Share Your #YALuckyCharm For a St. Patty's Day #BookGiveaway!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day, everybody! I have an AWESOME giveaway to tell you about, with books and ARCs and swag from amazing authors, oh my!

Before I give you the deets, I want to share some background on why this particular day is kind of special to my novel, LAST YEAR'S MISTAKE:

When I started blogging, one of the first blog hops I entered was the Luck O' the Irish Blogfest, where participants shared a scene or a piece of flash fiction related to Saint Patrick's Day. The scene I chose to post was a little snippet from a YA contemporary romance that was still little more than an idea at that point. The main characters, David and Kelsey, were arguing at Saint Patrick's Day party, and things got a bit heated.

It ends up looking a little like this:

Surprise! Little-known fact: LYM's cover is based on a scene that takes place on Saint Patrick's Day!

And yes, that's the OLD cover, but it's the one that's closest to the way the scene originally appeared in my head, and is therefore still very special to me. Not that it makes the new one any less swoon-worthy:

So, in a few short months, when the "idea" I drew on for the bloghop becomes a published novel, that scene - while a little different from the Luck O' the Irish version - will still be there. 

What's that? You'd like to read it, you say?

Well, then. I think I can oblige.

"Kelsey." David took another step closer to me, leaving barely any space between us. "You never even thought about going to the dance with me, did you?"

"Why would I think about going to prom with you when we're both--"

"No, not that dance. The Swirl. It never even crossed your mind to go with me, did it?"

I swallowed, knowing I needed to get the hell out of there. But his fingers were twined loosely around mine and I stood frozen to the spot, his face just inches from mine. "You went with Isabel."

He leaned in, close enough that our noses nearly touched. "I wanted to go with you."

And that's when he tried to kiss me.

"Don't," I growled, my voice razor sharp. The corners of his mouth turned down and he pulled back a fraction of an inch. Then, before I could stop him, he leaned in and softly kissed the shamrock on my cheek instead.

My knees buckled. How dare he? How dare he breeze back into my life in his stupid green T-shirt that clung to his ridiculously sexy chest and try to act like the last year had never happened? How dare he come to this party, the party he'd only been invited to because he was dating my friend, and touch me so that I couldn't remember why I wasn't supposed to want him to?

"Am I interrupting something?"

Ryan.

That was why.

So. Now that I've explained why LAST YEAR'S MISTAKE and St. Patrick's Day go way back, I'm hoping to make this *YOUR* lucky day!

Simply share a photo of anything (or anyone) that makes you feel lucky on Instagram or Twitter, using the hashtag #YALuckyCharm

On Monday, March 23rd, one winner will be chosen to receive the following prizes:

- A signed ARC of LAST YEAR'S MISTAKE

- A signed ARC of I AM HER REVENGE by Meredith Moore, along with a signed postcard and bookmark

- A copy of THE CONSPIRACY OF US by Maggie Hall

- A copy of 17 FIRST KISSES by Rachael Allen

- A signed MADE YOU UP bookmark by Francesca Zappia

- A THE NIGHT WE SAID YES button and signed bookmark from Lauren Gibaldi

**** You can also find me, Maggie, Francesca, and Meredith on Instagram, but whether you enter there or on Twitter, PLEASE use the hashtag so we can see your entry!****

Can't wait to see the things that make you feel lucky! Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

It's a #YALoveFest Valentine's Day #BookGiveaway!

Happy Valentine's Day, everybody!

Yes, I know Valentine's Day is actually tomorrow, but I'm a romance writer and therefore it's never to early to celebrate a day that's all about LUUUURVE!

So, in the spirit of this festive Cupid-and-hearts themed holiday, I've teamed up with four other fantastic YA contemporary authors - Dahlia Adler, Marci Lyn Curtis, Lauren Gibaldi, and Katie M. Stout - for a YA Love Fest! Here are the deets:

That's right, you can win an ARC of all five titles featured above!

And all you have to do is tweet or Instagram a photo of something - or someone - you love, using the hashtag #YALoveFest by Wednesday, February 18th.

So what are you waiting for? Whip out those cell phones and aim them at something that makes your heart go pitter-patter!

Want to tag us in your posts? Cool! *But don't forget the hashtag!* We are:

Dahlia Adler: missdahlelama (Twitter and Instagram) Read more about UNDER THE LIGHTS!
Gina Ciocca: gmc511 (Twitter) and gmciocca (Insta) Read more about LAST YEAR'S MISTAKE!
Marci Lyn Curtis: Marci_Curtis (Twitter) Read more about THE ONE THING!
Lauren Gibaldi: laurengibaldi (Twitter) Read more about THE NIGHT WE SAID YES!
Katie M. Stout: katiemstout (Twitter) Read more about HELLO, I LOVE YOU!

Good luck and can't wait to see your entries! May the #YaLoveFest odds be ever in your favor!

Photo credit: teen.com

An Open Letter to My Readers: Why I Write Teens Who Act Like Teens

This post has been brewing for some time, but now that there are ARCs of LAST YEAR'S MISTAKE out in the world, a story that I'm very attached to and very proud of, I feel the need to finally say this out loud.

Look! A stack of LYM ARCs as seen in Chicago
at the ALA 2015  Mid-Winter Conference!

Let me start by saying this: I don't just write about teenagers. I also write for them.

Yes, I'm an adult who devours YA novels. Yes, I know a large percentage of the people who read YA novels are actually adults. But when I sit down to pour a story from my brain to the page, I'm not thinking about the other adults who will read it.

I bring this up because, as someone who does read a lot of YA, I also read a lot of reviews, blog posts, and tweets about YA novels.

And it's become increasingly bothersome to me that there are so many people who choose to read books about teenagers... and then complain when the characters act like teenagers.

Photo credit: movie-addicted

When I decided to write a novel set in high school, I wanted to draw on my own experience. In doing so:

I'm thinking about a girl who experienced total culture shock going from 8 years of city Catholic school to a public high school in a swanky small town where she didn't fit in. I'm recalling the cliques, the jocks, the "popular" kids and the "losers," - things that many are so quick to deem stereotypes, even though they existed and still do. I'm recalling the pain of being teased and called names. I'm thinking about how one look from a particular person could make my day. Or the way it would crush me when the one person I wished and hoped would notice me never even knew I was alive.

I'm remembering falling in love for the first time.

I'm thinking about new friendships being formed, old friendships falling apart.

About words I wish I'd said, words I wish I could take back.

I'm remembering having my heart broken.

In short, I'm thinking about the me that I used to be. And I'm thinking about the girls who are in high school now, living through all of it for the first time.

***

When I was a teenager, one of my favorite shows was My So-Called Life. There's a Twitter account, @MSCLQuotes, that tweets some of the shows best quotes. Like this one:

"Huge events take place on this earth every day. Earthquakes, hurricanes. Even glaciers move. So why couldn't he just look at me?"

Photo credit: towonderland

To me, this quote is the embodiment of a high school crush. Angsty, dramatic, all-consuming. She takes something commonplace, and puts it on the same level as something huge.

I would've fainted on the spot if Jared Leto looked at me like that when I was a teenager, and I'm only exaggerating a little.

Because when you're a teenager, you tend to feel everything, as Kelsey says in LYM, magnified in clear, sharp focus. (I touched on this subject once before, in a post titled The Big Impact of Smaller Things)

And it's natural that when you're driven by hormones and emotion, you're not always thinking straight. You tend to do and say stupid things. Make decisions you wouldn't necessarily make again. Let your passion get the better of you. Break the rules, or at least wonder what it's like to. Feel like you know everything and absolutely nothing, all at the same time. Test your limits. Cry. Say things you don't mean. Say things you *do* mean, but still regret. Try things you end up loving. Try things you end up hating. Pretend to love things you don't. Experiment with your appearance, among other things. Make snap judgments. Fall hard and fast. Get hurt.

Most important? YOU LEARN FROM ALL OF IT. Because you're figuring out who you are.

Later on, it might all seem silly. But in that moment, it's everything.

These are the things I strive to capture when I write a young adult book. So it boggles my mind when I see people citing immaturity or melodrama or "dumb teenage stuff" as the reason they didn't like a YA novel.

These are, by definition, books about teenagers. YOUNG adults, not actual adults. People who don't yet know that hindsight is twenty-twenty, because they're just learning how to adjust rear view mirrors - not analyzing their lives through them.

So, to me, reading a YA novel and then trashing it when the characters act their age is like ordering a banana milkshake and complaining that it tastes like banana.

If there are people out there who managed to get through high school avoiding all the drama, who were treated fairly by all and were a ray of sunshine to everyone in return, who never made a bad choice or let emotions or inexperience get the better of them, then I applaud you. Everyone has their own reality.

But that's not the high school I remember.

And so, dear readers and critics who've either read or are thinking about reading my novels, I sum up my post with this:

If you are looking for books about people who always make the best decisions, featuring sage adult brains in teenage bodies and teenage bodies in adult predicaments, then my novels are probably not for you. My characters are flawed, they make mistakes, they feel things with their whole, bleeding hearts. And I like them that way. I celebrate the "young" in "young adult." Many of my favorite authors do the same. And I think that if my novels make you feel something - even if it's annoyance at people who don't have it all figured out - then it means I've done something right.

If you agree, then I encourage you to read LAST YEAR'S MISTAKE. Review it. Share your thoughts with me. I'd love to hear from you. To those who already have - thank you, from the bottom of my still-seventeen heart.

Happy reading, everyone.

Happy Book Birthday to THE CONSPIRACY OF US by Maggie Hall!!!!

You guys! It is officially the long-awaited book birthday of THE CONSPIRACY OF US by my gorgeous, fabulous CP, Maggie Hall!

Who can blame Zach for fainting?! Just look at that cover!

To fight her destiny as the missing heir to a powerful and dangerous secret society, sixteen-year-old Avery West must solve an ancient puzzle in a deadly race across Europe. Forbidden love and code-breaking, masked balls and explosions, destiny and dark secrets collide in this romantic thriller, in the vein of a YA DaVinci Code.

Avery West's newfound family can shut down Prada at the Champs-Elysees when they want to shop in peace, and can just as easily order a bombing when they want to start a war.

They are part of a powerful and dangerous secret society called the Circle of Twelve, and Avery is their missing heir. If they discover who she is, some of them will want to use her as a pawn. Some will want her dead.

To thwart their plans, Avery must follow a trail of clues from the landmarks of Paris to the back alleys of Istanbul and through a web of ancient legends and lies. And unless she can stay one step ahead of beautiful, volatile Stellan, who knows she’s more than she seems, and can decide whether to trust mysterious, magnetic Jack, she may be doomed after all. 

So, why is this so exciting? Well, aside from the obvious awesome you'll find inside that gorgeous cover, I "met" Maggie when TCoU was in its infancy - and called something entirely different. We were both in the query trenches together, and saw each other through a bunch of rejection, and every time Maggie told me about a new one, I was all:

I mean, the book had SO MUCH TO OFFER. Mystery, suspense, action. Hot guys with hot bods. (Hiiii, Jack)

You and me both, buddy.

And oh heyyyy, Stellan, you're not so bad yourself.

There's even a scene that goes kind of like this:

I See Your Schwartz Is as Big as Mine
Spaceballs — MOVIECLIPS.com

Okay, so not really, but it's still one of my absolute favorite lines in the book. And it's all set against exotic backdrops like Istanbul and Paris.

So now that Maggie's book is a real, honest-to-God book, one that you can GO OUT AND PURCHASE IMMEDIATELY, you can imagine how thrilled I am.

So, after you've bought your copy of CONSPIRACY (I've handily provided the link above), go find Maggie on Twitter (@MaggieEHall), hand her a big glass of champagne, and give her a giant hug in celebration of her book birthday.

CONGRATULATIONS, MAGGIE!!!!

Deja Vu Blogfest!

Hi all! So today I'm participating in DL Hammons' Deja vu Blogfest, The Day of The Do Over.



I love that title, because who doesn't have at least one blog post that they'd like to keep blasting into the universe repeatedly?

Today I'm actually going to offer up two, and here's why:

As writers, we experience so many ups and downs. The agony of the query trenches, the frustration of agents not "connecting" with your work, the long hours of revisions, the manic joy of finally hearing that someone believes in your story enough to represent it, the silent hell of being on submission, the sting of editor rejections, the sheer and utter elation of finding out your novel is going to be a real, tangible book.

The list goes on, but since I've yet to experience the rest of it, I thought I'd give people the option of

A) Commiserating over the frustration of querying and trying to find an agent with this post:

Fact Or Fiction: Querying is the Best Way to Get an Agent's Attention

or B) Proving how things can turn around when you absolutely positively least expect by re-sharing the story of how my debut, LAST YEAR'S MISTAKE, found its home at Simon Pulse: 

You Never Know. No, Really, You Don't: My Pub Story

#LYMSelfie Giveaway WINNERS!

Not long ago, I announced that I had LAST YEAR'S MISTAKE postcards available. I was so excited, I decided to make a little contest out of it.

I thought it would be fun, but I had no idea how much it would make my day each time someone went through the trouble to tweet/Instagram/post a photo starring one of my cards. So first, I want to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who participated. Thank you for getting on board with the contest, thank you for being excited about my book, thank you for being freaking awesome. Thank you, thank you.

Because there was no way I could choose, I assigned each photo a number, and let random.org do the choosing for me. And the TWO lucky winners who will each receive an ARC of LAST YEAR'S MISTAKE are.....

ALYSSA AND JESSELLE!

Congrats, ladies! You'll be hearing from me today :)

There was one more entry that I also wanted to recognize, because she went out of her way to post such a lovely reason as to why she wanted to read my book, and it made my heart smile. So, CHRYSTEN LANDERS, you're getting a pre-order of LYM, courtesy of me. Hope you enjoy it!

And because the rest of the photos I received were just so great, I can't not show them off. (If you don't see your here, it's probably my technological ineptitude plus my extremely finicky computer, and I apologize.) 

Thanks again, everyone, and stay tuned - there will be more contests and giveaways in the very near future!

A Desperate Attempt at Productivity Disguised As A Live Blog

Good Morning, Y'all.

The last time I attempted a live blog to show how little time I have to write and be productive, I somehow wound up being... pretty productive. So this morning, when I woke up feeling exhausted and overwhelmed with no idea where to start, I thought I'd try this again in hopes that history will repeat itself.

Here are my goals for today, in no particular order:

- Write at least 1000 words, in spite of the fact that this ms hates me and the characters act like they're too cool to talk to me.
- Pay bills
- Have some photos of my son printed up for my sister-in-law
- Go to the post office
- Finish making my mother's Christmas gift
- Order Christmas gifts for various peeps
- Cook dinner
- Unload the dishwasher

And here's how things are starting out:

5 a.m. - Husband's alarm woke me up, which it usually doesn't. My first attempt at cracking my eyelids apart tells me they're puffy and in no mood to be open. I try in vain to fall back to sleep as my husband gets ready for work.

5:30 a.m. - Husband is in the kitchen, VERY NOISILY loading the dishwasher. I jump out of bed to tell him I'll do it later, when the baby is AWAKE, thank you. He runs it anyway.

6:15 a.m. - Remember that thing about the baby being awake? Yeah. He starts stirring as soon as my husband opens the garage door to leave for work.

7:00 a.m. - Still haven't fallen back to sleep, and the baby is now full-on babbling in his crib. I get up to wash my face and brush my teeth.

7:30 a.m. - Baby is lying in his crib, just chilling. I'm washed up. My hair is combed, but still looks like a wild rat's nest. Since I can't hide under a blanket and avoid Monday altogether, I decide to live blog.

That leads us to now. I'm about to go get my son from his crib. Be back in a bit.....

8:50 a.m. - Baby is changed and fed. Which sounds so easy. But, like his mother, the boy does NOT like to be kept waiting for food. He does this the entire time I'm prepping it:

But at the first sign of pancakes in front of him, suddenly:

And somehow, he still thinks he can fool me with those crocodile tears.

As for me, I'm currently getting ready to eat my breakfast while he watches a video in his playroom (the disaster area you see behind the high chair), and order some photos online via Walgreens. Excuse me, pancakes await....

9:40 a.m. -  I'm fed, dishwasher is unloaded, prints are ordered. I've donned my SAHM uniform of yoga pants and a sweatshirt. I even went as far as to put on some concealer, because that 5 a.m. wake up call is written all over my face, in the form of horrendous bags under my eyes.

I am gross today, guys. My hair, my face, my clothes. I am the total package of grossness. And that's *after* putting in a modicum of effort, which makes it especially depressing. But, my errands aren't going to run themselves, so I'll just brace myself as I prepare to go out in public....

12:12 p.m. - Baby and I went to Walgreens and the post office. Discovered it is freakishly warm outside compared to yesterday's downpouring coldness. Which is awesome, except it made getting a 23-pound kid in and out of his car seat and stroller 4 separate times while overdressed extra fun. Plus he decided to kick his shoe off as we were leaving both places.

Had some time to kill before lunch when we got home, so I took the baby for a walk around the neighborhood. Currently we're in my office, and he's pulling at me and whining as I write this. Just turned around to find he'd dumped a bunch of stuff in the middle of the floor. Don't even know where he got it from. Guess it's time for lunch....

1:30 p.m. - Both baby and I have had our lunches. We Face Timed with my mother, who's working from home today. He's in a clean diaper and DOWN FOR HIS NAP AT LAST! The dirty dishes piled up in my sink are giving me anxiety, but I'm not going to touch them. I never know how long these precious napping moments will last, and with 10K left to write, I can't afford to waste any.

2:50 p.m. - 490 words written. The lawn service for my neighbor across the street just started making a huge racket in their front yard with a machine that sounds like 50 chainsaws buzzing simultaneously. I'm sweating bullets that they're going to wake up my son.

And also eating ice cream, because if he wakes up, at least I've had ice cream.

4:15 p.m. - BABY IS UP AND MY WORD COUNT GOAL HAS BEEN MET! 1051 words total. I know it's not a lot, but for a pokey drafter like me, it's a victory!

8:25 p.m. - I read a bunch of books to the baby, then fed him dinner. I LOVE that he now picks his favorite books from his collection and brings them to me to read to him. It makes my authorly AND my motherly hearts happy.

Next I made dinner for my husband and me while Andrew watched Shrek in his playroom. I ate my food where he couldn't see me, otherwise he would've gone into full-on mooch mode. My husband was not nearly as wise.

I also washed all the dishes and wiped down all the counters while my husband played with our son, because it stresses me out to go to bed knowing there are dirty things in need of cleaning in the sink. Then we brushed the baby's teeth and put him to bed. Now I need to get in the shower, maybe write some more, then read a little to wind down for bed.

Oh, and I ate more ice cream. Because tomorrow, I'll need to start all over again.

Hope YOU had a productive day too, Peeps! Feel free to tell me about it!