What's your writing routine like? Gabe (@Ava_Jae) shares their general go-to writing preferences, from location, to word count goals, to programs and more. (Click to tweet)
How do you balance writing & life? Or avoid procrastination? Gabe (@Ava_Jae) answered these questions and more in today's AMA answers! (Click to tweet)
Have writing, publishing, or book questions? Gabe (@Ava_Jae) is taking them on their channel! (Click to tweet)
Can books really be scary? Join the discussion on Gabe's (@Ava_Jae) channel. (Click to tweet)
Gabe (@Ava_Jae) gets honest about writing and the realities of burn out. (Click to tweet)
Gabe (@Ava_Jae) talks about their very first manuscript, why it's staying trunked forever, and what they learned from it. (Click to tweet)
What do you do if you get stuck in the middle of your WIP and you don't like to plot? Gabe (@Ava_Jae) shares one strategy to get out of a rut. (Click to tweet)
Want to dabble with third person but have only ever written in first? Gabe (@Ava_Jae) shares some tips on trying out the new perspective. (Click to tweet)
THE RISING GOLD is almost here and you can get signed bookplates and bookmarks for pre-ordering! (Click to tweet)
Does "show don't tell" *really* mean you can never tell? Gabe (@Ava_Jae) breaks down what this common advice means about telling in your writing. (Click to tweet)
What do you do when life gets in the way of your writing? Gabe (@Ava_Jae) talks maintaining realistic expectations and adjusting your goals. (Click to tweet)
What is the implicit promise and how can you implement it? Gabe (@Ava_Jae) breaks down this great opening enhancer YA examples. (Click to tweet)
How long does publishing take? Gabe (@Ava_Jae) talks the timeline for their debut & what you can expect, if anything, in terms of a publication timeline. (Click to tweet)
What if you're average at writing? How do you respond to an agent request? Gabe (@Ava_Jae) answers these writing questions and more in today's vlog. (Click to tweet)
Have a writing, publishing, or book-related question? Gabe (@Ava_Jae) is taking questions to answer on their channel! (Click to tweet)
What are some ways to be a good critique partner? @Ava_Jae breaks it down in today's vlog. (Click to tweet)
How do you know when you're ready to write your book? @Ava_Jae talks brainstorming & plotting a new WIP idea in today's vlog. (Click to tweet)
It's Pride month! Want to support queer books written by queer authors? @Ava_Jae shares some great options. (Click to tweet)
Curious about what it's like to work with an editor in traditional publishing or freelance circles? @Ava_Jae breaks it down. (Click to tweet)
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| Photo credit: mind on fire on Flickr |
In today's vlog, @Ava_Jae answers whether or not they felt ready to tackle a trilogy with their debut. (Click to tweet)
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| Photo credit: gary.hge on Flickr |
After 6 homes, 2 dorms, & 3 states @Ava_Jae considers what feels like home to them—& how to use that question to develop characters. (Click to tweet)
How do you keep track of your ideas? @Ava_Jae shares their strategy in today's vlog. (Click to tweet)
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| Photo credit: Marcelo Campi Amateur photographer on Flickr |
What are your writing/reading plans for the summer? Join the discussion on @Ava_Jae's blog. (Click to tweet)
Struggling to find the motivation to finish your WIP? @Ava_Jae shares some thinking that helps them reach The End. (Click to tweet)
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| Photo credit: freestocks.org on Flickr |
How do you deal with writing struggles? @Ava_Jae talks about their own struggles—and how they never really go away. (Click to tweet)
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| Photo credit: malias on Flickr |
Do you ever struggle to squeeze reading into your schedule? Join the discussion on @Ava_Jae's blog. (Click to tweet)
How do you come up with titles? What are signs your writing is close to publishable? @Ava_Jae answers these writing Qs & more in today's vlog. (Click to tweet)
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| Photo credit: freestocks.org on Flickr |
Not sure where to start with revisions? @Ava_Jae suggests planning with flashcards. (Click to tweet)
Have a writing or publishing question? Author & freelance editor @Ava_Jae is taking questions to answer in AMA-style vlogs! (Click to tweet)
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| Photo credit: https://toolstotal.com/ |
How do you tackle large-scale revisions? @Ava_Jae shares their isolation method to avoid overwhelm. (Click to tweet)
Want more books to add to your TBR? Of course you do! Check out @Ava_Jae's vlog on 5 books they're psyched to read. (Click to tweet)
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| Photo credit: ImAges ImprObables on Flickr |
How do you deal with writerly disappointments? Join the discussion on @Ava_Jae's blog. (Click to tweet)
What is binge writing? And how does @Ava_Jae use it to fit book stuff into their packed schedule? #vlog (Click to tweet)
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| Photo credit: Kamil Porembiński on Flickr |
Has writing taught you anything about yourself? @Ava_Jae opens up about how their writing helped them discover their trans masculinity. (Click to tweet)
Have you seen the cover for @Ava_Jae's third novel, THE RISING GOLD? (Click to tweet)
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| Photo credit: Ram Balmur on Flickr |
Whose story is this novel?
How many POVs are too many? And how can you tell? @Ava_Jae breaks down this common WIP problem. (Click to tweet)
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| Photo credit: Clever Cupcakes on Flickr |
Do you need to take writing classes to get published? Are they even helpful? @Ava_Jae shares their experience w/ creative writing in academia. (Click to tweet)
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| Photo credit: Alex Abian on Flickr |
How do you juggle multiple, major responsibilities while still meeting your deadlines? @Ava_Jae shares their experience. (Click to tweet)
Writing a synopsis before the first draft is a thing? @Ava_Jae vlogs about the plotting tool they never expected to like. (Click to tweet)
What programs do you use to revise? Join the discussion on @Ava_Jae's blog. (Click to tweet)
How do you write a YA kiss scene that's memorable for all the right reasons? @Ava_Jae shares their tips. (Click to tweet)
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| Photo credit: permanently scatterbrained on Flickr |
Curious about what getting a kidlit-focused MFA is like? @Ava_Jae shares their experience so far. (Click to tweet)
What's it like to go on submission? @Ava_Jae talks about the last step before getting a book deal. (Click to tweet)
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| Photo credit: Happy Krissy on Flickr |
What is it like getting your book cover when you're traditionally published? @Ava_Jae breaks down their experience + what to expect. (Click to tweet)
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| Photo credit: jvleis on Flickr |
What are your writing weaknesses? Join the discussion on @Ava_Jae's blog. (Click to tweet)
What is a passive protagonist and why is that a problem? @Ava_Jae breaks down this common character issue in today's vlog. (Click to tweet)
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| Photo credit: Goodreads |
"A searing #OwnVoices coming-of-age debut in which an Indian-American Muslim teen confronts Islamophobia and a reality she can neither explain nor escape--perfect for fans of Angie Thomas, Jacqueline Woodson, and Adam Silvera.
American-born seventeen-year-old Maya Aziz is torn between worlds. There’s the proper one her parents expect for their good Indian daughter: attending a college close to their suburban Chicago home, and being paired off with an older Muslim boy her mom deems “suitable.” And then there is the world of her dreams: going to film school and living in New York City—and maybe (just maybe) pursuing a boy she’s known from afar since grade school, a boy who’s finally falling into her orbit at school.
There’s also the real world, beyond Maya’s control. In the aftermath of a horrific crime perpetrated hundreds of miles away, her life is turned upside down. The community she’s known since birth becomes unrecognizable; neighbors and classmates alike are consumed with fear, bigotry, and hatred. Ultimately, Maya must find the strength within to determine where she truly belongs."
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| Photo credit: Goodreads |
"Camellia Beauregard is a Belle. In the opulent world of Orléans, Belles are revered, for they control Beauty, and Beauty is a commodity coveted above all else. In Orléans, the people are born gray, they are born damned, and only with the help of a Belle and her talents can they transform and be made beautiful.
But it’s not enough for Camellia to be just a Belle. She wants to be the favorite—the Belle chosen by the Queen of Orléans to live in the royal palace, to tend to the royal family and their court, to be recognized as the most talented Belle in the land. But once Camellia and her Belle sisters arrive at court, it becomes clear that being the favorite is not everything she always dreamed it would be. Behind the gilded palace walls live dark secrets, and Camellia soon learns that the very essence of her existence is a lie—that her powers are far greater, and could be more dangerous, than she ever imagined. And when the queen asks Camellia to risk her own life and help the ailing princess by using Belle powers in unintended ways, Camellia now faces an impossible decision.
With the future of Orléans and its people at stake, Camellia must decide—save herself and her sisters and the way of the Belles—or resuscitate the princess, risk her own life, and change the ways of her world forever."
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| Photo credit: Goodreads |
"Sixteen-year-old Elena Mendoza is the product of a virgin birth.
This can be scientifically explained (it’s called parthenogenesis), but what can’t be explained is how Elena is able to heal Freddie, the girl she’s had a crush on for years, from a gunshot wound in a Starbucks parking lot. Or why the boy who shot Freddie, David Combs, disappeared from the same parking lot minutes later after getting sucked up into the clouds. What also can’t be explained are the talking girl on the front of a tampon box, or the reasons that David Combs shot Freddie in the first place.
As more unbelievable things occur, and Elena continues to perform miracles, the only remaining explanation is the least logical of all—that the world is actually coming to an end, and Elena is possibly the only one who can do something about it."
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| Photo credit: Goodreads |
"Take a journey through time and genres and discover a past where queer figures live, love and shape the world around them. Seventeen of the best young adult authors across the queer spectrum have come together to create a collection of beautifully written diverse historical fiction for teens.
From a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood set in war-torn 1870s Mexico featuring a transgender soldier, to two girls falling in love while mourning the death of Kurt Cobain, forbidden love in a sixteenth-century Spanish convent or an asexual girl discovering her identity amid the 1970s roller-disco scene, All Out tells a diverse range of stories across cultures, time periods and identities, shedding light on an area of history often ignored or forgotten."
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| Photo credit: Goodreads |
"A timeless exploration of high-stakes romance, self-discovery, and the lengths we go to love and be loved.
Sixteen-year-old Zarin Wadia is many things: a bright and vivacious student, an orphan, a risk taker. She’s also the kind of girl that parents warn their kids to stay away from: a troublemaker whose many romances are the subject of endless gossip at school. You don't want to get involved with a girl like that, they say. So how is it that eighteen-year-old Porus Dumasia has only ever had eyes for her? And how did Zarin and Porus end up dead in a car together, crashed on the side of a highway in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia? When the religious police arrive on the scene, everything everyone thought they knew about Zarin is questioned. And as her story is pieced together, told through multiple perspectives, it becomes clear that she was far more than just a girl like that.
This beautifully written debut novel from Tanaz Bhathena reveals a rich and wonderful new world to readers. It tackles complicated issues of race, identity, class, and religion, and paints a portrait of teenage ambition, angst, and alienation that feels both inventive and universal."
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| Photo credit: Goodreads |
"Never cut the drugs—leave them pure.
Guns are meant to be shot—keep them loaded.
Family is everything—betray them and die.
Harley McKenna is the only child of North County's biggest criminal. Duke McKenna's run more guns, cooked more meth, and killed more men than anyone around. Harley's been working for him since she was sixteen--collecting debts, sweet-talking her way out of trouble, and dreading the day he'd deem her ready to rule the rural drug empire he's built.
Her time's run out. The Springfields, her family's biggest rivals, are moving in. Years ago, they were responsible for her mother's death, and now they're coming for Duke's only weak spot: his daughter.
With a bloody turf war threatening to consume North County, Harley is forced to confront the truth: that her father's violent world will destroy her. Duke's raised her to be deadly--he never counted on her being disloyal. But if Harley wants to survive and protect the people she loves, she's got to take out Duke's operation and the Springfields.
Blowing up meth labs is dangerous business, and getting caught will be the end of her, but Harley has one advantage: She is her father's daughter. And McKennas always win."
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| Photo credit: Goodreads |
"Jane McKeene was born two days before the dead began to walk the battlefields of Gettysburg and Chancellorsville—derailing the War Between the States and changing America forever. In this new nation, safety for all depends on the work of a few, and laws like the Native and Negro Reeducation Act require certain children attend combat schools to learn to put down the dead. But there are also opportunities—and Jane is studying to become an Attendant, trained in both weaponry and etiquette to protect the well-to-do. It’s a chance for a better life for Negro girls like Jane. After all, not even being the daughter of a wealthy white Southern woman could save her from society’s expectations.
But that’s not a life Jane wants. Almost finished with her education at Miss Preston’s School of Combat in Baltimore, Jane is set on returning to her Kentucky home and doesn’t pay much mind to the politics of the eastern cities, with their talk of returning America to the glory of its days before the dead rose. But when families around Baltimore County begin to go missing, Jane is caught in the middle of a conspiracy, one that finds her in a desperate fight for her life against some powerful enemies. And the restless dead, it would seem, are the least of her problems."
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| Photo credit: Goodreads |
"The first time the Nightmares came, it nearly cost Alice her life. Now she's trained to battle monstrous creatures in the dark dream realm known as Wonderland with magic weapons and hardcore fighting skills. Yet even warriors have a curfew.
Life in real-world Atlanta isn't always so simple, as Alice juggles an overprotective mom, a high-maintenance best friend, and a slipping GPA. Keeping the nightmares at bay is turning into a full-time job. But when Alice's handsome and mysterious mentor is poisoned, she has to find the antidote by venturing deeper into Wonderland than she’s ever gone before. And she'll need to use everything she's learned in both worlds to keep from losing her head . . . literally."
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| Photo credit: Goodreads |
"Farrar, Straus and Giroux has acquired The Boneless Mercies, a genderbent Beowulf re-imagining in which four mercenary girls chase glory and honor by battling a monster that's been terrorizing a nearby earldom. Publication is slated for Fall 2018."
"What If It’s Us opens as Arthur and Ben meet at the post office as Ben is shipping his ex-boyfriend’s things back to him. They subsequently endure the frustration of knowing there was a missed connection, before the universe pushes them back together again in a series of failed “first” dates."
What 2018 books are you excited about? Join the discussion on @Ava_Jae's blog. (Click to tweet)