Welcome to our stop on And We’re Off tour for Dana Schwartz. This tour is hosted by PenguinTeen.
Author: Dana Schwartz
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Contemporary
Released: May 2nd 2017
Publisher: Razorbill
Seventeen-year-old Nora Holmes is an artist, a painter from the moment she could hold a brush. She inherited the skill from her grandfather, Robert, who's always nurtured Nora's talent and encouraged her to follow her passion. Still, Nora is shocked and elated when Robert offers her a gift: an all-expenses-paid summer trip to Europe to immerse herself in the craft and to study history's most famous artists. The only catch? Nora has to create an original piece of artwork at every stop and send it back to her grandfather. It's a no-brainer: Nora is in!
Unfortunately, Nora's mother, Alice, is less than thrilled about the trip. She worries about what the future holds for her young, idealistic daughter and her opinions haven't gone unnoticed. Nora couldn't feel more unsupported by her mother, and in the weeks leading up to the trip, the women are as disconnected as they've ever been. But seconds after saying goodbye to Alice at the airport terminal, Nora hears a voice call out: "Wait! Stop! I'm coming with you!"
INTERVIEW
I’m currently an arts and entertainment writer at the Observer in New York, although I was pre-med in college and then made a very drastic career turn my senior year. I’m originally from Chicago, and I spend most of my time beating my boyfriend at Scrabble. My book is about a 17-year-old artist, Nora, whose grandfather gifts her a trip to Europe after she’s accepted at a prestigious arts colony in Ireland for the summer. She’s super excited to focus on her art and be independent for the first time in her life… until her mom declares that she’s coming along for the trip too.
What inspired you to write And We're Off?
I didn’t study abroad when I was in school, so after I graduated, I spent three months traveling around western Europe with a friend from high school, just trying to enjoy the last time in my life I would be without major responsibilities. It was an amazing, life changing experience, worthy of all of those clichés about travel, and my protagonist, Nora, coincidentally happens to go to most of the same places I traveled to.
Who was the first person you called when you found out you were going to be published?
Definitely my mom. My mom and my dad were my first calls, probably around the same time I was sending a frantic mass text to the rest of my family.
There are many books out there, is there one that you said to yourself "Man I wish I had written that!"
Oh my god, so many. I am a writer perpetually filled with envy. I wish I could write something like Fates and Furies or A Little Life—something sweeping and heartbreaking and dramatic. In terms of YA, I always loved The Giver. I wish I could’ve written that one.
The furthest I have traveled was...
I think geographically, the furthest I’ve gone is Israel.
What are 3 things you must have while traveling?
Outlet adaptors, a really, really great guide book (I was obsessed with Rick Steves when I was traveling) and an open mind. JK, the last thing you need is really comfortable yoga pants.
To which Hogwarts House do you belong?
Ravenclaw. Definitely Ravenclaw.
Dana Schwartz is a writer whose work has appeared in the New Yorker, Mental Floss, the Guardian, the New York Observer, MTV News, and VICE.
When she's not on Twitter as one of her parody accounts (@GuyInYourMFA and @DystopianYA), she's on Twitter as herself (@DanaSchwartzzz), sharing far too much personal information to ever pull off the Thomas-Pynchon-reclusive-author thing. She currently lives in New York City.
When she's not on Twitter as one of her parody accounts (@GuyInYourMFA and @DystopianYA), she's on Twitter as herself (@DanaSchwartzzz), sharing far too much personal information to ever pull off the Thomas-Pynchon-reclusive-author thing. She currently lives in New York City.
Enter for a chance to win one (1) of five (5) copies of And We’re Off by Dana Schwartz (ARV: $17.99 each).
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Enter between 12:00 AM Eastern Time on May 1, 2017 and 12:00 AM on May 15, 2017. Open to residents of the fifty United States and the District of Columbia who are 13 and older. Winners will be selected at random on or about May 24, 2017. Odds of winning depend on number of eligible entries received. Void where prohibited or restricted by law.
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Follow the Tour
Week One:May 1 – Arctic Books – Book Look
May 2 – Once Upon a Twilight – Author Q&A
May 3 – Peace Love Books – Review
May 4 – The Young Folks – Author Guest Post
May 5 – A Page With A View – Like/Try/Why
Week Two:
May 8 – The Fandom – Author Guest Post
May 9 – Page Turners Blog – Excerpt
May 10 – The Hardcover Lover – Author Guest Post
May 11 – Brittany’s Book Rambles – Favorite Quotes
May 12 – YA Book Central – Author Q&A
Posts
Thanks for the interview. I love that the author traveled to the same places so I know this book will seem real.
ReplyDeleteSo happy to see this is a book in which the author can relate to what her characters are doing! :) And that she's a fellow Ravenclaw ;)
ReplyDelete