FRIDAY FREEBIE: ‘Dismissed’ by Kirsty McManus

Posted on June 19, 2015 by ausromtoday in Friday Freebie // 2 Comments

Friday Freebie with Kirsty McManus
What inspired this book?
Dismissed was inspired by the discovery of my old high school diaries and the memory of how brutal the school yard could be back then. I had my share of frenemies, and we all fought over the same boys and tried to call dibs on our favourites. Of course we didn’t ask the boy what he wanted! I also love book and screen relationships that develop over a long period of time, where the couple is unable to act on their true feelings for whatever reason. My preference is when it’s kept light-hearted (I’m a huge romantic comedy fan!), so I try to do this in my work. Life’s too short to be depressed! And of course, most women can relate to having a crush on a rock star at some stage in their lives. For Dismissed, I thought it would be fun for him to be more accessible than usual. How would you cope if the sexy rock star was also your English teacher? For the record, I think my crushes were even more unobtainable than the rest, because I lusted after Darren Hayes and Ricky Martin!

Introduce us to the main characters
There are four main characters in this book:
Lizzie White is the heroine of the story. You’ll love her for her independence and intelligence. She doesn’t have a mother, so she had to grow up quickly and learn how to take care of herself. Her secret talent is beatboxing and she is obsessed with peanut butter. She is also slightly conservative, and a bit worried about committing fully to anything, which can make her come across as indecisive at times.
Brandon Thomas is Lizzie’s new English teacher. You’ll fall in love with his gorgeous looks and moral code. As a teacher, he understands that students are off limits, but thanks to his trouble-making brother, he continually finds himself in the company of Lizzie and her friend Taylor. As a result, he gets to know Lizzie on a deeper level and eventually falls for her.
Taylor Walsh is Lizzie’s best friend, but they’re really more frenemies. Taylor is fickle and shallow, and Lizzie starts to realise that she might not be such a good friend after all. You probably won’t love her, but you’re not supposed to.
And Jason Thomas is Brandon’s twin brother. They are identical, unless you count Jason’s dreadlocks. You probably won’t like him, although you may discover he’s not as bad as he first seems.

Whats the best thing about Fridays?
For me, the best thing about Fridays is that it signals the start of two work-free days that our family can enjoy together. But my husband likes to watch footy on Friday nights, so that means I have a couple of guilt-free hours to write! And it’s socially acceptable to do so with a glass of champagne.

What’s coming up next?
I am currently working on a women’s contemporary fiction story inspired by my slight obsession with The Bachelor (if you want to know how obsessed, check out my blog dedicated to recapping the show at bachelorfan.com.au). I didn’t want to do the obvious and write about a woman who becomes a contestant (it’s been done already anyway!), so I decided to write about someone who is morally opposed to such a concept, but gets dragged into the world of reality TV by a charming producer who offers to help her out with a charity project.

Dismissed
Kirsty McManus

The second Lizzie White lays eyes on her new English teacher Brandon Thomas, she is hooked. Brandon is young, cool and sexy – and nothing like the other teachers at her school. But of course he is forbidden from fraternising with the students or forming any sort out of outside hours relationship. And combined with the fact that Lizzie’s best friend Taylor declared her feelings for Brandon first (and has therefore claimed theoretical ownership), Lizzie decides it’s all too hard and focuses on a budding relationship with fellow student and class clown Gabe instead. But then Jason shows up. Jason is Brandon’s trouble-making twin brother who seems to have no qualms about flirting with students or leaving a trail of broken hearts wherever he goes. Before she knows it,

Lizzie is dragged into a confusing world of blurred lines and lustful thoughts, where loyalties are tested and true feelings are explored.

Amazon

The lucky winners of a paperback copy of Dismissed are:

Trish M.
Courtney
Peta

Due to an overwhelming number of #FridayFreebie entries, Kirsty has very kindly offered three e-copies of Dismissed. The lucky ebook winners are:

Rosemary H.
Nicole G.
Lea Anita B.