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Monday, March 19, 2012

Author Guest Post + {GIVEAWAY!}: Elle Casey


Wrecked by Elle Casey
Pages: 297
Genre: YA Contemporary
Buy It: Amazon | Barnes and Noble

If you liked The Breakfast Club and The Swiss Family Robinson, you'll love WRECKED!

An ill-fated Caribbean cruise and four teenagers: a nerd, a jock, a mouse, and a beauty queen…an island, a treehouse, some nefarious interlopers…life and death…fear and loathing…love and laughter.

Follow Jonathan, Kevin, Candi and Sarah as they find their typical high school lives and their worlds totally WRECKED.

Why I Write Novels For Teen Readers
by Elle Casey

I just love teen readers! Why? – you might ask. Well, for one thing, they tend to get really connected and attached to the characters and the plots. They put themselves into the story. When you’re a writer, the greatest compliment readers can give you is that they care about your characters, that your characters have become real people for them. I think younger readers are more open to this whole concept. They’re sensitive to and aware of the emotions of the characters on a very personal level. They can relate with the things the characters are going through. Adults have a harder time with that in general, so it’s harder to connect with the adult reader in that way. So for me, there’s a deeper connection with the teen reader than the adult reader.

Teen readers invest a lot of themselves in YA novels. They spend time in between chapters thinking about the book, wondering what life would be like if they were the main character. If it’s a really good book, they keep the love for the story in their hearts forever. It may fade over time, but it never completely goes away if they’ve made that special connection with the author’s work. I still carry bits of Judy Blume stories around with me, and I was also a big fantasy nut, so loved Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman and Tolkien of course. I’m still pretty sure there are dragons somewhere hidden on this planet, thanks to their great storytelling, and that makes me happy. Just knowing – possibly, maybe – fantastic things like that are here, and maybe someday I might discover them... ah, yes. A great book is truly priceless. It delivers us from the mundane, over and over again.

Teens have it so hard sometimes. They struggle. They need other worlds to escape to. Books did that for me when my parents were going through a bad divorce or when I had boyfriend problems or girlfriend drama. They opened my eyes to different kinds of people, exotic places, fantasies of things that could be or might be out there. They inspired me to go places, try different things, to not just dream but to do. They also showed me that everything I was going through was normal; there were others out there like me, so I wasn’t alone. Authors of YA novels did that for me; I’d like to do that for teens too with my stories.

Teens are fun to write for, but they make me work! And that’s a good thing...no, a great thing. They’re demanding readers. They want authenticity. They want reality, even in a fantasy world. They don’t let you hold back as an author. The YA readers of today have some fantastic stories to choose from, so YA authors really have to work hard to make them happy. It’s a great challenge to be pushed like this and oh so satisfying when you can make it happen.

Last but not least, teen readers are just the best fans – loyal to the core! They tweet, they use Facebook, many of them blog. I just love how they can share the news about something they like with just the click of a few buttons. It’s an exciting time for independent authors these days. Teen readers can work like big publishers in a way. They can decide who will be a well-known author and who won’t. They are a huge market, and if they like a story, they can really impact the success of it by just talking with their friends. As a teen I could never have done that. I had to read what publishers decided I could read. There was no such thing as an independent author. It’s kind of sad to think how many books I might have liked, but was never given the opportunity to read. Today it’s a different world. Today, teens have power over what’s available and what gets seen and purchased. That’s as it should be! Give the people what they want, right?

I may write a novel for adults some day, but for now, my heart is with the young adults. I hope like heck I can make them happy! My debut novel is WRECKED which is Young Adult action/adventure about four teens who get stuck on a deserted island together. My second novel, coming out in the first two weeks of February is the first book in a 4-book series called WAR OF THE FAE. Book One is THE CHANGELINGS. You can read more about both of these books on my website www.ElleCasey.com.

Thanks ever so much to What’s Your Story for inviting me to post today. It was a great honor. Happy reading to all of your fans!

GIVEAWAY

Rules & Guidelines:
  • Open INTERNATIONAL!
  • Must be 13 or older to enter.
  • Winner will be chosen at random and emailed, and will have 48 hours to reply back, or a new winner will be chosen.


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5 comments:

  1. i have always loved reading books and YA is one of my favorite genre. im a hopeless romantic and young adult love gives me hope that someday my love story will be as happy as the ones i read in books :)

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  2. Thank you for taking the time to do this giveaway :) I love reading YA books because they are easy to get into and have great story lines/characters. Now don't get me wrong...I enjoy an adult book every now and then, but do tend to gravitate towards YA :)

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  3. Thanks Ash, for including me in your grand event!

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  4. I read YA because there's an unending sea of YA books to choose from. I always find something new and unique that I can relate to.

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  5. I read YA books because they're often emotional, filled with suspense and romance, have creative characters and story-lines and are a great and easy escape from reality. Go YA books!!! :)
    Rachel C.

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Thank you so much for stopping by my blog. I love hearing from you! Please, feel free to comment to your heart's content. :)

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