Why write diverse YA?

Over the years, I’ve written a fair number of stories that range from contemporary settings to complete fantasy worlds and in those stories, I’ve written a diverse range of characters. It wasn’t something I intentionally set out to do by any means. I always write where my story takes me, where my character lives. My character might be black or Asian or white. My character might be male or female. I never really know what ideas are going to come to me or why.


The first time I wrote a story from the point of view of a person of color, I worried about it terribly. Would I do the character justice? Would I offend someone? Who was I to be telling this story? What right did I have? Truth be told, I wonder these things every single time I write a diverse story, but I don’t let it hold me back any longer. Yes, there’s a danger of “getting it wrong”, but there’s a greater danger of being boring if I don’t.

I don’t know about you, but I read and write so I can experience things outside of the world I personally know. That’s the point of creating a fictional story – to go places you haven’t been, to be people you can never be- right? So why, oh why, would I make all my characters like me?? That would bore me to death!

In Vessel, the story started out with a humble slave girl in a future, dystopian Europe. I’m not exactly sure when I discovered she was Asian, but I knew she had been sold by her family into slavery and traveled very far from her home as a child. It made her an ‘other’ in a world of Europeans, another reason she was an outsider, and it served the story well. People move. They don’t always stay where they’re born. It only made sense to have diversity in a dystopian future, just as we have it today.

So why write diverse YA? To better reflect the world we live in and all the possible, wonderful stories within it. Why read diverse literature? To better enjoy and understand the world we live in and all the people in it.

~About Vessel~

      The sun exploded on April 18, 2112 in a Class X solar storm the likes of which humankind had           never seen.

          They had exactly nineteen minutes.

Nineteen minutes until a geomagnetic wave washed over the Earth, frying every electrical device created by humans, blacking out entire continents, and every satellite in their sky.

Nineteen minutes to say goodbye to the world they knew, forever, and to prepare for a new Earth, a new Sun.

Generations after solar storms destroyed nearly all human technology on Earth, humans reverted to a middle ages-like existence, books are burned as heresy, and all knowledge of the remaining technology is kept hidden by a privileged few called the Reticents.

Alana, a disfigured slave girl, and Recks, a traveling minstrel and sometimes-thief, join forces to bring knowledge and books back to the human race. But when Alana is chosen against her will to be the Vessel, the living repository for all human knowledge, she must find the strength to be what the world needs even if it's the last thing she wants.

Title: Vessel
Publication date: May 2015
Publisher: Month9Books, LLC.
Author: Lisa T. Cresswell

M9B Friday Reveal: Author Spotlight - Lisa T. Cresswell with Giveaway #M9BFridayReveals

Welcome to this week’s M9B Friday Reveal!

This week, we are featuring

Lisa T. Cresswell, author of Vessel

presented by Month9Books!

Be sure to enter the giveaway found at the end of the post!

Meet Lisa T. Cresswell!

Lightening Round Questions

Twitter or Facebook? Twitter by far!

Favorite Superhero? Hulk

Favorite TV show? Um, I don't watch tv anymore.

Sweet or Salty? Sweet

Coke or Pepsi? Pepsi before I gave it up; now its coffee :)

Any Phobias? Heights/fear of falling

Song you can’t get enough of right now? They play it way too much, but
I still like Uptown Funk.

Who is your ultimate Book Boyfriend? That's tough. I'm sure Peta's up
there. I'll get back to you on that one ;)

What are you reading right now or what's on your TBR? I want to read
the latest Neil Gaiman book. Always!

Fall Movie you’re most looking forward to? It's really next winter,
but it's STAR WARS!!

Lisa, like most writers, began scribbling silly notes, stories, and poems at a very young age. Born in North Carolina, the South proved fertile ground to her imagination with its beautiful white sand beaches and red earth. In fifth grade, she wrote, directed and starred in a play “The Queen of the Nile” at school, despite the fact that she is decidedly un-Egyptian looking. Perhaps that’s why she went on to become a real life archaeologist?

Unexpectedly transplanted to Idaho as a teenager, Lisa learned to love the desert and the wide open skies out West. This is where her interest in cultures, both ancient and living, really took root, and she became a Great Basin archaeologist. However, the itch to write never did leave for long. Her first books became the middle grade fantasy trilogy, The Storyteller Series. Her first traditionally published work, Hush Puppy, is now available from Featherweight Press.

Lisa still lives in Idaho with her family and a menagerie of furry critters that includes way too many llamas!

Connect with the Author: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

The sun exploded on On April 18, 2112 in a Class X solar storm the likes of which humankind had never seen.

They had exactly nineteen minutes.

They had nineteen minutes until a geomagnetic wave washed over the Earth, frying every electrical device created by humans, blacking out entire continents, and every satellite in their sky.

Nineteen minutes to say goodbye to the world they knew, forever, and to prepare for a new Earth, a new Sun.

Generations after solar storms destroyed nearly all human technology on Earth, humans reverted to a middle ages-like existence, books are burned as heresy, and all knowledge of the remaining technology is kept hidden by a privileged few called the Reticents.

Alana, a disfigured slave girl, and Recks, a traveling minstrel and sometimes-thief, join forces to bring knowledge and books back to the human race. But when Alana is chosen against her will to be the Vessel, the living repository for all human knowledge, she must find the strength to be what the world needs even if it’s the last thing she wants.

Title: Vessel
Publication date: May 2015
Publisher: Month9Books, LLC.
Author: Lisa T. Cresswell

Complete the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win!

The book will be sent upon the titles release.

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M9B Two for Thursday Book Blitz – Two and Twenty Dark Tales and Very Superstitious Anthologies with Giveaway #T4T

Hello and welcome to this week’s Two for Thursday Book Blitz #T4T
presented by Month9books/Tantrum Books!

Today, we will be showcasing two titles that may tickle your fancy,
and we’ll share what readers have to say about these titles!

You just might find your next read!

This week, #T4T presents to you:

Two and Twenty Dark Tales and Very Superstitious Anthologies!

Be sure to enter the giveaway found at the end of the post!

In this anthology, 20 authors explore the dark and hidden meanings behind some of the most beloved Mother Goose nursery rhymes through short story retellings. The dark twists on classic tales range from exploring whether Jack truly fell or if Jill pushed him instead to why Humpty Dumpty, fragile and alone, sat atop so high of a wall. The authors include Nina Berry, Sarwat Chadda, Leigh Fallon, Gretchen McNeil, and Suzanne Young.

WHAT READER’S ARE SAYING:

“Great short story collection! Allegorical, interpretive, and entertaining.” – Levina, Goodreads Reviewer

“ EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED in this book” – Kwinn, Goodreads Reviewer

“I truly enjoyed the stories in this anthology. Some are dark and depressing, and yet beautifully told…” – Angie, Author

The stories are based on urban legends, myths, tribal tales and superstitions from around the world. A charity anthology to benefit SPCA International with stories by Shannon Delany, Jackie Morse Kessler, Stephanie Kuehnert, Jennifer Knight, Marianne Mancusi, Michelle E. Reed, Dianne Salerni and Pab Sungenis.

WHAT READER’S ARE SAYING:

“VERY SUPERSTITIOUS is a fine anthology for fantasy readers looking for something slightly creepy for Halloween reading.” – Liviania, In Bed With Books

“A collection of spook-licious tales that will taunt, and in a few cases, tickle the fear bone in any reader.” – S.A. Larsen, Author

A timely collection for a good cause, with some delightful surprises, full of myths and superstitions, and a vast array of stories that will make you laugh, cry and think.” – Tammy, Books Bones Buffy

Complete the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win!

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The Fact behind the Fiction of Mother’s Love

 

Did you know the Sun is constantly showering the Earth with geomagnetic waves of charged neutrons and electrons? It’s happening right now. Sometimes when those particles hit the Earth’s atmosphere, it creates an effect known as an aurora borealis or “Northern Lights” in the northern hemisphere. In the southern hemisphere, the effect is called aurora australis.

In the novel Vessel, our future sun has entered a much more active phase and is bombarding the Earth with lots of geomagnetic waves, which creates a constant aurora of colors the survivors have named “Mother’s Love”. They believe the Sun is their Mother and the colors in the sky represent her love. Just imagine living in a world with a rainbow-colored sky. Auroras can be blue, green, pink, red, or yellow.

Sun worship is one of the oldest forms of religion on Earth. In Vessel, the modern technology we know has been destroyed by the Sun and religion has reverted back to the old ways of revering and fearing the Sun. A little spooky to think about.

If you’d like to learn more about auroras visit this link.  Or if you’d just like to see some cool pictures of auroras, visit my Pinterest page and add Vessel to your GoodReads list!

~About Vessel~

The sun exploded on April 18, 2112 in a Class X solar storm the likes of which humankind had never seen.

They had exactly nineteen minutes.

Nineteen minutes until a geomagnetic wave washed over the Earth, frying every electrical device created by humans, blacking out entire continents, and every satellite in their sky.

Nineteen minutes to say goodbye to the world they knew, forever, and to prepare for a new Earth, a new Sun.

Generations after solar storms destroyed nearly all human technology on Earth, humans reverted to a middle ages-like existence, books are burned as heresy, and all knowledge of the remaining technology is kept hidden by a privileged few called the Reticents.

Alana, a disfigured slave girl, and Recks, a traveling minstrel and sometimes-thief, join forces to bring knowledge and books back to the human race. But when Alana is chosen against her will to be the Vessel, the living repository for all human knowledge, she must find the strength to be what the world needs even if it's the last thing she wants.

Title: Vessel
Publication date: May 2015
Publisher: Month9Books, LLC.
Author: Lisa T. Cresswell

M9B Friday Reveal: Cover Reveal for Minotaur by Phillip W. Simpson with Giveaway #M9BFridayReveals

Welcome to this week’s M9B Friday Reveal!

This week, we are revealing the cover for

Minotaur by Phillip W. Simpson

presented by Month9Books!

Be sure to enter the giveaway found at the end of the post!

“Where shall I start?” asked Minotaur.

Ovid made an expansive gesture with both hands. “Where else but the beginning of course.”

Minotaur nodded his huge head. “Yes,” he said. “Yes,” his eyes already glazing over with the weight of thousand year old memories. And then he began.

So begins the story of Asterion, later known as Minotaur, the supposed half bull creature of Greek legend. Recorded by the famous Roman poet, Ovid, Asterion tells of his boyhood in Crete under the cruel hand of his stepfather Minos, his adventures with his friend, Theseus, and his growing love for the beautiful Phaedra.And of course what really happened in the labyrinth.

This is the true story of the Minotaur.

Minotaur by Phillip W. Simpson
Publication Date: September 29, 2015
Publisher: Month9books

Phillip W. Simpson is the author of many novels, chapter books and other stories for children. His publishers include Macmillan, Penguin, Pearson, Cengage, Raintree and Oxford University Press.
He received both his undergraduate degree in Ancient History and Archaeology and his Masters (Hons) degree in Archaeology from the University of Auckland.
Before embarking on his writing career, he joined the army as an officer cadet, owned a comic shop and worked in recruitment in both the UK and Australia.
His first young adult novel, Rapture (Rapture Trilogy #1), was shortlisted for the Sir Julius Vogel Awards for best Youth novel in 2012.

He is represented by Vicki Marsdon at Wordlink literary agency.

When not writing, he works as a school teacher.
Phillip lives and writes in Auckland, New Zealand with his wife Rose, their son, Jack and their two border terriers, Whiskey and Raffles. He loves fishing, reading, movies, football (soccer) and single malt Whiskeys.

Connect with the Author: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Complete the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win!
Title will be sent upon its release.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

M9B Two for Thursday Book Blitz - Dead Jed: Adventures of A Middle School Zombie and Dead Jed 2: Dawn of the Jed by Scott Craven with Giveaway #T4T

Hello and welcome to this week’s Two for Thursday Book Blitz #T4T
presented by Month9books/Tantrum Books!

Today, we will be showcasing two titles that may tickle your fancy,
and we’ll share what readers have to say about these titles!

You just might find your next read!

This week, #T4T presents to you the Dead Jed series by Scott Craven:

Dead Jed: Adventures of A Middle School Zombie
and
Dead Jed 2: Dawn of the Jed!

Be sure to enter the giveaway found at the end of the post!

Dead Jed is Shaun of the Dead meets Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Jed's not your typical junior high geek. He is, to use the politically-correct term, cardiovascularly-challenged. And while his parents have attempted to shield him from the implications of being 'different' for as long as they could (Jed was 8 and at a friend's sister's birthday party when he blew his lips off onto the cake in front of everyone, finally prompting the “Big Talk” from his parents and an emergency SuperGlue repair by his dad), 7th grade at Pine Hollow Middle School as a target of Robbie the supreme school bully and his pack of moronic toadies is rapidly becoming unbearable.

From being stuffed in a filled trash can as “dead meat” and into a trophy case as the bully's “prize,” to literally having his hand pulled off in the boys' room (Jed's always losing body parts. Luckily, a good stapler and some duct tape and he's back in the action) and a cigarette put in it and try to frame him for the recent reports of smoking in the school, Jed's had enough and is ready to plan his revenge. Besides, it's awesome what you can do when you're already dead!

Available for Purchase:

WHAT READER’S ARE SAYING:
“DEAD JED is amazing. It takes true talent to write a book that's witty and has such clever humor. That's exactly what DEAD JED has.” – Courtney, Author

” I’m entirely convinced this series is going to be as big and popular as the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, if not more. It might be aimed at middle grade readers, but I will highly and happily recommend it to readers aged 9 to 99!” – Angie, Books4Tomorrow

“Middle Grade humor at its finest.” – S.A. Larsen, Author

The first part of seventh grade was rough on Jed, but things are looking up now that Christmas is almost here. As with past Christmases, Jed asks for the one thing he’s always wanted–a dog–and again, his parents tell him they’re not ready. But fate has a different plan when Jed sees a dog get run over by a car. Then, it happens. Jed suddenly has a pet, Tread, a zombie dog bearing his namesake–a tire tread down his back. Jed may have gained a dog, but he loses his best friend Luke, who fears the way Jed created his undead pet.

When Jed returns to school, he finds a mysterious group called the No Zombies Now Network spreading rumors of the dangers the undead pose to normal people. Forced to disprove Hollywood stereotypes, Jed has his work cut out for him as stories of a zombie dog begin to circulate. Jed could be expelled if he can’t expose the NZN Network as a fraud. Jed needs help from his kind of girlfriend Anna, especially after he discovers Luke has joined the shadowy group.

Once again navigating the treacherous waters of middle school, Jed does his best to stay in one piece. Only this time he’ll need even more duct tape and staples than usual.

Available for Purchase:

WHAT READER’S ARE SAYING:
“Like its predecessor Dead Jed, Dead Jed 2: Dawn of the Jed is an incredibly cute and fun read!” – Angie, Books4Tomorrow



“This is a fun story, which was written very well for the age group. I can imagine the series being a huge hit, especially with zombies being so popular at the moment.” – Bri, Natural Bri - Pursuits of Life

“…just read it, you will love it and it sooooo funny” – Michelle, Because Reading

Proud graduate of Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, have one son who will turn 18 in March 2013, now a features writer for The Arizona Republic.

Connect with the Author: Website | Twitter

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Forever Julia Blog Tour

Welcome to the Forever Julia Blog Tour!

Enter the giveaway and then read on down the page to learn more about the book and author, Jodi Carmichael~

a Rafflecopter giveaway




Giveaway Information: Winner will be drawn May 25, 2015
· One (1) winner will received a physical copy of Forever Julia by Jodi Carmichael

~About the Book~

Title: Forever Julia
Publication date: May 1, 2015
Publisher: Great Plains Publications
Author: Jodi Carmichael
 Six months ago, Julia's life was perfect. Then her dad died. Now she lives with her grieving mother and sick grandmother in a puny apartment above their bookstore. After a dark bout of depression, Julia is fragile, and mourns both her father and her old life. But she has one thing to be happy about: Jeremy, the most popular boy at school, has chosen her. Jeremy's love for Julia is passionate, even obsessive. As she grows closer to Jeremy, Julia pushes her disapproving friends and family away. But Jeremy only becomes more controlling and Julia has to decide what lines cannot be crossed.

~About the Author~

 

JODI CARMICHAEL lives in Winnipeg where she can often be found dancing in the living room with her two wildly imaginative daughters, her patient and supportive husband, and a scruffy Border Terrier named Zoe. Jodi’s previous book for young readers, Spaghetti Is NOT A Finger Food, won numerous awards and has been a multi-week Bestseller.

Visit Jodi Carmichael at www.jodicarmicael.com.

Connect with the Author: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

 

~Author Guest Post~

I asked Jodi Carmichael to tell me about the themes of Forever Julia and what inspired her to write it. This is what she said:




I didn’t set out to write a story that dealt with abuse. My original intention was to write a Rom/Com or some sort of YA Chicklit. The working title for this novel, for a long time was; Who Needs Romeo: A Tale of a Modern Day Juliet. In my first version, the abusive relationship with Jeremy was something in Julia’s past and my focus was on her new relationship with a mysterious boy who was struggling with very different demons than the sort that drive Jeremy’s actions.

Although it was an entertaining read, that first version had zero dramatic action and it fell flat in terms of character growth. Through intensive rewriting, I discovered I had hidden the heart of Julia’s story in the back story – the pre-story. Julia’s abusive relationship with Jeremy was the more important and compelling story to tell. Emotional abuse begins with stinging words, emotional blackmail, and controlling behaviour dressed up as attention and infatuation. Once that is working well for the abuser, the physical abuse often begins. Sometimes that includes sexual abuse – forcing someone to have sex when they don’t want to. Emotional abuse is sneaky, because it wears the mask of care. Those suffering emotional abuse can be blind to the real intention of their abuser. Often those abused excuse it away as, “It is just words. He/she never hits me. I’d leave if I ever got hit.” Words hurt, they bury deep into you, far beyond a surface bruise. They lodge themselves in your brain and wrap themselves around your self-confidence, squeezing the life out of who you believe yourself to be as an individual.

I purposely focused on showing how emotional abuse slowly creeps into a relationship; how it can be misunderstood as love and infatuation, how “smart” girls like Julia can be drawn in, and how “villains” like Jeremy pull it off. 

It was also important that readers see the good qualities in Jeremy for a number of reasons. From a purely literary viewpoint, writers strive never to write flat one dimensional characters – either all good or all bad – and if Jeremy was too evil from the first page, readers would wonder, “Why is she with this moron? Can’t she see his is bad news?”

If we then look at Jeremy from a psychological viewpoint, abusers often come from a place of pain, neglect, and abuse. They are modeling what they have witnessed or suffered themselves. They often have a side that is truly loving and they are in need of healthy love. It was important to show this side of Jeremy so we could see how Julia could fall for him and understand her desire to support him.

Sadly, millions of women and girls around the world are abused. No one has the right to hurt another person and definitely not in the name of love. Real love supports and nurtures, it does not smother, control, or hurt. Forever Julia is a sort of cautionary tale for girls who are just beginning romantic relationships and if any readers are in a situation similar to Julia, I hope they gain the strength from her story.