{Blog Tour} Bright Before Sunrise by Tiffany Schmidt

For the Bright Before Sunrise Blog Tour, instead of providing interview questions and guest post ideas to Tiffany Schmidt, the creative team at Bloomsbury Children's Books/Walker BFYR decided that they'd turn this tour upside down and pose a question to all of the bloggers involved.  As part of this reverse tour, I'm to respond to the following prompt based on the story in Bright Before Sunrise:

I've been asked to describe a single night that changed my life, much like the night that Jonah and Brighton have in the book.  Here goes:

I actually had a completely different night picked out to tell you about. I had the post written up and everything, cute GIFs and all. But the more I contemplated the "one night can change everything" mantra, the more I realized that the night I wanted to tell you about wouldn't have been possible at all if it hadn't been for another night a couple of months before that.

You see, I was 21 -- barely -- and I had been in a ridiculously bad relationship for the past two years. Turning the legal drinking age and finally becoming an "adult" made me reconsider a lot of things that year. I was living with a boy -- I refuse to call him a man because no real man would have treated me the way he did -- whose past meant that he was unable to even be listed on the lease on the apartment we shared. We fought all the time, had broken up and gotten back together more times than I could count, and he'd just treated me despicably that whole last year we were together.

I was ready for a change, but I was afraid to make a move on my own. Even my own family couldn't give this guy the benefit of the doubt, even though I supposedly loved him. (I say supposedly because I was young and I don't think I truly understood what it meant to love someone at that age.) On the night in question, my younger sister -- only by a year and a half -- invited me to go out to see a show with some of her friends. I had moved quite a distance away from all of my family and friends, and I didn't really feel up to making the drive into Dallas that night, especially since I knew nothing of the band we were supposed to see. But my sister is very convincing. She's also the baby of the family and gets her way more often than not.

Little did I know that her friend was also bringing her boyfriend. Cue the sad face, because me and my guy were on yet another break, as he'd just wrecked my car and our future together wasn't looking so bright. Sister was still single, though, so at least I wasn't the only one flying solo. And to help matters, sister's friend had a friend he was dragging along to the show, too. And said friend was mighty nice to look at. =)

I didn't expect much out of this night, to be honest. Some music, a good buzz -- though only me and the two guys on the outing were of age -- and a little distance to provide some perspective. Well, all that turned out better than expected. While my sister looked on miserably as her friend and her friend's boyfriend fought ALL night, me and the boyfriend's friend chatted. Turns out, he hadn't planned on going out at all that night either, but some force of nature made him say yes the bazillionth time his buddy asked.

We talked...and talked...and talked. About everything and nothing. It made me realize that I hadn't really talked to my own boyfriend in ages. That I hadn't really wanted to. It also made me realize that the first time me and my boyfriend had broken up should have been the first and ONLY time. (Sometimes it pays to listen to your wiser, older sister, but hindsight is 20/20. Also, don't tell her I said that.)

And the next weekend when my sister's friend asked if she could give my number to her boyfriend's friend because he'd asked about me, I said okay. The lease on the apartment I shared with my ex was up and I had a new lease on life. :D Sure, I moved back home for a couple of months, but you know what? I've been with that friend of a friend of a friend who I spent all night talking to for the last ten years, and I'll have been married to him for seven years in April.

One night really can make a world of difference. I can't even begin to imagine how different my life would be now if I hadn't made the decision to go out that night, against my better judgment.

Title: Bright Before Sunrise
Author: Tiffany Schmidt
Series: stand-alone
Publisher: Walker Childrens
Publication Date: February 18, 2014
Source: received from publisher via Netgalley
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

When Jonah is forced to move from Hamilton to Cross Pointe for the second half of his senior year, "miserable" doesn't even begin to cover it. He feels like the doggy-bag from his mother's first marriage and everything else about her new life—with a new husband, new home and a new baby—is an upgrade. The people at Cross Pointe High School are pretentious and privileged—and worst of all is Brighton Waterford, the embodiment of all things superficial and popular. Jonah’s girlfriend, Carly, is his last tie to what feels real... until she breaks up with him.

For Brighton, every day is a gauntlet of demands and expectations. Since her father died, she’s relied on one coping method: smile big and pretend to be fine. It may have kept her family together, but she has no clue how to handle how she's really feeling. Today is the anniversary of his death and cracks are beginning to show. The last thing she needs is the new kid telling her how much he dislikes her for no reason she can understand. She's determined to change his mind, and when they're stuck together for the night, she finally gets her chance.

Jonah hates her at 3p.m., but how will he feel at 3 a.m.?

One night can change how you see the world. One night can change how you see yourself.

About the author:

Tiffany Schmidt lives in Pennsylvania with her saintly husband, impish twin boys, and a pair of mischievous puggles. She's not at all superstitious... at least that's what she tells herself every Friday the thirteenth.

SEND ME A SIGN is her first novel. BRIGHT BEFORE SUNRISE will follow in Winter 2014. The ONCE UPON A CRIME FAMILY series begins with HOLD ME LIKE A BREATH in 2015.

Find Tiffany:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Tumblr

Do you guys have a night like that, one that changed everything?  Has anyone read Bright Before Sunrise yet?  I found it adorable but not saccharine, which was kind of perfect.  You can check out my review here and April's is here. Also, how jealous am I that April gets to meet the author at YA Fest in April?!?