I know I keep saying this, this but I am really excited to bring you yet another amazing author for I Read YA Week on What A Nerd Girl Says! I have another OfTomes sibling with me today, the fantastic Hilary Thompson! She is new to the crew so I’m just as stoked to learn all about her as you are! Plus she wrote a fantastic guest post about YA AND there’s a giveaway at the bottom of this post.

It really doesn’t get any better than this. Lets jump in!

ABOUT HILARY THOMPSON 

Taken from Hilary’s website: 

I’m Hilary, and I used to be such a practical girl. Then I let the stories out.

Now I create worlds, people, and problems that are grounded in real life, if you accept that real life has magic around every turn.

I was born to parents who made a habit of taking roads less traveled. But I was also a first child, and an independent, willful child, so I’ve made a habit of taking a few roads on my own.

Now I teach Creative Writing, English, and AP Literature, write whenever and wherever I can, and read as much as my eyes can handle. I play superheroes and dress up games and read books in bed with my own independent, willful children and play at homesteading and world traveling with my wonderful soulmate of a husband. I tend to ignore laundry and dirty dishes.

You Can Find Her:

Her Website / Her Twitter / Her Facebook / Her GoodReads / Her Instagram

HER BOOK

I’m actually going to skip this section. I know, I know, I’ve been talking ALL about it on the other authors. The only reason I’m skipping it is…okay there’s two reasons. One, Hilary has been self-published before, which I admire so much. Not an easy road to take AT ALL. And two, those books are going to be revamped and republished under the OfTomes header. I am so insanely excited about this and I’m going to give all the honors and hype to OfTomes for all that. But in the meantime, all of her links are above and I encourage you all to check it out and enjoy :)

HER GUEST POST

HOPE

To be honest, I went about everything backward. In high school, I obsessed over Shakespeare, lost myself in Voltaire, was entranced with Plath. And this doesn’t even touch the school-assigned lists. My guilty pleasures were musty copies of Pynchon and O’Connor and Kerouac I found in odd used-book sales. Eclectic, yes, but always solidly in the realm of Literature, capital L.

College was no better – an English major’s nightstand is covered in esoteric essayists and Important Works. I plowed through Milton, Shaw, Chopin, Hemingway, Rushdie, Dostoyevsky, and so many more.

I loved them with all my heart, but none of them broke my heart.

Each of these writers twisted my mind and forced me to question my mortal morality, but none of them wrung a tear from my soul.

For a long time, I was afraid I just wasn’t getting it. Oh, I could hold my own in literary discussions and write the crap out of a thematic essay. But as much as I loved these stories, I felt like there just had to be more out there. Surely the book life wasn’t always so…serious.

Enter YA. I was in my late twenties and tired of reading – I had no idea what to do. So one day I wandered into the teen section at the library and picked up a few random pretty covers.

And there wasn’t any wow moment – not yet. At first, I was reading Meyer and Collins and Roth. Solid stories, but predictable. Not even close to the poetic language I’d been used to. But there was something in those stories that sent me hunting for more.

On to Laini Taylor, Leigh Bardugo, Maggie Stiefvater, and of course J.K. Rowling. These stories were more layered, the language often more intense. And that something was still there.

Now, many years later, I can identify it. Over here in the “teen” section we don’t worry about Literature, capital L, and that’s a good thing. Over here, we have something better – hope. Hope that evil will somehow be defeated by good; hope that humanity isn’t quite as broken as we think; hope that whatever failings our relationships have now, they can get better.

There is hope that despair is fleeting.

And this, my friends, is what high schoolers should be reading. Perhaps everyone, really. Because despair finds everyone and makes its way into every story mankind tells. But not all stories find their way out of that pit, and not all people can, either.

I read YA because I want to believe in possibilities.

Not always happy endings for everyone, mind you. And plenty of characters will die. (Roth, I’m looking at you.) But just like a young person with their whole life before them, YA offers a promise.

I read YA because I have promised myself that I am not broken. I have hope that no matter what despair is lurking in my life, I will be strong enough. I will find the perfect weapon. And I will have a true companion to back me up when I need them most.

So come on over to our section. Don’t worry about the capital letters. We have something better than the prestige of brokenness. We have the grit to fix it.

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Thank you SO much, Hilary, for being a part of I Read YA Week and welcome so much to the OfTomes family. We are so glad to have you!

Don’t forget everyone! Tune in all week to make sure you don’t miss one moment of all the interviews and guest posts happening here on What A Nerd Girl Says!

And also head to my instagram to enter my giveaway where you can get your hands on two YA ARCs AND a ton of signed swag from authors such as Marie Lu, Jenny Han, Morgan Matson and more!

I hope you are all enjoying all the awesome interviews and guest posts coming your way this week! I absolutely LOVE I Read YA week and I love being able to share it with all of you! And I am so excited about all the authors that are with us this week.

Today I have a friend of mine, about it Nicole Maggi, approved on the blog. She is so fantastic and I’m so happy to have her here, more about so read on!

And don’t forget the giveaway details at the bottom of the interview!!

ABOUT NICOLE MAGGI

Nicole was born in the suburban farm country of upstate New York, and began writing at a very early age. Of course, her early works consisted mainly of poems about rainbows and unicorns, although one of them was good enough to win honorable mention in a national poetry contest! (Perhaps one of the judges was a ten-year-old girl.) Throughout high school, her creative writing was always nurtured and encouraged.

Nicole attended Emerson College as an acting major, and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Post-college, she worked as an actress in New York City for over a decade, focusing mainly on Shakespeare and the classics.

Now living in Los Angeles, Nicole balances writing full-time with motherhood. WINTER FALLS, the first in her TWIN WILLOWS TRILOGY (Medallion Press, 2014) is her debut novel. She has a stand-alone novel, HEARTLINES, coming out in February 2015 with SourceBooks Fire, as well as the second and third novels in the TWIN WILLOWS TRILOGY in 2015 and 2016.

You Can Find Her:

Her Website / Her Twitter / Her Facebook / Her GoodReads / Her Instagram

HER BOOK

Add the first book of Nicole’s trilogy on GoodReads and make sure to find it at your local bookstore or on Amazon, Barnes and Noble or Book Depository. 

Alessia Jacobs is a typical sixteen-year-old, dying to get out of her small town of Twin Willows, Maine. Things look up when a new family comes to town, but when she falls for the hot, mysterious son, Jonah, her life turns upside down.

Weird visions of transforming into an otherworldly falcon are just the beginning. Soon she learns she’s part of the Benandanti, an ancient cult of warriors with the unique power to separate their souls from their bodies and take on the forms of magnificent animals.

Alessia never would’ve suspected it, but her boring town is the site of an epic struggle between the Benandanti and the Malandanti to control powerful magic in the surrounding forest.

As Alessia is drawn into the Benandanti’s mission, her relationship with Jonah intensifies. When her two worlds collide, Alessia’s forced to weigh choices a sixteen-year-old should never have to make.

HER INTERVIEW

Nerd Girl: Why do you write YA?

Nicole: I started out writing historical fiction that I didn’t intend to be YA but I had a lot of editors come back and say, “you know, this feels like YA.” So my agent encouraged me to write it. Writing in a teen voice felt like coming home. I realized that it was where I was meant to be. I think the biggest reason why this is is because my teen years were tumultuous and difficult, and reading was my refuge. I escaped into books, and so I’m writing for other teens who might be having a rough time and need a book to escape into just like I did.

Nerd Girl: What are some of your own favorite YA reads?

Nicole: Well, Harry Potter, OF COURSE. I re-read the whole series every few years, or whenever I’m going through a rough patch. Harry always makes everything better.

One of my other very favorite YA books is I CAPTURE THE CASTLE by Dodie Smith. It was written in the 1940’s, so before YA was a thing, but it is a classic coming-of-age store with an unforgettable setting and just a wonderful, wonderful read.

I read Harry Potter and I CAPTURE THE CASTLE as an adult, so I have to mention my favorite books when I was a teen: The Song of the Lioness series by Tamora Pierce. I loved those books so much that no one else in my middle school got to read them because I always had them checked out. Those were the books that made me want to become a writer. Pierce created a world that I wanted to live in, and I realized that I wanted to do the same thing with my own writing.

Nerd Girl: What do you think is a big misconception about YA and why do you think its wrong?

Nicole: I think the biggest misconception is that YA is somehow “less than” literature that is written for adults. This attitude really bugs me. What could be greater than writing for an audience that is just starting to figure out who they are, shape their own beliefs and values, and what their place is in the world (ie, teens)? To be a part of their lives at that stage is incredibly exciting and humbling. Anyone who devalues that by looking down their nose at YA has obviously forgotten what it was like to be a teen.

Nerd Girl: Why do you think its important to have a “I Read YA” week?

Nicole: Building off what I said above, I think there are a lot of adults who read YA and feel like they have to hide it, or be embarrassed by it, because other people might look down on them for it. So I say, be loud and proud! Read your YA in public, without a cover, on the subway! There’s no shame in reading YA as an adult.

And I think the more public adults are about reading YA, the more likely the teens in their lives will read it as well. Reading begets reading!

Nerd Girl: Describe your latest work in five words or less.

Nicole: “A difficult choice creates an unlikely friendship.” Hey, it’s only five words if you remove the “A” and “an”!

Nerd Girl: What is something you wish you had known about writing/publishing before you become a published author?

Nicole: So much. SO SO MUCH. Haha! You know, I think I thought that being published would solve all my problems, and even though many people told me that it didn’t, I don’t think I really believed them. Then I got published and it not only didn’t solve all my problems, it also brought in a whole host of new ones! I am so incredibly grateful for and proud of everything I’ve achieved so far, but I think I thought that getting published was the top of the mountain when really it’s only Base Camp 1. Still, I wouldn’t trade this trek for anything else.

Nerd Girl: What was some of your favorite parts about writing the Twin Willows stories? Would you ever return to that world again?

Nicole: Oh, I love that world so much. I think my favorite part about writing it was the relationships between all the characters. Not just the central romance between Alessia and Jonah, but also the mentor-mentee relationship between Heath and Alessia, the mother-daughter love between Alessia and Lidia, the friendships between Alessia and Jenny, and Alessia and Bree, the tortured love between Heath and Nerina, and the interplay of all the neighbors of Twin Willows. It was really the characters that made that world so rich and three-dimensional, and I just loved them all so much.

I don’t have plans to return to Twin Willows. I feel like I told that story exactly the way I wanted to, and I completed the journey with all of the characters. I do have an idea for a prequel story with Heath and Nerina that I may write as a novella and put up on Wattpad, but who know when I’ll have time to write it! Other than that, I’m happy and satisfied with the trilogy as a whole, and don’t feel the need to add to it. Honestly, how often do we as writers get to say that?! I feel very blessed that I got to tell that story in exactly the way I wanted to, and hope that readers enjoy the journey as much as I did.

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HUGE thanks to Nicole for joining us today at What A Nerd Girl Says and for being a part of I Read YA week!

And don’t forget to find this image below on my instagram in order to enter the I Read YA Week giveaway! SO. MUCH. SIGNED. SWAG.

Hello everyone! Welcome to day three of the epic I Read YA week. Let’s jump in today with an awesome interview with my good friend and fantastic debut author, click Robin Reul!

ABOUT ROBIN REUL

Taken from Robin’s website: My name is Robin Reul, and I’m a YA author represented by Leigh Feldman at Leigh Feldman Literary. I write contemporary YA fiction, and in my spare time I love to foster my Facebook addiction, drink copious amounts of caffeine and enjoy my good standing as an equal opportunity cupcake lover.

You Can Find Her:

Her Website / Her Twitter / Her Facebook / Her GoodReads / Her Instagram

HER BOOK

Find Robin’s beautiful debut novel on GoodReads and purchase a copy at your local bookstore or either on Amazon, Barnes and Noble or Book Depository!

Despite the best of intentions, seventeen-year old, wisecracking Hank Kirby can’t quite seem to catch a break. It’s not that he means to screw things up all the time, it just happens. A lot. Case in point: his attempt to ask out the girl he likes literally goes up in flames when he spells “Prom” in sparklers on her lawn…and nearly burns down her house.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, Peyton Breedlove, a brooding loner and budding pyromaniac, witnesses the whole thing. Much to Hank’s dismay, Peyton takes an interest in him—and his “work.” The two are thrust into an unusual friendship, but their boundaries are tested when Hank learns that Peyton is hiding some dark secrets, secrets that may change everything he thought he knew about Peyton.

THE INTERVIEW

I am so insanely excited to be bringing you this awesome interview for I Read YA week! CM Lucas is one of my many author siblings at the fantastic OfTomes Publishing, page and I am so glad to have her here on What A Nerd Girl Says to celebrate the love of reading and writing YA!

Let’s do this!

ABOUT CM LUCAS

Claire Marie Lucas lives in South-East England with her husband and three children. She began writing stories from inside her wardrobe at the tender age of six and hasn’t stopped writing in obscure places since; her current favourite being the cupboard beneath the stairs. The Weaver’s Riddle: Mists and Whispers is her debut novel.

You Can Find Her:

Her Website / Her Twitter / Her Facebook / Her GoodReads / Her Instagram

HER BOOK 

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Find CM Lucas’ novel on GoodReads and purchase either an ebook or paperback copy on Amazon now!

Imagine a world in eternal darkness. A world where skeletal beasts lurk in the forest. Where the women are missing, and the men are in need of salvation…

In the West-English town of Little Wolf Green, Scott’s bookshop is about to close down. Convinced the bookshop holds the key to her mother’s identity, sixteen year old Anya Piddling vows to save Scott’s, whatever the cost.
When four books of magic and myth take the world by storm, Anya begins a journey to discover the truth about the author, known only as the Weaver. Followed closely by her friends, and one surly, bitter ex-boyfriend, Anya soon realises a whole new world awaits: a world gone very wrong, with maddening whispers in the forest, magical winged Kings and a dragon-boy that understands her, inside and out. But this world needs a saviour… and everyone is looking at her.

HER INTERVIEW

Nerd Girl: Why do you write YA?

Claire: I write YA because it’s the genre I most enjoy reading. There is a certain sense of adventure that only YA novels seem to capture, and satisfy, and I think it’s important for teens, and indeed, people of all ages, to feel that rush of adventure, even if it is just through reading. It helps you feel connected to the world and inspires you to go out and really live. I think YA’s reoccurring theme of self-discovery is also very important for all readers to experience, as no matter your age, you should never stop learning about yourself. I mean, how can anyone truly discover their full potential if they stop growing as a person?

Nerd Girl: What are some of your own favorite YA reads?

Claire: One of my favourite YA series is Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke and Bone. It still leaves me speechless to this day, and I always think about Akiva and Karou, and the adventures that continued for them beyond the series. Laini Taylor is simply amazing, her writing is pure magic!

Ooh, and “Ob….viously,” Harry Potter kind of goes without saying, even though the series is technically middle grade, I do feel the later books cross over into the YA category too.

Nerd Girl: What do you think is a big misconception about YA and why do you think it’s wrong?

Claire: I think the biggest misconception about YA is that it is easy to write. I’ve heard many people say it in the past, but they are, in my opinion, completely wrong, because teenagers are not the ‘simple’ minded creatures many adults mistake them for. They have brilliant, sharp minds and can spot a mistake or a plot hole a mile off, and they are not afraid to speak their minds about it if an author gets it wrong. With YA, it’s not about creating a world that is believable, it goes beyond that. You have to create a world that is real, with rich, diverse characters that they can relate to, that make them feel a broad spectrum of emotions and that help them to make sense of what they are going through in their own lives, as well as delivering entertaining and intriguing plots that keep them interested throughout the entire series. It’s a big task, but a very rewarding one!

Nerd Girl: Why do you think it’s important to have an “I Read YA” week?

Claire: I think encouraging teenagers to read is paramount to the future of the human race. The teenagers of today will be the pioneers of tomorrow, but without well-exercised imaginations, how can we expect them to have the kind of vision they will need to take this world further forward into the future?

Nerd Girl: Describe your latest work in five words or less.

Claire: Magical, mysterious, action packed adventure!

Nerd Girl: Your series is literally an epic. The thought of seven books blows my mind and I totally admire you for it! How do you tackle a series that is more than a couple books?

Claire: Thank you! I’m not sure how many other authors work the same way, but I plotted out the over arcing story for the series first, in unison with the characters and their back-stories. I literally took over our front room and pinned up a series timeline that spanned the length of the entire wall! Then I just kept adding in the details for each book via post-its until it got too big for the wall! After a whole year of planning and research, I began writing the first book.

Nerd Girl: Where did the inspiration for your series come from? How did the idea form, and are there authors that have inspired it?

Claire: Well, as a child, I was a huge C.S. Lewis fan. He really sparked my fascination in the concept of multiverses, and that is something that has always stuck with me. In my new adult years, I began writing screenplays and making short films, so when I got the idea for the Weaver’s Riddle series, I was originally going to write it as a movie. But when I realised the depth of the series, I decided it was time to make the leap from screenplays to novels. I was lucky enough to meet JK Rowling during a signing event for her novel, The Casual Vacancy, and ask her a question, so naturally, I asked about writing. I put her advice into practice, and a few years later, here I am!

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Thank you darling Claire for stopping by and being a part of I Read YA Week on What A Nerd Girl Says!

And don’t forget, we have amazing interviews and guest posts all week! Also, head to my instagram for the giveaway, including all sorts of signed YA author swag, and TWO advanced readers copies of some YA novels!

Welcome to the first guest post of my celebration of I Read YA week! I am so excited to have this amazing author as a guest today, order on What A Nerd Girl Says, because she is an awesome presence in the YA community and I love having her as a friend. Please read on to learn more about the epic Mary McCoy!

ABOUT MARY MCCOY 

Mary McCoy is a writer and a librarian at the Los Angeles Public Library. She has also been a contributor to On Bunker Hill and the1947project, where she wrote stories about Los Angeles’s notorious past. She grew up in western Pennsylvania and studied at Rhodes College and the University of Wisconsin. Mary now lives in Los Angeles with her husband and son. Her debut novel,Dead To Me, is a YA mystery set in the glamorous, treacherous world of 1940s Hollywood.

HER BOOK 

Add Mary McCoy’s amazing debut novel on Goodreads, and buy it at your local bookstore or on Amazon, Barnes and Noble or Book Depository. 

“Don’t believe anything they say.”

Those were the last words that Annie spoke to Alice before turning her back on their family and vanishing without a trace. Alice spent four years waiting and wondering when the impossibly glamorous sister she idolized would return to her–and what their Hollywood-insider parents had done to drive her away.

When Annie does turn up, the blond, broken stranger lying in a coma has no answers for her. But Alice isn’t a kid anymore, and this time she won’t let anything stand between her and the truth, no matter how ugly. The search for those who beat Annie and left her for dead leads Alice into a treacherous world of tough-talking private eyes, psychopathic movie stars, and troubled starlets–and onto the trail of a young runaway who is the sole witness to an unspeakable crime. What this girl knows could shut down a criminal syndicate and put Annie’s attacker behind bars–if Alice can find her first. And she isn’t the only one looking

Evoking classic film noir, debut novelist Mary McCoy brings the dangerous glamour of Hollywood’s Golden Age to life, where the most decadent parties can be the deadliest, and no drive into the sunset can erase the crimes of past.

WHY MARY MCCOY READS AND WRITES YA 

When people ask me why I read YA, I always say that I appreciate young adult fiction because it respects the reader’s time. I like that YA gives me complicated human emotions and experiences, fast-moving prose, richly drawn characters, and stories I can get lost in even if I can finish them in a sitting or two.