Hello everyone! We are behind schedule for the July author interview as we had difficulties to get the last three authors to send in their answers and we had to find new authors to replace the three authors who had signed up earlier for the interview. Nevertheless, I am happy to finally be able to publish the answers from all of them for the interview series.

It’s time to reveal the answers for all 12 questions answered by 12 author participants in the July Group Author Interview, in the 12 genres, 12 authors, 12 months and 12 questions series! Thank you for the support from the 12 Young Adult authors who have participated in this group author interview.

If you are an author and would like to participate in our upcoming interviews, check out this link, sign up and get your fans to ask their questions to the participating authors! The goal of this author interview is to increase the engagement between readers and authors, and to expose authors to new group of readers.

We are now a registered book publisher too! Sign up for our newsletter and CLAIM your FREE book trailer today!

So, the 12th question is “How do you market and brand yourself as an author?”

Great question! I brand myself as an author who takes the side of the underdog, the outsider, the geek, in the YA/teen world. Lots of young people can identify with not always being part of the crowd. I think they’d groove to what I write. As for marketing, I mainly use Twitter and Facebook in order to advertise what I have written. A lot of my sales come from word of mouth, and that means I always have to make myself accessible. That kind of accessability is key to more widespread recognition from potential readers.

I contact book club, media and join any book promotions online

I began to market and brand myself as an author in my local area. On reflection, this was probably not the best way to go about it as I missed out on gaining Amazon reviews. I arranged a book launch in our local art gallery to which I invited everyone I could think of plus politicians. I was featured in the local press and on the local radio. I also contacted primary schools and was invited to present workshops on bullying based on my books. In terms of social media, I designed a website, opened Facebook and Linkedin accounts, as well as regularly featuring on author blogs and posting on Facebook book groups, etc. I am still involved in presenting workshops to both students and adults.

I use social media and go out and meet people at workshops, etc. I also recently taught the ‘Future Novelist’ course for OISE, an English as a Foreign Language summer school. Students from all over Europe came to Devon for a course on how to write creatively. We also looked at different authors, literary theory and literary devices they could use in their own writing. At the end of the course, the students produced their own piece of creative writing, which is going to be published by the school. It is very exciting and worthwhile to inspire young writers of the future!

I’ve always written science-fiction and fantasy thrillers and I think I always will. But my more unique brand is with the mental health aspects, there will always be this angle in my books and I like to explore them in a fantastical setting. Then these issues are at one remove from the reality of a reader and perhaps they can identify with the problems without worrying about them.

Ha, this is a learning curve for me. The Sky Is Mine is my first published novel so even being called an author is a new and heart-thumpingly exciting development for me. It still feels kind of surreal. As for branding, I need to work on that, though I hope what comes across is my desire to empower young readers.

Readers can find my books through my website, Facebook, BN.com, Amazon, and Indie Bookstores. I am available for school author visits in-person or via Skype, and love talking with readers and book clubs. Feel free to reach out with any questions at my website tkkiser.com. Happy reading!

That’s one thing I really need to work on. I should be more active on social media and pursue being an author guest at cons. But I did enjoy having a table at artist’s alley where I could sell my book and promote it to potential readers. I had buttons and bookmarks made to hand out. My favorite part, though, was having my boyfriend cosplay as one of my characters and walk around the con space. He was the Gingerbread Man, sort of a Robin Hood character. Having the support of people I love makes me feel like a bestseller.

I brand myself as a writer of YA suspense. Booksignings, school talks, social media.

I have a website and use social media. Mostly I just try to be myself – people see through fake branding pretty quick. Especially teenagers. They’re bright as buttons!

Social media. Basically WYSIWYG. If I knew the answer to this I’d be Mark Dawson.

Very badly. I use Facebook and Twitter, try and get involved in local author events where possible, but all the time I’m conscious I’m just screaming into the void. To get any traction in publishing, you need to be a bestseller. To be a bestseller, you need marketing, but you don’t get marketing unless you’re a bestseller. You don’t get into Waterstones or WHSmith unless you are a bestseller, but you can’t become a bestseller without being on the shelves of Waterstones and WHSmith…. And so the wheel turns as we get crushed underneath. That’s a cheery way of ending the interview, isn’t it?

Stay tuned for the next post. Be sure to follow this website via email to get notified when new posts are being made.

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Best regards,

Jasveena

Founder of International Book Promotion

Hello everyone! We are behind schedule for the July author interview as we had difficulties to get the last three authors to send in their answers and we had to find new authors to replace the three authors who had signed up earlier for the interview. Nevertheless, I am happy to finally be able to publish the answers from all of them for the interview series.

It’s time to reveal the answers for all 12 questions answered by 12 author participants in the July Group Author Interview, in the 12 genres, 12 authors, 12 months and 12 questions series! Thank you for the support from the 12 Young Adult authors who have participated in this group author interview.

If you are an author and would like to participate in our upcoming interviews, check out this link, sign up and get your fans to ask their questions to the participating authors! The goal of this author interview is to increase the engagement between readers and authors, and to expose authors to new group of readers.

We are now a registered book publisher too! Sign up for our newsletter and CLAIM your FREE book trailer today!

So, the 11th question is “Do you use the Pop-Culture reference in your YA book?”

Sometimes, I do. In the past, I’ve used KPop group names (changed, of course), references to Star Trek or some superheroes, but I don’t go overboard. It’s fun to incorporate them once in a while , but all the time? No.

No.

No, I do not.

I haven’t in my first book as it is a fantasy YA novel.

I do not!

In The Sky Is Mine, Izzy is obsessed with Desert Island Discs, a Radio 4 program in which guests are asked to choose the eight songs, book and luxury which they’d take if they were stranded on a desert island. As such, there are lots of musical references – some contemporary, some older – in the novel. For the most part I’ve picked songs readers will have heard of, but I quite like that some are more obscure and that readers might discover new music or, indeed, Desert Island Discs, it’s such a brilliant show. Music is so evocative of time and place that the program gives you a brilliant insight into people’s lives.

The Manakor Chronicles is set in a fantasy world, so their pop-culture is much different than ours! Carine and the princes certainly don’t refer to Netflix shows or 90’s icons. They stick to their own world.

The closest thing I have to pop culture references in Restless Beauty is referencing other fairy tales, as it’s full of fairy tale characters. For example, one of the first places my characters stop at is a town called Beanstalk Drop, which is full of clues that’s it’s the site of the tale of Jack and the beanstalk–including the option of paying 3 silver to take a tour of the crater where the giant skeleton is still lying.

No. Not so far.

No.

Only if its out of date.

Not really; I’m already writing on an alternative timeline where history has gone in a different direction, and also (like the slang) pop culture dates rather quickly.

Stay tuned for the next post. Be sure to follow this website via email to get notified when new posts are being made.

Be sure to Sign up for our newsletter and CLAIM your FREE book trailer today!

Best regards,

Jasveena

Founder of International Book Promotion

Hello everyone! We are behind schedule for the July author interview as we had difficulties to get the last three authors to send in their answers and we had to find new authors to replace the three authors who had signed up earlier for the interview. Nevertheless, I am happy to finally be able to publish the answers from all of them for the interview series.

It’s time to reveal the answers for all 12 questions answered by 12 author participants in the July Group Author Interview, in the 12 genres, 12 authors, 12 months and 12 questions series! Thank you for the support from the 12 Young Adult authors who have participated in this group author interview.

If you are an author and would like to participate in our upcoming interviews, check out this link, sign up and get your fans to ask their questions to the participating authors! The goal of this author interview is to increase the engagement between readers and authors, and to expose authors to new group of readers.

We are now a registered book publisher too! Sign up for our newsletter and CLAIM your FREE book trailer today!

So, the 10th question is “Slang words for YA novels. Yes or no?”

No.

I very rarely use slang or swear words. With slang, today’s slang is tomorrow’s passe slang. I don’t try to be clever or pithy. Too many authors try to be pithy, and as I said in one of my novels, I can kick the pith out of anyone. 😉 As for swearing, I very rarely drop the S-bomb (or worse). Many authors do, and it gets kind of mind number after a while. If it’s done at a crucial moment in the story, fine, but all the time, no.

I do not use slang words as it is not in the nature of my character to do so. However, I see no problem in using slang words as long as they are not offensive.

I think it depends on what kind of book you are writing. I use some colloquial expressions native to the north west of England, because of the setting.

Sure. I think if you can stick to global ones, like “cool” etc then the book won’t date so quickly, but local slang can also add a flavour to the book too, or show us a dimension of character if the MC is prone to using a particular word.

For me, yes. I love words, slang included and believe they offer a sense of how someone moves through the world.

Yes! In The Manakor Chronicles, Carine and the princes use their own slang, which is often used by the young people in Navafort.

Slang can be great, especially if you’re writing a period piece. Language is one of those things that can really boost the authenticity of a story. But context is key–it’s a delicate balance between being clear and trusting that the reader knows what the characters are trying to say.

No. It dates your story.

No. It dates your story.

NO. NO. NO. It’s not big and it’s not clever. By the time it’s published it will be out of date and will probably sound fake anyway.

No. It dates too easily. Unless you make up your own vernacular within a unique world.

Stay tuned for the next post. Be sure to follow this website via email to get notified when new posts are being made.

Be sure to Sign up for our newsletter and CLAIM your FREE book trailer today!

Best regards,

Jasveena

Founder of International Book Promotion

Hello everyone! We are behind schedule for the July author interview as we had difficulties to get the last three authors to send in their answers and we had to find new authors to replace the three authors who had signed up earlier for the interview. Nevertheless, I am happy to finally be able to publish the answers from all of them for the interview series.

It’s time to reveal the answers for all 12 questions answered by 12 author participants in the July Group Author Interview, in the 12 genres, 12 authors, 12 months and 12 questions series! Thank you for the support from the 12 Young Adult authors who have participated in this group author interview.

If you are an author and would like to participate in our upcoming interviews, check out this link, sign up and get your fans to ask their questions to the participating authors! The goal of this author interview is to increase the engagement between readers and authors, and to expose authors to new group of readers.

We are now a registered book publisher too! Sign up for our newsletter and CLAIM your FREE book trailer today!

So, the 9th question is “As a YA author, what is the primary challenge you face when writing your book?”

My biggest challenge is keeping a steady pace. I’m known for writing fast-paced novels–they move! I want to keep things humming along, and that means keeping my narrative fairly simple and focusing on dialogue and action to speed things along.

Making it entertaining

The primary challenge is to write books that resonate with the YA. Life today is very different from when I was a teen. The language, lifestyle and fashions all have to be studied.

I think my main challenge is being consistent with my writing and finding time to do it in a busy life!

For me it’s getting my ideas down quickly enough. I currently have 3 plotted novels on my laptop plus notes for a further 4 and more ideas in my head. But writing a novel takes time!

TIME TIME TIME. I have two young children. Once I’m in a book, I find it difficult to think of much else but, come 3.15pm, I have no choice but to close my laptop and focus on the real people in my life rather than the ones in my head.

Keep writing! Writing is a marathon, not a sprint. Sticking to it, and sitting down at the keyboard day after day is both the challenge and the pleasure of writing books. I would encourage anyone interesting in writing to go ahead and start. Just a few minutes a day will add up in the long run, and there’s no time like right now: write!

Anxiety, doubt, the fear that everything I do is actually crap and that people are just too polite to tell me–oh, and trying to finish what I start.

As with any book, just making sure the story flows and is easy to follow.

Time to do it!

Adult readers who say that don’t read YA, then when they do they love it. Labels are restrictive, there are only good or bad books. Give a book a genre and you narrow readership. ‘I write political thrillers, but because I put a dragon in them they go in the fantasy section.’ Terry Pratchett. (or something along those lines.)

Pacing is an issue for me – balancing the racing scenes with character development, the world the characters live in, the issues they face etc. Too much of the adventure and it gets a bit tedious, but too much of the world building can also be dull – plus you risk preaching to the readership rather than letting them see it all for themselves. It’s good to have a message, but if you start beating the audience around the head with it, you’ll lose them.

Stay tuned for the next post. Be sure to follow this website via email to get notified when new posts are being made.

Be sure to Sign up for our newsletter and CLAIM your FREE book trailer today!

Best regards,

Jasveena

Founder of International Book Promotion

Hello everyone! We are behind schedule for the July author interview as we had difficulties to get the last three authors to send in their answers and we had to find new authors to replace the three authors who had signed up earlier for the interview. Nevertheless, I am happy to finally be able to publish the answers from all of them for the interview series.

It’s time to reveal the answers for all 12 questions answered by 12 author participants in the July Group Author Interview, in the 12 genres, 12 authors, 12 months and 12 questions series! Thank you for the support from the 12 Young Adult authors who have participated in this group author interview.

If you are an author and would like to participate in our upcoming interviews, check out this link, sign up and get your fans to ask their questions to the participating authors! The goal of this author interview is to increase the engagement between readers and authors, and to expose authors to new group of readers.

We are now a registered book publisher too! Sign up for our newsletter and CLAIM your FREE book trailer today!

So, the 8th question is “How do you decide on character development for your YA story? What inspires you?”

Good question. I like to look at the frailties of people. Many of my characters have either physical flaws or psychological hangups–or both. I incorporate those flaws into their development, where they have to overcome their so-called disabilities. That makes them memorable.

What inspires me is based on my creativity and what I think is good for the story.

I don’t think I give much thought to character development. I normally have the whole book planned from start to finish in my head before I begin the story. I just write what comes into my head. However, I am influenced by life itself, my experiences of living and ideas from events such as on the news, stories, etc.

I write character profiles for each of my characters, detailing things like their appearance, character, what clothes they wear, likes and dislikes, motivations and flaws, etc. I could get inspiration from anywhere! On the bus, walking around, from the TV or a movie! I tend to mull things over in my mind for a period of time before I put pen to paper.

When I first think of an idea, usually it’s the central plot or the character that comes to me first. I know what they will have to overcome from a plot point of view. Then i ask myself what it is they want at the beginning of the novel, versus what they need. If I can make these two opposing opposites then I know I will have a lasting conflict throughout the novel as the MC comes to accept what they need and reject what they initially wanted. In this way, the arc of my characters are created. If I can do the same for secondary characters and make them in the way of the MC, then I’ve got even more delicious conflict.

For me, everything is driven by what the character thinks they want, why they can’t get it and how / whether they can achieve it in the end. I take inspiration from real life stories I read in the news or hear about on the radio/ podcasts. (I’m OBSESSED with podcasts!) To gain a better understanding of my characters at the beginning of writing, I use a book called The Wisdom of the Ennegram which looks at nine different character types. It’s great for getting to grips with a person’s motivation, best traits and flaws and how they might behave in a crisis. The book was a brilliant tip from Julie Cohen, a fantastic writer.

Often the characters develop on their own! Carine and David have surprised me in their words and actions as I’ve written their scenes. That’s one of my favorite things about writing: the muse is mysterious and beyond my understanding. All I know is when I set pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard), the characters start to breathe. Sure, I plot, revise, and edit, but there’s something about creativity that’s almost like magic.

I’m a big fan of the classics, and I absolutely love re-imagined fairy tales. But sometimes the things that inspire you appear when you’re not looking for them. I used to be a substitute teacher, and while I was hanging out in the teachers’ lounge, I got in a conversation about old Disney movies. Sleeping Beauty is one of my favorites, although not without criticism–I mean, it’s the story of Princess Aurora, but she’s only onscreen for ten minutes of the entire movie! While we were talking, I wondered how the story would have been different if Aurora had woken up early: thorny castle, everyone still asleep–and no prince with the magical kiss. I concluded that Aurora probably would have had a nervous breakdown, so I created a fairy tale princess who was determined to get out and get help. And once you create a character like that, it’s only natural that she needs a world to go into.

Watching my own grandkids evolve through their life. Also other books in the genre.

Alongside writing I work for a big youth charity. Through this work I have the great privilege of meeting and hearing about amazing young people overcoming enormous challenges and achieving the most brilliant things. I’m blown away by them and they are my inspiration.

A character with a well defined back story will develop themselves. Never build a house with shoddy footings, it’s so much harder. Add a dash of conflict, a sprinkle of self-doubt and just let them loose.

The Full Throttle series was inspired by 1920s motor racing, with specific reference to the Bentley Boys. I realised the era was a perfect way of showing the issues we still have today, (the class divide, the many opportunities for the wealthy in contrast to a complete dearth of working-class opportunities and so on), and as such all I needed to do was drop my characters into that world and watch them react. Poppy is intelligent, an outsider, and questions everything, while Amy is far more constrained by public opinion and being respectable. In contrast, Simeon, their wealthy sponsor, automatically assumes as a wealthy man he can have whatever he wants…

Stay tuned for the next post. Be sure to follow this website via email to get notified when new posts are being made.

Be sure to Sign up for our newsletter and CLAIM your FREE book trailer today!

Best regards,

Jasveena

Founder of International Book Promotion

Hello everyone! We are behind schedule for the July author interview as we had difficulties to get the last three authors to send in their answers and we had to find new authors to replace the three authors who had signed up earlier for the interview. Nevertheless, I am happy to finally be able to publish the answers from all of them for the interview series.

It’s time to reveal the answers for all 12 questions answered by 12 author participants in the July Group Author Interview, in the 12 genres, 12 authors, 12 months and 12 questions series! Thank you for the support from the 12 Young Adult authors who have participated in this group author interview.

If you are an author and would like to participate in our upcoming interviews, check out this link, sign up and get your fans to ask their questions to the participating authors! The goal of this author interview is to increase the engagement between readers and authors, and to expose authors to new group of readers.

We are now a registered book publisher too! Sign up for our newsletter and CLAIM your FREE book trailer today!

So, the 7th question is “What is one of the most memorable feedback you’ve gotten from a young adult after reading your book?”

“What an emotional experience.” That, and “Pure brilliance.” Both were from readers who bought and read The Undernet. Another was from a gender switch novel I wrote, called Fight Like A Woman. The reader said it was so good, it should be made into a movie. That is high praise, indeed!!

Interesting story.

I have received some excellent reviews. However, one that made my heart sing was when I visited a school to present ‘Dear H’. A few days later, I received an email from the school librarian telling me that one of the girls who had not been ‘into’ reading, had borrowed ‘Dear H’ and had read it in two nights. I was thrilled.

That it is not a ‘typical’ young adult novel and that it has ‘diverse and dynamic characters and an interesting villain-hero complex’.

I think the one that sticks in my head was “I absolutely loved it when can I buy it?” When you know you’ve made someone feel that way you can’t help but feel happy and that you are achieving what you set out to do.

The biggest compliment is that readers have been so caught up in Izzy’s story that they’ve read the book in one sitting.

“He never liked to read until he read The Firebrand Legacy.” When a seventh-grade teacher told me this about one of her students, it made my day. If my books can bring a person to the written word, I’m doing my job.

I got a 3 page (handwritten!) letter from a young man who quite enjoyed it. It wasn’t just gushing and flattery, however. He told me things that he hadn’t quite understood about some of the events in the book. I wrote back to thank him. Both his praise and his honesty really meant a lot to me.

They loved my book.

Better than Lord of the Rings

‘That was good. But I wouldn’t have done it like that.’

I’ve never had any known feedback from a young adult, so that’s impossible to say, alas.

Stay tuned for the next post. Be sure to follow this website via email to get notified when new posts are being made.

Be sure to Sign up for our newsletter and CLAIM your FREE book trailer today!

Best regards,

Jasveena

Founder of International Book Promotion

Hello everyone! We are behind schedule for the July author interview as we had difficulties to get the last three authors to send in their answers and we had to find new authors to replace the three authors who had signed up earlier for the interview. Nevertheless, I am happy to finally be able to publish the answers from all of them for the interview series.

It’s time to reveal the answers for all 12 questions answered by 12 author participants in the July Group Author Interview, in the 12 genres, 12 authors, 12 months and 12 questions series! Thank you for the support from the 12 Young Adult authors who have participated in this group author interview.

If you are an author and would like to participate in our upcoming interviews, check out this link, sign up and get your fans to ask their questions to the participating authors! The goal of this author interview is to increase the engagement between readers and authors, and to expose authors to new group of readers.

We are now a registered book publisher too! Sign up for our newsletter and CLAIM your FREE book trailer today!

So, the 6th question is “Is it okay for a YA novel to get dark?”

YES! It’s fine, but it’s up to the writer to see how dark things can get. As an example, two of my novels–sorry for the shill, but this pertains to the question–The Undernet, and its sequel, Azrael, The Undernet 2, both deal with a cyber netherworld where anything goes, including murder. There is no overt violence in the first novel with the exception of the penultimate chapter, but it is quite creepy. With the sequel, I dealt with the topic of child trafficking. Again, there was nothing overt, but it was quite suggestive. Please remember that the world isn’t the nicest of places at times. Bad things can and do happen. I think that if the writer can depict such things but not go overboard, then it’s fine to go dark–at times. But there must always be a light at the end of the tunnel.

Yes so the story could be different and entertaining

Yes, I think so. The synopsis of both of my books could sound depressing. However, when read, they are emotive and inspiring. Teens do suffer from ‘dark’ thoughts and this should be included in the books they read. It is a true representation of life.

Yes, I think so. After all, that is part of life, isn’t it? Embracing the shadow! I think it important for a book to have some sort of resolution, but it doesn’t always have to be a perfect ending. In my novel, I explore the duality of light of dark.

Yes! I didn’t read anything but dark when I was a teen. Whether it’s a horror or something more emotional, teens experience these feelings in real life and therefore they should be reflected in books. I always found that the scarier books took me out of my own life when I needed a break and the emotional ones made me ponder viewpoints I may not have considered before.

Life is dark and, as such, some YA novels to be dark too. There’s a place for all kinds of books but for me it’s important that literature explores the more challenging aspects of adolescence so that readers might be better prepared for the difficulties they or their friends could face. I’m not into sensationalising trauma, rather providing a place in which it can be examined honestly, ultimately providing some solace and, of course, hope.

Absolutely. Books are places where we confront darkness, giving us tools to do so in real life. That said, I am a firm believer in hope. I like a book that shows a character shining through the darkness. When I face hard times, I want a literary hero in my mind’s eye to remind me that as dark as times may be, light will blaze through in the end. As G.K. Chesterton said, “Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed.”

I would say it’s not only okay, but it’s crucial to have YA books that get dark. The old grouches of the world all seem to think that a teen’s problems are no greater than “I dropped my slushie and my smartphone died.” For many of us, the darkness comes early. There are teenagers in the United States who are all too familiar with abuse, hunger, homelessness, mental illness, just to name a few. Books that get dark teach readers living in that darkness that no, they’re not crazy, the pain they’re living with is real, but they’re not alone and they can get through it. If you think reading about the darkness is too much, imagine how hard it is to live it.

Yes. YA readers are young adults. They know the world.

Absolutely! Mine is very dark!

As dark as you dare to go and then add a touch more darkness. Then turn the lights out and close your eyes. Then the fun begins.

The world is dark, so YA absolutely should reflect that.

Stay tuned for the next post. Be sure to follow this website via email to get notified when new posts are being made.

Be sure to Sign up for our newsletter and CLAIM your FREE book trailer today!

Best regards,

Jasveena

Founder of International Book Promotion

Hello everyone! We are behind schedule for the July author interview as we had difficulties to get the last three authors to send in their answers and we had to find new authors to replace the three authors who had signed up earlier for the interview. Nevertheless, I am happy to finally be able to publish the answers from all of them for the interview series.

It’s time to reveal the answers for all 12 questions answered by 12 author participants in the July Group Author Interview, in the 12 genres, 12 authors, 12 months and 12 questions series! Thank you for the support from the 12 Young Adult authors who have participated in this group author interview.

If you are an author and would like to participate in our upcoming interviews, check out this link, sign up and get your fans to ask their questions to the participating authors! The goal of this author interview is to increase the engagement between readers and authors, and to expose authors to new group of readers.

We are now a registered book publisher too! Sign up for our newsletter and CLAIM your FREE book trailer today!

So, the 5th question is “Writing a YA book is a good opportunity to shape the minds of the youngsters. What message do you aim to deliver to them?”

I’m not trying to influence anyone with anything I write. That is to say, there is no moral message overtly passed between me, the writer, and they, the reader. I’m simply trying to tell a story, and leave the decision of what’s right and wrong for them to follow. My only ‘message’ is that life is unpredictable, and that you have to adapt to your surroundings. My main characters aren’t perfect; they’re not supposed to be, but they grow in order to match their situation. In real life, teens are supposed to grow and mature as they go along.

Be inspire to make a difference.

The idea of ‘shaping the minds of youngsters’ has never entered my head. I just write what is in my head. However, when ‘Dear H’ was completed, it was pointed out to me how influential my writing was. I now use the books as a basis for workshops on bullying for both YA and adults.

There is a strong theme of the importance of friendships in my novel.

Overall, I think my underlying theme in all my books is about owning your voice. That teenagers do have a voice and that voice matters. That they are important and can make a change if they have the confidence to speak up. You don’t need to wait for adulthood to make an impact or be respected.

I would especially like for girls to feel empowered by The Sky Is Mine, to know that their voices count and to recognise their own self worth. This has become a running joke between my mum and me from when I was doing my GCSEs and I argued for the importance of women’s inner strength in every English Lit paper I wrote. Back then I probably wouldn’t have called it feminism, but these days, that’s definitely what I’d call it.

The Manakor Chronicles open up important questions: How do you decide if you believe something different than what your parents taught you? To what extent is it good to use your power? When do the ends justify the means? Many of the questions are moral ones. This is the time when readers decide who they want to be, what they believe in, and what is worth fighting for.

To set their own limits. That life can be scary and unfair but they always have choices–maybe not ideal, but they are theirs to make. That they can be smart and still have doubts, brave and still be vulnerable, that they can cry and fail and get back up and try again. That there is always hope.

You’re strong enough to fight through anything.

Believe in yourself and you can achieve anything

Read a book for fun and shape your own destiny. Don’t be mind shaped by others. Mind shaping is bad. Don’t you read YA dystopian novels?

Question everything – attitudes, beliefs, laws, social conventions, everything. Always remember the world is fixed against you unless you’re born privileged. Judge people by their character and actions not by their gender/ethnicity/sexuality etc. Kick arse where it deserves to be kicked.

Stay tuned for the next post. Be sure to follow this website via email to get notified when new posts are being made.

Be sure to Sign up for our newsletter and CLAIM your FREE book trailer today!

Best regards,

Jasveena

Founder of International Book Promotion

Hello everyone! We are behind schedule for the July author interview as we had difficulties to get the last three authors to send in their answers and we had to find new authors to replace the three authors who had signed up earlier for the interview. Nevertheless, I am happy to finally be able to publish the answers from all of them for the interview series.

It’s time to reveal the answers for all 12 questions answered by 12 author participants in the July Group Author Interview, in the 12 genres, 12 authors, 12 months and 12 questions series! Thank you for the support from the 12 Young Adult authors who have participated in this group author interview.

If you are an author and would like to participate in our upcoming interviews, check out this link, sign up and get your fans to ask their questions to the participating authors! The goal of this author interview is to increase the engagement between readers and authors, and to expose authors to new group of readers.

We are now a registered book publisher too! Sign up for our newsletter and CLAIM your FREE book trailer today!

So, the 4th question is “When writing your YA book, have you tried getting input from real teenagers?”

I have. A few have responded in a most timely and decent manner.

Yes so my readers can relate to the story.

‘Dear H’ was written over a period of 15 years. It began life as a short story to satisfy a desire to write. There was never an intention to publish the story. Years later, the story developed and became longer. When I thought I had completed it, I gave it to my neighbour’s two granddaughters to read. They were both 12 years of age at the time. One of them read the manuscript five times over that weekend. They both urged me to have it published. I explained that it was not an easy task and the book was forgotten. Owing to family issues the book was not published for another two years. By then, I had added another 2,000 words. When I decided to self-publish, I gave the manuscript to some more young people to assess their reactions.

I have lots of people reading my drafts and making suggestions. For example, someone suggested that I should introduce a kiss to the end of one chapter. And I did!

Yes. I always do. Not only is my eldest now a teen but I also have teen beta readers and I canvas the teens of family friends when I’m not sure about something.

I have a few go-to teenager beta-readers who’ve been brilliant at responding to my random requests regarding slang and cultural references etc.

I love talking with teenagers about The Manakor Chronicles through school visits and my contact page. In one book club, the teenagers had a thrilling debate about which prince they would pair Carine with, and shared their well-articulated arguments for each one. On another occasion, when discussing The Firebrand Legacy, a young man described a weapon idea. His idea will make an appearance in the third book of the series.

The sensible thing to do would have been to have real teenagers beta-test my book, but my first real teenage audience came right after I self-published. My mother was the librarian at my old high school, and her book club read my work. I was surprised and pleased that they liked it. If I could do it all over again, though, I would have plucked up the courage to ask them their thoughts before I published. Who knows, it might have even made a different story.

Yes. Mostly grandkids and their friends.

I have two children and have lots of friends with children – so they have read the book and given me feedback.

Yes. And each one gave me a different response that usually conflicts with the previous ones.

No; I tend to feel my work is more of a cross-over for both YA and beyond; see the “universal experiences” comment above. Thus teenagers, young adults, the middle-aged and over can all (hopefully) find something recognisable and get involved in the story and characters. Besides, it would look *very* dodgy for a middle-aged bloke to be chasing after teenagers…. even if it just for literary input!

Stay tuned for the next post. Be sure to follow this website via email to get notified when new posts are being made.

Be sure to Sign up for our newsletter and CLAIM your FREE book trailer today!

Best regards,

Jasveena

Founder of International Book Promotion

Hello everyone! We are behind schedule for the July author interview as we had difficulties to get the last three authors to send in their answers and we had to find new authors to replace the three authors who had signed up earlier for the interview. Nevertheless, I am happy to finally be able to publish the answers from all of them for the interview series.

It’s time to reveal the answers for all 12 questions answered by 12 author participants in the July Group Author Interview, in the 12 genres, 12 authors, 12 months and 12 questions series! Thank you for the support from the 12 Young Adult authors who have participated in this group author interview.

If you are an author and would like to participate in our upcoming interviews, check out this link, sign up and get your fans to ask their questions to the participating authors! The goal of this author interview is to increase the engagement between readers and authors, and to expose authors to new group of readers.

We are now a registered book publisher too! Sign up for our newsletter and CLAIM your FREE book trailer today!

So, the 3rd question is “Have you written anything based on your life experiences?”

Hmmm…no, not really, although in my latest novel, I did incorporate something that my sister does. In my novel, What The Gods Allow, one of the main characters has an older sister who makes custom-made jewelry on consignment. In real life, my sister does the same thing, so I based that character partially upon her.

Not yet.

No I haven’t. However, there are elements in both books that are linked with my own experiences. Like Amanda, I had a burning desire to be a singer at one stage in my life.

I think my protagonist and I share some character traits!

I have an unpublished novel based on my experience with an anxiety disorder and much of the mental health issues in The Shadow Keepers is own voices.

I finished The Sky Is Mine, in which Izzy is subjected to sexual and emotional abuse from two male characters, just as the #MeToo movement kicked off. Izzy’s experiences are a reworking of things that happened to my friends and me. In light of #MeToo, it quickly became apparent – as if we didn’t already know – that those experiences were not unique to us and that girls and women everywhere were, like Izzy, finding trying to find their voice.

There is no way not to. I see different parts of myself in each of the characters, especially Carine, David, and Giles. No character, however, is based 100% on a person from my real life.

I tend to write fantasy, but even fantasy has elements of truth in it. The characters I create have little pieces of people I know, or things they’ve said. In some of my works in progress, characters have jobs based off of jobs I’ve had, or wanted to have. And if I’m being really honest, my protagonists tend to overthink things a lot, something I know all too well.

Yes. The Scarry Inn was based on a horrible trip my family took on the way home to Missouri from California.

I was very shy as a child and found the world noisy and harsh and difficult to navigate and I made a few mistakes as a teenager trying to find my place. I think all this is reflected in my writing.

Life experience creeps into every book. It’s the small details that bring sparkle to a page. Don’t just drink the coffee, smells the grinds.

Struggles with officialdom, certainly, though thankfully not to the extent my heroine, Poppy, has to. It’s probably fairer to say the experiences in my books are an amalgamation of real-life experiences drawn from numerous sources including history books, academia, social media etc.

Stay tuned for the next post. Be sure to follow this website via email to get notified when new posts are being made.

Be sure to Sign up for our newsletter and CLAIM your FREE book trailer today!

Best regards,

Jasveena

Founder of International Book Promotion