Hey bookworms, Welcome back to MYABL! Today, I am happy to reveal the cover of a upcoming YA read, Spark by author Holly Schindler! Check it out! All of the juicy details about this novel, as well as the author, are posted below. Keep reading for more. SPARK comes out next year (May 2016)! Make sure you add it to your Goodreads if you'd like to read it. Links for Goodreads and pre-orders are at the end of this post. I'm excited because it has the most amazing elements of Romeo and Juliet wound into it's blurb. Description: Holly Schindler’s Spark: When the right hearts come to the Avery Theater—at the right time—the magic will return. The Avery will come back from the dead. Or so Quin’s great-grandmother predicted many years ago on Verona, Missouri’s most tragic night, when Nick and Emma, two star-crossed teenage lovers, died on the stage. It was the night that the Avery’s marquee lights went out forever. It sounds like urban legend, but one that high school senior Quin is ...
Hey hey, everyone! Today is August 13th, which means... the Euterpe YA Event is now up and hopping!
For this week (August 13th- August 17th), we will be hosting the awesome YA authors of Euterpe! So hop along for awesome interviews, guest posts, and character interviews from some cool authors! Oh, and don't forget the awesome prizes!
For this week (August 13th- August 17th), we will be hosting the awesome YA authors of Euterpe! So hop along for awesome interviews, guest posts, and character interviews from some cool authors! Oh, and don't forget the awesome prizes!
First up on the MYABL week of Euterpe is Linda Benson, author of several MG & YA novels (depicted below)! Keep reading for my chat with Linda!
Mera: Welcome to Mera’s YA Book List Linda! We are excited to have you.
You are the author of several books for both the middle grade and young adult genres. What compelled you to write in these genres instead of adult?
You are the author of several books for both the middle grade and young adult genres. What compelled you to write in these genres instead of adult?
Linda: Thanks for asking, Mera, and I’m happy to be here. Usually I start a novel with a character who is speaking to me, and these characters are usually teens who feel like they are struggling to have their voices heard. Maybe there is some part of me that’s still trapped in that time period, wishing I did things differently.
Mera: Have you always wanted to be a writer or did the art find its way to you?
Mera: Have you always wanted to be a writer or did the art find its way to you?
Linda: I wanted to be an author ever since I learned to love books and reading, at a very early age. But I did lots of other things first: started and ran several small businesses, raised a wonderful daughter, and had lots of adventures, including riding my horse in the Tevis Cup, a 100 mile/one day endurance ride, and swimming across the Columbia River. All these things gave me lots of background to use when I finally did start to write, though.
Mera: Wow! That's amazing. You are an avid animal lover. Just by looking at many of your book titles, I’m sure this would be no surprise to your readers. If you could be any animal in the world, which would you choose and why?
Linda: Oh, these are great questions, Mera! I’ve always wanted to fly like a bird, to be able to soar and glide and look down from above. Wouldn’t that be fun? But truthfully, I’d have to say I wouldn’t mind being a spoiled house cat, like one of ours. A soft place to sleep? Meow. Special food? Meow. Go out? Meow. Come in again? Meow. What a life!
Mera: Hahaha! I think I'll agree with the cat option! That'd be quite the life! Throughout your life you’ve had many jobs. Can you tell us a little about them all? Which has been the most rewarding to you?
Linda: Ha, I could write a book just about that. LOL. From working at an Orange Julius stand to chopping and feeding raw meat to lions at a zoo. Grooming horses at a race track, to selling houses as a realtor. I owned a saddle shop for many years, and loved helping people find the right tack for their horses. I also owned a native plant nursery, and found it very rewarding to grow and teach about native plants. But a very small-paying job at an elementary school, where I was placed in charge of the school’s library was probably one of my most rewarding. It rekindled my love of reading and books. I adored helping young people find good literature to read, and I’m sure that started me down the path toward writing for them.
Mera: Hahaha! I think I'll agree with the cat option! That'd be quite the life! Throughout your life you’ve had many jobs. Can you tell us a little about them all? Which has been the most rewarding to you?
Linda: Ha, I could write a book just about that. LOL. From working at an Orange Julius stand to chopping and feeding raw meat to lions at a zoo. Grooming horses at a race track, to selling houses as a realtor. I owned a saddle shop for many years, and loved helping people find the right tack for their horses. I also owned a native plant nursery, and found it very rewarding to grow and teach about native plants. But a very small-paying job at an elementary school, where I was placed in charge of the school’s library was probably one of my most rewarding. It rekindled my love of reading and books. I adored helping young people find good literature to read, and I’m sure that started me down the path toward writing for them.
Mera: I'd love a job like that! Serious question and one I ask often: Coffee, tea, or juice?
Linda: Coffee. Lots.
Mera: You have a new book releasing in September. Can you tell us a bit about it?
Linda: Walking the Dog is due to release September 2012 from Musa Publishing as an ebook. Although the characters in this story are a little younger than my most recent novels, the themes are not. And yes, there are lots of dogs in this novel, as well as one independent orange cat. But the plot revolves around the friendship between a boy and a girl, who are faced with some rather adult problems.
Jared is smitten when his teacher seats the new girl, Sophie, right next to him. Even with the scar running up the side of her face, Jared thinks she’s the most beautiful girl in the entire fifth grade. But why did she transfer here so late in the year? Rumors say something bad happened to her.
Jared and Sophie become friends while walking the guidance counselor’s new therapy dog, but when his parents object to this arrangement, Jared fabricates a series of elaborate lies to meet Sophie on the sly. But little brothers can be pests. First Petey lets the orange cat loose at the animal shelter where Jared and Sophie have been secretly walking the dogs. Then Petey turns up missing.
Mera:Thanks for sharing this description of your book with us! It sounds fantastic. Besides writing, what is your favorite thing to do?
Linda: I love to read, I love to hike, and I love to play with my animals.
Mera: If you had to choose – music or television?
Linda: Music. Although I have been known to watch plenty of silly reality TV shows – mostly about music ;-)
Mera: I'm guilty as well! If you could choose your last read, much like prisoners on death row choose their last supper, which book would you want to read?
Mera: I'm guilty as well! If you could choose your last read, much like prisoners on death row choose their last supper, which book would you want to read?
Linda: A book of inspirational poetry, with words to savor on my tongue like fine wine.
Mera: Wow! Great answer. I love poetry myself, though I am a bit biased in the category! Thanks so much for joining us Linda! Is there anything else you’d like my Listers to know about you or your books?
Linda: Thanks so much for having me, Mera! I’ve been told that my novels are all different. I like to push myself as a writer, and try out new things. Although I usually write realistic fiction, The Girl Who Remembered Horses is a post-apocalyptic horse story set in the future, and garnering great reviews. Six Degrees of Lost, my most recent novel with Musa, is told in alternating first-person viewpoints. I write character-driven fiction, so if you enjoy great characters and/or stories with animals, you might check them out!
Mera: That was fun, but all good things must come to an end, much like fantastic books! Check out Linda and her books by checking out her links below, and thanks for joining us on Mera's YA Book List!
Make sure to like and/ or follow us! You won't regret it!
Make sure to like and/ or follow us! You won't regret it!
Linda Benson has written several young adult and middle grade books, including The Girl Who Remembered Horses, Finding Chance, The Horse Jar, and Six Degrees of Lost. Her passion for nature and animals often finds its way into her writing. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and a variety of animals, and is hard at work on her next book.
Watch for a new novel in Sept. 2012 from Musa Publishing called Walking the Dog.
To find out more -
Visit her website: http://www.lindabenson.net
Her blog: http://www.lindabenson.blogspot.com
Find her on Facebook: http://facebook.com/LindaBensonAuthor
On Twitter: https://twitter.com/LinBenson
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