20 Questions with Author Andrea Lochen: Questions 13 & 14

        Local author Andrea Lochen will be doing a reading and Q&A session about her new novel The Repeat Year here at the West Allis Public Library on Tuesday, August 13th at 7 PM in the Constitution Room.  In preparation for her visit, Andrea did a little interview with me in order for you, dear patrons, to get to know her a bit.  I will be posting two of her responses each weekday until her visit on the 13th.


Q. 13: Could you share an embarrassing writer's moment with us?

I've been fortunate not to have any embarrassing "writer's moments" yet.  But ask me some other time about embarrassing "teacher's moments."  I have a whole bunch of those!

Q. 14: Favorite guilty pleasure movie? Definition:  a guilty pleasure movie is a movie that you would never ever claim to be one of your favorites but you always watch it if you discover it while flipping channels.  

True Lies with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis—hilarious!

We have several copies of Andrea's book here at the library if you would like to prep yourself with questions but get one soon!  They are always flying off the shelves!  Signed copies of the novel will be available for purchase at the reading.  Join us next time for more questions with Andrea!

20 Questions with Author Andrea Lochen: Questions 11 & 12

Local author Andrea Lochen will be doing a reading and Q&A session about her new novel The Repeat Year here at the West Allis Public Library on Tuesday, August 13th at 7 PM in the Constitution Room.  In preparation for her visit, Andrea did a little interview with me in order for you dear patrons to get to know her a bit. I will be posting two of her responses each weekday until her visit on the 13th.  

      Q. 11: What did you learn from writing this book?  

      

      It sounds cliché, but the old adage, “nothing worthwhile comes easy” is definitely true.  Writing and revising a book for publication is definitely a journey that requires a lot of perseverance. 

     Q. 12:  Do you ever get road rage?  If so, what is your biggest driving pet peeve? 

      

     I’m a fairly calm driver so long as no one tries to hit me!

We have several copies of Andrea's book here at the library if you would like to prep yourself with questions but get one soon!  They are always flying off the shelves!  Signed copies of the novel will be available for purchase at the reading.  Join us next time for more questions with Andrea!

20 Questions with Author Andrea Lochen: Questions 9 & 10

Local author Andrea Lochen will be doing a reading and Q&A session about her new novel The Repeat Year here at the West Allis Public Library on Tuesday, August 13th at 7 PM in the Constitution Room.  In preparation for her visit, Andrea did a little interview with me in order for you dear patrons to get to know her a bit. I will be posting two of her responses each weekday until her visit on the 13th.  

    Q. 9:  What do you consider your biggest failure?  

    

     Losing touch with some of my childhood friends.  Like my main character, Olive, I regret not nurturing some of the important relationships in my life, and I wish I could go back and change that.  

     Q. 10: Early Bird or Night Owl? 

     

     Early Bird, although in terms of writing, afternoons are when I tend to really hit my stride.  

We have several copies of Andrea's book here at the library if you would like to prep yourself with questions but get one soon!  They are always flying off the shelves!  Signed copies of the novel will be available for purchase at the reading.  Join us tomorrow for more questions for Andrea!

20 Questions with author Andrea Lochen: Questions 7 & 8

Local author Andrea Lochen will be doing a reading and Q&A session about her new novel The Repeat Year here at the West Allis Public Library on Tuesday, August 13th at 7 PM in the Constitution Room.  In preparation for her visit, Andrea did a little interview with me in order for you dear patrons to get to know her a bit. I will be posting two of her responses each weekday until her visit on the 13th.   

Q 6: What was your experience with libraries while you were growing up?
  
Ah, such happy memories!  Every week, my family would go to the library and check out a huge stack of children’s books to read together.  I still love reading aloud and being read aloud to. 

      

Q 7: Favorite karaoke song? 

Journey “Don’t Stop Believin’ ”


We have several copies of Andrea's book here at the library if you would like to prep yourself with questions but get one soon!  They are always flying off the shelves!  Signed copies of the novel will be available for purchase at the reading.  Join us next time for more questions with Andrea!

20 Questions with author Andrea Lochen: Questions 5 & 6

Local author Andrea Lochen will be doing a reading and Q&A session about her new novel The Repeat Year here at the West Allis Public Library on Tuesday, August 13th at 7 PM in the Constitution Room.  In preparation for her visit, Andrea did a little interview with me in order for you dear patrons to get to know her a bit. I will be posting two of her responses each weekday until her visit on the 13th.  

Q 5: Did you write a lot as a kid?  If so, what was one of your crazier ideas for a story?

I’ve been writing since I was eight years old, and I loved mysteries and scary stories, so I had a lot of crazy ideas.  One of my favorite stories I wrote is about a girl tracking down and saving the Easter bunny after he is “rabbit-napped.”

Q 6: Have you ever not been able to finish reading a book?  If so, what was it?  

By nature, I’m not a novel-quitter, because I like to give books a fair chance, but there are so many amazing ones out there, that if I’m really not enjoying a book, I’ll stop midway.  I can’t think of any books I’ve given up on recently though.  


We have several copies of Andrea's book here at the library if you would like to prep yourself with questions but get one soon!  They are always flying off the shelves!  Signed copies of the novel will be available for purchase at the reading.  Join us next week for more questions for Andrea!

The Repeat Year by Andrea Lochen

How would you like to repeat a year?  What would you do differently if you had the chance?  Well the main character in this novel, Olive gets that chance.  Olive Watson is 25 years old and works as a nurse in a hospital.  She wakes up on New Year’s Day 2011, a year that she has already lived.   She realizes that she is able to change her future and learn from the mistakes that she made in 2011.  She also comes across another “repeater” who is also reliving this year, and the two of them are able to share this struggle together.

The author, Andrea Lochen, currently lives in Milwaukee with her husband.  This novel has various references to Wisconsin, such as the Wisconsin weather or the Brewers baseball team.  So if you live in Wisconsin this story will make you feel right at home.  “The Repeat Year” is a must read.   I usually take weeks to read a book but this one I was able to read in three days because it truly kept my attention and I could not put it down.  It is a page turner that is beautifully written.  As a reader you become a part of Olive’s subconscious as she struggles with her choices of her previous year and tries to change the year she is reliving.  There are also many life struggles that Olive is going through that many readers may relate to.  Andrea did an amazing job creating characters that I wanted to root for.  Anyone who would love to relive a time in their life would truly enjoy reading this book.  

Check out The Repeat Year @ the library! And stop by the West Allis Public Library of August 13th at 7 PM to meet the author! For more details, check out the library calendar.

20 Questions with author Andrea Lochen: Questions 3 & 4

Local author Andrea Lochen will be doing a reading and Q&A session about her new novel The Repeat Year here at the West Allis Public Library on Tuesday, August 13th at 7 PM in the Constitution Room.  In preparation for her visit, Andrea did a little interview with me in order for you dear patrons to get to know her a bit. I will be posting two of her responses each weekday until her visit on the 13th.

Q. 3: Are there any occupational hazards to being a novelist?  

    

      There are definitely highs and lows. Some days (when the writing comes easily, when you get good reviews, etc.) you’re on top of the world; other days (when you’d rather do absolutely anything but write or your book gets criticized, etc.), you feel like staying in bed.  So it’s really important to enjoy the good moments!

      Q. 4: Dogs or cats?  

   

     I love both!  My dog, Maddy, is the best of both worlds, a cat-like dog.  As a Bichon Shih Tzu mix (her breed is called a “teddy bear”), she’s cuddly and the perfect size for your lap, but she also loves to play and be taken for walks.

We have several copies of Andrea's book here at the library if you would like to prep yourself with questions but get one soon!  They are always flying off the shelves!  Signed copies of the novel will be available for purchase at the reading.  Join us tomorrow for more questions for Andrea!