First Love Fridays - Shea Berkley

Today, I'm thrilled to be talking with Shea Berkley, one of Entangled Publishing's debut YA authors.

CC: Thank you, Shea, for being a part of First Love Fridays: where we explore the glory and angst of first loves, first kisses, first breakups, and life beyond.

Shea: I’m thrilled to be here, Carey. I wouldn’t miss this chance to talk about the teenage years.

CC: Tell us about your first kiss. To protect the innocent feel free to use an alias.

Shea:

My first real kiss... oh heck, please don’t think I was a skank.

Age: Thirteen. So young, but I thought I was soo smart.

Time: Mid summer. Humid and hot, hot, hot.

Guy: Let’s call him “Tex”. Older than me by about two years.

Where: Driveway.

Teen motto: When the opportunity strikes, go with it.

CC: I love that! And I don’t think you’re a skank. Heck, I kissed a boy in third grade because his dad and mine had the same occupation. *chuckle* It seemed like the right thing to do at the time. Next Question - How long were you together?

Shea: Ours was a summer love. One of those intense two-week inseparable relationships. He was visiting family and I knew his cousin.

CC: Was he a good kisser?

Shea: It was night time so it was black—the ground, the night and all the parked cars were nondescript. Heck, now that I think about it, I could have been kissing anyone that night. I could barely see.

But no, it was “Tex” because he dragged me out there, very insistent I go with him. He was leaving to go home the next day. You see, he was a summer love, there to visit family. So when he dragged me outside for a “private” talk, me being me thought he wanted to exchange numbers and addresses, you know the usual stuff. I don’t actually remember what he said to me, but it was kinda corny. And then BAM! Lip attack… and sadly no world-rocking. It was over before it really got started. I remember him being nervous. I definitely wondered what all the fuss was about after that. Only when I started dating “Jack” did I finally understand what the big deal was. “Jack” was hands down the best kisser. (sigh)

CC: How did you get over him?

Shea: There really wasn’t anything to get over. He was nice and I liked him, but he didn’t live anywhere near me and I think I only saw him one other summer after that, but by then I didn’t care. I was already with “Jack”, a friend of his cousins.

CC: Have you connected with him since then?

Shea: Nope. If that kiss had been world-rocking, I’m sure I would have written him and called and kept in touch more, but I think we only wrote a few times and then contact just faded away.

CC: Tell us about your most recent project. What role does love play in the story?

Shea: Love plays a huge part in my book THE MARKED SON—love between Dylan and Kera and love for other people who are being treated unfairly.

I love the way being in makes a person feel different, special…and sometimes out-of-control. It’s those emotions that I wanted to tap into when I wrote about Dylan and Kera. They have a once-in-a-lifetime love. It’s something they can’t deny or run away from.  

CC: Ever since Entangled revealed this cover, I've been a little in love with Dylan. :) 

CC: Do you have any final wisdom to share with us about first loves?

Shea: I was a chronic dater when I was a teenager. I wanted to find the qualities I liked in a guy, so I went out with a lot of boys, but rarely kissed them unless I was dating them. By the time I was twenty, I knew what I wanted and what I wouldn’t put up with in a guy. I knew the qualities that were special and the ones that were a smoke screen. If a guy ever made me feel unimportant, then I knew he wasn’t the guy for me.

Life is too short to put up with a guy who treats you badly. So go with the guy whose eyes light up when he sees you. He may not be the handsomest, strongest, or most popular guy, but then again, he just might. I married the star quarterback of the football team and the golden boy of his high school. (I was shocked when I learned about his past) But you know what? He has never treated me poorly. I know without a doubt, he’ll drop everything and be by my side when I truly need him. And I’ll do the same for him.

So don’t jump into a relationship. Get to know the guy. Don’t get pressured to go fast. If he’s really worth anything, he’ll wait around. The good ones know the right girls are worth the wait. And trust me, they will wait for as long as it takes.

CC: Great advice! And I can’t wait to read The Marked Son. This is especially exciting because it's your 2010 Golden Heart finalist project. I’ve got my copy on order and I’m hoping it gets here soon!!!

Thanks again, Shea, for stopping by to share the love.