What was it like writing Artificial Sweethearts compared to The Any Boy But You?
Artificial Sweethearts is the second book in the North Pole, Minnesota series, but I started it long before Any Boy But You was even a glint in my eye.
I first wrote what is now Artificial Sweethearts in November of 2011 as a NaNoWriMo project. Back then, it took place in a resort in Illinois, and it was told from only Tinka’s point of view. And I called it “Tinka Tailor Solider Spy,” because I had no idea what to call it, so why not?
When I signed on to write this series for Entangled Crush, I always knew this would be the second book, and I made little steps to set it up in the first. That’s why I had Sam and Harper living inside a resort in ABBY, and it’s why the first book has a little snapshot of Sam being single near the end.
I still had a ton to do, however, to make sure my initial idea fit well into the North Pole series. The most major change was that I had to basically write half the book from scratch—the half told from Sam’s point-of-view. Getting inside Sam’s head was my favorite part of the process for this book. He’s always been one of my favorite, if not my absolute favorite, book boyfriends, and I loved telling his story. Sam Anderson is dreamy. And sweet. And dreamy.
As for my initial draft, not much of it remains in the final product, and the main difference between working on this book and Any Boy But You was that I already had the characters and setting in place before I started. Despite the fact that I was starting this book with 65k more words than I started with for Any Boy But You, I still had the same amount of work to do—inserting tropes into the story, adding a whole new POV, turning my coming-of-age story into a romance. The fauxmance wasn’t even part of the initial plan, actually. That came with the new draft.
Artificial Sweethearts
by Julie Hammerle
Release Date: 7/10/17
Published by Entangled Teen
It’s not chemistry between Tinka Foster and Sam Anderson that made them agree to fake date. With her parents trying to set her up with an annoying student golf coach, and intentionally single Sam’s family pressuring him to bring a date to his brother’s wedding, they could both use a drama-free summer. So it’s not his muscular arms and quick wit that makes Tinka suggest they tell everyone they’re both taken. Definitely not. And it’s not butterflies that makes a kiss for appearances during the lake party go on way too long—so long that Sam wishes it were real. But Tinka keeps people at arm’s length—she’s always been second best, even to her parents. And her relationship-for-show could crush everything when she realizes she’s done with fake, pretend, and second-best.
Disclaimer: This Entangled Teen Crush book contains bikinis at the lake, a lot of making out in dark theaters, and a meet-cute you’ll read twice.
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Julie Hammerle is the author of The Sound of Us (Entangled TEEN, 2016) and the North Pole, Minnesota young adult romance series (Entangled Crush, 2017). She writes about TV and pop culture for the ChicagoNow blog, Hammervision, and lives in Chicago with her family. She enjoys reading, cooking, and watching all the television.
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Read below for an excerpt from Artificial Sweethearts:
The sliding glass door whooshed open behind them. Their opportunity for escape was lost. Tinka spun around as the guy headed toward them. He was carrying three bottles of water and had put on a T-shirt, a faded movie tee, over his mesh shorts. Jaws. A story about a terrifying shark that kills people. The guy handed a bottle to Tinka. “Take a seat.” Ready to flee at any moment, she perched next to Jane on the bench, where the hot, sticky varnish stuck to her legs immediately. Tinka unscrewed the cap, which gave off the familiar rip-pop sound that proved the bottle had not been tampered with. Tinka tilted it back; and as the cold water coated her parched throat, she forgot for a moment she was about to be murdered. “This is a gorgeous house,” Jane said. The guy knocked back his water, then screwed the cap back on. “Thanks. I like it.” Tinka decided to play civil. “Do you do all the landscaping yourself or do you have a crew that helps you?” He smirked at Tinka, like she was the most curious thing he had seen in a while. “We have a crew, but I noticed a few spots on the bushes that needed trimming.” She nodded. “If you need to get back to work, don’t let us stop you. We wouldn’t want you to get in trouble with your boss.” “My boss?” He was still grinning at Tinka with those dimples as he kneaded the plastic on his water bottle. “You mean my father?” “Your father owns the landscaping business?” “My father owns the house. I’m Sam. Anderson,” he added for good measure. “I live here.” He gestured toward the back door. Jane dropped her face into her hands. “Oh my God, Tinka.” Tinka spun toward her, pointing. “Oh my God nothing, Jane. You didn’t know he lived here, either.” “I did so.” “How?” Jane waved her hand to indicate Sam and the flirty smile reappeared on her face. “He has a way about him.” “He has no way about anything. No offense.” Tinka nodded to Sam. “None taken.” Knitting his brow, Sam lifted his hat and ran his fingers through his curly brown hair. He had hazel eyes with friendly crinkles on the corners that didn’t disappear even when he frowned.
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