UNDER MY SKIN by Laura Diamond
PUBLISHER: Swoon Romance
Publication: April 12, 2016
Ages: Young Adult
Category: Contemporary Romance
Blurb:
Bookish Brit
Adam Gibson is one wonky heartbeat away from a fatal arrhythmia. But staying
alive requires Adam to become keenly focused on both his pulse and the many
different daily medications he must take in exactly the right dosages. Adam's
torn between wanting to live and knowing that someone else must die in order
for him to do so. He needs a new heart.
The pressure
is getting to him. Adam stops talking to his friends back home, refuses to meet
kids at his new school, and shuts his parents out entirely. His days are spent
wondering if can cope with having a dead man's heart beating inside his chest,
or if he should surrender to the thoughts of suicide swirling around in his
head.
And then a
donor is found…
Outspoken
artist Darby Fox rarely lets anything stand in her way of achieving her goals .
Whether it’s painting, ignoring her homework (dyslexia makes a mess out of words
anyway), kissing a hot boy she doesn't even know, or taking the head
cheerleader down a peg , no one has ever accused Darby of being a shy. She also
happens to be the twin sister to a perfect brother with good looks, good
grades, manners, and the approval of their parents - something Darby has never
had.
Darby's
always had bad timing . She picks the worst time to argue with her brother
Daniel. In a car with bald tires, on an icy road in the freezing cold, the
unthinkable happens. In
a split-second, everything changes forever.
Buy the book:
Excerpt:
ADAM:
“Wait
a minute.” Mum grabs her purse from the back seat. She frets with a loose
string on the strap.
My
fingers grip the door handle. “Mum?”
After
sucking in a deep breath, she opens the clasp. Slowly, she pulls out a pill
bottle.
“What’s
that?”
She
reads the label. “Ziprasidone. Doctor Shaw prescribed this for you last week.
She said I’d know the right time to talk to you about it.”
My
throat goes dry. Changing meds had been part of Shaw’s plan all along. She must
think I’m getting worse. “Why didn’t she say anything to me?”
“She
doesn’t want to give the impression of being a pill pusher. You are doing
therapy and she doesn’t want you to associate medication as the go-to solution
for everything. She said it clouded the therapeutic relationship.”
My
eyes cross at the psychobabble. “Hiding things from me isn’t okay.”
Mum
tips her head to the side. “She said you might challenge this.”
“She
gave you control over medications I
put in my body.” Inside, I’m shaking.
I clench my fists.
Mum
uncaps the bottle and shakes a tablet into her palm. “We’re all on the same
team, Adam. This is supposed to work with your anti-depressant to make it more
effective. Doctor Shaw said it will also help keep you calm so your heart won’t
be as stressed. You’ve been acting more upset lately and after what happened in
the city…”
“More
upset?” My voice cracks, something it hasn’t done since I hit puberty.
“Adam,
you don’t do anything, talk to anyone, or have any fun. You’ve cut off everyone
from home, and—”
“My
heart is dying,” I interrupt.
“You’re
still alive.”
“For
how long?” I mumble.
Mum’s
eye twitches. “This isn’t the time to give up.”
I
cross my arms and squint at the dashboard. “I’m not taking any more pills.”
Mum
plucks her water bottle from the center console. “And I’m not taking no for an
answer.”
Author Interview:
What inspired you to write UNDER MY SKIN?
Most of my stories start with a
character. In the case of UNDER MY SKIN, two characters started yammering at me
simultaneously. Adam Gibson gently tapped me on the shoulder and, in his
soft-spoken, proper English way, shared his fears about living life on the edge
of death. He’d been through a lot—moving from the UK to upstate New York to be
near a highly respected cardiothoracic surgeon/heart transplant specialist,
leaving his friends behind, coming to grips with the idea that someone has to
die for him to get a heart, and would getting a new heart mean he’d turn into
Frankenstein’s monster. Darby Fox, on the other hand, burst onto the scene all
frenetic energy and snark. She prefers acting on instinct—if it feels good, do
it—especially if it involves art, painting, dancing, and taking down stuck-up
cheerleaders a peg or two, all while struggling to earn praise from her parents
(despite crappy grades from dyslexia) even though they save all of it for her
ultra-perfect twin brother.
When Adam and Darby meet, they
couldn’t be more opposite. And like Darby would prefer, I wanted to see what
happened in the contrast. It turns out to be both scary and beautiful.
When or at what age did you know you wanted to be a writer?
I’ve always been a reader, but
didn’t catch the writing bug until my last year of residency. Everyone needs a
creative outlet of some sort, and it turned out writing became mine. That was
about seven years ago, give or take a few months, and I haven’t looked back
since. Writing has been one of the most rewarding and challenging endeavors
I’ve taken on.
What is the earliest age you remember reading your first
book?
I remember watching my mom and her
father enjoy reading and I begged Mom to teach me how to read when I was around
three or four. I’d get so excited whenever I saw a book. It just makes me
happy.
What genre of books do you enjoy reading?
I’m a sci-fi/fantasy girl at heart.
I enjoy magic, paranormal, horror, vampires, witches, space operas, you name
it. I will read contemporary stories, too, as long as the characters are strong
and compelling. Also, anything with a psychological spin will attract my
attention. UNDER MY SKIN is my first contemporary work, and it does have lots
of strong psychological elements, including depression, suicide, dyslexia,
grief, loss, and anxiety.
What is your favorite book?
There’s no way I can pick a favorite
book. BUT, if you twist my arm, I’ll say The
Razor’s Edge by Somerset Maugham is a favorite. It even makes a cameo in
UNDER MY SKIN. Like Adam, I ended up identifying with the main character in The Razor’s Edge when I read it. He
struggled to follow mainstream convention and instead struck out on his own to
find his own path in life.
You know I think we all have a favorite author. Who is your
favorite author and why?
Again, a difficult question to
answer because I like different authors for different reasons. JK Rowling is
spectacular at world building and carrying it through several books in a
series. Maggie Stiefvater creates such compelling characters that they jump off
the page. Her scenery and imagery is so solid that I feel transported to
another place. The same goes for George Orwell, Orson Scott Card, Mary Doria
Russell, Clive Barker, and Andrew Smith, to name a few.
If you could travel back in time here on earth to any place
or time. Where would you go and why?
I have thought about this over the
years, and quite honestly, I don’t think I’d like to travel back in time. Sure,
it’d be interesting to visit the pyramids while they were being built, or to
marvel at the construction of Stonehenge. But I’m quite happy here in my own
time. Gotta say, I am spoiled by modern conveniences like running water,
electricity, and well, as a woman, I get more freedoms than those who came
before me had.
When writing a book do you find that writing comes easy for
you or is it a difficult task?
This really depends on the story,
and sometimes the scene. I grapple with some aspects and other things flow
freely. Writing came a lot easier in my early days; now that I’ve learned a lot
more, I am so much more careful what I choose to say as I draft a story. This
has slowed me down a LOT. But, once I set my mind to it, the words come.
Do you have any little fuzzy friends? Like a dog or a cat?
Or any pets?
I have five cats. Yes, that’s too
many. They are all special fur babies. They are adopted from the shelter. I
love them all. ;)
What is your "to die for", favorite food/foods to
eat?
I like all food. I think I was born
with a sweet tooth, so I tend to choose things like ice cream and frosting as
favorites, but I also like mac and cheese, nachos, sushi (thanks to my
co-workers!), Indian, spaghetti, pizza…I have to interrupt myself here. About
three and a half years ago, I joined Weight Watchers and completely overhauled
my eating habits. Using the program, I lost 100 pounds. It has changed my
eating preferences as well. I love veggies, fruits, hummus, and most of what I
eat consists of those plus lean meats and greek yogurt. It’s rare that I’ll eat
anything fried. I just can’t tolerate it anymore.
Do you have any advice for anyone that would like to be an
author?
KEEP WRITING. There’s a lot of
rejection to face as a writer. There’s a lot of people willing to give advice
and critiques. It can get overwhelming. It’s important to listen to what people
offer, but also important to remember what got you writing in the first place
and that once you develop a sense of “the rules” you’ll know when to follow
them and when to break them.
Author Bio:
Laura Diamond is a board certified psychiatrist
currently specializing in emergency psychiatry. She is also an author of all
things young adult—both contemporary and paranormal. An avid fan of sci-fi,
fantasy, and anything magical, she thrives on quirk, her lucid dreams, and
coffee. When she’s not working or writing, she can be found sniffing books and
drinking a latte at the bookstore or at home pondering renovations on her 225
year old fixer upper, all while obeying her feline overlords, of course.
Giveaway:
Win a $10 Amazon gift card and eBook copy of Under My
Skin.
%20by%20Willow%20Thorne.jpg)
