Interview with Liza Matthews, the heroine from Piper Shelly's YA romance PLAY WITH ME

I’d like to welcome Liza Matthews from PLAY WITH ME by YA author Piper Shelly. It’s great to have you here, Liza.

Thanks for the invitation. Giving an interview is pretty cool. Never done that before. So exciting.

Can I offer you a drink, a berry soda perhaps? *winks*

*Liza gulps* You know, that drink landed me in serious trouble once. And Ryan Hunter wasn’t my only problem that night. I got grounded in the end. So for the sake of my mom’s nerves…can I have a Coke instead?

All right. *laughing* You and Tony have been friends for a long time. When did you know you were in love with him?

I knew it when in kindergarten we talked about our favorite TV shows, and he said that this one show of Tom&Jerry—where Jerry got a visit from his nephew and they played musketeers—was his favorite. I loved that one, too, and scooted over to him. *smiles* We didn’t hear the rest of the group’s comments, because we were too busy discussing Tom’s stupid attempts of catching Jerry. He invited me over to his house that afternoon and shared his sweets with me. Seriously, how can you not love someone who saves all the chocolate dipped cookies for you? But the real butterflies came a little later. I think the thought of kissing him first sneaked into my mind when I crashed at his house an entire weekend. I was, hm, maybe eleven then? I so hoped he would make the first move. But he never did.

Are you telling me that all the times you slept over at each other’s houses nothing ever happened between you two? Nothing?

*Liza sighs* Nothing. NO-thing. Tony was so—agh, I can’t even describe how that made me feel. But it really was frustrating. Like you’re sitting in a candy shop, but you’re not allowed to even lick at the sweets. Just stare at them. For a loooooong, long time.

Tell me, (chuckle) sorry I didn’t mean to laugh.

No worries. It is funny…somehow. Or it would be if it wasn’t so sad. LOL

Do you still play soccer?

Nope. Never liked it. Will never play again. Ryan makes me come to the important games to cheer them on. But honestly, the only reason why I go there is to watch him sweating. He’s yummy when he’s all wet. ;-)

Did you ever find out how Tony got you onto the team?

What I found out was that Tony didn’t do anything. As it was, Mr. Hunter wanted me there all along. *grins* Tony asked Ryan not to tell me about him and Cloey. Ryan agreed. Under one condition; Tony must not interfere when Ryan came after me, and he had to take me to one of Ryan’s parties. Yeah, a boy’s mind really works in a queer way. I mean, duh, Ryan could just have asked me. But my friendship with Tony really seemed to trouble him. 

Who do you think is hotter, Ryan or Tony?

You aren’t seriously asking me that, are you? I mean, we’re talking about Ryan Hunter. I’m dating the hottest guy in school.

Okay…who is sweeter? ;-)

Ah, that’s an entirely different thing. LOL. Honestly, I can’t say. They are both such lovely guys—ah, damn, did I just say lovely? I should cut that. Ryan always turns into a real devil if I call him lovely. So yeah, um…sexy. I think that’s the right word. Definitely. *Liza is biting her lip, turning a little red in the face* So, yeah, what did you want to know again…?

(I let her take a sip of her Coke to cool down) Now dish it. Tell me what it was really like to wake up in Ryan’s bed the morning after the party.

OMG! I mean that’s what it really was like.

I didn’t pay much attention to Ryan until the evening before, when I met him at the party. When he dragged me into the kitchen to give me a soda and to talk, I did notice how nice he looked. And then later, when he played pool, he really touched something inside me. To know that I was actually the reason why he would lose the game, that I made him nervous, well that was really funny…and strange…and it felt damn good. LOL. By the time I woke up next to him, he already had me. My heart beat louder than a base drum, and I was so scared he would notice when he woke up. Seriously, I don’t understand how boys can be so calm in a situation like this. I mean he didn’t even look who was sleeping beside him—or in my case more on top of him. But I have the feeling he knew.

How did you feel about the lime situation? Mmm, mmm, mmm that was hot!

First off, I was an idiot to agree to it, because I knew something bad would be coming at me. That he’d take the advantage and just kiss me…well, that was definitely a surprise. I don’t know if you know, but I’ve never kissed a boy before. *laughs* I was waiting for ignorant Tony to be my first, so kissing another boy, especially Ryan Hunter, never was an option. Not for me, anyway. But like you said, it was hawt! And so much more. It was sweet and even a little romantic the way he did it. When I felt him draw back from the kiss, I only thought: NO! No, no, no, no, no!! Don’t stop! Pleeease! It’s silly, I know.

You’re a smart girl so I know you’re already aware, but just a little piece of advice, watch out for that Cloey chic around your man.

Ha ha, there’s no need to warn me, really. I think if there was ever a fly in my drink, it was Cloey Summers. I don’t know what’s wrong with that girl, but even after everybody knew that Ryan and I were together, she kept flirting with him, like she did with every other guy. Gosh, I hated that. And Ryan knew it, but he was just too nice to be nasty to anyone. Well, until the moment she dared to touch him—only his arm. I don’t even know what she wanted from him, but she looped her arm though his and acted like this was okay. I mean, hello?

Wow. This is just so much like her. What happened next?

It really ticked Ryan off. He wouldn’t show it, but I saw how his jaw hardened before he turned away from me and toward her. He didn’t say much, and he sort of whispered it to her, so not even I could hear what he said. But the next instant, she stared at me with an open mouth and backed away. *Liza smirks* This was so funny. She never got close to him again.

What did Ryan say to her?

I don’t know. *shrugs* He wouldn’t tell me.

At least it helped. How’s your relationship with Tony now?

We're friends. We're cool. I don't sleep at his place any longer. But we still do many things together. If I have a problem, he's there to listen. In some ways, he's still closer to me than anyone else. Ryan never says a word, but I know he doesn't like it so much. I hope Ryan will feel better now that Tony has an eye on this new girl at school. *Liza smiles* Tony would never admit it--in fact he acts like Sam is the most horrible person on the planet--but I know him and I can sense there's something going on. I can see why she likes him. He's a really great person. You should meet him some day.

Hopefully, I will. Thanks for stopping by Liza. It was a pleasure chatting with you.

Sure! It was fun. Ryan told me he did it a few days ago. I totally envied him. ;-)

Where can people find your love story and hilarious soccer antics?

Aw…my love story. You make this sound really movie-like, ha ha.

Anyone who’s interested can read the first half of what is like my diary at http://pipershelly.com/play-with-me/

Or get the entire story here: http://www.amazon.com/Play-With-Me-ebook/dp/B00AL251T2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1356068392&sr=8-1&keywords=play+with+me

I hope you’ll all enjoy, and it will make you remember your own first love in high school. It’s been a fantastic time for me ;-)

Ryan Hunter's parties are legend.

And tonight she's going to be there.

Liza Matthews anticipates the return of her best friend and only love since kindergarten from soccer camp. But when Tony finally shows up, his mind is more focused on another girl. And worse, she's a soccer player. Fighting for the attention Liza craves, she's just a hairbreadth away from making a very stupid decision. But when extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures, she's prepared to play ball to get her man.

The tryouts are hell, the first match ends bloody, and the morning after the selection party she wakes up in the worst place possible—in the arms of the captain of the soccer team. The hottest guy in school. Ryan Hunter.

‘A sweet romance for every girl who had to choose...’

Georgia Lyn Hunter