’re supposed to be studying.

Okay, maybe that last one isn’t so bad. But it’s not going to help get her a seat in another school...and applications are due in two weeks...

BUY WAITLISTED HERE