Author Spotlight and Interview: Bethany Hagen

Leave a comment

Today I’m spotlighting an author that I’m VERY excited to be spotlighting. Bethany Hagen is a debut author, for sale whose novel, visit this  Landry Park, information pills  is hitting bookshelves all over the place and is definitely getting talked about. I saw the book on shelves at Barnes and Noble and Mysterious Galaxy and I kept noticing it. It’s dark cover, and interesting title kept jumping out at me. And guys, I have a book buying problem. So it ended up in a pile of books that I bought on one trip and I went home to read it.

And I loved it. While I’ve been mostly avoiding dystopian and the like because of my own hard work at writing my sci-fi novel right now, this book was beautiful and the characters incredibly compelling and I was definitely one satisfied reader at the end of the novel.

I knew I had to get Bethany on What A Nerd Girl Says. So I did! She’s incredibly sweet and answered a few questions for me, so let’s take the time now to get to know her!

About Bethany Hagen: 

5749310

Bethany Hagen is the debut author of the dystopian novel, Landry Park. She loves to drink coffee and do karate with her husband, but she’s quick to assure us, not at the same time. According to her website, “I’ve been a model for a painter, stung by a sting-ray, stuck in a coma, and I used to dress up as a 1904 schoolmarm, but I got paid for it, so it’s not weird”. She also has a day job as a librarian, which makes this pizza delivery driver quite jealous. She’s also QUITE good at utilizing GIFs to their best ability on her blog.

You can Find her at:

Twitter / Good Reads / Website / Blog / 

About Her Books: 

Landry Park

13479780

In a fragmented future United States ruled by the lavish gentry, seventeen-year-old Madeline Landry dreams of going to the university. Unfortunately, gentry decorum and her domineering father won’t allow that. Madeline must marry, like a good Landry woman, and run the family estate. But her world is turned upside down when she discovers the devastating consequences her lifestyle is having on those less fortunate. As Madeline begins to question everything she has ever learned, she finds herself increasingly drawn to handsome, beguiling David Dana. Soon, rumors of war and rebellion start to spread, and Madeline finds herself and David at the center of it all. Ultimately, she must make a choice between duty – her family and the estate she loves dearly – and desire.

To read my review of Landry Park, click this link.

Interview with Bethany

 

Nerd Girl: What was the inspiration for Landry Park? Why was it important to you to tell this story? 

Bethany: The inspiration actually came from the city I live in and grew up in, Kansas City, Missouri. Working at a local history museum, I got to see exhibits and artifacts from the Gilded Age and the Edwardian Era–gowns and operas and garden parties. I also got to see fun Cold War era gadgets and pictures, relics from an age when people are both thrilled and terrified by the potential of nuclear technology. All of this added in with Kansas City’s historic (and very much still present) problem with poverty jostling next to unimaginable wealth, the story sort of came together on its own.

Nerd Girl: In Landry Park, Madeline struggles between the doubts she has about the way her world is run and the comfort she feels in her privileged lifestyle. How was this important to Madeline as a character and where she inevitably ends up in the end of the book?

Bethany: With Landry Park, I wanted to make sure that nothing was too easy for Madeline. Changing your entire worldview is hard. Like intensely hard work. Much harder than choosing between two rakish boys with dimpled cheeks and tousled hair. And in many dystopian novels, I think it’s fairly straightforward for heroines to accept that the world they once viewed as perfect is actually run by diabolical Goldfinger-types who want to blow up the moon. I didn’t want that for Madeline. I wanted her to struggle, to make mistakes, to feel weighted with guilt and uncertainty.

Nerd Girl: your novel has a lot of themes that are familiar to a young adult: romance, responsibility, family loyalty, commitment, rebellion and more. What is something you hope your readers get out of your novel once they’ve read it? 

Bethany: I hope readers feel like it’s okay not to be perfect. I hope that Madeline shows that it’s okay to falter and fumble and still find your way through at the end.

Nerd Girl: What are some of your own favorite books to read? Were they inspiration for your own writing career?

Bethany: Jane Eyre and Lord of the Rings were my perennial favorites, along with the works of Jane Austen and Gone with the Wind. They are absolutely inspirations for me — Austen, Bronte and Mitchell have this way of playing settings and characters off one another in a manner that I can only dream of doing (…but I try anyway). And I think my life’s goal is to write something as epic as LOTR. Or at least something that requires multiple appendices.

Nerd Girl: What can you tell us about what you are working on for the future? 

Bethany: I’m currently working on editing the sequel for Landry Park (working title Landry Park II: Landry Parkier.) I’ve also been working on a YA Sci-Fi, a YA horror and a NA gothic during my free time. I would love to eventually write in every genre. (Except self-help. My self-help book would be like Step One: Drink More. Step Two: Sweatpants. Step Three: Internet until the pain goes away.)

Nerd Girl: What sort of advice/insight do you think an aspiring author should know that doesn’t get said enough?

Bethany: Step One: Drink More. Step Two: Sweatpants. Step Three: Internet until the pain goes away.

Just kidding! (mostly)

Nerd Girl: This is kind of a fun question that I ask everyone I interview: who is your fictional crush and why? 

Bethany: Oh, the usual suspects: Edward Rochester, Darcy, Aragorn. My most recent fictional crush has been Gansey from The Raven Boys. Or maybe Stephen from Maureen Johnson’s Shades of London books. I have a soft spot for cops and British accents, so Stephen really nails the center of that Venn diagram for me.

*     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *

Thank you SO much to Bethany for answering these questions and having AWESOME answers, and for being part of this What A Nerd Girl Says spotlight.

For the rest of you, make sure to click the links above to learn more about Bethany and get your butt out to a bookstore to pick up Landry Park!

Happy Reading!

L.A. Times Festival of Books 2014: Day One and Day Two Recap Vlogs!

1 Comment

Guys, doctor I just had SUCH an amazing weekend. This weekend was the annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at U.S.C., where the entire weekend is dedicated to the amazing culture of reading. It’s one of my favorite weekends of this year, and this year was no disappointment.

There was a team of five us: me, Sylvia from Fangirl Feeels, our friends Cassandra and Alexandra and my sister, Jessica. We had our game plans, and despite minor hiccups along the way, we managed to do everything that we wanted to do.

I met (and met again, for some) amazing authors this weekend: John Green (OHMYGOD), Rainbow Rowell, Lauren Oliver, Marissa Meyer, Sarah J Maas, Robin Benway, Veronica Roth, Lauren Myracle, Leigh Bardugo, Deb Caletti, Kiersten White, Andrew Smith and Stephanie Perkins.

But I won’t keep you from seeing my awesome vlogs. I vlogged while at the Fest so you get some pretty awkward and hilarious moments from me, a short video of my conversation with John Green and…lots of awkwardness haha.

Check it out!

Day One!

Day Two!

Yay! I hope you enjoyed seeing the awesomeness that was my weekend!

I managed to grab extra copies of Cinder, Anna and the French Kiss and Fangirl for a giveaway. There will NOT be a giveaway for the month of April (as of now), but there is a HUGE giveaway coming for my Blog Birthday in May so keep an eye out to see how you can get your hands on these books!

Oh! And don’t forget you can check out ALL the pictures on the What A Nerd Girl Says Facebook page here!

Happy Reading Everyone!

*     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *

Fictional Crush of the Week-Tony Stark from the Marvel Cinematic Universe

3 Comments

Character Name:

Tony Stark a.k.a. Ironman

3084359-3578001612-Tony-

Book or Series They Appear In:

To make life easier, for sale he appears in about a million Marvel comics and he is part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe haha.

Ironman, medications Ironman 2, information pills Ironman 3, The Avengers, The Avengers 2: Age of Ultron

Author/Creator:

Larry Lieber, Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Don Heck

Played By: 

Robert Downey Jr.

Who They Are:

I’m going to remind you guys again because I”m still getting complaints. My FCotW’s WILL be spoiler filled. Sorry. I’ve warned you so much time haha. 

Look, this could honestly be a whole novel in itself. I am not a comic book person, though I really wish I could be. But there’s so many different universes so I’m just sticking to the story we have of Tony Stark/Ironman in the MCU because that’s what I know.

Tony Stark is the head of Stark Industries, a billionaire and playboy with a reputation as big as the contents of his bank account. When he is captured while on a trip to promote his Stark weapons, he tries to figure out a way to escape and creates the Ironman suit. He learns that his company is selling weapons to the enemy behind his back and sets out to stop it and that’s kind of where his story goes from there. He is open about his identity as Ironman. He’s incredibly smart and goes from using that to develop and tries to create other things, like self-sustaining energy sources. He eventually becomes part of the Avengers and helps defend New York City from Loki and his invading alien race.

Why I Am Crushing On Them: 

Um, its Robert Downey Jr? Do you need anything else besides that?

Let’s be honest: I’d make out with anyone on the Avengers team, and that includes the girls. Chris Hemsworth as Thor? Sigh. Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye? Sigh again. Mark Ruffalo as The Hulk? Double Sigh. Chris Evans as Captain America? SIGH. They manage to find the yummiest guys possible to play these superheroes. I’m in fangirl heaven when I watch these movies, especially The Avengers.

But there’s something about Ironman that makes this girl weak in the knees. One, its just kind of the guys I like: the sarcastic, humorous, I-act-like-I-don’t-care-but-I-totally-do sort of thing.  I love it. I love that he constantly just looks massively sexy and then he gets into his badass suit and just throws down. I love that he built his suit on his own and his own brain that makes him a superhero, not any special powers. I love that. I mean, superheroes are awesome and all but I love that the whole thing of Ironman comes from Tony Stark’s brain, and his money, sure, but still its awesome.

And seriously, he cracks me up. His movies have the most humor, easily, and he lends a lot of the humor to the Avengers, definitely. I was googling quotes for this post and I just kept laughing and I couldn’t even narrow it down. I had to stop myself from copying and pasting all the lines in here because they are just so funny. I love that Robert Downey Jr is able to represent so many emotions as Ironman. We get cocky, arrogant, confident, sexy, insecure, caring, loyal, angry, vengeful, all sorts of different emotions and you believe all of them, and he looks so good while doing them.

Notable Quotes:

Tony Stark: Well, you can forget it. I am Iron Man. The suit and I are one. To turn over the Iron Man suit would be to turn over myself, which is tantamount to indentured servitude or prostitution, depending on what state you’re in. You can’t have it.
Senator Stern: Look, I’m no expert…
Tony Stark: In prostitution? Of course not, you’re a senator. Come on!

“My bond is with the people, and I will serve this great nation at the pleasure of myself. If there’s one thing I’ve proven it’s that you can count on me to pleasure myself.”

“I told you I don’t want to join your super-secret boy band.”

“You really have got a lid on it, haven’t you? What’s your secret? Mellow jazz? Bongo drums? Huge bag of weed?”

“Right. Better clench up, Legolas.”

“And I’m a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster.”

 “That man is playing Galaga! Thought we wouldn’t notice. But we did.”

“Alright. Hey. Alright. Good job, guys. Let’s just not come in tomorrow. Let’s just take a day. Have you ever tried shawarma? There’s a shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don’t know what it is, but I wanna try it.”

*     *      *     *      *     *      *      *      *     *

City of Heavenly Fire Official Synopsis and Reaction

4 Comments

Now, here you guys know that I’m not a news site. I don’t post news, because frankly, I have too much going on in my life to keep up with that sort of thing. I wish I did. I try to post as much as I can on the Facebook page but honestly, I just don’t have the patience.

This is a fan experience and fan opinion and all around fangirl site.

But that means I can share the official synopsis of City of Heavenly Fire, and I can share my reaction to it.

8755785

And here is the synopsis:

In the long awaited conclusion to the acclaimed Mortal Instruments series, Clary and her friends fight the greatest evil they have ever faced: Clary’s own brother. 

 

Sebastian Morgenstern is on the move, systematically turning Shadowhunter against Shadowhunter. Bearing the Dark Cup, he transforms Shadowhunters into creatures out of nightmare, tearing apart families and lovers as the ranks of his Endarkened army swell.
 
The embattled Shadowhunters withdraw to Idris — but not even the famed demon towers of Alicante can keep Sebastian at bay. And with the Nephilim trapped in Idris, who will guard the world against demons? 

 

When one of the greatest betrayals the Nephilim has ever known is revealed, Clary, Jace, Isabelle, Simon and Alec must flee –even if their journey takes them deep into the demon realms, where no Shadowhunter has set foot before, and from which no human being has ever returned…

 

Love will be sacrificed and lives lost in the terrible battle for the fate of the world in the thrilling final installment of the classic urban fantasy series The Mortal Instruments. 

Jeez.

My heart is breaking and I haven’t even read the book yet. Its going to be a Clockwork Princess kind of night when CoHF is released. I’m going to stay up until 3 or 4 am reading it, and walk around the next day with complete blood shot eyes. Sigh.

Let’s break this down:

“transforms Shadowhunters into creatures out of nightmare, tearing apart families and lovers”

That KILLS me. I wonder if any Shadowhunters we know are going to become a dark Shadowhunter the way Amatis did in CoLS. And I hate the way it says lovers. It makes me thing that Luke will be turned against Jocelyn, or vice versa or that Alec or Isabelle or Jace or any of them will turn bad and turn against their friends. It makes me wonder who Sebastian is going to get his claws on.

“not even the famed demon towers of Alicante can keep Sebastian at bay” 

Um, why? What’s going on? He has demon blood so we know that he can knock out the wards, the way he did in City of Glass. Is he just going to march into Idris and take it over?

“the Nephilim are trapped in Idris”

Sebastian is totally taking over Idris. The Shadowhunters are going to be under his thumb while he just wreaks destruction upon the world. Because the word ‘trapped’ means its more than just them seeking refuge there. Trapped suggests that they can’t leave. Why can’t they leave? AGH!

“one of the greatest betrayals the Nephilim has ever known is revealed”

Um, excuse me? What? WHAT? Who is betraying who? Why is it so crazy? What is going on? Ohmygod I can’t stand this kind of anticipation. Who is going to betray who? Is it going to be absolutely heartbreaking? AGH!

“even if their journey takes them deep into the demon realms, where no Shadowhunter has set foot before, and from which no human being has ever returned”

Someone is going to die, someone is going to die, someone is going to die, and my TMI feels can’t handle this because I don’t want Clary or Jace or Isabelle or Alec or Simon to die but one of them is going to die and I’m going to became a tragic mess.

Basically all this as shown me is that I am so incredibly unprepared for the release of City of Heavenly Fire. I honestly have no idea how I am going to handle it but its going to be an emotional night. And I can’t wait for it.

What are your reactions to the official City of Heavenly Fire synopsis? Share in the comments! 

Book of the Week-The Last Forever

Leave a comment

The Last Forever by Deb Caletti

18051301

GoodReads / Barnes and Noble / Amazon / Book Depository

Genre:

Young Adult, view Contemporary, dosage Romance

Part of a Series?:

No

You May Like if You Liked:

The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen, Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

Age Recommendation:

13+

Plot Summary:

From GoodReads:

Endings and beginnings sit so close to each other that it’s sometimes impossible to tell which is which.

Nothing lasts forever, and no one gets that more than Tessa. After her mother died, it’s all she can do to keep her friends, her boyfriend, her happiness from slipping away. And then there’s her dad. He’s stuck in his own daze, and it’s so hard to feel like a family when their house no longer seems like a home.

Her father’s solution? An impromptu road trip that lands them in a small coastal town at Tessa’s grandmother’s. Despite all the warmth and beauty there, Tessa can’t help but feel even more lost.

Enter Henry Lark. He understands the relationships that matter. And more importantly, he understands her. A secret stands between them, but Tessa’s willing to do anything to bring them together—because Henry may just be her one chance at forever.

My Review: 

Deb Caletti is an author that I’ve been reading for quite a few years now, and eagerly anticipate each and every release of hers. This book was no different. I was also determined to finish it quickly because she will be attending the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books this weekend and I am so excited to finally meet her! It’s going to be fantastic.

The thing that always impresses me about Deb Caletti’s books is that you would think after 9 YA books (and one adult books), things would start to get repetitive. Predictable. But that isn’t actually what happens. She surprises me every single time I read a book. I read the synopsis and wondered for a moment if I was going to be able to predict the ending or if I might get bored by it.

And I wasn’t at all. Deb Caletti has a way of telling such a familiar, deep story no matter what book it is. She’s such a beautiful writer. She has the ability to write an incredibly well written novel while also making it sound like we are in the mind of a typical teenager. We go through all the feelings that Tessa is going through, while Deb paints a beautiful picture of the story, and that’s what I love about this book. It somehow manages to keep those things that we come to know from capital-L literature and makes it a young adult story with that recognizable young adult voice.

What really got me about this book is that it seems like it would be a romance story, and while there is definitely a part of that, for me, it was a story about family, and the strange ways that you lose it and find it. The way a loss can change you and how to deal with that kind of loss. I seem to be reading a lot of books about loss and grief lately and it amazes me to see the similarities and differences in which a person deals with grief and I think that’s the beauty of it. Tessa is searching for her mother in something, and she holds her mother close in a little plant named Pix that her mother has left behind for her.

The story of Pix and the fight for the plant’s survival is a huge part of why I couldn’t stop reading. Tessa is obsessed with this plant, but its gaining her friends, its opening up a relationship with her grandmother, and its giving her purpose after the loss of her mother. She is able to find her mother in that plant and both hold onto the memories of her mother while also moving on into a new chapter of her life.

The relationship between Tessa and Henry in the book is unexpected and interesting to read about and I loved watching it from beginning to end, unsure of where it would end up. They both learn so much from each other, and its unlike most relationships that we see in a YA novel and I love that. I love seeing a unique take on romance, and friendship and family.

The Last Word

You can never go wrong with a Deb Caletti book. She has 9 of them out there, and I honestly don’t think any of them are a bad place to start. The Secret Life of Prince Charming and The Nature of Jade are my two favorites but this is another winning novel from Deb Caletti. She captures a beautiful story of handling grief and moving on, and find purpose. I can’t wait to meet her this Sunday and tell her how much I loved this book!

*     *     *     *     *     *     *     *