I Read YA Guest Post with Author Mary McCoy: Why I Read and Write YA!

May 3, 2016May 3, 2016Leave a comment

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.

But it also goes deeper than that. YA is not staring at its own belly button, contemplating how special and clever and wise it is. It’s fiction that’s inviting me as a reader to ask, “What do *you* think?” It’s fiction that doesn’t claim to have all the answers. It’s fiction that encourages readers to figure out how they feel and gives them permission to formulate opinions – even if they’re different from the author’s.

As for why I write YA, I think it’s because the experience of time and place is so strange and frustrating when you’re a teenager. You live on a schedule imposed by someone else, and you don’t get to make a lot of the choices that impact you. That’s interesting to me because I find that – both as a writer and as a person – those limitations suck, but they can also lead to creative breakthroughs and help you punch through, leap over, and sneak around the lousy, boring choices you might make if you had limitless resources.

When you’re stuck in the box that is high school, YA tells you there’s no point in waiting around for someone to rescue you. You can sit around waiting for things to change, or you can turn into Harry Houdini, wiggle your way loose, and astonish them all. You can do it on your own terms, and that’s true whether you’re talking about writing YA or living it.

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Thank you so so so much Mary for being a part of I Read YA week! Remember to tune in all week to keep up with all the interviews and posts!

I Read YA Week Interview with Victoria Scott!

May 3, 2016May 3, 2016Leave a comment

Hello everyone! Welcome to the second interview of the I Read YA week extravaganza! I am having all kinds of awesome interviews and guests posts with over twenty epic YA authors and I have a fantastic giveaway happening on my instagram so make sure to check it out!

Today’s interview is with the amazing Victoria Scott!

ABOUT VICTORIA SCOTT

Victoria Scott is the author of seven novels including Titans (Spring 2016), viagra order Violet Grenade (Summer 2017), viagra the Fire & Flood series, cheap and the Dante Walker trilogy. She is published by Scholastic and Entangled Teen, and is represented by Sara Crowe of Harvey Klinger Literary Agency.

Two of Victoria’s novels, Salt & Stone and Titans, have received starred reviews, and Fire & Flood was nominated as a YALSA Teens’ Top 10 book for 2015. Victoria’s novels have been bought and translated in eleven foreign markets. The author currently resides in Dallas, and loves hearing from her readers.

You Can Find Her:

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

HER BOOK

Add this book on GoodReads and purchase it at your local bookstore, or Amazon, Barnes and Noble or Book Depository!

Ever since the Titans first appeared in her Detroit neighborhood, Astrid Sullivan’s world has revolved around the mechanical horses. She and her best friend have spent countless hours watching them and their jockeys practice on the track. It’s not just the thrill of the race. It’s the engineering of the horses and the way they’re programmed to seem so lifelike. The Titans are everything that fascinates Astrid, and nothing she’ll ever touch.

She hates them a little, too. Her dad lost everything betting on the Titans. And the races are a reminder of the gap between the rich jockeys who can afford the expensive machines to ride, and the working class friends and neighbors of Astrid’s who wager on them.

But when Astrid’s offered a chance to enter an early model Titan in this year’s derby, well, she decides to risk it all. Because for a girl from the wrong side of the tracks, it’s more than a chance at fame or money. Betting on herself is the only way she can see to hang on to everyone in the world she cares about.

THE INTERVIEW

Nerd Girl: Why do you write YA?

Victoria: I write YA because it captures so many experiences that are raw, and new.

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

Victoria: I adore Courtney Summer’s This is Not a Test, and I’m reading and loving Susan Ee’s Angelfall. Why have I waited so long to read that book?

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

Victoria: Because YA bookshelves have some of the most unique, heart-wrenching, pulse-pounding stories. And can we talk about the swoon-worthy characters? Yes, let’s do. *pours a cup of coffee*

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

Victoria: Titans: Girl rides robotic horse

Nerd Girl: I absolutely loved Titans; the idea of these metal horses and the incredible races…I wish they were real! Where did you get the idea for it?

Victoria: I got the idea from an Acura commercial, actually. Check it out:

Nerd Girl: What were some of the hardest things about combining the fantasy of the Titans with the contemporary world?

Victoria: I think the challenge was keeping the horses and races real enough to believe, but fantasy feeling enough to capture readers’ interest. Did I succeed? ;)

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Thank you so much Victoria for joining us here at What A Nerd Girl Says for I Read YA week!

Don’t forget to head to my instagram for the giveaway and keep an eye out for more epic interviews and guest posts later this week!

I Read YA Week Interview with Sarvenaz Tash

May 3, 2016May 3, 2016Leave a comment

I am so insanely excited to have Sarvenaz Tash as the first of many awesome author interviews and guest posts this week in celebration of I Read YA Week! I absolutely love this week! I write YA and read YA and am incredibly passionate about it all. I hope you can join in all week for the celebration and you MUST check my instagram for the epic giveaway I’m having this week! Yay!

For now, patient let’s meet Sarvenaz!

ABOUT SARVENAZ TASH!

Sarvenaz Tash was born in Tehran, illness Iran and grew up on Long Island, viagra NY. She received her BFA in Film and Television from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. This means she got to spend most of college running around and making movies (it was a lot of fun). She has dabbled in all sorts of writing including screenwriting, copywriting, and professional tweeting. Sarvenaz currently lives in Brooklyn, NY.

You Can Find Her:

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

ABOUT HER BOOK

This book releases on June 14th. I have already read an advanced copy of it and I absolutely LOVED it! The nerdiness and the romance and all of it was just so great. Definitely add it on GoodReads and preorder it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble now!

Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy…
Archie and Veronica…
Althena and Noth…
…Graham and Roxy?

Graham met his best friend, Roxana, when he moved into her neighborhood eight years ago, and she asked him which Hogwarts house he’d be sorted into. Graham has been in love with her ever since.

But now they’re sixteen, still neighbors, still best friends. And Graham and Roxy share more than ever—moving on from their Harry Potter obsession to a serious love of comic books.

When Graham learns that the creator of their favorite comic, The Chronicles of Althena, is making a rare appearance at this year’s New York Comic Con, he knows he must score tickets. And the event inspires Graham to come up with the perfect plan to tell Roxy how he really feels about her. He’s got three days to woo his best friend at the coolest, kookiest con full of superheroes and supervillains. But no one at a comic book convention is who they appear to be…even Roxy. And Graham is starting to realize fictional love stories are way less complicated than real-life ones.

THE INTERVIEW

Nerd Girl: Why do you write YA?

Sarvenaz: I’ve always loved coming-of-age stories. I also think there are just so many inherent and universal themes/problems/realizations to mine when it comes to those all-important teen years. No matter who you are, you never forget them.

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

Sarvenaz: I have a lot. Just off the top of my head: The Art of Lainey for contemporary romance. Gilt for sweeping historical. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe for gorgeous heartfelt romance. Of course, I will have a thing for Harry Potter as steadfastly as Snape did for Lily!

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

Sarvenaz: That it’s somehow lesser than books for adults in terms of complexity or range. I think YA encompasses every genre under the sun and some of the most timeless, beautiful, heart-wrenching books I’ve ever read have been YA.

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

Sarvenaz: It’s always nice to know you’re part of a community of book lovers. And it’s ALWAYS great to get book recommendations!

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

Sarvenaz: John Hughes at Comic Con.

Nerd Girl: Music has a huge influence in your novel, Three Day Summer. Did you listen to music while writing? What did you listen to?

Sarvenaz: I don’t always listen to music while I’m writing (though I usually have one song or more that I associate with a character or book). However, that book was a major exception. I absolutely listened to as many of the actual setlists as I could get my hands on while I was outlining and writing the book. It really helped bring me into the mindset of the characters since I had the luxury of actually hearing what they heard.

Nerd Girl: I absolutely LOVE your new book, The Geek’s Guide to Unrequited Love. Have you had any amazing moments at a fan convention before?

Sarvenaz: Thanks so much! I have had lots of funny and memorable moments at conventions (a lot of which made it into the book in one way, shape or form). One of my favorites happened at my very first New York Comic Con. My friend and I were trying to get to a panel room, as slowly but surely the crowds started to get heavier and heavier. I’m fairly short and a little bit claustrophobic so at one point, I was definitely feeling uncomfortable at how slow and suffocating it was getting. Meanwhile, my friend was trying to figure out what hot-ticket event we had accidentally stumbled upon. It took about ten minutes of shuffling through the crowd before we reached the sign that told us what that event was: speed-dating. As I always like to put it, I was almost trampled by nerd love! (And we missed our panel, by the way!)

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Thank you so much for hanging out here on What A Nerd Girl Says, Sarvenaz, and we all can’t WAIT for your book to release this summer! Don’t forget to check out more interviews and posts this week for I Read YA Week, and to head to my Instagram to win some epic prizes!

I Read (And Write!) YA Week with Sara Elizabeth Santana + Giveaway!

May 3, 2016Leave a comment

It is officially one of my most FAVORITE times of the year: I Read YA week!

I love I Read YA week for so many reasons. I like that there is a week where I can sit and shout out my support and passion for young adult literature.

Which is sort of what I do on a daily basis anyway, viagra so I’m not sure if there’s much difference. I guess its more like, hey you’re allowed to be obnoxious about your passion for young adult literature this week. We ENCOURAGE it.

Well, thank you. I’m glad to be aboard ;)

Not many people know, but What A Nerd Girl Says sort of started out as a YA rant blog. What happened was, I took a reading class in college. We read a lot of books in that class but we also did a lot of projects on books. The best part was that we were able to pick the books we did these projects on and, of course, mine were heavily YA. I always managed to get good grades on these projects but my reading professor would constantly write notes to me, telling me to do projects on “more substantial novels” and things like that. Oh, it would get me SO insanely fired up.

I also took this reading class at the same time as I took a children’s literature class. This class covered a small bit of YA, but what I liked was that the professor was so adamant that we could learn so much from books that weren’t just general adult fiction. It was refreshing to see someone who agreed with me. She was constantly assigning journal assignments for us, to talk about children’s and young adult literature and I realized how much I LOVED writing about it.

So that’s what this blog started as, a place where I could freely talk about my love for young adult literature and to basically rant about people like my reading professor, who don’t give it a good enough shot.

There are so many reasons I love YA. I love that there are so many options. I love that there is literally something for everyone. It encompasses every single genre. Whatever you like…fantasy, romance, science fiction, paranormal, contemporary, whatever it is, we can find you a book in that YA section that will jump out you. And it reaches to so many people. You don’t have to be a teenager to read these books. They reach to everyone. There are so many amazing, fantastic, substantial novels in YA and there are so many adults out there that gobble them up.

I read 99.8% YA books. I do delve into middle grade and new adult and the VERY occasional adult book but I mostly stick to young adult literature. I love that I can read all of my favorite genres by so many different authors. I love that there are a wide variety of characters, and so many that I identify with. Not only does teenage Sara identify with these characters but adult Sara does as well. I like that there are stories that make me cry and make me laugh and make me think and make me excited. There are books full of romance and action and sad stories. There is this whole community of writers and authors and readers and bloggers and librarians and booksellers and all of those people that come together for one awesome reason: We read YA.

That’s a pretty incredible thing.

And I think that’s a huge reason why I write YA too. Its hard for me to write adult stories, though I’ve tried. YA calls to me, because I love the freedom of it. I’ve written contemporary YA and science fiction YA and I’m writing urban fantasy YA in the future. I love that I’m not stuck, I have the ability to write whatever I want in the young adult category and that’s super cool. But I also love writing the YA character. I love that there’s so much you can do with them. That’s the coming-of-age time, the time where your emotions are heightened and everything around is so much…more than it when you are an adult. Your first love hits you harder, your friends mean that much more, everything is so heightened and dramatic and its fun to write about it.

So I love this week. I love sharing my love for reading and writing YA and I love being part of this vast community that feels the same way as I do because, honestly, it doesn’t really get better than that.

This week, I’ll be celebrating with a ton of great posts. I have interviews and guest posts from authors Sarvanez Tash, Victoria Scott, Robin Reul, Jessica Brody, Nicole Maggi, Mary McCoy, E. Katherine Kottaras, Melissa Landers, Brad Gottfred and Michelle Levy.

I also have some interviews and posts with my fellow OfTomes authors CM Lucas, Hilary Thompson, Jennifer Wilson, Laura Fox and Joel Lawrence.

SO MUCH FUN!

Lastly, but certainly not least, I have a giveaway going on right now on my Instagram!

ONE winner will win ALL of these super cool prizes which include:

-2 ARCs of YA contemporary novels by Rebecca Maizel and Michelle Link

-a signed The Rose Society poster by Marie Lu

-a signed An Ember in Ashes excerpt book by Sabaa Tahir

-a signed To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before postcard by Jenny Han AND Lara Jean and Peter K paper dolls

-a signed The Unexpected Everything pouch by Morgan Matson

-a Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo bookmark

-a Shadowhunters tote bag, with rune tattoos and a Freeform pen

-a set of Brandon Sanderson’s The Reckoners series buttons

-2 signed bookmarks for The Awakened by me! Including two bracelets!

-a signed Unremembered bookmark by Jessica Brody

-a pin from Siobhan Vivian’s The Last Boy and Girl in the World

To enter, head to my instagram (link above) and follow these simple rules!

1. Follow both @whatanerdgirlsays and @sesantanawrites

2. Repost the picture above with the hashtag #IReadYA and #ANerdGirlSaysIReadYA. Make sure to tag @whatanerdgirlsays!

3. You can post ONCE a day, until the giveaway ends on 5/8!

4. US only!

5. Tag TWO friends on the picture on instagram

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Thank you so much for celebrating with me this week! I can’t wait to hear from all of you!

Book Review: Us by Elle Kennedy and Sarina Bowen

April 5, 2016April 5, 2016Leave a comment

Genre:

New Adult, cialis 40mg Romance

Pages:

328 pages

Part of a Series?:

Him #2

Release Date:

March 8th, search 2016

You Can Find the Book At:

Elle’s Website / Sarina’s Website

GoodReads Summary:

Five months in, side effects NHL forward Ryan Wesley is having a record-breaking rookie season. He’s living his dream of playing pro hockey and coming home every night to the man he loves—Jamie Canning, his longtime best friend turned boyfriend. There’s just one problem: the most important relationship of his life is one he needs to keep hidden, or else face a media storm that will eclipse his success on the ice.

Jamie loves Wes. He really, truly does. But hiding sucks. It’s not the life Jamie envisioned for himself, and the strain of keeping their secret is taking its toll. It doesn’t help that his new job isn’t going as smoothly as he’d hoped, but he knows he can power through it as long as he has Wes. At least apartment 10B is their retreat, where they can always be themselves.

Or can they?

When Wes’s nosiest teammate moves in upstairs, the threads of their carefully woven lie begin to unravel. With the outside world determined to take its best shot at them, can Wes and Jamie develop major-league relationship skills on the fly?

My Review:

I loved this book. I love both Elle and Sarina and I think they both have such a way with romance, especially when it has a hockey element in it, and I loved loved loved this sequel to their first novel, Him.

I just gotta say…the biggest reason why I loved this book so much is because of the realism of it. And there are two parts to that. One…I love that Jamie and Wes don’t just live happily ever after after book one. Relationships are hard work. They aren’t all sunshine and rainbows as much as we wish they were. Some books and movies just paint relationships as so perfect. We never really get to see what happens AFTER the kiss, you know what I mean? The fact that there are struggles in this relationship, and there are ups and downs, and they have to fight for each other, even when they sometimes don’t feel like it, just made the book feel so much more real to me.

And the second part of that is…I’ve only had experience with heterosexual relationships. And I connected with this so much. Which just shows again and again and again how much you can connect with love and friendship and affection and compassion and all of that, whether its a heterosexual and homosexual relationship. I loved every minute of that.

Plus I just adore Jamie and Wes so much. Everything about them is so genuine, so real, and I wish I knew them in real life because I would so want to be friends with them. Except I wouldn’t interrupt them so often like the others… ;)

Also, I just don’t think anyone is as capable as causing my cheeks to go as red during steamy scenes the way these two do! I know that I definitely use them as inspiration when I write my own NA. Those scenes are just so good, and I read a good chunk of this book in public, which was even better, because no one knew what was going on with my red cheeks haha.