Confessions

It's our privilege here at Honestly YA to introduce Holly Bodger, a 2013 Golden Heart® finalist!  She's talking about confessions!  Take it away, Holly!

I have a confession: earlier this year, I choked. I’d wanted to be a writer since I was five years old and had been actively writing novels for seven years. For the first couple of these years, I was still learning how to write. For the next couple, I was trying to get an agent. And for the final few, I had an agent and was trying to get published. Most people would think I was getting closer and closer to the prize, but I wasn’t. The more I tried to get published, the harder I tried to get published. I couldn’t just write anymore. I had to think. Has it been done before? Will an editor buy it? Is it a dead genre? Is it a trendy genre? Is the dialogue stiff or cliché? Am I telling, not showing? Does my character have a goal? Is it too preachy? Does my antagonist have a motive? Is my main character likeable? Will a reader buy it? Will the book store put it on display in the front or would they bury it in the back next to the Suzanne Somers clear out? And on, and on. The result was me staring blankly at a screen. I could come up with ideas but I had a hard time getting past the noise.

I decided I needed a short break. I wanted to enter the Golden Heart® and I didn’t want to think about original concepts and dead genres and all that stuff. I wanted to write a book full of characters I loved and so I did. I took my favorite teen movie (Cruel Intentions) and I flipped it over. I moved the characters to an Art School and made the sibling rivalry between two girls, instead of a boy and girl. But I didn’t want a pretty, rich girl for the main character. I wanted a geeky band girl with crazy hair and a penchant for falling on her ass. For the boy, I wanted an artist; the kind who’s afraid to give away his heart and yet shows it every day in his paintings. The kind who paints his heart the way I was trying to write mine. Without thought. Without inhibition.

After I finished this book, I tried to return to my regular self but I couldn’t do it. So I stopped cold. I left my agent and the Big Publishing goal and decided to take some time to think about my options. Should I give up? Change genres? Blog? Self publish? I still hadn’t decided which path to take when I found out I’d been nominated for a Golden Heart. I took this as a sign. My problem was not that I wasn’t good enough; it was that I was trying too hard to fit into someone else’s definition of good and I’m not someone else. I’m me.

The next time you wonder if you should write the book that’s in your heart, remember this: Great artists are the exception, not the norm. If you want to be exceptional, don’t follow the crowd.

Follow you.

Fab Friday: Allie Burton's The Sure Thing and ATLANTIS RIPTIDE Giveaway!

Happy Friday Everyone! It's the end of the workweek so you know what that means--we've got an awesome giveaway for our beloved readers. In fact, we've got TWO awesome giveaways this week, two digital copies of ATLANTIS RIPTIDE a great new YA by Allie Burton. But before we get to givin' Allie's got a great story to share about the Worst Advice she ever received. Take it away, Allie!

The Sure Thing

By Allie Burton

Thanks to Lea Nolan and the rest of the writers at Honestly YA for hosting!

The worst advice I ever received was to go for the guaranteed outcome or Sure Thing. At times I followed this advice and at other times I threw caution to the wind and went for what I wanted. The thing that was unattainable, difficult to get, or unusual and exciting.

The Saturday Night Date Sure Thing: I had a long-term steady boyfriend in high school. I loved him but knew we wouldn’t stay together and get married. There were too many things I wanted to do in life. My friends thought I was nuts. I had a guaranteed date every Saturday night, a date for Homecoming and Prom. I had a Sure Thing, why mess it up?

Well, first because I ended up breaking his heart. Second, because I missed out on experiences other girls had including flirting at parties, the excitement of waiting for a guy’s call, and eventual heartbreak.

The Summer Job Sure Thing: I come from a large family with two brothers and three sisters. All of my sisters worked at a local deli. It was a good job and paid well. Getting a position there was a Sure Thing for me. And I took the job.

But I wanted more. I wanted different. I wanted exciting. So, I applied to the local police department to be a bike cop. There were only six positions. And guess what, I got one of them. I spent the summer outside, riding my bike forty hours a week. Best summer ever! And I was in the best shape ever!

The If-You-Don’t-Try-You-Won’t-Be-Disappointed Sure Thing: My brothers were athletes. My older sisters not so much. The Sure Thing was to keep my part-time job at the deli instead of quitting to try-out for the tennis team. I had no real practice or training. No lessons.

But I wanted to be part of a team in high school. So, I worked my butt off the summer before sophomore year and tried out for the team. I didn’t make it. The next summer, I worked harder and went to summer practice with the team. I made the JV team my junior year. By senior year, I was the first doubles team, but still on JV. I never got my Varsity letter but I did take a chance and I did make a team. And great friends in the process.

The College Choice Sure Thing: My parents couldn’t afford to pay for college so I went to the local community college my first year. I was majoring in Fashion Design with the intent to design costumes for the stage. The courses were a good foundation but none of these people were going anywhere.

So, I put together a portfolio and applied to art school to study costuming. Now, I’m not a good artist but I was accepted and attended for a year. I decided this wasn’t for me either. I should’ve done the Sure Thing and lived at home while deciding what to do with my life.

But, I took another huge risk and moved to California. I got a job at a deli (see the earlier Sure Thing paid off by helping me to get this job), and went back to school. Two months before I could move into the residence hall I had to leave my apartment, so I found a way to camp in the state parks for the summer. (This is where I got the idea for my character Pearl in ATLANTIS RIPTIDE to live in a campground. I’d done all the research when I was in college.)

All big risks—not a single Sure Thing. If I hadn’t taken those risks I never would’ve met my husband and decided I wanted to be a writer.

Which brings me to my last Sure Thing.

The Career Choice Sure Thing: I wanted to be a writer, but the chances of being successful were slim and I had rent and bills to pay. So, I did the Sure Thing and graduated with a degree in advertising and public relations. I had a great career in that field and I enjoyed it, for the most part.

But there were always stories inside my head. Characters who wanted to come out and play. Plots with twists even I didn’t see coming.

So, now I’m a writer. My first book releases next week. I don’t know if my stories will sell or if I’ll be successful. It’s a risk. But it’s exciting, and a little scary. And it’s not a Sure Thing.

What was the Sure Thing you gave up and are you glad you did?

Allie Burton didn’t realize having so many jobs would become great research material for the stories she writes. She has been everything from a fitting room attendant to a bike police officer to a professional mascot escort. She has lived on three continents and in four states and has studied art, fashion design, marine biology, and advertising.

When her kids asked, “when are you going to write a story we can read?” she switched from adult novels to Young Adult and Middle Grade and hasn’t looked back.

Allie is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators, Romance Writers of America including the Young Adult, Dallas Area Romance Writers and Heart of the Rockies chapters. She is also a member of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers. Currently, she lives in Colorado with her husband and two children. Find out more at her website, follow her on Twitter, or on Facebook. 

Atlantis Riptide

Lost Daughters of Atlantis Book 1

Sixteen-year-old Pearl Poseidon ran away from the circus tired of her adoptive parents’ abuse of her special skills. As a runaway, she craves anonymity but when she saves a small boy from drowning she draws attention to herself and her special abilities. Boardwalk employee and aspiring investigative reporter, Chase Thomas, helps her with the rescue and witnesses her amazing dive.

Now, he has questions. And so do the police.  

Unbeknownst to Pearl, a battle rages under the Pacific between Loyal and Non-Loyal Atlantean forces and each side wants to use her powers for their cause. Will the commotion in the ocean expose her secrets to the world? Will Chase’s reporter-determination ruin their chance for a real relationship? Will staying near the ocean she loves catapult into a battle royale?

AMAZON | BARNES AND NOBLE 

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Welcome Wednesday: Karen Avivi’s Worst Advice: Force Yourself to Fast Draft

You have to write a book a year to be successful. Wait, make that two books a year, four books a year... The number of books per year that you must write keeps increasing.

When I mentioned to a writer friend that I wasn’t sure how I’d ever be able to write multiple books in a year, she said I had to learn how to fast draft. It seemed like a good idea. I’d done NaNoWriMo before, so I knew I could handle intense writing with a set deadline. I signed up for a fast-drafting class that involved checking in every day and being chastised by the moderator if you fell behind. 

It was horrible. I was in a constant state of panic, writing gibberish just so I could get my pages done and go to bed. I don’t know why I thought fast-drafting would work for me. I prefer endurance sports to sprints, I like baking better than stir frying, and I don’t pull all-nighters to get things done. For NaNoWriMo, my word counts were up and down, with some days high, and some low, but I kept myself on track my way and finished well before the deadline.

Fast-drafting reminded me of two bosses I had who couldn’t work until the deadline was on top of us. I suspect it was because it gave them an excuse: “We did this in three days, so considering the circumstances, it’s pretty good.” Ugh.

At the end of two weeks of fast drafting I had 30,000 words but I couldn’t even call it a bad first draft. Reading it over, I could feel the frustration and misery in every word.

I extracted notes about characters and plot points that I thought might be usable, put the rest aside and poured a tub. After a long soak I had an outline. That outline is now blossoming into a novel at a reasonable pace with weekly goals.

While I agree that you need to set and respect word count goals, you also need to be in your zone to produce your best work. If your zone is a state of panic with daily deadlines, then fast-draft away. But if you’re like me and you need to be relaxed for the words to flow, then adding stress and pressure will not help you reach your word count.

Writing faster is about being efficient, knowing yourself and respecting your process. The fast-draft method works for many people and is definitely worth trying, but it wasn’t for me. My advice is to try it but don’t beat yourself up if you don’t wind up with a book at the end. Find your own path to productivity. 

Has anyone else tried fast-drafting? Did it work for you?

Karen Avivi is never bored. If the weather is nice, it’s almost impossible for her to stay inside. Karen has tried surfing, skydiving, scuba diving, stunt classes, archery, winter camping, orienteering, mountaineering, mountain biking, and she even attempted a bike ramp once but it didn’t end well. If she’s not reading or writing, she’s usually planning a new adventure. Learn more on her website, visit her on Facebook, or Goodreads.

Karen’s contemporary YA novel Shredded is now available as an ebook and in print. Drop into the world of girls’ freestyle BMX for an action-packed summer road trip adventure.

 

“I would have preferred handlebars in the gut. At least when that happened I definitely saw it coming.”

Josie Peters thinks she’ll do anything to qualify for the Ultimate BMX freestyle event the summer before her senior year. She can handle road trips and rail grinds, but when flashy rider R.T. Torres tempts her with an easy way in, his overpowering world threatens to send Josie spinning out of control.

AMAZON | BARNES AND NOBLE | GOODREADS

How A Zebra Landed Me in the Golden Heart® Contest…

Honestly YA is pleased to welcome Sheri Adkins, a 2013 Golden Heart® finalist, so she can tell us a little bit about her book and her ideas.  Take it away, Sheri!

Okay, what's with the zebra?   

It’s funny how seemingly unrelated things can connect events in our lives.  Several years ago I was listening to the radio in my car.  Being the mom of teenagers, I rarely get to choose what is blaring through the speakers and often I’m too distracted by the million things running through my head to really listen anyway.  But this particular day a story came on the radio news about a massive wreck near San Francisco.  A zebra had escaped a local zoo and made its way onto a highway there, resulting in a massive pile–up.  Though, of course, that isn’t funny in the least, I couldn’t help but think about how odd that would be…and yes, in my warped mind, a bit funny too.  Imagine, driving along on your normal route to work or school or wherever you were headed and—POW!—out of nowhere a zebra trots across the road. 

The captured zebra...

I knew I had to put that in a book somewhere!

            I’d been wanting to write a Young Adult Romance with the flavor of the John Hughes movies I had loved so much as a teen. I’d tried and tried to think of a quirky, all-in-one-day plot that would still have enough meat to it that it would sustain through an entire novel. I’d been struggling to come up with anything. Until this fateful day when I heard about the zebra. What if it were a teen driving?  I thought to myself, “Hmmm… what would be the absolute worst time for a teen to have an accident?”  Well, when she’s taken her parents’ car without asking, of course. And what would make that even worse? If the car was really expensive and difficult to repair, like a rare, classic car. So then I had to think, “What would compel this teen to take her parents’ car, knowing she would get in more trouble than she can imagine if she’s caught.”  And it had to be funny too, in that John Hughes way…

            And so the premise for my Golden Heart manuscript was born.  From a zebra.

            MIRANDA PERRY’S IMPORTED PROM DATE is about a type-A senior who has spent her entire high school life trying to reach perfection: class president, National Honor Society, Valedictorian—any distinction she can claim on a college app, she has garnered.  But when her boyfriend (and all-around god of the school) breaks up with her a week before prom, she is devastated, bested, defeated.  But she’d never let him know that. When he walks into the library with his new date on his arm, Miranda inadvertently claims she has a date that’s way better than him anyway.  Which would have felt great…if it wasn’t a lie.  Long story short: she turns to her best friend, Baxter, for help and ends up “importing” the gorgeous Italian guy that Baxter had stayed with as an exchange student.  But when Miranda wakes up on Prom Day to find her car is dead in the driveway—and her parents are out of town on business that couldn’t be cancelled—she has no choice but to take her dad’s classic convertible to the airport to pick up her prom date.

Insert Zebra.  Hijinks ensue. Happily Ever After looms in the distance. 

I was thrilled and honored to get the fateful call telling me that this story had finaled in  one of the most prestigious contest for unpublished writers, the GOLDEN HEART®.  (For a list of all finalists, go to http://www.rwa.org/p/bl/et/blogid=20&blogaid=364 and scroll down to the Golden Heart Finalists®) Thank you to RWA® for hosting the contest each year. I can’t tell you how excited I was that morning to learn that I was a finalist once again, especially since I adore this story so very much.  I had a wonderful time writing it and I truly hope I was able to capture the fun, witty, zany feel of the Hughes movies.  Not that anyone could ever touch his true genius, but if I even came close to the essence of what those movies meant to me, then I am happy.

John Hughes

By the way, the day I heard that odd tale of the zebra-escape on the radio, I came home and Googled it to get the facts straight.  Turns out, this happens about once a year somewhere in America… so not as rare an occurrence as one might think.  Zebras must be as determined as my pets!

            So, what about you?  Do you have a particular favorite movie of John Hughes? If you’re a writer, do you ever have stories born out of a quirky fact you happened to hear in passing? Or, best of all, what’s the strangest thing to ever run out in front of you while driving—anyone ever swerve to miss an escaped zoo animal???

(Please post! Even if it’s only to say Hi! I am just desperate enough to beg for bloggers to make me feel better about myself…)

Sheri Adkins, represented by Cori Deyoe at
3 Seas Literary

Don't Add Spice to the Story!

by Kimberly MacCarron

It was hard to think of the worst advice I’ve ever received.  There was probably a ton of it through the years, but I’m a bit on the hardheaded side.  Unless it lines up with what I want to do in the first place, I don’t generally take it.

 

I guess the worst advice (or maybe the best, depending on the circumstance) I’ve been given that would also influence my life today would be:  Don’t Add Spice to the Story!

Now, I’m sure you’re all wondering what that means.  I won’t sugarcoat this.  When I was a kid, I lied.  A lot.   

My mom lived her life vicariously through me, and that’s a lot of responsibility to heap on a young girl’s shoulders.  She lived to hear my stories about school and friends, but how exciting is elementary school?  Not very. 

Now, all my stories started with facts.  They were based on facts.  Just the final tale wasn’t a true reflection of the actual event.  Yes… I lied.  I told you that!   

If we had a fire drill at school, in another girl’s story, we went outside and then came back in.  My story usually had people running in various states of panic, kids getting lost and hiding under tables. Oh, my, there was a lot of drama going into the telling too.  Don’t get me started with my hand gestures and body language.  And I’m not even Italian!

My mom slowly—maybe a little too slowly—picked up on my special art form, and she would ask, “Kimberly, are you adding spice to the story?”  Then I would nod and look away.  Or sometimes I even lied about that.  Because if the end story was super duper good in my head, I had to let it out.  The story had to be told!

I didn’t have much money growing up, but apparently I had enough to have a complete circus come to my house.  I’m not sure why the other kids believed that one.   Then there was this time I saw this tiny little monkey in the Guinness Book of World Records.  He reminded me of that stuffed koala bear whose arms attached to the end of my pencil.  Oh, my God!  I wanted that Pygmy Marmoset!  I dreamed of the little fellow.  I showed all the kids at school the picture and then told them that I had one.   I went on and on about my cute little Pygmy.  How much he loved me and would climb right up my thumb and attach himself there.

Then Show and Tell Day came.  My turn up to bat.  I needed a Pygmy Marmoset, stat! 

I went home and told my mom about the lie I told (because by this time she was in on my super-secret power) and I needed her help to get me out of it.  At that time I thought my mom would do anything for me, and she probably would have.  Unfortunately that didn’t include a quick jaunt to the Amazon and overnight transport of my record-holding friend.  Most people would own up to their lies.  Be a better person and all that jazz.  I calmly went into school and told an outrageous story about climate issues not being good for my tiny teeny friend, and he sadly passed. But I was able to show them the decorated shoebox where he lived those last few hours.

This “story-telling” gift I managed to make for myself came with lots of problems though.  Although my mom understood, kids really didn’t get that I was telling a story without much fact.  Who knew that was important at that tender age?   But I loved being the center of attention when I told a story.  I loved that people couldn’t walk away.  I loved that wide-eyed I-can’t-even-believe-this-happened look. 

And God help the poor girl who actually had a truthful story that was better than my imaginary one.  

On a trip to an all-day Girl Scout camp, this girl started talking about how she had ridden horses before.  Well, that got everyone’s attention.  We all listened.  I thought about the horse I used to ride at Camp Kon-O-Kwee, where I used to go to summer camp.  I thought about my favorite and what it would be like to own her.  For her to be my very own horse.  So, I stole that other girl’s spotlight lickety-split with these words:  “I HAVE a horse.  Her name is Misty.”

Yes, folks.  I told that busload of overly excited girls that I had a horse.  To make matters worse, my mom had driven to the camp to chaperone for the day, so when Colleen Lynch ran over to my mom and said, “I didn’t even know Kim had a horse,” that ball of lies sat uncomfortable-like in the pit of my stomach.

My mom smiled, nodded and looked away.  By that time Colleen had found something extremely exciting—like the leather braided bracelet station and took off.  My mom gave me THE LOOK and mumbled to me, “Yeah, neither did I.” 

These harmless stories went on and on until the sixth grade where I ventured into rumor about real people.  And that’s where my story isn’t funny anymore.  The girl who made out with this one guy didn’t really do that and I knew it, but I said it anyway.  And I ended up creating a huge mess for myself that wouldn’t go away since she lived right next door.  It was ugly.  It was, in fact, so ugly that I ended up going to an entirely different school.  My mom enrolled me in this Christian school, and I made a pact with myself that my fibbing days were at an end. 

When I started the new school, I turned over a new leaf.  I didn’t add spice to the stories anymore, and I felt this hole inside me.  I wondered what it meant that I felt lonely without the lies.  Then I realized I was lonely because I just wanted to tell a story. 

And my writing days were born.  In the comfort of my room I could make up all kinds of stories and put them down on paper where they would never hurt anyone.  Where nobody would know the stories weren’t real.  They were real to me.

In a way, I’m still a liar.  I still make up stories and switch facts around to suit my needs, but now it’s considered a profession.  Go figure.

I’m off to add spice to another story—a written one.  I guess that’s advice I never followed either.  That’s such a shock…

Kimberly MacCarron   

Fab Friday RT Swagolicious Giveaway! Signed ARC of Teri Brown's BORN OF ILLUSION

Hey everyone! I went to the RT Booklovers Convention last week and brought back some goodies to share throughout the next few months. If you haven't been, RT is a giant, super-book-fan conference with tons of authors, bloggers, readers, agents and editors. It's a blast. And there's parties, signings, and lots of great opportunities to snag swag and free books! Believe me, I cleaned up. Rather than lug it all home, I sent myself a twenty-seven pound box of YA awesomeness which just showed up on my doorstep.

I'm super excited about our first RT Swagolicious giveaway, BORN OF ILLUSION by our friend Teri Brown. Teri's visited us before when we featured two of her New Adults books, SUMMERSET ABBEY and A BLOOM IN WINTER which she wrote under the name TJ Brown.

I got to hang out with Teri and even have lunch with her. In a word, she's awesome! And awesomer still, she gave us some exclusive swag just for our Honestly YA readers. Not only do we have a signed advance readers copy of her upcoming YA release, BORN OF ILLUSION, but we've also got a complete set of the BORN OF ILLUSION Eye Shadow collection. These are extremely cool, customized eye shadows created by a make up artist specifically to go with the 1920's theme of the book. 

How great is that? To enter, we've got a Rafflecopter form below, but before we get to that, let's take a look at BORN OF ILLUSION:

Teri Brown’s YA novel Born of Illusion launches a thrilling new series laced with romance and magic. Each book is linked to a real-life secret society founded in 1862 by Charles Dickens, Arthur Conan Doyle, and others to study paranormal mysteries. 

The first book introduces Anna Van Housen, a young woman living in Jazz Age New York, who may be the illegitimate daughter of the greatest magician who ever lived—Harry Houdini. Anna certainly has his talent. She is an expert illusionist. What no one knows is Anna actually has supernatural gifts. 

Then a young man discovers Anna’s abilities and introduces her to members of a secret society, who are eager to study her powers and help her learn the truth about herself.

AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER AT AMAZON | BARNES AND NOBLE 

Teri Brown is proud of her two children but coming in a close second is the fact that she parachuted out of a plane and beat the original Legend of Zelda video game.

She is a word scribbler, head banger, math hater, book reader, rule breaker, food fixer, novel writer, kitty keeper, and city slicker. Teri lives with her husband and way too many pets in Portland, Oregon.  You can learn more on her website and follow her on Twitter.

Sounds great, doesn't it!?! This book releases on June 11, 2013 but the signed ARC and custom 1920's-style eye shadows could be yours! How do you get your hands on this great new release and makeup? Just fill out the Rafflecopter form below and see if you win! **Due to the high cost of shipping, the contest is only open to US and Canada addresses only.

Good luck!

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Welcome Wednesday: Hello, Dan Krokos!

Two weeks ago, thirteen-year-old Mason Stark and seventeen of his fellow cadets from the Academy for Earth Space Command boarded the SS Egypt. The trip was supposed to be a short routine voyage to log their required spacetime for summer quarter.

But routine goes out the airlock when they’re attacked by the Tremist, an alien race who have been at war with humanity for the last sixty years.

With the captain and crew dead, injured, or taken prisoner, Mason and the cadets are all that’s left to warn the ESC. And soon they find out exactly why the Tremist chose this ship to attack: theEgypt is carrying a weapon that could change the war forever.

Now Mason will have to lead the cadets in a daring assault to take back the ship, rescue the survivors, and recover the weapon. Before there isn’t a war left to fight.

***

Today's Welcome Wednesday guest, Dan Krokos, is one of the few male authors writing in YA today. And if you've read FALSE MEMORY, you'll know why -- and you'll have read an amazing book. If you haven't read it, what's keeping you? 

On May 21, Dan's entry into middle grade fiction will be available in bookstores and online, and if it's not on your "must read" list yet, I wager it will be after you read a little more about it in our ten questions...

1. We start simply: What book spoke to you most during your teen years?

I didn’t read during my teen years, sadly. I was too busy playing Xbox. I read a lot when I was younger—Animorphs and Goosebumps and Michael Crichton—but I didn’t get back into reading until I was 19, when my friend handed me a copy of Dragons of Autumn Twilight.

2.  Do you have a book (or books) that you reread regularly? If yes, what book or film and why?

Just Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazell. I’ve read it four times. There are too many books to read though, so I don’t usually read things twice. I watch too many movies more than once, though. Couldn’t list them all if I tried.

3. What YA novel or novels have you read recently that you most want all your friends to read?


Recently? Nothing comes to mind. I’m a slow reader. I’m still on the fifth Song of Ice and Fire book. I want people to read those.

4. (Anyone else getting an image of Mr. Krokos nodding emphatically about Song of Ice and Fire? *s*) So, how have those earlier book-loving or movie-loving  years impacted your decisions as an author? In other words, did love of those stories make you want to write teen fiction?

Absolutely. The books I write are the books I wanted as a kid. When I did read a book during my teen years, it had to be something that really kept me interested. I don’t want 2 pages of weather, you know? Unless it’s GRRM describing the weather.

5. You’ve got two pretty exciting things going on right now. Your YA novel FALSE MEMORY has been nominated for International Thriller Writers 2013 Thriller Award for BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL of 2013 and you’re Middle Grade novel THE PLANET THIEVES releases May 21. Which are you more jazzed about and why?

Definitely Planet Thieves. It is a book very close to my heart and I can’t wait to share it with people. The award is of course an extreme honor, but the chances of actually winning are low, so I’m not thinking about it too much.

6. Stick with me for the following analogy, okay? Reading FALSE MEMORY for me was like riding Roc kin’ Roller coaster - both the coaster and your novel go from zero to sixty in a matter of seconds and send you off on a thrill ride. What ride is THE PLANET THIEVES most like?

First of all, thank you for reading! Second of all, The Planet Thieves is even more of a roller coaster. I wrote it almost 18 months after False Memory, so I had a lot of time to grow as a writer. The whole novel basically takes place in one day, and A LOT of things happen. Once it starts, it doesn’t stop.

7. Stories that take place in one day are pretty much auto-buys for me, so I'm extra excited now! That said, THE PLANET THIEVES might be categorized by some as science fiction. (Okay, “some” might be only me, and I get that impression by, you know, spaceship references and cover art and aliens and stuff). For our readers who might foolishly shy away from that genre, what would you like them to know about the book that will convince them to give it a read?

It is definitely SF, somewhere between Star Trek and Star Wars, but it is first and foremost an adventure novel. I loved stuff like Indiana Jones growing up. I love adventure. It is SF, but I never focus on the SF if it hurts the adventure aspect.

8. Speaking of adventure, in your upcoming novel, the main character, Mason, is called upon to lead a group of his fellow cadets on a series of (mis) adventures that will ultimately save the day from an alien enemy (the Tremist).  If you were aboard ship and an enemy were to attack, what would your role be? Would you save the day, like Mason? Or would you lay low (like me)?

I would definitely try to save the day, only because doing nothing will ultimately lead to your doom. The enemy has control of the ship, and you have no way to contact reinforcements, so what do you do? Just wait for them to find you? I bet you would only lie low long enough to realize you only have one option: fight.

9. The more I think about this, the more I believe you're right: Fight it is! On a less adventurous topic, tell me, which came first in the writing, FALSE MEMORY or PLANET THIEVES or something else entirely?

False Memory was first. It was my first book that wasn’t for adults. Before that I wrote seven other books, all of them for adults.

10. Having read your work, I will selfishly hope to see those adult books soon! Until then, your website says if we want to contact you, we can just turn up at your house. When we get there (with chips and salsa in hand) what will we find you working on?

Right now I’m about to start editing an adult book I wrote that we sold the film rights to before we sold the book to a publisher, which is really weird and exciting. I’m also working on a couple of screenplays. But soon begins work on The Planet Thieves 3!

Thanks so much, Dan, for being with us today! 
Don't forget, gang, THE PLANET THIEVES is available May 21 from retailers including:

IndieBound
Amazon
Barnes & Noble

Keep up with Dan at:

website: dankrokos.com

tumblr: http://dankrokos.tumblr.com/ 

twitter: https://twitter.com/dankrokos





All right readers, we've all just learned that Dan Krokos can't think of any YA books he's read recently that he would recommend. How about we turn it around a little and suggest some books for him? Let's hear it. What book would you most like your friends to read?