Welcome Kelly Parra!

Kelly Parra, author of the hit YA novel, Grafitti Girl, is my first participant in the Girlfriend Cyber Circuit. Kelly put on her jammies to discuss her next book,Invisible Touch, which author Laurie Faria Stolarz calls "a magical blending of mystery, romance, and deep and dangerous secrets." Here's a brief synopsis:

Kara Martinez has been trying to be "normal" ever since the accident that took her father's life when she was eleven years old. She's buried the caliente side of her Mexican heritage with her father and tried to be the girl her rigid mother wants her to be -- compliant and dressed in pink, and certainly not acting out like her older brother Jason. Not even Danielle, her best friend at Valdez High, has seen the real Kara; only those who read her anonymous blog know the deepest secrets of the Sign Seer.

Because Kara has a gift -- one that often feels like a curse. She sees signs, visions that are clues to a person's fate, if she can put together the pieces of the puzzle in time. So far, she's been able to solve the clues and avert disaster for those she's been warned about -- until she sees the flash of a gun on a fellow classmate, and the stakes are raised higher than ever before. Kara does her best to follow the signs, but it's her heart that wanders into new territory when she falls for a mysterious guy from the wrong side of town, taking her closer to answers she may not be able to handle. Will her forbidden romance help her solve the deadly puzzle before it's too late...or lead her even further into danger?





Here's our pajama chat:

Kelly, who do you picture in your mind when you write?

I'm a visual writer so I start from scratch with my characters, by building their hair color and eyes, their nationality and their habits. Its one of my favorite parts of writing.

Is writing your main job? If not, what do you do for your real source of income and how does it impact your writing?

I'm a stay at home mom, so writing is my job. I spend a lot of time volunteering for my kids so I have to squeeze in writing when I can.

If you could ask any author (living or dead) any question what would it be?

I would ask V.C. Andrews how she came up with such dark suspenseful stories. She was my favorite author as a teen and one of the first authors who taught me books could be so powerful.

Art or entertainment? Is one more valid or important than the other?

That's a tough one! But I'll have to go with entertainment because before my love of books, I was in love with movies and televisions shows.

What comes most naturally for you to write, dialogue? plot? character? And what's hardest?

Characterization comes more naturally for me. I'm not a great conversationalist and its the same for my characters' dialogue. LOL. Thanks for having me on your blog, Carleen!

Thanks for taking the time to answer the questions, Kelly! Oh man, I can tell participating in the GCC is going to be expensive because I'm going to want to buy all the books!