2013 RITA Nominees for Best Young Adult Romance

The Romance Writers of America have announced the finalists in their prestigious RITA contest. Here are the 2013 finalists in the Young Adult Romance category:




Bound by Erica O’Rourke
Kensington Publishing Corp., KTeen
Alicia Condon, editor

The Farm by Emily McKay
Penguin Group USA, Berkley Publishing Group
Michelle Vega, editor

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, Houghton Mifflin
Kate O’Sullivan, editor

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry
Harlequin, Harlequin Teen
Margo Lipschultz, editor

Congratulations to all the finalists, and we will be excited to hear the results at the conference award ceremony in July!

What's Fresh with Jessica Brody's UNREMEMBERED

When Freedom Airlines flight 121 went down over the Pacific Ocean, no one ever expected to find survivors. Which is why the sixteen-year-old girl discovered floating among the wreckage—alive—is making headlines across the globe.

Even more strange is that her body is miraculously unharmed and she has no memories of boarding the plane. She has no memories of her life before the crash. She has no memories period. No one knows how she survived. No one knows why she wasn’t on the passenger manifest. And no one can explain why her DNA and fingerprints can’t be found in a single database in the world.

Crippled by a world she doesn’t know, plagued by abilities she doesn’t understand, and haunted by a looming threat she can’t remember, Seraphina struggles to piece together her forgotten past and discover who she really is. But with every clue only comes more questions. And she’s running out of time to answer them.

Welcome back to YA FRESH, Jessica! Please share with our readers what your YA novel is about.

Jessica: UNREMEMBERED is a lot of things. It’s sci-fi, it’s romance, it’s suspense, but ultimately it’s a mystery. The whole book revolves around one essential question: Who is Seraphina?

As the story progresses, we learn more about her. She survived a plane crash without a scratch. She wasn’t on the passenger manifest. Her fingerprints and DNA aren’t in any databases. She has no memories of her former life. She’s fluent in several languages. She can run really fast. And there’s a boy who seems to appear out of nowhere. Who claims they were in love and that he helped her escape from some pretty bad people.

It was a really fun book to write. I wrote it from Seraphina’s perspective so the reader is always squarely in her shoes. Never a step ahead or a step behind.

If you could have any of Seraphina’s unique “abilities” which would you have?

Jessica: When creating Seraphina, the main character of this book, I included a lot of “aspirational” qualities about her that I wish were true about me. That was one of the most fun aspects of writing this series. For example, she can speak multiple languages, can compute numbers and mathematics as fast as a computer, and she’s superman strong!

But I think the one “ability” she has that I would want over any other is her ability to read really fast. She can read a 300-page book in less than 3 minutes. That just seems like such a handy skill to have when you’re an author. My to-read pile is scarier than a Jenga tower. If I were able to read as fast as Seraphina, I could get through that thing in less than a day.

What would you say was your favorite character to write about in Unremembered?

Jessica: I have to say Cody, Seraphina’s 13-year-old foster brother.

This genre was brand new for me. My first time venturing into the world of sci-fi. And as all my contemporaries were comedies, it was oftentimes a challenge for me to write something darker and more serious (see evidence above.) Cody, however, is the comic relief of the novel. So writing him was like a little link back to my comfort zone. I always felt like I was “home” when I wrote him. And it gave me the opportunity to make fun of myself a little. While Sera’s storyline is rather dark and mysterious and all these harrowing things are happening around her, Cody can always be counted on to lighten the mood with a comedic crack on her situation.

You have stepped out of your normal contemporary novels to create a sci-fi paranormal ya-thriller, how was your experience of transitioning from realistic to fantasy ?

Jessica: I must admit, it was VERY difficult. I basically had to create a new world with new rules and new technology. What’s nice about contemporary is the rules are already set up for you. I know how THIS world works, so you can just tell a story about a character’s emotional journey. But having to also incorporate world building elements was a challenge. As was the fact that I was setting up an entire series. Fortunately I knew where I wanted books 2 and 3 to go so I could plant things in book 1 that would pay off in further books, but having to juggle ALL of that in my mind sometimes made me feel like I was going crazy!

Thanks for sharing with us, Jessica! What are you working on now?

Jessica: I just finished writing book 2 of the Unremembered Trilogy, which is called UNFORGOTTEN. And I’m gearing up to start working on book 3, which is called UNTITLED. Haha! But seriously, I’m thinking of keeping that title. What do you think?

LOL! Fits perfectly! Good luck!

JESSICA BRODY knew from a young age that she wanted to be a writer. She started self “publishing” her own books when she was seven years old, binding the pages together with cardboard, wallpaper samples and electrical tape. She is the author of 52 Reasons to Hate My Father, My Life Undecided, The Karma Club, and now, Unremembered. Her books have been translated and published in over 15 countries. She currently splits her time between California and Colorado. www.jessicabrody.com.

The FAT ANGIE book trailer!

Earlier this month we did a review and giveaway of e.E. Charlton-Trujillo's latest release, FAT ANGIE.  You can read all about it HERE.

Now that the book trailer is available, we're happy to share it here:

You can see it's a powerful and compelling story.  The book is now out and available!

Have You "Liked" Us on Facebook?

Kelly and I would like to invite you to our Facebook author pages! 

Here is me, Tina Ferraro, in my author profile picture!

I actually just got mine page going this past month, putting up my book covers and random author photos, and had fun with a book giveaway.  Click HERE to visit my page.

Here is my (awesome) blog and critique partner, Kelly Parra!

She's had her page going for way longer than I have--color her much more organized!--and does a wonderful job of updating her readers with photos and inspirational writing quotes, as well as excerpts from her published books.  Click HERE to visit her page!

Kelly and I hope to see all our YA Fresh readers over there on Facebook, too! 

Our FAT ANGIE ARC Winner!

Thanks to all who entered our FAT ANGIE ARC giveaway!  Our random number generator called out our winner as...

TRICIA C!

So Tricia, if you'd kindly e-mail me at admin@tinaferraro.com, I'll get the book in the mail to you!

The FAT ANGIE Giveaway!

Many of our readers know the award-winning filmmaker and author, e. E. Charlton-Trujillo, from her young adult novels, FEELS LIKE HOME and PRIZEFIGHTER EN MI CASA.

We were delighted to get an advanced ready copy (ARC) of her newest young adult novel, FAT ANGIE which releases March 12, and to share this copy with one our YA Fresh commenters!

Her sister was captured in Iraq, she’s the resident laughingstock at school, and her therapist tells her to count instead of eat. Can a daring new girl in her life really change anything?

“Charlton-Trujillo offers a hard-hitting third novel that swings between incredibly painful low moments and hard-won victories.” Publisher’s Weekly, Starred Review

* * * * *

While we don’t often review books on YA Fresh, I was already a fan of e. E. Charlton-Trujillo’s writing, and became captivated by the publisher’s blurb referring to it as a “darkly comic anti-romantic romance,” so I jumped right in as soon as the book arrived.

Right from the get-go, it’s clear that Angie’s problems far outweigh the average teen’s.  She feels “broken--by her can’t-be-bothered mother, by her high-school tormenters, and by being the only one who thinks she varsity-athlete-turned-war-hero sister is still alive.”  She has attempted suicide inside the crowded school gym.  Her only solace is junk food--until a new girl, KC, arrives at school who “is one hundred and ninety-nine percent wow...and who knows too well that the package doesn’t always match what’s inside.”

FAT ANGIE wasn’t an easy book for me to absorb.  I put it down a few times to get a breather from the high-arcing tension and the characters who could have helped her, yet whose actions exacerbated Angie’s problems and pain.  Keeping the pages turning through the tough scenes for me was Charlton-Trujillo’s spot-on, wry prose, and the strong attachment she’d helped me develop to Angie, making me want to be there for this girl when others weren’t, and to root her on to the happiness I knew she would find, through KC, and her own evolving character.

With an age range of 14 and up, I give a full “five stars” to this tough, yet compelling  read.

And I’d like to share a couple “teaser” photos from the book trailer currently in progress, which I believe to be showing the actresses playing Angie, and some of her high school tormenters.

 

When the trailer is available, I’ll be sure to post it here for full viewing.

So now, for our giveaway.  Please drop down and leave us a comment, simply telling us why you’d like to win a ARC of FAT ANGIE!

 

Hobbies

Many of us have hobbies. I believe in them. I believe when you don't have school or work or family obligations, and you have a space of time that has nothing to fill it, spend your time doing something that makes you feel good. Growing up, my hobby was art and writing poetry. Sadly, I wasn't an avid reader until later in life. If I had the awesome YAs that fill the shelves now, back when I was in school, it would have been a different story! ;)

So how do I fill my hobby time when I'm not working, writing, reading or taking care of my family?

I still create. Most of the time with a computer. I enjoy creating and designing tees/totes/cards! It's just something fun to do! I've even made a couple for my books and some for writer/reader inspiration.

So how about you? What's your favorite hobby? I know we have a ton of readers visiting us. How about writers? Crafters? Painters? What hobby do you love to do in your spare time?

Happy Valentine's Day!

Kelly and I wish all our readers a Happy Valentine's Day!

My husband and I have a standing tradition of going out to dinner to celebrate Valentine's Day a night before or after, simply to avoid restaurant traffic.  This year, we can't find the time until this weekend, so for us, 2013 Valentine's Day is more like Valentine's Weekend!

We'd love to hear your plans or traditions! 

This Weekend's Winner!

The winner of an advanced reader copy of Notes from Ghost Town is DAPHNE MITCHELL!

Daphne, please e-mail me at admin@tinaferraro.com and I'll get the book in the mail to you.

Thanks to all who entered the giveaway!  And keep dropping by here at YA Fresh.  We have many more book giveaways planned for the coming weeks and months!  

Notes From Ghost Town ARC Giveaway

We are excited to offer an ARC (advanced reader copy) of Kate Ellison's newest book, due to hit shelves next week!

Olivia Tithe was excited for the summer and spending it with her best friend, Stern. But that was ruined when he was mur­dered...by Olivia's mother. Flashing forward, Olivia's life has been transformed since that awful night. After her mother's incarceration, Olivia must move on, but she hates her father's new fiancée, Heather, and with her dad's new real estate development (she calls it Ghost Town) in the works, she barely sees him. But a new boy, Austin, has kindled feelings inside her that she hasn't felt since Stern's death. Arriving at the same time as this new guy is a mysterious note that brings Stern's murder back to the forefront; Olivia knows that she must discover the truth behind her friend's death once and for all.

Our contest runs from today through Sunday, February 10th, with the winner announced on Monday.  To be entered, all you need to do is tell us something you look forward to in the summer!  Good luck to all!