Around the World in 80 Kisses visits Reading Vacation with Smooch Stop #44 today! Woo hoo! To celebrate, I have an interview with Cassidy, one of the main characters. Read all the way to the bottom to see how you can win a Kindle Fire!!!
You have been best friends with Piper since kindergarten. How has your relationship changed since the IKC started? Do you predict more changes in the future?
Since we were little, Piper’s always been the one to charge ahead full-throttle whenever she wants something and I tend to hang back, go with the flow and let her lead. But the IKC and traveling abroad forced me to stand out in front and grab what I wanted. And now that I have I’m not sure I can or want to return to my place in Piper’s shadow. Not that I don’t love her, but it’s kind of nice to feel the sun, ya know?
While you were in Australia, I hear you met a special boy named Lucas. Do you picture many struggles trying to maintain a long distance relationship? What do the girls think of him?
Lucas is…perfect. Too perfect. And that’s a bit scary for a girl like me with a not so perfect life. So, while our time together Down Under was amazing, I live in the real world. Long distance is one thing, different hemispheres is another. But the girls love him and think I’d be crazy to give up so easily just because there’s an entire ocean between us.
Did you pick up any weird Australian slang while in the down under? Did you become a regular Aussie?
“G’ Day” and “mate” and “Maccas”, which is slang for McDonald’s. I love an Australian accent, even thoug I needed closed-captions to under the “telly” sometimes. But I wouldn’t eat Vegemite…I just…no.
Also, you live with your single mom. Do you think you and your mom are a lot alike? What does she think of IKC and Lucas?
It’s always just been me and my mom, so we’re definitely alike in many ways. We’re both tough and scrappy and proud, but maybe we keep too much of ourselves to ourselves. I’ve learned that staying closed off from people doesn’t mean they can’t hurt you, it only means you might lose the chance to experience something more meaningful with them.
Mom wasn’t thrilled when she learned about the IKC, but that didn’t bother her near as much as finding out I’d been dating Lucas and hadn’t mentioned him at all to her during the ten weeks I was gone. And when it comes to me and guys mixed with my mother’s trust issues (thanks, Dad) the less she knows the better. I just wish she would realize that, yes, I’m young, but I’m not going to make the same mistakes she did. I know better.
I hear you picked up surfing as a hobby in Australia. What did you think of it? Do you think you will continue it in the future?
In theory, surfing sounds awesome. In practice, it’s super hard. But, I’m always up for the challenge. Plus, I have a really great instructor ;) Now, if only I didn’t live 300 miles from the nearest coastline and he didn’t live 12,000 miles away.
Now tell me: can a long distance relationship ever work out or should Cassidy throw in the towel before she really gets her heart broken? Tell me in the comments (leave your email so we can contact you) to be entered to win the Around the World In 80 Kisses daily and weekly prize and also become eligible to win the Grand Prize, a Kindle Fire. For a list of all our Smooch Posts you can visit and earn more entries to win, visit us here.
The International Kissing Club by Ivy Adams is the story of four best friends: Piper, Cassidy, Mei, and Izzy–the misfits of Paris, Texas. Their whole lives, they’ve dreamed of escaping small-town life and seeing the world. So when Piper is the victim of an embarrassing prank that goes viral online, she gets the idea that the girls should escape via the school’s international exchange program, in search of fun, love and internet redemption.
Emily McKay, Shellee Roberts and Tracy Deebs write under the pseudonym Ivy Adams. They shop, gossip and watch movies in Austin, Texas.
Thank you for hosting us today!