Q&A With 'Mayfly' Author Jeff Sweat

1. Which scene in your book was your favorite to write? I loved any scene that let me looked at my favorite place, Los Angeles, from the lens of a far-off future. But my favorite scene, my most wrenching scene, was the scene with Apple and the Betterment. There was so much love and joy and loss in one place that it almost physically hurt to write.
2. What is your favorite character in your book? In all books? My characters tend to be kids that, however flawed, I would have liked to have known when I was a teen, that I’d be proud to have as a kid of my own. But I think I like Pico the best—he doesn’t fit into this world of his, he knows it, and he simply doesn’t care. My favorite character in all books is Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice.
3. What does your office look like? My office looks like my wife’s and my worlds thrown together, in a shade of pink that neither of us like. My half has an unplayed guitar, several yo-yos, and a rack of my black-framed glasses, which I buy in bulk from China. My wife’s half is full of knitting projects and design books, and her half always overtakes the other.
4. What were your favorite books to read as a child and teenager? I read anything I could get my hands on, from comic books to junk novels to slightly less junky novels. The ones that had an impact on me were the Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander, S is for Space by Ray Bradbury, and The Daybreakers by Louis L’Amour.
5. If you could spend one day inside any literary world/with any literary character, where and who would it be? The Golden Compass, with the armored polar bear, Iorek Byrnison. He doesn’t believe he has a soul, but somehow his Otherness tells us more about what it means to be human than any other character in the book.  
6. What’s next for you? There’s a whole world left in Mayfly, so I’ll be going there first. After that, I have a contemporary YA book based on my experience moving to New York for college, a couple of screenplays, and a sci-fi series that asks, “What if Europeans never came to America?”
7. What is your favorite literary quote? A line from The Last Tycoon by F. Scott Fitzgerald: “His dark eyes looked back so kind and nothing.” It’s evocative of a look and a feeling without ever really describing either. I liked it so much that a modified version made it into Mayfly.
8. Do you have any advice for aspiring authors? Write every day—not just because of creating good habits, but because when you write every day, the story never leaves you. Then new characters and plots emerge when you walk the dog, when you take a shower, when you’re thinking of nothing. Creativity tends to live along the margins, and you have to give it an opportunity to emerge.

Jeff’s life has been centered around the story—first as a journalist, then as a social media pioneer, and then as a public relations expert working with some of the top advertising agencies in the country. He uses his reporter’s training in every page of Mayfly, always coming back to the question: “What if…?” He grew up in Idaho as the middle of eight children—seven boys and one girl—and attended Columbia University in New York. 

Jeff lives in a big blue house beneath the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles with his wife Sunny and their three kids, two cats, a racing greyhound and a blue-tongued skink. He likes karaoke, motorcycles and carpentry. He was once shot in the head with a nail gun, which was not a big of a deal as it sounds. But it still hurt like crazy.

Q&A with 'Freefall Summer' Author Tracy Barrett

Q: What inspired you to write a YA novel about skydiving? I’ve always wanted to write a skydiving novel, but I wanted skydiving to be an important part of the story, not just something added on for thrills. For a long time I couldn’t come up with anything.

I also like to write retelling of fairy tales and Greek myths, and it occurred to me that a modern-day retelling of the myth of Icarus (the teenager who flew too close to the sun and died) could work as the basis for a novel. I started off playing with that idea, and without a clear idea of where the story would go. Pretty soon it veered off from the myth, and I let it veer! You can still see echoes of the myth here and there, though, especially in the names of the characters and the locations.

Q: Have you ever been skydiving? What was your experience like? I’ve made eighteen jumps, seventeen of them when I was in my 20s, and one while I was writing Freefall Summer. I’m glad I did it, but I don’t think I’ll ever jump again! I never stopped being scared, and I figured that if the fear didn’t start going down after seventeen jumps, it wasn’t worth it. But I met my husband at the drop zone when he offered to help me pack my parachute! I never had any accidents and never saw a serious one, just some sprained ankles and things like that. Skydiving is actually a very safe sport, and it gets safer all the time as equipment and training improve. The fear comes not from a rational place, but from that instinct that has been telling you DON’T FALL ever since you were a toddler.

Q: I love your epigrams from The Whuffo’s Guide to Skydiving in the book. What made you decide to add those? I knew that for the narrative to be authentic I’d have to use a lot of skydiving jargon, and I didn’t want the action to grind to a halt while I defined what a character was saying. I played with a few different ways to explain the terms I needed to use, but I’ve always disliked glossaries in novels (nonfiction is a different matter, of course), and Clancy struck me as the kind of nerd (takes one to know one!) who would keep a notebook like The Whuffo’s Guide to Skydiving. It was fun matching definitions and fun facts with the story action of each chapter.

Q: Clancy and her dad have a really complicated relationship dynamic. How did this develop over the course of your writing process? When I began to build that relationship, I was still basing the story on the myth of Icarus, where the father, Daedalus, both makes the wings for Icarus and cautions him about them. I really related to that, having raised teenagers myself. I know how much you want your young-adult child to be bold and independent, while simultaneously wanting them to be careful. It’s a hard balance, and Clancy’s father, while he goes overboard in his hovering, certainly has reason to be overprotective, as the reader finds out.

Q: What inspired you to write a contemporary YA novel and move away from some of your previous topics related to myths and fairytales? I’ve written lots of kinds of books: nonfiction (mostly history and biography), historical fiction, a mystery series, an anthology of little-known Greek myths, fantasy, ghost stories, time travel, myth and fairy-tale retellings—you name it! I get bored easily and always want to try something new. I hadn’t written a contemporary YA novel, and of course skydiving has to be set in at least the twentieth century, so I went for it. Writing Freefall Summer was partially a challenge to myself to see if I could make an ancient, and strange, story relevant to today. It was a challenge, but I’m happy with the result!

Q: How long did it take you to write Freefall Summer? I wrote the first draft in 30 days during National Novel Writing Month in 2012. NaNoWriMo, as it’s called, is a challenge to write a 50,000-word novel (or 50,000 words of a novel) in the month of November. Needless to say, when you write that fast, what comes out is usually pretty bad, and that was true in this case. So I took some time revising the messy manuscript I had written. I had other projects going on at the time, so whenever I had a few weeks where I didn’t have to work on one of my other books, I’d work on Freefall Summer, which at that time was called The Icarus Complex. I signed the contract with Charlesbridge Teen in the spring of 2016, and then of course I had lots more edits to do, so you could say I was still writing it for quite a while after that. Its publication date is April, 2018, so Freefall Summer took me either 30 days or six years to write, depending on how you look at it!

#TheWayBackToYou Book Event in #Seattle at #ElliotBayBookCompany!

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I had the opportunity to go and enjoy the afternoon with 2 amazing authors on the 15th of May in Seattle. While there I watched a Q&A, a short reading from their book, and got to interview them after their signing.

I took to Snap Chat - I got some awesome videos and pictures of all the events that took place. I was so excited to be able to go get mine and my friend's books signed. This is a book that we both loved, and therefore we couldn't wait for our personalized signing. 

I had never been to this book store, so I was excited to explore new areas. I got there and was immediately in love. There's a cafe, and there's 2 floors of books, and it felt like a nice library that was cozy. I had to ask where the event was because there was a back staircase that led down to the event area. When I got there it was already completely packed! I found a spot and sat down, I then realized that most of the people there were Mindi's family. I knew she was Seattle based but hadn't thought about how most of the people there would be relatives. And I thought that was absolutely sweet. The amount of support she has was amazing to witness in person. 

Their set up for the Q&A portion of the event was adorable. I loved their signs with all the locations within the book. It was beautiful. If you notice they also put some clouds on their case of books. I thought that was adorable as well.

 They answered many questions, some from Mindi's husband acting as their editor, and some from the crowd. This was where we learned a lot about the book. Michelle was the one who came up with the idea - she had seen a documentary about a boxer who donated his organs and then his wife went and met with the recipients of the organs.
Michelle and Mindi have known each other since 2007 and had always wanted to do a book together, but it took until recently for them to actually do it! And now they plan on doing more together in the future.
They each had their own character to follow in the book. Michelle wrote for Cloudy and Mindi wrote for Kyle. When the other was in the chapter they were working on they'd text one another and ask how their character would react - but by the end of their writing together they basically knew exactly how the characters would react. They would still ask just to make sure, but they knew the other's character very well.

After their Q&A came the signing part of the night. To make the long line seem to go quickly they had road trip snacks and milkshakes waiting for us in the back. There was the Cloudy - Vanilla ice cream with Marshmallows - and the Kyle - Chocolate ice cream with Junior Mint's - I had the Kyle. And it was delicious. There were granola bars, chips, waters, beef jerky, and candy to snack on as well. Everyone was loving it.

After they were done signing it was my turn to interview them. I felt bad because some of the questions I had, had already been asked during the Q&A. But they were gracious and still answered them for me anyways.

OUAT: First off - I loved the book - it was

Michelle & Mindi: Yay!

Michelle: I'm so happy.

OUAT: It was very good. I enjoyed it! I know this is redundant since you just answered this in the Q&A of tonight's event, but what was it like to write with two authors? It seems like a difficult process, like did you take it chapter by chapter or did you just write out your part then send it to the other? What was that like?

Michelle: I think we intended to do that where I'd write one chapter and I'd send it to Mindi and she'd read it and give me notes, and while I was revising it she'd work on the following chapter. But I feel like a lot of the times I would get stuck in the middle of my chapter so I'd probably email, or text her earlier to be like what should I do here? So she would see it before I was actually done with it, a lot of the time.

Mindi: Yea...but I didn't...we..neither of us ever wrote ahead because we did feel that everything depended on each others chapters. So we could never be like 'Okay, so I'm just gonna go write the end of my story, or my character's story. We had to take it a chapter at a time. 
With that did you realize that both of your characters arc's were changing based on what the other one was writing?

I feel that...well...I think that Cloudy's arc originally...uhm...it ended up being more right for Kyle.
That's true.

So...I guess...yea, in a way writing that out...helped us find that part of Kyle's arc, I guess.
Yea. Cause I always knew where I was going with him, but not how it would really look on the page and that was the same thing...and like what you said with Cloudy you didn't necessarily know where you were going, and then you found your way. And you had an arc in mind, and then I stole it for Kyle.

It just wasn't working. It was meant for Kyle and that's why it wasn't working for Cloudy.

Can you explain to me, cause like when you say it didn't work for Cloudy, how do you know it doesn't work for a character? Like what in you is just like 'Oh, I know this is not exactly what she would do'?

I think partly it's just if I'm miserable writing it. If I'm just in bed like "Oh my God, please just let this end!" But if it's a struggle to write it then I know it's just not working, so I have to find different ways. And I think once you get to know the character more you can kind of see how they would react to certain situations, or what they need. That's why it's so hard for me to pinpoint an arc when I first start a story, cuz I hardly know this person. I don't know what they need.

That's probably very tough without knowing the character, is that why you, Mindi, figure out the character's favorite drink first? 

I think so! Yea. It's so I know who I'm dealing with up front, I guess. There's so many things to learn all along the way, I do know a lot more up front - typically - about my characters. 

I think you go in with a - we're working on something right now, and it's a little different for me; because I feel like my character's arc is clearer at the moment...it might totally explode, but while we try to figure out Mindi's character's arc, she knows like the back story and everything. She comes in fully loaded, she knows a lot about her characters. Which helps! Because if you know where they came from you can kind of find out where they're going, hopefully.

I guess that's true. Like Michelle has, at least with our current project, she knows how her character's current arc is going to unfold. A lot better than I do. But I know what my character's back story is - which is going to help me find the right arc. That was the same thing with Kyle, too. I knew what the back story was so that would help me to...you know...steal Cloudy's arc

Can you describe your book in 5 words?

Boy. Girl. Kitten. Road. Trip.

Road. Trip. Mexican. Food. Cat.

Did you pull anything from your life to put into this story? Or are any of your characters - do they have some tics that people in your life have?

I guess you always kind of pull. Sometimes I could see a little of my sister in Cloudy. Because Cloudy is very stubborn and she doesn't want to show her emotions, and my sister is very much like that - I would never tell my sister that. But I did. I can't say that I modeled Cloudy off of my sister at all, but looking back on it now I can see it. And there's actually a part late in the book where Cloudy mentions her sister throughout a seashell thing. That I got from my sister. She doesn't like having seashells in the house, she thinks they're bad luck.

Oh really?!

Yea, so I put that in there.

When I was reading the book I felt that Kyle and Cloudy are suppose to be together. So then that makes you wonder 'Well what if Ashlyn hadn't passed away?' Would she be okay with that? Would she step back or would Kyle and Ashlyn still be together?

I guess I've always felt that no, that was never going to be okay if Ashlyn were still alive. Which is one of the things that made it - it was an uncomfortable thing. We talked about it, Cloudy wanted Kyle and the only way she got that was because her friend died. So it's really tough. 

I could totally feel the characters being like "Oh I like this person, but I shouldn't like this person because of that tie between us."

And we did try to make it extra complicated throwing Matty in the mix! Nobodies every going to be okay with this, but I think the circumstances. It made everything change for all of them. I think, like Matty said, that if there is a Heaven and if Ashlyn is there that she would want them to be happy. But if she were still alive I feel like there would be no way.

I think she and Kyle would've stayed together. If she were still alive...do you?

Well I don't know, how far do you carry it out? Were they gonna get married? They were so new really, they had only been together for 6 months when she died. But that's still like...

It's still new. They didn't know a lot about life.

Yea. They had only known each other a short time. I guess I never pictured any kind of big reason why they'd break up.

It happens! But I don't think Cloudy would've went after Kyle, even if they had broken up. 

It's the whole friendship code thing.

Yea. Girl Code.

Every time I read it I was like "Should I be rooting for them? Or should I be like no you need to stay awway!"

We're glad that you felt that, that they should be together. Because we were kind of like, people are going to hate this...

I loved it! But at the same time I felt bad! I had complicated feelings when reading this.

That's what we were going for!

Was there a scene that didn't make it into the book that you wish had?

Michelle has one.

I had written a whole first chapter, that is not the first chapter now. It's a completely different first chapter now. 

Really?!

And I loved it so much! I can see why it didn't work. It took place at a pancake breakfast, the cheerleaders were doing a fundraiser. Matty was in it, I don't think Kyle was. There's a scene where before Kyle and Cloudy leave for their road trip they meet Jacob, and he makes a comment about syrup in his hair. In the original first chapter Cloudy dumps syrup in his hair cause he said something rude to one of the cheerleaders.

I wrote that in later, to call back that scene. So that the whole incident did happen, it's just that readers won't know it happened except for that exchange between Cloudy and Jacob. So it's still canon.

It happened, you just don't know about it.

It happened a few days before the book started. So we moved the start to the school day.

Why did you change the start? Did it just flow better?

Our editor wanted...

She wanted fewer characters, she felt it was too busy. And even the pep rally is a really busy scene. But we got down to fewer named characters.

Plus, Cloudy ends up running away from the pep rally and tries to separate from it.

We were showing, you know how Cloudy can be protective and ferocious. That's originally what the first chapter was showing. But what Alex, our editor, wanted to show from the get go was missing her best friend so badly. That was why Michelle had to re-write it. So that she could put Cloudy in a different scene to show that Ashlyn was on her mind and to show that she's not just okay. The original first chapter she was in full Cloudy form.

Wasn't even thinking of Ashlyn at all...

That wasn't what Alex wanted. It wasn't the best introduction to Cloudy. I think it was also because the first time you meet Kyle it's all about Ashlyn. [Alex] wanted Cloudy to have that exact same thing. So that readers would connect with her and what she has lost, as much as what Kyle has lost. That was another reason.

Author's always say that their characters speak to them, in their head. Which character, apart from Cloudy and Kyle, spoke the loudest to you?

This is tough...

I guess Matty for me.

Right!

Honestly he's my favorite secondary character.

Yea! He was so fun to write!

ARM.

Zoe too...some of the kids in Sedona! But let's go with Matty.

Which sentence in the book are you most proud of? And why?

My favorite is in the scene where Cloudy meets Sonia in the bathroom. That last sentence of the..the hug.

Oh! The heartbeat?

Yea.

(The quote is: "I feel it instantaneously, as if this is what I've been waiting for all along. A steady thumping. A rhythm that is all Ashlyn's. My best friend's heart beating against mine. Again")

That one made me cry.

It made me cry too. 

-Mindi's looking through The Way Back To You-

Are you looking for your quote?

I don't know that I have ever imagined one. So I'm trying to...a sentence...

Mine was more than one sentence...but they all fit together.

Do we both have to give an answer?

Do the arm-pitiest one! There are so many good sentences for Kyle!

Maybe is there a moment that your proud of for Kyle? That was like the best moment for you to write?

Well this is sort of ridiculous. But. The bedrock city scene when he accidentally has a certain dessert. That was just a really fun scene for me to write.

That's a good chapter.

It was the easiest chapter, I think, in the entire book for me to write. I wouldn't say it's the best, or the one I'm most proud of, but it was the most fun for me to write! Because...well you know why. You read it!

Which character, apart from Cloudy and Kyle, was the easiest to write?

I think Matty.

It's always Matty, yea!

He was just really fun and easy to write. Cause he could just say whatever, and he was so charming that he could get away with any of it.

What is something you hope your readers take from the book?

I would say, that everyone grieves differently. Even though things are never going to be the same after you lose someone, no matter what your beliefs there's still a way for you to find your way back to connecting with who you still have in your life.

I always think of the differences in grieving. I think there's this notion that the person who's not crying and not breaking down is totally well adjusted and handling it okay; and that's so not the case sometimes. I think it's all just to take care of everyone, you know. We all deal with grief differently and we all just have to be there for each other in whatever way we need.

Do you think you're going to do a spin-off of this book? Like maybe a book from the recipients point of view, or from Matty's point of view?

We are talking about doing a companion novel that takes place at one of the locations in the story; but it doesn't really have to do with anything about the organ recipients or any of that story line. So it's...it's the Santa Monica/Hollywood stuff - just to give you a hint - so some of the characters that you see in the Hollywood, that's where we're hoping to go with the story. It'll be a companion that's really loosely tied to this story. We don't know how any of it is going to shape out, but we have an idea. The scene that you see in Santa Monica/Hollywood might actually be in the story.

So then it will sort of tie in.

You might see Cloudy and Kyle, but you won't know what their story is.

I went to school in Flagstaff, Arizona. So I always drove by the Flinstone's park. I always wanted to stop - but my friends grew up there and were like "Bri...it's just a park...we're not stopping there." So that is my favorite scene in the book, when they're at the Flinstone's park! What scene was your guys' favorite?

For location wise...? Or..?

For anything.

We both loved writing bedrock city. I went there on my honeymoon. I was so excited, I saw the sign for it and was like 'Oh, we HAVE to stop.' And we paid our few dollars and went in and I was like 'What....is this...?' My husband was like 'It's cool, don't you want to start getting some pictures?!' So I sat down in Fred Flinstone's car and he took pictures of me. Then I started getting really into it; just running around like 'Here's me with Fred Flinstone!' So then it got fun. It's sort of horrifying when you first enter this park. It's so run down. There's hardly anybody there, and the people who are there are all looking around like what is this place? And so that was really fun. We found videos on YouTube of people visiting the Flinstone park too.

Yea! Hilarious!

They were like "What is this...?" It was definitely one of my favorite of the places to write.

Yea, it was fun!

What is your favorite Kyle and Cloudy moment?

*gasps* OOOoooooo. I have a favorite one. It's before they go to bedrock city. And they're split up into the two separate cars. Kyle runs over to where Cloudy is in her car. And he puts his hand over the window and she peels them off. 

That's such a cute moment!

It was such a sweet moment. The first time I read it I was like "Awh man!"...yea...that's my favorite. It's such a sweet, sweet moment.

So favorite Kyle and Cloudy moment. Oh okay! This one was actually never in a draft until our very last version. But it's when they're in Hollywood and they're dancing. It's based on, basically, my Husband and I were coworkers for a few years before we ever dated. And girls would talk about 'Oh, he's hot' but I would be like 'I guess'. So we went out for my birthday, and there was this swing band. A whole bunch of coworkers were all there and he wanted to dance. And I remember looking up at him, and all of a sudden I was like 'Oh...he is cute.' So the way I was trying to write it was like, everything's happening so fast and Kyle's mind is sort of swirling when he's looking at her. And so that was one that -

It's where it all clicks for him. That she's a cute girl.

Yea!

Is there anything you want to tell us about the book, to finish this off? Apart from read it!

Yea! Read it!

And we hope you like it. We like it.

It's good. There's a lot of heart in it and we hope that it shows through. There's a cat on the spine!

We are really excited about that cat on the spine. 

Oh! And there's a secret code in the acknowledgements.

There is a secret code. It hints to our potential companion novel...although we already gave you some hints...if you look, you'll be like 'There's something a little bit different about some of these letters'....Just to totally lay it out there for everyone. 

Everyone should pick up a copy of The Way Back To You!

If this write up didn't convince you check out Yara's Review here: http://www.onceuponatwilight.com/2016/04/book-review-TWBTY-by-andreani-scott.html

And my review here: http://www.onceuponatwilight.com/2016/05/book-review-way-back-to-you-by-michelle.html

2015's Fantastic Fives Celebration!

This is the year of the Fantastic Fives. Several sites like this one, celebrated at some point this year a huge milestone. Our sites turned 5 years old this year. Can you believe that? 5 years! I honestly never imagined Once Upon a Twilight being around that long, but here we are and strong as ever. We turned 5 back in March and this is how we celebrated it. The celebration is hosted by our friends Jamie from Two Chicks on Books and Amber from Me, My Shelf, and I.

So to celebrate such a fantastic feat, visit all the sites listed below to see how all of us are celebrating our Fantastic Fives!

Fantastic Fives Schedule

November 8 - Books Etc.

November 9 - Fiktshun

November 10 - Two Chicks On Books

November 11 - Me, My Shelf and I

November 12 - Bewitched Bookworms

November 13 - Novel Novice

November 14 - Book Angel Booktopia

November 15 - Maer Wilson

November 16 - Taking It One Book At A Time

November 17 - YA Book Shelf

November 18 - Musings of a YA Reader

November 19 - Bookish Lifestyle

November 20 - Once Upon A Twilight (that's us)

November 21 - Stories & Sweeties

November 22 - Bookaholics Anonymous

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We all did a Q&A to share a bit about the sites. Since OUaT has become a family of reviewers throughout these 5 years, several of us answered these fun questions for your entertainment.

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself. 

My name is Yara which I think after 5 years, many of you know that already. Nothing much has changed in the past 5 years really. I am still a work-a-home mom. I run the trucking company that my husband and I own from my home office (I like to call it more my personal library, but don't tell my husband). I have 2 very active boys that could care less about reading (I know, its pains me) that play several sports. Something new about me that actually happen this year is that I began Roller Derby. And it has been one of the best life decisions ever. So I keep busy with work, my family, roller derby and Once Upon a Twilight!

2. How did you get started blogging?
I'll give you the short version. Basically I was doing lots of "Twilight" trips and my Twilightmoms friends mentioned that I should share my adventures and pictures on a blog online. So not knowing anything about blogging I began the site. And then I was asked to share my opinions (which I still wonder why anyone would listen to me) on books I had finished reading, so between my trips, I would include a review here and there. And 5 years later (after a couple upgrades) you can tell the site has evolved (6000 + post) many many times. I've edited some of those first postings I did back in 2010, but many still have the "newbie" look, where you can tell I had no clue what the heck I was doing. Here are some of those examples: Vampire Baseball 3/16/10 | Shades of Midnight Review 3/29/10 | 1st Book Giveaway 4/15/10 (yes, I know these posts are so bad, but now I think after 5 years I know what I'm doing a little bit better).

3. How did you pick the name for your blog? 

You are going to laugh but the exact reason, I don't remember exactly. I know it has to do with the fact that this site exist because of Twilight and all the great things it brought to my life. And that it sounds like the start of a fairytale story, Once Upon a Time but I changed it out for Twilight. Which also is that time between day and night when everything begins to wake up as far as nighttime creatures. And the tag line explains it also: "A book began the bond of a lifetime". Without me having had read Twilight, none of this would exist.

4. If you could go back in time and tell your newbie blogger self 1 thing what would it be? 

Hmmm, that a very hard question to answer. I think I would tell myself to learn coding. It such an important asset to know and I have yet to understand even a quarter of coding.

5. What have you learned in your 5 years of blogging? 

That you can bring lots of happy, joyful moments to people with such a simple gesture such as sharing your thoughts about a book or a movie. When you receive comments from people all around the globe thanking you for whatever gesture they loved, it makes all the hard work worth it a million times. I've also learn so much behind the scenes of what it takes to get a book on a shelf and a film on the big screen. Seriously its been an amazing 5 years and I hope I keep learning new exciting things for another 5.

6. What was the first ARC or book you ever received from a publisher? 

First book I received which was also the first book I did a giveaway for was Shadow of the Sun written by Laura Kreitzer. I was so thankful that Laura trusted in me to read, review and share my thoughts and then to provide this newbie blogger a copy of her book signed for a follower to win for themselves. Ill never forget how she help me get my feet settled and learn at this thing called book blogging. I'm happy to report that after that Laura and I met and have maintain friends and most important we share the same love for Sharpei's (we both own these adorable wrinkly dogs).   

Here are books written by Laura that I would recommend:

   

  

You can visit Laura Kreitzer at http://laurakreitzer.com.

7. When you’re not reading or blogging, what can we find you doing?
This one is easy. As I mention before that I now am a Roller Derby player. I began a beginner's session back in May. And 6 weeks later, I was doing things I never imagined I could on skates. And now 6 months later, I am on the East County Chaos Roller Derby team and I also practice with team members from Houston Roller Derby teams. So if my boys don't have something you can find me on skates. Besides books now, this is my new found calling. I can't explain how much I love doing roller derby and how much it has changed me. Its like I was always meant to play this sport. You should try it (even if you don't know how to skate, they teach you all that like they did me).

(Pictured here is the East County Chaos Roller Derby Team)

(I'm in the pink helmet)

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The Fives: (and yes, you can ONLY have 5! *muwhahahah*)
Five Favorite Books
Yara: Twilight by Stephenie Meyer | After by Anna Todd | Taking Chances by Molly McAdams  | Divergent by Veronica Roth | Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi | Lover at Last by J. R. Ward (hardest list to create, I'm sure if you ask me again tomorrow the books might vary)
Leydy: A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks | Making Faces by Amy Harmon | Twilight by Stephenie Meyer | Hopeless by Colleen Hoover | Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Shannon: Twilight - Stephenie Meyer | Hopeless - Colleen Hoover | Making Faces - Amy Harmon | The Infernal Devices - Cassandra Clare | The Fiery Heart - Richelle Mead
Bianca S.: The Giver by Lois Lowry | Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins | Obsidian by Jennifer Armentrout | Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick | The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Bri: The Great Gatsby | Looking For Alaska | Nameless | Hush, Hush series | After series

Five Favorite Book Boyfriends
Yara: Zsadist (Lover Awakened) | Chase (Taking Chances) | Remington "Riptide" Tate (Real) | Christian Grey (Fifty Shades of Grey) | Hardin Scott (After)
Leydy: Edward Cullen | Adrian Ivashkov | Deamon Black | Dean Holder | Matthias (Six of Crows)
Shannon: Adrian Ivashkov | Edward Cullen | Daemon Black | Dean Holder | William Herondale
Bianca S.: Peeta Mellark (The Hunger Games series) | Daemon Black (The Lux series) | Patch (Hush, Hush series) | Thomas (The Maze Runner series because Dylan O'Bae) | Cassian (The Firelight series by Sophie Jordan)
Bri: Patch (Hush, Hush Series) | Daemon Black (Lux Series) | Hardin Scott (After Series) | Gryphon (Nameless) | Rafe (The Remnant Chronicles)

Five Favorite Book Quotes
Yara:

     1. “Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.” ― Dr. Seuss
     2. “I was dead until you found me, though I breathed. I was sightless, though I could see. And then you came...and I was awakened.” ―  J.R. Ward, Lover Awakened
     3. “I don't want to be yours. I want to be your f**king REAL. -REMY” ― Katy Evans, Real
     4. “I am a moth to his flame, and he never hesitates to burn me.” ― Anna Todd, After
     5. “And so the lion fell in love with the lamb…" he murmured. I looked away, hiding my eyes as I thrilled to the word.
        "What a stupid lamb," I sighed.
        "What a sick, masochistic lion.” ― Stephenie Meyer, Twilight

(this quote is on my bedroom wall)

Leydy: 

     1. “Love is like the wind, you can't see it but you can feel it.” - Nicholas Sparks, A Walk to Remember

     2. “I'm sorry she never got her miracle. She did get her miracle, Landon, her miracle was you.” - Nicholas Sparks, A Walk to Remember

     3. “If God made all our faces, did he laugh when he made me?

Does he make the legs that cannot walk and eyes that cannot see?

Does he curl the hair upon my head 'til it rebels in wild defiance?

Does he close the ears of a deaf man to make him more reliant?

Is the way I look a coincidence or just a twist of fate?

If he made me this way, is it okay, to blame him for the things I hate?

For the flaws that seem to worsen every time I see a mirror,For the ugliness I see in me, for the loathing and the fear.

Does he sculpt us for his pleasure, for a reason I can't see?

If God makes all our faces, did he laugh when he made me?” - Amy Harmon, Making Faces

     4. “I am nothing special, of this I am sure. I am a common man with common thoughts and I've led a common life. There are no monuments dedicated to me and my name will soon be forgotten, but I've loved another with all my heart and soul, and to me, this has always been enough..” - Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook

     5. “Before you, Bella, my life was like a moonless night. Very dark, but there were stars, points of light and reason. ...And then you shot across my sky like a meteor. Suddenly everything was on fire; there was brilliancy, there was beauty. When you were gone, when the meteor had fallen over the horizon, everything went black. Nothing had changed, but my eyes were blinded by the light. I couldn’t see the stars anymore. And there was no more reason, for anything.” - Stephenie Meyer, New Moon

Shannon:

1. “One must always be careful of books and what is inside them, for words have the power to change us.” - Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare 
2. “Words, I think, are such unpredictable creatures. No gun, no sword, no army or king will ever be more powerful than a sentence. Swords may cut and kill, but words will stab and stay, burying themselves in our bones to become corpses we carry into the future, all the time digging and failing to rip their skeletons from our flesh.” - Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi 
3. “Only the very weak-minded refuse to be influenced by literature and poetry.” - Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare 
4. "I love you. Today. Tonight. Tomorrow. Forever. If I were to live a thousand years, I would belong to you for all of them. If I were to live a thousand lives, I would want to make you mine in each one.” - The Retribution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin 
5. “A mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge.” - Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin

Bianca S:

1. "I don't have the strength to stay away from you anymore." -Edward Cullen, Twilight, Stephenie Meyer
2. "I'm in love with you, and I'm not in the business of denying myself the simple pleasure of saying true things. I'm in love with you, and I know that love is just a shout into the void, and that oblivion is inevitable, and that we're all doomed and that there will come a day when all our labor has been returned to dust, and I know the sun will swallow the only earth we'll ever have, and I am in love with you.” -Augustus Waters, The Fault In Our Stars, John Green
3. "'You love me. Real or not real?' I tell him, 'Real.'"- Peeta and Katniss, Mockingjay, Suzanne Collins
4. "Some infinities are bigger than other infinities." -Hazel Grace Lancaster, The Fault In Our Stars, John Green
5. “You don't get to choose if you get hurt in this world...but you do have some say in who hurts you. I like my choices.” - Augustus Waters, The Fault In Our Stars, John Green

Bri: 

1. "What good is a body if I can't have you?" - Patch (Hush, Hush Series)
2. "Always?" "Always." - Snape (Harry Potter Series)
3. "I saw the empty, sad girl smile for the sad boy who loves her with all of his broken soul." - Hardin (After Series)
4. "Okay?" "Okay." - Gus & Hazel (The Fault In Our Stars)
5. "I really want to kiss you, and you seem like the kind of girl that needs to be asked." - Nathan (Love And Other Theories) 

Five Blogging Tips For New Bloggers
Yara: Patience, hard work will pay off | Don't do it just for "free" books | Proofread everything | You don't have to say "YES" to everything | Use a calendar to stay organize
Shannon: Be honest. | Take notes or use sticky notes (I still need to use this tip) | Don't over request books. (Edelweiss and Netgalley can suck you in) | Have fun. | Always proofread reviews and posts.
Bianca S.: Blog what you love! your hobby, passion, inspiration etc. | Keep it genuine. People can relate to genuine and you'll grow a fantastic following! | Be consistent. | Stay organized. | HAVE FUN. Blogging is all about connecting with people who share your same interests. Don't stress too much about it, just have fun with it!
Bri: I've been doing this for a year, I'd still consider myself kind of new - but here's the top 5 things:
1. Don't be afraid! I know it's daunting but seriously, this is my favorite thing that I'm doing.
2. Have fun! If you're not having fun it'll be obvious in your reading and therefore it will be boring for your readers!
3. Be grateful! I am soooo thankful and blessed to have the team I have, they have all been amazing to me in ways I never expected. They are my extended family, and they have helped me with blogging, with getting the books I want to read, with helping me become a better blogger.
4. Don't be afraid to express your feelings. Let us know if you don't like something. I don't want to see someone giving 5 star ratings every time they pick up a book/movie. I know there are flops out there, warn me before I go to read them!
5. Whether you have 1 follower or 1 million, your blog is worth it. Don't give up, you may only ever get 20 followers but if it's something you love doing, do it!

Five Blogs (Sites) You Want The World To Know About
Yara: ReadingTeen.net | A Leisure Moment | Ursula Uriarte | Me, My Shelf And I | Fangirlish
Leydy: ReadingTeen.net | mundiemoms.blogspot.com | Geekgirlbrunch.com | Fangirlish.com | Professionalfangirls.com
Shannon: Mundie Moms | Reading Teen | Me, My Shelf and I | Buzzed | Once Upon a Twilight ;)
Bri: Cinephile Weekly (cinephileweekly.tumblr.com) | One direction (onedirectionmusic.com) | Buzzfeed (buzzfeed.com)
Bianca S.:

-For my moms out there: http://www.modedemommy.com! She's a mom of 6 who keeps it REAL! (Lifestyle blog) also for non-moms who like makeup. She rocks at makeup.
-Shameless self-promo: www.xobiancaramsey.com! You guessed it, it's mine. Apart from being engrossed in the book/movie/fangirl world I'm a portrait (fashion) photographer. Check out my blog for some art and fashion and such…
-Does Buzzfeed count? I'm obsessed. LOL
-For ALL the gifs: http://whatshouldwecallme.tumblr.com! I can stay on here for hours…
-For foodies: http://www.thugkitchen.com

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Hope you liked everything we shared. Don't forget to visit all the other sites to and check out how they are celebrating their 5 years. And before you go, we have just one more thing to share (I know, this post is extremely long already but this will be worth it). It's GIVEAWAY TIME!!!

We are thrilled to be able to give this away to one of our readers that we know have been a long time fan of this site. An OUaT correspondents attended NYCC and picked up some pretty neat items at a certain panel. I think many of you are aware of the new TV series coming soon, its based off a popular series of books you may know.

ABC Family's SHADOWHUNTERS!!!

This giveaway is only for residents of the US/CA due to the size of the package (sorry to our international readers). You get everything you see pictured above: huge poster, bag, lanyard, plastic case, pin, book sample. Just enter below and as always we follow our giveaway policy guidelines. 

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Book Tour: November 9 by Colleen Hoover Interview, Review & Giveaway

Beyond thrilled to be a part of the November 9 blog tour for CoHo's latest novel. 

OUaT has an exclusive interview with Colleen Hoover, plus review and let's not forget a giveaway. 

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November 9
Author: Colleen Hoover
Reading Level: New Adult
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: November 10th 2015
Publisher: Atria Books
 

Beloved #1 New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover returns with an unforgettable love story between a writer and his unexpected muse.

Fallon meets Ben, an aspiring novelist, the day before her scheduled cross-country move. Their untimely attraction leads them to spend Fallon’s last day in L.A. together, and her eventful life becomes the creative inspiration Ben has always sought for his novel. Over time and amidst the various relationships and tribulations of their own separate lives, they continue to meet on the same date every year. Until one day Fallon becomes unsure if Ben has been telling her the truth or fabricating a perfect reality for the sake of the ultimate plot twist.

Can Ben’s relationship with Fallon—and simultaneously his novel—be considered a love story if it ends in heartbreak?

It's Colleen Hoover, did you expect anything less than a 5 star rating. November 9 blew me out of the water, what a brilliant storyline Hoover wrote inside the pages of this book. I have never read a book that even comes close to the idea and I've read many books throughout the years.

This book deserves a:

And we just need to:

Those GIFs pretty much sum up what I feel about November 9. What a fantastic read, I can sit here all day talking about it and actually I pretty much have with some people already. I have shared my love for November 9 at the ballpark, at the grocery store or even at roller derby practice. If you read, then November 9 should be on your To Be Read list.

I will not give anymore detail away. You can catch a more in depth glimpse at November 9 in my Q&A with Hoover. You will love every single answer she had to all my questions. Seriously CoHo for President!

Visit www.November9.com for teasers, tour dates and more.

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Colleen Hoover is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Slammed, This Girl, Point of Retreat, Hopeless, Losing Hope, Finding Cinderella, Maybe Someday, Ugly Love, Maybe Not, and Confess. She lives in Texas with her husband and their three boys.

Here is my Q&A with Colleen Hoover, enjoy!!!

OUaT: The most obvious question, why November 9? Why that specific date?
I knew I wanted to write a book with the date as the title. I went through several in my head, looked at me schedule and figured Fall would be the best time to release and then decided on November 9 because I think it has a ring to it. I wish I had a better answer, but it really was just a random date. However, I had no idea until I was almost finished with the book that the poet I quoted a lot (Dylan Thomas) died on November 9th. So maybe it was fate!

OUaT: After I read November 9, I sat quietly trying to remember what I could have done the year before on the exact date…. you can say I had no luck. How hard was it to write the future November 9 scenarios?
The thing that’s so different about this book from the others I’ve written is that we follow the characters through several years of their lives. And we only see them on one day each year. My main concern was that readers wouldn’t buy into their connection every year without seeing more of their personalities outside of each other. It was difficult to write a believable connection when overall, the characters spend so little time together. But I’m very happy with the outcome. It was definitely difficult but I think I accomplished it.

OUaT: Besides celebrating the 1 year anniversary of November 9 in 2016, where and what do you see yourself having accomplished by that date? And what about November 9 in 10 years?
You know, I’ve never set a lot of goals for myself. Finish college and be happy were pretty much the two things I set out to do with my life. With everything that’s happened in the last four years, I feel like the rest of my life is just icing on the cake. So next year and even ten years from now, the only thing I hope to have accomplished is that my three boys are happy with their own lives. My children are by far my greatest accomplishment. They respect others, they’re nice, they’re grateful. I’d take that over a bestseller any day. J

OUaT: If you put yourself in Fallon's shoes, do you believe you would have had the same outcome as Fallon?
I do, honestly. I can’t say too much without giving away the plot, but I supported and agreed with her final decision. There have been a lot of times in previous books that I didn’t necessarily agree with the personal decision of a character, but that’s one of my favorite things about writing. I have a little control over the story, but ultimately the characters become their own people—people I disagree with and get irritated with. It’s insane.

OUaT: Every one of us here at Once Upon a Twilight have one simple question for you, do you enjoy making us and your readers cry (could be happy or sad tears)?
Sadly, I do. I’m not a crier, nor am I an emotional person. But for some reason, my ultimate goal is to make people experience a range of emotions when they read my book. I want them to be happy, funny, sad and devastating. When a reader says they didn’t cry, a little piece of my soul gets a wrinkle in it because I feel like I failed.

OUaT: Is there anything now that the book is about to be released that you wished you would have taken out or put in, or something along those lines?
I’m a huge fan of X Ambassadors, the band. I listened to their song UNSTEADY on repeat while reading the book. I was working with them to get their lyrics put in the book. They agreed and were super nice about it, but silly me waited until the last minute to ask, so the paperwork couldn’t be finalized by final printing. I was sad about that, but I found a spot to give them a shoutout in one of the scenes, so that was good.

Oh, another creepy coincidence about this: After I finished writing the book I wanted to take my oldest son to see X Ambassadors for his birthday. The only time the band is playing in Texas near us is…you guessed it…November 9th.

Coincidence? Or fate?

OUaT: Your books have been published in several languages and sold to different countries, is there a country that has yet to buy the rights, that you would love your books to reach?
I wish I knew the answer to this. I’m a very disorganized person so I have no ideas which countries I’ve sold to and which ones I haven’t. It’s like Christmas when I get a package in the mail from a foreign publisher.

OUaT: Changing the tune a little now, can you tell us how The Bookworm Box is doing and the latest information you might want to share with your readers? new sign ups?
It’s doing fabulous! We’re almost at $200,000 donated since our startup in March. We also have a signing manager now who is starting to set up signings at the store for 2016, so authors should contact her at Brenda@thebookwormbox.com if they are interested.

OUaT: You recently shared you were having a tough time with writer's block, how are you doing with that (p.s. I LOVED the story you shared in that post)?
I haven’t dealt with it. I went to a hotel earlier this week. Checked in on Monday and got the room until Thursday, but I ended up leaving Tuesday morning because I hadn’t written a single thing. But I’m not stressing about it. I think it’s my mind and bodies way of telling me to slow down and take a much-needed break. If I learned anything in 2015, it’s that I need to slow down and enjoy this a little more. I keep worrying that if I take a break or even one day off, it’ll all end. I’m learning that I’m allowed to watch a little TV every now and then without feeling guilty. I decided to take it easy and focus on this release and the upcoming tour and worry about writing when I get home.

OUaT: What is your favorite discovery as of late?
I think I just answered this in the above question. That I realized it’s okay to slow down and take a day off.

OUaT: What's a super random factoid about you?
I grew up on a dairy farm and milked cows every weekend. That may not be random enough.

OUaT: If a reader loves to listen to music while they read, which song(s) would you recommend to play while they read November 9?
Every song ever written by X Ambassadors. Starting with UNSTEADY and LITOST.

"November 9 is yet another breathtaking novel by Colleen Hoover that's full of blushing, gushing, and heartache. I loved every page and breathed in every beautiful word."

—Anna Todd, Author of the After series

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I hope you all enjoyed Hoover's Q&A, I know I did. To celebrate the release of November 9, Atria books is gifting one of our readers a finished copy. So all you have to do is enter below in the Rafflecopter (giveaway is not international, only US and CA).

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