Author Interview: Mindi Scott

I'd like to welcome Mindi Scott, author of Freefall and Live Through This, to the blog today for a little interview!

About Mindi Scott
Mindi Scott is the author of Freefall and Live Through This. She lives near Seattle, Washington, with her drummer husband in a house with a non-soundproof basement.

Website | TwitterGoodreads

Share with us two of your favorite things and two of your pet peeves!

Favorites: My cheetah-print luggage and Starbursts candy.
Pet peeves: The smell of bacon, and people who push their way onto buses and elevators when others are still exiting.


Describe your book in a tweet (140 characters or less!).

The story of one teen's struggle to face a secret she's keeping from everyone, including herself.


How important do you think it is for tough issues to be discussed in books for teens who may be going through similar experiences but do not have a strong support system or don't feel as though they can confide in another?

I think it's absolutely vital. To be honest, in spite of my experiences, I didn't fully grasp that the word "abuse" applied to me until I was twenty-one. It was then that I read a non-fiction book about abuse that described a girl in a situation identical to what mine had been. It was a shocking realization, but it was something that I needed to understand so that I could begin to move on from it.


How did living through an experience similar to Coley's affect your desire/drive/ability to tell this story?

For years, I told myself that I would never write a book about sexual abuse because it was too difficult, too uncomfortable. Once this particular idea came to me, though, I was determined to see it through. This book isn't a memoir, but most of Coley's emotions and fears come from a very real place. I didn't have to research what it feels like to be a victim in a situation like this, but I did so anyway. I researched from every angle to make sure that I fully understood all of the characters involved.


What are some other tough issues books that you would recommend?

Does Courtney Summers write "issues" books? Because I love everything I've read by her! I also was moved by I Know It's Over by C.K. Kelly Martin, Never Enough by Denise Jaden, Lessons from a Dead Girl by Jo Knowles, Just Listen by Sarah Dessen, and Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson.

Much thanks to Mindi for stopping by the blog and answering a few questions!


If Coley Sterling’s best friend would stop hating her, if her dance-team captains would lighten up, if her friends would stop asking her about Reece, the geeky sax player she’s crushing on—then her life would be perfect. Right? After all, Coley’s stepdad is a successful attorney who gives Coley and her siblings everything, and her mother will stop at nothing to keep them all happy and safe—including having escaped ten years ago from the abuse of Coley’s real father.

But Coley is keeping a lot of secrets. She won’t admit—not even to herself—that her almost-perfect life is her own carefully crafted façade. Now, Coley and Reece are getting closer, and a decade’s worth of Coley’s lies are on the verge of unraveling—along with the life she thought she knew.

Amazon | Goodreads

Thanks to The {Teen} Book Scene for hosting the Live Through This blog tour!

6 comments:

  1. Great interview, Jenny. Live Through This sounds like a really good book to, will have to make sure to check it out whenever I get the chance.

    - Justin @ Justin's Book Blog.

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  2. Abuse is such a tough subject to tackle, but I'm so glad that there are very realistic accounts of it out there, like the one in Mindi Scott's novel, for young adults to identify with. Even so, we need to do more to put this type of novel out there for young people...I wish I'd known about books like this when I was going through an abusive situation when I was (much) younger. Thanks for sharing this interview, Jenny!

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    1. Right? I had a boyfriend situation growing up that was similar to the one in Stay by Deb Caletti, and I probably never would have considered the way that he treated me obsessive or a form of emotional abuse before I read that book. If I had read a book like that in highschool, then I probably would've dumped him a lot faster than I did. It was similar enough that when I read it, it brought me back to that and kinda freaked me out. I'm glad to see books like these being put out there for kids who may not even realize what is happening to them.

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  3. Jenny, thank you so much for your thoughtful questions. I really appreciate that you let me visit your blog! :-)

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    1. Thank YOU for answering my questions and for being so nice! :)

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