Corrine Jackson is kicking off her blog tour over here at WORD! Her new book If I Lie looks absolutely amazing.
Quinn’s done the unthinkable: she kissed a guy who is not Carey, her boyfriend. And she got caught. Being branded a cheater would be bad enough, but Quinn is deemed a traitor, and shunned by all of her friends. Because Carey’s not just any guy—he’s serving in Afghanistan and revered by everyone in their small, military town.
Quinn could clear her name, but that would mean revealing secrets that she’s vowed to keep—secrets that aren’t hers to share. And when Carey goes MIA, Quinn must decide how far she’ll go to protect her boyfriend…and her promise.
Corrine and I had some fun with this interview - she was restricted to only speaking through music lyrics! "Thanks for the interview, Nicole! This was way more difficult than I thought it would be, but also a lot of fun!"
Nicole: What is Quinn feeling at the beginning of the story?
Corrine Jackson: I will choose not to raise up my voice
Here I am, wordless again
Wordless again.
And I just can’t be sure I’ll ever change
Tonight I’m like a paper doll
Cut from the page that I once lived on
And I will not say a thing
- “Paper Doll” by Rosie Thomas
N: At the end of the story, hmm?
CJ: …in my dreams I slew the dragon
And down this beaten path
And up this cobbled lane
I’m walking in my own footsteps once again
- “Waiting for My Real Life to Begin” by Colin Hayes
N: What's the setting like?
CJ: Headed down south to the land of the pines
And I'm thumbin' my way into North Caroline
Starin' up the road
Pray to God I see headlights
- “Wagon Wheel” by Old Crow Medicine Show
N: What does Carey think about the military?
CJ: Well I may not be you and you not me,
but between us there are certain similarities.
Like I believe in love and the Devil will come,
looking for us if we wrong someone.
Freedom, is ours to hold.
It's just a struggle in your mind,
to keep your soul, keep your soul.
- “Freedom” by The Beautiful Girls
N: What are Quinn's friends like?
CJ: You, with your words like knives
And swords and weapons that you use against me
You, have knocked me off my feet again,
Got me feeling like a nothing
You, with your voice like nails
On a chalk board, calling me out when I'm wounded
You, picking on the weaker man
You can take me down
With just one single blow
But you don't know what you don't know
- “Mean” by Taylor Swift
N: What did you feel when you first found out about your book was going to get published?
CJ: Somewhere over the rainbow
Way up high
And the dreams that you dreamed of
Once in a lullaby ii ii iii
Somewhere over the rainbow
Blue birds fly
And the dreams that you dreamed of
Dreams really do come true ooh ooooh
- “Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World” by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole
N: What do you think about the cover?
CJ: When I'm lost I look at my picture of you
If you let me I'll show the world to you
Yes
If you let me I'll know just what to do
- “Someone Else’s Life” by Joshua Radin