Interview + Giveaway || Rumor Has It by Farrah F. Polestico

Rumor Has It
by Farrah F. Polestico
Release date: November 30th 2015
Publisher: N/A
Genres: Contemporary
Age category: Young Adult
No. of pages: N/A
ISBN/ASIN: 9781311885883

Synopsis:
It’s senior year and it’s now or never. Callie Rivera always wanted to be part of her school’s drama club, and she finally musters the courage to audition for Shakespeare’s classic A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Only she got the audition dates wrong and landed a role that only existed in her wildest dreams. And her co-actor? None other than Landon Arcival, theater actor extraordinaire, not to mention Callie’s (former) crush— or so she says.
Callie is living the dream, until she wakes up to a nightmare. According to the rumor mill, she is sleeping with different guys in her school. Of course, it isn’t true, but who would believe her? And the worst part? It may or may not be her fault the rumors spread in the first place.
What to do? Callie finds herself in the middle of a hot mess. But then Landon proposes the perfect plan that can fix everything, but only if they don’t fall for each other first.

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
I think I was nine when I first wanted to write a book. But at that time what I wanted to write were encyclopedias! I was a huge science nerd when I was young (and still am). It wasn’t until I was thirteen that I realized I wanted to write fiction. And it had been my dream to be published since then.

How long did it take you to write Rumor Has It?
All my manuscripts to date are written in less than a month. I’m pretty fast when writing the first draft. My motto in writing is “Write drunk, edit sober.” Not literally, but when I write, I write with abandon. The editing process, however, takes twice as much time as writing the first draft, or sometimes if the first draft is so bad it takes me three times the time to edit.

What was the hardest part of writing your book?
The hardest part of writing for me was getting every word into paper. Every second I am writing I am constantly battling against the self-doubt in my head. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, I am always too critical of myself. There is always that voice that says my writing is not good enough. I can succumb to that voice or tell it to shut up and pound the words on the keyboard. It’s a battle I face every day.

While you were writing, did you ever feel as if you were one of the characters?
When I create characters I always try to find common ground between me and them. For Callie, it was the desire to put yourself out there and get out of your comfort zone. My characters are like my horcruxes, there is a little part of me in them. (Yes I just totally referenced Harry Potter.)

What's your favorite genre?
I can’t just pick one, my taste is very varied. I read anything and everything from middle grade to erotic romance. Haha! But romance will always be my number one, followed by crime fiction and then fantasy.

What do you like to do when you're not writing?
I like to read, obviously. But when I’m not reading I like plotting my next book.

What's next for you?
Right now I’m focused on finishing my undergraduate degree. But I also squeeze in some time to write. I also want to release more of my works this year. I think 2016 is going to be a busy year for me, in a good way.

Where There is Smoke There is Juicy Gossip

It was a Wednesday morning, the kind of morning when you just want to curl up in bed all day. The soft pattering of rain on the roof was a soothing music to my ears. I didn’t want to get up, but I had to. It was a school day.

Even the drizzle of the rain couldn’t dampen my mood. I got into the play, a thing which I never expected in a million years. Golden Boy even clapped for me when Mr. Cruz said that I got the role. Nothing could let me down today.

Or so I thought.

Clad in an orange cardigan over my uniform, I entered the classroom. And just like in the movies, the whole class quieted when they saw me. I noticed Naomi whisper something to Lia. They both looked at me, eying me with a disgusted look. My other classmates went back to talking, but this time in hushed tones. It made me feel uneasy, like I did something wrong by entering my classroom.

I made a beeline for my chair which was next to Beatrice’s. She was biting her lip and looking at me with worry and apprehension.

Was it just my imagination or was everyone acting so weird today?

“Have you heard the news?” my best friend asked, her face was turning red, and I could tell she was trying hard not to cry.

“What news? Are you okay?”

She nodded and said, “A rumor spread this morning about how you lost your virginity. They are all saying you’re a slut and a skank!”

My jaw dropped, and the blood in my face drained. I felt sick to my stomach. How could such a terrible rumor spread about me? Who would start a rumor like that? I was a nobody; no one noticed me enough before to start spreading lies about me. My mind was reeling.

My hand went to cover my mouth, and I closed my eyes.

“This is not happening. This is not happening. This is not happening,” I chanted in my head.

Where was this cruel joke coming from?

Then it hit me like a tsunami, suffocating me with the realization that I somehow brought this upon myself. But there was only one person I told about James, and this never would’ve happened if she didn’t betray me.

“How could you do this, Beatrice?” Hurt and accusation laced my voice but I didn’t care. I did lie to her but she didn’t have the right to spread the rumor about me. I thought she was my best friend. It was an unwritten rule between best friends that whatever secrets they shared were only between them, and she broke that rule. She betrayed me.

I could feel the stare of the people around me. They knew I was only finding about the news now, and they were eager to see my reaction. Their anticipation was so thick in the air it was almost tangible.

“It wasn’t me,” she squeaked before a single tear fell down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away with the back of her hand.

I clenched my jaw, willing myself not to cry. I couldn’t cry right now, I couldn’t show weakness.

I’ve seen how this would play out before. In the cruel world that was high school, I’ve seen a time too many how a nasty rumor would spread about a person and how it destroyed them. It would make a great excuse for the bullies to target them, to inflict shame on them.

I used to be only on the sidelines, a spectator in the fiasco. But the roles have been reversed, and now I’m the one in the spotlight. And my audience were like sharks, when they smell blood they would rip me to pieces.

“You have to believe me, Calie. It wasn’t me,” she pleaded.

I was about to open my mouth to speak when our homeroom teacher arrived. Beatrice was sniffing next me but I wasn’t believing her. She was the only one who knew about it because she was the only one whom I lied to about it.

About the author:

Farrah F. Polestico wanted to be a lot of things in life— an engineer, a nurse, an astrophysicist. But it wasn’t until she was thirteen when she knew for sure she was going to be a published writer. And now she is. When she’s not up all night writing her next book, you can find her reading anything and everything from a Charles Dickens novel to old grocery receipts.

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