This time next week, my third novel will be out in the world! (For the record, that's not a sentence I ever thought I would type. Publishing one book was a dream so big I wasn't sure it would ever happen. Publishing three? I. Am. Lucky. And excited!)
My newest book is a figure skating/hockey contemporary YA romance titled All Laced Up:
Everyone loves hockey superstar Pierce Miller. Everyone except Lia Bailey. When the two are forced to teach a skating class to save the rink, Lia’s not sure she’ll survive the pressure of Nationals and Pierce’s ego. Not only can’t he remember her name, he signed her bottle of water like she was one of his groupies. Ugh. But if there’s one thing Lia knows better than figure skating, it’s hockey. Hoping to take his ego down a notch—or seven—she logs into his team website under an anonymous name to give him pointers on his less-than-stellar playing. Turns out, Pierce isn’t arrogant at all. And they have a lot in common. Too bad he’s falling for the anonymous girl online. No matter how much fun they’re starting to have in real life, she’s afraid he’s going to choose fake-Lia over the real one... Disclaimer: This book contains a swoony hockey player (and his equally swoony friends!), one-too-many social media accounts, kisses that’ll melt ice, and a secret identity that might not be so secret after all...
As a former figure skater (who definitely crushed on a hockey player or two or seven), I had a blast writing this one!
Contemporary YA romance. I love reading it, and I adore writing it. Second chance romance, boy next door, friends to lovers, enemies to lovers...bring all of it on!
The boys are swoony. Let's be real. You can't get away with using the word "swoony" to describe anyone much older than 21. But contemporary YA romance boys? SWOONY. And so much fun to write.
You can forget adulting (but nothing is "too adult"). I've never written an adult book, but if I did, I imagine it would be pretty boring. Taxes, blah blah blah. Paying bills, blah blah blah. Doing laundry, blah blah blah.
Teens have so many more exciting things to write about! First loves! College choices! Prom!
But I also love that no "adult" topics are off-limits. Romance, sex, heartbreak, drinking, mental health issues, etc. are all things teens deal with. Therefore, they can and should be included, just from a uniquely teenage perspective.
First kisses.Need I say more?
Teenagers. Are. Awesome. And I don't just mean characters. I mean the teens I meet when I'm speaking or doing a signing or hanging out on Twitter. They are sweet and real and make me laugh and sometimes make me cry and always give the best book recommendations. They're infinitely cooler than the grown-ups I hang out with.
The highs are really high (and the lows are really low). There's a quote from the move 17 Again that I absolutely love:
The first part of that quote is so true. Every breakup, every snub from your crush, every time he picks the other girl...it all feels like the end of the world. But while those lows are low, the highs are also high. Every kiss, every sweet text, every touch is euphoric.
Those extremes are the biggest reason why I write YA, and specifically why I write contemporary YA romance. I can't imagine writing anything else.
SAY NO TO THE BRO by Kat Helgeson has it all. Kat is 1/2 of the author duo who brought you GENA/FINN (which, if you haven't read that one, what are you waiting for?!). This is her first solo novel, and it sounds AMAZING.
Here's a first look at the cover. Keep scrolling to learn more about Kat and the book that should definitely be on your 2017 TBR!
Interview
So what's SAY NO TO THE BRO all about?
Ava’s plan for surviving senior year at her new school is simple: fly under the radar until graduation. No boys. No attachments. No drama. But all that goes out the window when she gets drafted into the Prom Bowl—a long-standing tradition where senior girls compete in challenges to be auctioned off as prom dates to the highest bidder. Ava joins forces with star quarterback Mark Palmer to try and get her out of the competition but their best laid schemes lead to more self-sabotage than anything else. And to make matters worse, they both begin to realize that the Prom Bowl isn’t all fun and games. When one event spirals dangerously out of control, Ava and Mark must decide whether shutting down the Prom Bowl once and for all is worth the price of sacrificing their futures.
What word or words would you use to describe your main characters?
Ava is introverted, loyal, and stubborn. Mark is charismatic, funloving, and entitled.
Prom superlatives time! Which one of your characters would win...
...best dressed?- Charlotte
...most likely to spike the punch?- Cody
...worst dance moves?- Coach Vanguard
...most likely to leave with someone other than his or her date?- Solstice
...cutest couple?- Denise and Zoe
Did you go to your high school prom? If so, what was the best or worst part?
I did, but it wasn't a red-letter event for me. I think, like Ava, I wouldn't have minded doing something else that night. My favorite part was getting ready with my friends.
What song would you definitely put on your characters' prom playlist?
Ava and Mark's relationship dynamic was partly inspired by this dance:
I think they'd dance to this song.
If you were in high school today and got asked to go to prom tomorrow, what would your dress look like?
When I went to my real high school prom I wore navy blue both times, and so did all my friends, so I'd probably pick bright orange or something.
Your first novel, GENA/FINN, was co-written with Hannah Moskowitz. How was it writing solo this time?
Cowriting is a million times more fun. It's like playing in the pool with your friends versus swimming laps. Writing alone is less emotionally taxing, though, because it's easier to maintain distance and step away when you need to.
If you had to pick one Hamilton song to keep while getting rid of the rest forever, which one would you keep?
I'd pick "Non-Stop" because of the lyrics about Hamilton writing every second he's alive.
Oreos. There are approximately 9,472 flavors these days. Do you have a favorite flavor, do you like the classic, or are you not an Oreo fan?
Classic. You can't improve on perfection.
What have you read and loved recently?
I just finished the graphic novel MAUS, which is a tough read, but one I recommend highly.
What was the best part about doing GISHWHES this year?
The best part of GISHWHES is always the new friends. This year I was lucky enough to be placed on a team with a group of kids from Sweden. We called ourselves the Supernatural Swedes. I'm Facebook friends with several of them now.
If you could make your own nail polish, what color would it be, and what would you name it?
It would be steel-grey, and it would be called NAILED IT
Thank you to Kat for the interview! Can't wait for 2017.
You can add SAY NO TO THE BRO to your Goodreads TBR here.
Surreal and exciting news: my third book comes out October 10, 2016! ALL LACED UP is another contemporary young adult novel from Entangled Teen Crush!
Everyone loves hockey superstar Pierce Miller. Everyone except Lia Bailey.
When the two are forced to teach a skating class to save the rink, Lia’s not sure she’ll survive the pressure of Nationals and Pierce’s ego. Not only can’t he remember her name, he signed her bottle of water like she was one of his groupies. Ugh.
But if there’s one thing Lia knows better than figure skating, it’s hockey. Hoping to take his ego down a notch—or seven—she logs into his team website under an anonymous name to give him pointers on his less-than-stellar playing.
Turns out, Pierce isn’t arrogant at all. And they have a lot in common. Too bad he’s falling for the anonymous girl online. No matter how much fun they’re starting to have in real life, she’s afraid he’s going to choose fake-Lia over the real one...
Disclaimer: This book contains a swoony hockey player (and his equally swoony friends!), one-too-many social media accounts, kisses that’ll melt ice, and a secret identity that might not be so secret after all...
I had a blast writing this one and hope you'll enjoy reading it, too! Can't wait for you to meet Pierce and Lia!
You can add All Laced Up to your Goodreads TBR here. You can also pre-order it on Amazon or B&N.
There's no one who does intense, kinda dark, super-exciting YA better than Kat Ellis. Seriously, Kat's novels keep you on the edge of her seat! Luckily for us, her third novel, PURGE, is out today!
Mason has a habit of getting into trouble. He's been kicked out of every place he's ever lived in. Moving to the cult-like community of Alteria is definitely a last resort, even if it's better than braving the wastelands outside. But following their strict rules is a hundred times harder when Mason meets Eden, who has a wicked streak to match his own. Caught with contraband, Eden is forced into a programme to purge her bad behaviour. But Mason has seen what happens to people who get purged, and knows he will lose Eden if he can’t help her find a way out.
Out in the wastelands, Noah has no memory of what happened before he was abandoned in a war zone. All he wants is to know who he is, and if he can trust the strangers who rescued him from the rubble.
With lies surrounding them on all sides, Mason and Noah must piece together the truth if they want to escape. Failure is not an option when it means being purged from existence.
Kat was kind enough to answer a few questions about PURGE and writing to help celebrate her book birthday! Check out her responses... If you had to describe PURGE in five words or fewer, what words (or phrase) would you use?
Two trapped teens: no escape!
Finish this sentence: PURGE will appeal to fans of...
... THE MAZE RUNNER (maybe? I think?)
If you were making a playlist to go with PURGE, which songs would you choose to represent Mason and Noah?
For Mason, I'd choose You & Me by Disclosure feat. Eliza Doolittle (Flume Remix) because it's kind of trippy, and the video is super hot and reminds me of Mason together with Eden - the girl who changes the way he thinks about everything.
Noah's song would have to be something angsty and confused and intense, so I think Can You Feel My Heart by Bring Me The Horizon is perfect!
As an avid and talented photographer, what's the most interesting photo you've taken recently? Can you share it with us?
Haha, thank you! I love taking photos of the weird and wonderful Welsh scenery, and this is one of my recent faves. It looks so desolate and creepy, I think it fits in well with certain scenes in PURGE.
What advice do you have for aspiring authors?
The YA landscape is constantly evolving, so read as much as you can - especially new books that are coming out - and don't get tripped up by trying to write to trends. Find your own niche, and if it doesn't exist, create it!
Less than one week until the incredibly talented Jaye Robin Brown's GEORGIA PEACHES AND OTHER FORBIDDEN FRUIT is released! To celebrate, I'm giving away a copy!
Joanna Gordon has been out and proud for years, but when her popular radio evangelist father remarries and decides to move all three of them from Atlanta to the more conservative Rome, Georgia, he asks Jo to do the impossible: to lie low for the rest of her senior year. And Jo reluctantly agrees.
Although it is (mostly) much easier for Jo to fit in as a straight girl, things get complicated when she meets Mary Carlson, the oh-so-tempting sister of her new friend at school. But Jo couldn’t possibly think of breaking her promise to her dad. Even if she’s starting to fall for the girl. Even if there’s a chance Mary Carlson might be interested in her, too. Right?
Y'all, I absolutely loved this book. It's important and beautiful and completely un-put-down-able. It takes on religion, faith, and sexuality while still being funny and romantic and touching. The characters leap off the page. You will love spending time in Jo's world.
Recently I started thinking about the expression "You can't pour from an empty cup." Usually this wisdom refers to taking care of yourself before taking care of others, but I realized how much it applies to writing, too.
You know those days when the words don't come was easily as you want them to? When writing is more of a struggle than a pleasure? Check yourself: are you trying to pour from an empty cup? Are you lacking necessary inspiration?
Confession: this has been a kind of an empty-cup summer for me. I've battled low self-esteem and stress over some aspects of the business side of being a writer. I didn't do a good job of seeking out things that would inspire me as a writer. Even though I kept writing and working on various projects, I felt that emptiness. The words didn't pour like they had before, like I knew they could.
This month, I started filling my "writer cup" (which, let's be honest, is probably a coffee mug).
First, I attended Writer's Digest's Annual Conference. I could do an entire blog post about the conference, but for now, let's just say that three days of conference sessions and keynotes and being surrounded by fellow writers who share the same passions and dreams and goals? Pretty cup-filling.
While in NYC, I saw The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time on Broadway. I'm a theater junkie anyway, but seeing a book I love come to life? Awesome.
Curious Incident... Stage
Two days after I got home from NYC, I went to a concert -- the Tour de Compadres with Mat Kearney and NEEDTOBREATHE. This concert had absolutely nothing to do with writing. It didn't make sense that it would fill my writer cup, but it did. You know Lin Manuel Miranda's "love is love is love" speech from the Tony's? In this case, art is art is art, music included. Cup filled.
Tour de Compadres 2016
Raleigh post-sunset
Today, I went to see Newsies for my third and final time before it stops touring. That one does have some writing tie-ins, but I was mostly in it for the dance and music, which will now be stuck in my head for weeks. I also spent some time wandering around Durham's beautiful American Tobacco Campus. It's one of those places I drive by often without really stopping to appreciate it.
American Tobacco Campus
Newsies!
I never intended for all of these things to happen within the same ten-day period, but they did, and my cup is full. Overflowing. I've worked on edits and beat deadlines. I'm revising a project that has been stuck for a while. I'm blogging for the first time since May. While driving home from work the other day, I had to turn off the radio because it was distracting me from story ideas.
I'm pouring from a full cup and loving every minute of it.
If your writer cup is empty, do something to fill it back up.
Visit an indie bookstore for an author's reading and book signing.
Watch a movie, maybe one that you wouldn't normally pick.
Check out a museum for a couple of hours -- art, science, history, doesn't matter.
Everyone loves hockey superstar Pierce Miller. Everyone except Lia Bailey.
