Character Interview: Daisy Brooks (and Giveaway)

Today, I'd like to welcome Daisy Brooks, the main character from Danielle Weiler's Friendship on Fire to my blog.

Daisy Brooks’s senior year is not off to a great start. Her first assembly as school captain is slightly ruined by her new bright orange hairdo – thanks to her father’s inability to choose correct permanent hair dye. The local Blonde Brigade is already giving her a hard time (and affectionately dubbed her ‘ranga’) and her teachers have done the unthinkable and handed out assignments on the first day back. The one bright spot in Daisy’s first day back is the appearance of a private school boy hottie. Oh, and her best friend and vice-captain, Roman, who she can count on to hold her temper and have her back. But the winds of change are sweeping through Daisy’s small town of Twin Rocks. Turns out the private school hottie is new in town and fast friends with her brothers. His name is Nate and he turns Daisy’s legs to jelly. But her totally platonic best friend, always reliable Roman, is starting to act strange. This is Daisy’s senior year. She’ll learn hard truths and lose small battles on the path to adulthood . . . but, hey, nobody said it was going to be easy.

You're very close with your family, but as the youngest of four kids, you get teased a lot by your older brothers. Now it's your turn to reciprocate; tell me something about Josh, Treston and Shane that they'd be embarrassed by if others were to find out.

Treston used to have giant posters of all his favourite soccer stars on his wall – Ronaldinho, Beckham, Rooney … that is, until Josh told him he was gay. Shane once spat in a burger of a girl who cheated on him in high school. If you ask him outright, he’d deny it. But I saw it. Josh dated the same girl twice and didn’t recognise her the second time. She was pretty mad at him, but she soon forgave him …

You managed to get your driver's license in spite of the fact that you're not a great driver. Has your driving gotten any better or are you still getting into mishaps?

Hey, hey, hey, I am a good driver! I just don’t do well on big hills and poorly placed letterboxes, OK? Look, I’ve been doing really well. I avoid reverse parking like the plague but other than that I’ve only kissed the back of someone’s car once. And it was Roman’s. And he wasn’t happy.

In class, you're frequently daydreaming about going to the beach. Assuming you're not allowed to live in Australia, where would you like to live and why? Where can you never see yourself living and why?       

Well I’d visit Hawaii and see if it’s really as sunny and beachy as everyone says it is and if it does live up to its reputation, I might consider moving there. But I do love Europe and all of its history, too. I’d never live in the Middle East: too much sand and not enough water to show for it!

You have a diary in which you write down your thoughts and poems. When (and why) did you start keeping a diary and can you share one of your early poems with us?

I started a diary when I was 7 years old. I was given one with a giant clown on it by my dad – I think to keep me out of mischief on a family holiday – and I’ve been writing them ever since. I think I’m onto my 9th but I haven’t written in a while (busy uni life. Blame Roman!)

Sure I can share something from when I was younger … I think I was 14 at the time.

Beach Man

I sit on the beach

Watching the sunset

I spot a man

Whom I’ve never met

His shoulders hunched

Eyes lapping the air

His face is jagged

With rough, wild hair

He picks up a stick

And throws it hard

The ocean moans

Its waters scarred

He takes a seat

In the soft cream sand

His loyal dog

Softly licks his hand

The man’s small dog

Feels his sorrow

I might come back

Again tomorrow

So I turn and leave

The pair of them

They are special friends

A heart and a gem.

Now that Year Twelve is over and you're going off to university, what do you think you'll miss most about high school?

Having school as a safety net. It really is. It protects you from the big bad world. But at the same time, I’m glad to be leaving because of, you know, all that stuff. So the change won’t be so hard anymore. I want to learn about stuff I am interested in. YAY no more maths. And I get to hang out with my favourite person still.

Thanks, Daisy, for taking the time to answer my questions! 

Friendship on Fire can be bought from: [Amazon] [The Book Depository]  

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For those of you interested in reading Friendship on Fire, Danielle has generously offered to give away two e-copies to readers.

So, read the rules below and then fill out this FORM: 

1. You do not have to be a follower to enter.
2. You must be over the age of  13.
3. This giveaway will end on Tuesday, January 31 at 11:59 PM.
4. Make sure your entries are tallied correctly (or else you won't win).