Layla by Colleen Hoover ~ Q&A, Excerpt & Giveaway

 

Title: Layla

Author: Colleen Hoover

Release Date: December 8, 2020

Publisher: Montlake

Summary

When Leeds meets Layla, he’s convinced he’ll spend the rest of his life with her—until an unexpected attack leaves Layla fighting for her life. After weeks in the hospital, Layla recovers physically, but the emotional and mental scarring has altered the woman Leeds fell in love with. In order to put their relationship back on track, Leeds whisks Layla away to the bed-and-breakfast where they first met. Once they arrive, Layla’s behavior takes a bizarre turn. And that’s just one of many inexplicable occurrences.

Feeling distant from Layla, Leeds soon finds solace in Willow—another guest of the B&B with whom he forms a connection through their shared concerns. As his curiosity for Willow grows, his decision to help her find answers puts him in direct conflict with Layla’s well-being. Leeds soon realizes he has to make a choice because he can’t help both of them. But if he makes the wrong choice, it could be detrimental for all of them.

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Colleen Hoover is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of several novels, including the bestselling women’s fiction novel It Ends with Us and the bestselling psychological thriller Verity. She has won the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Romance three years in a row—for Confess (2015), It Ends with Us (2016), and Without Merit (2017). Confess was adapted into a seven-episode online series. In 2015, Hoover and her family founded the Bookworm Box, a bookstore and monthly subscription service that offers signed novels donated by authors. All profits go to various charities each month to help those in need. Hoover lives in Texas with her husband and their three boys.

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Q&A with Author Colleen Hoover

You have written in many different genres and always keep your fans wanting more. For Layla, you are dipping your toes into a paranormal story that has lots of secrets. How do you describe Layla without giving anything away? #spoilerfreezone 

What is supposed to be a short, romantic getaway for new couple Leeds and Layla turns into an extended vacation full of bizarre occurrences. But no matter how much Layla wants to leave, Leeds is more focused on finding answers for the unexplainable.

The paranormal elements in your story are faint...just a whisper...until they take over. What was it like adding another worldly twist to your writing for the first time?  

It was HARD. Super hard. I love using my imagination, but I also love realistic stories, so I found myself trying to pull back on things I didn’t feel were realistic. But then it got a lot easier when I decided to just make Leeds’s reactions sort of mirror what I would do or say in those early moments. I put a lot of my own thoughts in Leeds’s character. He finds it hard to explain some of the things that happen, so his reactions are probably what my reactions would be at first. Until there was no room left for doubt, anyway. Then his actions veer very far from what mine would have been.

Love-at-first-sight is such a mundane phrase for what these two share. Their passionate relationship seems to move in fast-forward. What is it about these characters that make their connection so instantaneous?  

I knew where the story was going to go, so I needed their meet-cute to be believable, fun, and I wanted them to be a couple readers would root for. I probably rewrote that first chapter dozens of times, but I focused mainly on their banter. Sometimes we meet people we instantly click with on so many different levels. Leeds and Layla clicked with their sarcasm, their humor, their taste in music. And she read him without even knowing him. To Leeds that was special. I think he felt seen in a world where he’s often overlooked. 

It becomes somewhat of an inside joke between your couple that, before Layla, Leeds’ always wore a look like he was “dying inside.” The truth is that he was deeply unhappy before meeting Layla. How does she change his life? 

Leeds is lonely and holding back on his dreams because of doubts. Leeds sees something different in Layla. She’s carefree, fun and gives him confidence to follow his dreams. In a sense, I think she’s his missing puzzle piece. She fills the parts of him that are empty.  

Before Leeds, Layla doesn’t have a real direction in her life. What does this romance provide to her and why is she so grateful to have found her hero? 

Layla is fresh out of college, living with her parents and unemployed. Leeds’s career gives her focus, and being with him in Tennessee got her out of a place where she probably felt useless and unproductive. 

Can readers expect more paranormal elements in your books moving forward?

I’ll never say never! 

***

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Kingdom of Sea and Stone by Mara Rutherford ~ Excerpt & Q/A

 

KINGDOM OF SEA AND STONE

By Mara Rutherford 

On Sale: October 6, 2020 

INKYARD PRESS 

Teen & Young Adult; Epic Fantasy; Siblings Fiction 

978-1335146519; 1335146512 

$18.99 USD 368 pages

About the Book

"A fabulous interweaving of fantasy, politics, and sisterhood – this unusual, tense tale will have you on the edge of your seat!" –#1 New York Times bestselling author Tamora Pierce on Crown of Coral and Pearl

The Cruel Prince meets Ash Princess in this thrilling fantasy, the much-anticipated sequel to Crown of Coral and Pearl.

Ever since Nor was forced to go to a nearby kingdom in her sister's place, she's wanted nothing more than to return to the place and people she loves. But when her wish comes true, she soon finds herself cast out from both worlds, with a war on the horizon.

As an old enemy resurfaces more powerful than ever, Nor will have to keep the kingdom from falling apart with the help of Prince Talin and Nor's twin sister, Zadie. There are forces within the world more mysterious than any of them ever guessed—and they'll need to stay alive long enough to conquer them...

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Excerpted from Kingdom of Sea and Stone by Mara Rutherford © 2020 by Mara Rutherford, used with permission by Inkyard Press.

 

 On the day Zadie and I turned thirteen, Father surprised us with a trip to the floating market—our first glimpse of the world beyond Varenia.

I spent the journey perched on the bow of our family’s boat, welcoming the cold ocean spray on my face and the wind in my tightly plaited hair. Zadie sat between Mother and Father, her knuckles white on the edge of the bench, her golden-brown eyes wide with anticipation.

As we approached, I eagerly took in the sight of the intricately carved wooden boats, with their colorful wares and raucous merchants. While Father traded our precious Varnian pearls for drinking water and food, Mother made Zadie and me sit next to each other near the front of the boat where everyone could see us. She had shown us off to every villager in Varenia a hundred times, but today an entirely new audience was at her disposal.

Men and women smiled at us as we floated past, likely because identical twins were a novelty.

“Lovely girls,” one of the merchants said, and I watched as Mother swelled with pride like a pufferfish.

She thanked him and urged us to do the same. But just as I started to speak, the man craned his neck to get a look at the right side of my face.

“Pity about the scar, though.”

I could feel Mother wilt behind me like a seaf lower left out in the sun.

Zadie, embarrassed, settled into the bottom of the boat where no one could stare at us, but I stayed where I was, watching as Father looked over a basket. I was used to these kinds of comments by now, but it felt as though Mother would never accept that one of her daughters was a damaged good, just like the basket Father handed back to the merchant, gesturing to a hole in the  bottom.

“Pssst.”

I turned to see a young man—the son of the trader, presumably—motioning for Zadie and me to come closer.

Zadie eyed him suspiciously. Mother had warned us that Ilarean boys were beneath our notice. We were the most beautiful women in the world, after all; that was why we were considered worthy of marrying royalty.

But with my scar, I wasn’t going to marry royalty, and I was curious to see what the boy wanted. I scooted to the edge of the boat. He looked like any boy in Varenia, though his clothing was finer and his hands were as smooth as Zadie’s.

He glanced around to make sure no one was watching, then handed me a small glass bottle. “For you,” he said.

I held it aloft for a better look. The contents were disappointing: sand, salt water, and a tiny yellow shell. All things I could find in Varenia, I thought glumly. But it was the only gift I’d ever received from a boy, and I politely thanked him.

 

When we returned home with our food and fresh  water, I placed the bottle on a shelf.

“What’s this?” Mother asked, immediately recognizing that there was a foreign object cluttering her kitchen.

“It’s a wandering crab,” Father replied, reaching into the bottle. For the first time, I noticed the tiny legs poking out from the shell. “They usually live closer to shore, but I’ve seen a few in my time. They find a discarded shell and make it their home, and when that one grows too small, they choose another, larger shell and move in.”

I held out my hand, fascinated. Father passed the crab to me and it scuttled across my palm, tickling my skin. “It carries its home on its back?”

“That’s right.” Father gently took the crab from me before it could plummet to the floor. “It has everything it needs, right here.”

I smiled, pleased with the idea of such an untethered, independent existence. “It can go anywhere it wants to.” I glanced around our little house, which already felt too small for my imagination, and sighed wistfully. “Lucky.”

“Nonsense.” Mother plucked the crab deftly from Father’s hand. Without ceremony, she f lung it over the balcony, where it immediately sank below the surface of the water.

She ignored my startled cry. “You have everything you need right here in Varenia. Do you think they’d actually accept you out there, with your…” She trailed off, gesturing vaguely to my cheek. “Now hurry up and help me. This food isn’t going to put itself away.”

For a moment I thought Father might protest, but he simply retreated to the boat. Zadie frowned sympathetically.

I watched the spot where the crab had disappeared, knowing it was probably well on its way to somewhere new. It was only a crab, yet already it had seen more of the world than I ever would. I wondered if that was why the young man had given it to me, more of a cruel joke than a gift.

“Lucky,” I whispered again, thinking not just of the crab but also the trader, his son, the ocean, and everything that had more freedom than a girl born in Varenia. Then I did as I was told.

 

 

About the author

Mara Rutherford began her writing career as a journalist but quickly discovered she far preferred fantasy to reality. Originally from California, Mara has since lived all over the world with her marine-turned-diplomat husband. A triplet born on Leap Day, Mara holds a master's degree in cultural studies from the University of London. When she's not writing or chasing after her two sons, she can usually be found pushing the boundaries of her comfort zone, whether at a traditional Russian banya or an Incan archaeological site. Mara is a former Pitch Wars mentee and three-time mentor

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Q&A with Mara Rutherford

Q: What was your favorite thing about revisiting the world you’ve built and continuing Nor’s story?

A: I loved having the opportunity to return to a world I first created in 2015, especially exploring new parts of it, like Galeth. Nor, of all the characters I’ve written, is one I particularly relate to, and I think the ways she grows in this book reflect some of the ways I have changed in the past five years.

 

Q: What are some of your favorite literary female relationships?

A: I have always loved literary sister relationships (probably because I have four sisters myself!). From reading Little Women when I was young, to reading and rereading one of my all-time favorite books, The Poisonwood Bible, I am always fascinated by how authors portray sisters. I’m just now finishing up the Three Dark Crowns series by Kendare Blake, and I really admire the dynamic relationships between all her female characters, not just the triplets.

 

Q: What inspires you to write every day?

A: First of all, let me be clear that I don’t write every day! I know this is really important for many writers, but for me, it’s just not possible (or necessary). Maybe because I never really feel burnt out by writing, I don’t need much to get inspired - just having time and mental space (particularly in 2020 when my kids have been home constantly) is the main hurdle for me. Escaping into words is something I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of. I particularly love drafting, when I get to create without worrying if what I’m writing is “good.”

 

Q: How do you like social media interactions with your fans?

A: I LOVE interacting with readers online! Instagram is by far my favorite platform, and I am always so excited when readers take the time to message me or comment on my photos. I am genuinely still amazed that people have a) read something I wrote b) like it and c) want to talk to me! My biggest fear is that I’ll let down the readers who loved Crown of Coral and Pearl. But I’m also learning that I can’t please everyone, so I hope the vast majority of you like Kingdom of Sea and Stone!

 

Q: How did you choose the title?

A: Originally, when I considered the possibility of a sequel, I was envisioning something like “Sisters of Sea and Sky.” But a lot of “Sisters of” books cropped up in that time, and my publisher also wanted to have a symbol on the cover that would match the crown from Book One. My good friends and critique partners Elly Blake and Nikki Roberti Miller helped me with tagline and title brainstorming. Nikki has a particular knack for it, and I give her credit for both for Book Two!

 

Q: What was your inspiration for writing this book?

A: I always envisioned this as a duology, so from the very beginning, I knew I wanted to continue Nor’s story. Once I finally got the go-ahead, I’d had plenty of time to think about where the story would go.

 

Q: Which character/s do you relate to the most?

A: I relate to Nor the most, particularly her desire to support and protect the people she loves while still being true to herself, although I also share Zadie’s sense of duty and a fear of being alone. All of my characters come from some part of my personality, though. Even Ceren!  

 

Q: What scene, in the book, are you most proud of?

A: This is a difficult question for me to answer! I can’t really think of a particular scene that stands out to me - so much of the book changed from draft one to the final draft. I think I’m mostly proud of writing a sequel. It’s a totally different experience from writing a standalone or a book one, especially under the circumstances I did it (not selling it until the first book was already going to print, switching editors twice, writing under a fairly tight deadline). I think I did the best job I could, and I stayed true to the characters and story. I hope readers agree!

 

Q: When did you first consider yourself a writer?

A: Probably when I finished writing my first book (it sucked, but hey, I did it!). I had written as a journalist prior to that, but finishing something really long, and something fictional, felt like a significant accomplishment for me.

 

Q: What would you like to say to aspiring/beginning writers in the community?

A: Persist, persist, persist! You can’t control how talented you are, or how lucky you get. All you can do is keep writing, keep reading, keep going. It took me fifteen years and nine books to become a published author. Trust me, if I can do it, so can you!

 

The Code for Love and Heartbreak by Jillian Cantor ~ Excerpt & Q/A

 

THE CODE FOR LOVE AND HEARTBREAK

Author: Jillian Cantor

ISBN: 9781335090591

Publication Date: October 6, 2020

Publisher: Inkyard Press

BOOK SUMMARY:

In this contemporary romcom retelling of Jane Austen’s Emma by USA TODAY bestselling author Jillian Cantor, there’s nothing more complex—or unpredictable—than love.

When math genius Emma and her coding club co-president, George, are tasked with brainstorming a new project, The Code for Love is born.

George disapproves of Emma’s idea of creating a matchmaking app, accusing her of meddling in people’s lives. But all the happy new couples at school are proof that the app works. At least at first.

Emma’s code is flawless. So why is it that perfectly matched couples start breaking up, the wrong people keep falling for each other, and Emma’s own feelings defy any algorithm?

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Excerpt

PROLOGUE

 I’ve always loved numbers a whole lot more than I love people. For one thing, I can make numbers behave any way I want them to. No arguments, no questions. I write a line of code, and my computer performs a specific and very regulated task. Numbers don’t play games or hide behind some nuance I’ve missed. I write an equation, then formulate a definitive and absolutely correct answer.

And maybe most importantly, numbers never leave me. I tell this to Izzy as she’s sitting on her suitcase, trying to force it closed, having just packed the last of her closet before leaving for her freshman year at UCLA, which is exactly 2,764 miles from our house in Highbury, New Jersey. A number which seems insurmountable, and which makes me think that after this day, Izzy’s last one at home until Christmas break, we’ll be more like two strangers floating across a continent from one another than sisters.

 “Numbers,” I say to Izzy now, “are much better than people.”

 “You’re such a nerd, Em,” Izzy says, but she stops what she’s doing and squeezes my arm affectionately, before finally getting the suitcase to zip. She’s a nerd, too, but not for numbers like me—for books. Izzy is running 2,764 miles away from New Jersey to read, to major in English at UCLA. Which is ridiculous, given she could’ve done the same at Rutgers, or the College of New Jersey, or almost any one of the other sixty-two colleges in our state, any of which would’ve been within driving distance so we could’ve seen each other on weekends. Izzy says she’s going to California for the sunshine, but Dad and I both know the real reason is that her boyfriend, John, decided to go to UCLA to study film. Izzy chose John over me, and that part stings the most.

“I can’t believe you’re actually going,” I say, and not for the first time. I’ve been saying this to Izzy all summer, hoping she might change her mind. But now that her suitcase is zipped, it feels like she’s really leaving, and my eyes start to well up. I do love numbers more than people. Most people.

 Izzy and I are only seventeen months apart, and our mom died when we were both toddlers. Dad works a lot, and Izzy and I have barely been apart for more than a night in as long as I can remember, much less months.

 She stops messing with her suitcase now, walks over to where I’m sitting on her bed and puts her arm around me. I lean my head on her shoulder, and breathe in the comforting scent of her strawberry shampoo, one last time. “I’m going to miss you, too, Em,” she says. “But you’re going to have a great senior year.” She says it emphatically, her voice filled with enthusiasm that I don’t believe or even understand.

“You really could stay,” I say. “You got into two colleges in New Jersey.” This has been my argument to her all summer. I keep thinking if I say it enough she really will change her mind. But even as I say it, I know it’s probably too late for her to change anything for fall semester now, no matter how much I might want her to. And she just looks back at me with worry all over her face.

“Em, you know I can’t.”

“Can’t or won’t?” I wipe my nose with the back of my hand, pulling away from her.

She leaves me on her bed, and goes back to her suitcase. She shifts it around, props it upright and then looks back at me. “You know what you need?” she says, breathing hard from managing the weight of her entire life, crammed inside this giant suitcase. “To get out there this year. Be more social. Get some friends. Maybe even a boyfriend.”

 “A boyfriend?” I half laugh, half sniffle at the ridiculousness of it.

“If you keep busy, you won’t even notice I’m gone.” She speaks quickly, excitedly. There’s nothing Izzy likes more than a good plan, but this sounds terrible to me. “Christmas will be here before you know it—” she’s still talking “—then next year, you’ll be off to college, too.”

 Maybe that would be true for her, if I were the one leaving, and if she were staying here. If I were the older one, leaving for California first, Izzy would stay here, spend the year with John and barely even notice my absence. Which is what I guess she’s about to do at UCLA. But I’ve always needed Izzy much more than she’s needed me.

“I hate being social. And I don’t want a boyfriend,” I say. “And anyway, you know what the boys are like at our high school. No thanks.” Mostly, they’re intimidated by me and my penchant for math, and I find their intimidation so annoying that I can barely even stand to have a conversation with them, much less a date. And the few that aren’t? Well, the one that isn’t—George—is my equal and co-president of coding club. He also happens to be John’s younger brother. We’re something like friends, George and I. Or maybe not, because we don’t really hang out outside of family stuff, school or coding club, and I guess in a way we’re supposed to be rivals. One of us will for certain be valedictorian of our class this year. The other will be salutatorian. And knowing George, he’s going to be more than a little bit annoyed when he’s staring at my back during graduation.

“You love numbers so much and you’re so good at coding,” Izzy says now with a flip of her blond curls over her shoulder. She wheels the suitcase toward her bedroom door and stops and looks back at me. “You could always code yourself a boyfriend.” She shrugs, then laughs a little, trying to make this moment lighter.

I don’t even crack a smile. “That’s a really ridiculous thing to say,” I tell her. “Thank God you’re going to be an English major.”

 But later, after it all fell apart, I would blame her. I’d say that it was all Izzy’s fault, that she started the unraveling of everything with her one stupid offhand comment on the morning that she left me.

 

Excerpted from The Code For Love and Heartbreak by Jillian Cantor Copyright © Jillian Cantor. Published by Inkyard Press.

 

BIO:

Jillian Cantor is the author of award-winning and bestselling novels for adults and teens, including In Another Time, The Hours Count, Margot, and The Lost Letter, which was a USA Today bestseller. She has a BA in English from Penn State University and an MFA from the University of Arizona. Cantor lives in Arizona with her husband and two sons.

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Q&A with Jillian Cantor

Q: What inspired this specific retelling of Emma?

A: My kids have both been on robotics teams for years, and I’ve spent a lot of time watching their competitions and being in awe of how brilliant and innovative these middle and high school students are in STEM. I got the idea to write about a girl who is an amazing coder but not so great with people and then I realized it could be a really fun Emma retelling if I had her create a matchmaking app!

 

Q: What’s your favorite Jane Austen book and adaptation?

A: Emma has always been my favorite Jane Austen book and I love the movie Clueless. But I think my favorite Jane Austen adaptation in novel form is Bridget Jones’ Diary as a (loose) retelling of Pride and Prejudice.

 

Q: What was the most challenging part to write in this book?

A: Well, I honestly didn’t know much about coding going in and unlike Emma, math was not my best subject in high school. Luckily my husband is a software engineer and he helped me with all the coding details in the book.

 

The other challenge was – and this was the first time I ever wrote a retelling – figuring out how to stay true to the original but also make the story and plot fresh in its own updated way. 

 

Q: What was your most favorite part and why?

A: I’m trying not to give spoilers, so I’ll just describe it vaguely, but my favorite scene is the one near the end of the book when George animates something just for Emma!

 

Q: What's a typical writing day for you?

A: This answer has changed a bit in the last six months. Usually I’d drop my kids off at school around 8 AM and write or do something writing related until it was time to pick them up around 3, with a break for lunch and to exercise during the day. But now that my kids are home doing online school and I don’t have to physically go anywhere most days, my schedule is a little more fluid. Recently I’ve been writing more in the afternoons and evenings. I’ve been finding my most creative times are in those hours when I would normally be driving around for school pickups and activities.

 

Q: Where do you like writing and why? Favorite snacks and/or beverages?

A: My favorite place to write is at my kitchen table with a cup (or 3!) of coffee. I also have an office in my home with a very, very messy desk that I like to write at, especially if it’s a time of day when I need to close the door or get away from other things (or people) in the house. Aside from coffee, popcorn is always a favorite snack. I’ve recently gotten obsessed with dried mango, too.

 

Q: What was your last 5-star read and why?

A: I just finished Head Over Heels by Hannah Orenstein and loved it! It’s a rom com (about gymnasts) with well-developed characters – my favorite kind of book.

 

Q: How would your main character fare with a stay-at-home order?

A: I actually think Emma would handle it much better than I have. She’s super savvy with technology and would be great with Facetiming George and Jane and communicating for coding club with Discord and Zoom, and she’d be really good at navigating the tech challenges of online school. Plus she’s an introvert, so I think she’d be okay with staying at home.

 

Q: Is there anything you can tell us about the book that is not a spoiler and not on the blurb? Something you'd like to share with us?

A: Even though Emma and I don’t have much in common in terms of interests (I stopped math in high school before calculus!), I was, like Emma a musician in high school. I played the clarinet (not piano) but was really involved in a lot of musical activities, and weekly lessons, and I even participated in the same competition Emma does in the book.

 

Smash It! by Francina Simone ~ Excerpt & Q/A

 

SMASH IT!

By Francina Simone

On Sale: September 22, 2020 

INKYARD PRESS

Teen & Young Adult Theater Fiction

978-1335146502; 1335146504

$18.99 USD

368 pages

About the Book

Olivia “Liv” James is done with letting her insecurities get the best of her. So she does what any self-respecting hot mess of a girl who wants to SMASH junior year does…

After Liv shows up to a Halloween party in khaki shorts—why, God, why?—she decides to set aside her wack AF ways. She makes a list—a F*ck-It list.

1. Be bold—do the thing that scares me.

2. Learn to take a compliment.

3. Stand out instead of back.

She kicks it off by trying out for the school musical, saying yes to a date and making new friends. Life is great when you stop punking yourself! However, with change comes a lot of missteps, and being bold means following her heart. So what happens when Liv’s heart is interested in three different guys—and two of them are her best friends? What is she supposed to do when she gets dumped by a guy she’s not even dating? How does one Smash It! after the humiliation of being friend-zoned?

In Liv’s own words, “F*ck it. What’s the worst that can happen?”

A lot, apparently.

#SMASHIT

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Excerpted from SMASH IT! by Francina Simone © 2020 by Francina Simone, used with permission from Inkyard Press.

 

CHAPTER ONE

Fuck.

I’m an idiot.

It’s Halloween and I’m the only one in a packed club on Teen Night not wearing a costume. Girls are jumping and screaming lyrics in cheap shiny wigs, and all the guys, dressed in a motley of cheap polyester, are scoping out the dance floor, their gazes hopping right over me. Even the bartender, sling­ing water bottles, has on pink bunny ears.

This isn’t an I’m seventeen and too cool for dress up moment. I like wearing costumes. I just thought I’d look like an unin­tentional clown doing it. We’re at a club. Who wears a Hal­loween costume to the club? Apparently, everyone except this freak in an Old Navy hoodie and khaki shorts. I’m wearing khaki shorts, like a nerdy loser.

Some girl bumps into me and does a double take at the sight of my hoodie. It’s Florida; I know October everywhere else is like that meme of the dog in a wig wearing a scarf be­cause “it’s sweater weather,” but we’re in Florida; the leaves don’t change here. They just fall off sometime between hot-as-fuck and damn-where-that-wind-come-from? So even though this white girl has on a mesh shirt over a nude bra—I don’t know what the hell she’s dressed as—I can tell by her raised brows and attempt to act like she didn’t see me that she doesn’t know what in god’s name I’m doing right now either.

Oh my god. Why am I like this?

This is what I get for not doing the yes thing. My mom bought this book by Shonda Rhimes, Year of Yes, and—I’m not going to lie—some rich black lady with a gazillion TV shows shouldn’t be able to tell me, some sad black girl, how to be all, Say yes to the dress! But right now, I’m really wish­ing I had said yes when Dré asked, Are you sure you don’t want to put on something? It’s a costume party at a club. Don’t you have something sexy? Sexy nurse? Sexy vet? Hell, cut up your hoodie and go as a sexy hobo.

I’m wishing I had scissors or the foresight to go as Sexy Hobo, because now, while my best friends are onstage at the hottest teen club in Orlando, singing their asses off like rock gods, I look like the freak who has no social shame.

The truth is I have too much social shame. So much shame that it seeps out of me like fresh cut garlic on the back of the tongue.

I make eye contact with Eli. He’s on the keyboard, belt­ing out lyrics and twisting in and out of a rap. His voice is the love child of Sam Smith and Adele. He’s all suave and mysterious to everyone here, but I know him as the boy who shaved off half an eyebrow when we were thirteen and those Peretz Hebrew/Palestinian hairy genes started coming in. His mom and dad were on that Romeo and Juliet vibe back in the day, and even though it makes for an epic love story, with real war and faking deaths to escape their families and countries (epic as hell), their genetic combo gave Eli thick brows and hair like nobody’s business.

He smiles at me with his dark brown eyes just under his fedora. Of the three of us, he’s definitely the broody one, writing poems about nostalgia and love.

Dré, on the other hand—he’s got on shades. Who wears sunglasses inside at night? Dré. When we were in middle school, Dré used to hide his Spanish and pretend his name was Andrew. I don’t blame him. Our school had a lot of white kids, and they always asked dumb as hell questions. I always got, “If you can’t get your hair wet, how do you wash it?” One kid asked Dré if Puerto Rican meant legal Mexican in Spanish. The kid legitimately didn’t know. I know our educa­tion system is shit, but come the fuck on.

High school has been a game changer for all of us. Our magnet school pulls in kids from all over the county. But now there are too many kids from way too many places. Now we have to be different to fit in—cue Dré’s flashy, Spanish-heritage-day-is-every-day evolution. He’s a self-proclaimed Puerto Rican papi, and he kind of radiates like a sunny day on South Beach.

Then there’s me. In my hoodie, khaki shorts, and Converse, stuck in the middle of a club with hundreds of kids basking in the glory that is Dré and Eli. I look like an outcast from a bad ’90s movie. I’m not uncool, but I do these uncool things as if I’m addicted to self-sabotage.

Mesh Girl looks at me again; she’s probably wondering why Dré keeps pointing and making steamy eyes at me while he spits some rhymes in Spanish. I know she’s thinking, How’d she get him? Girls have asked me that. They see me, with my not-slim body and my brown skin, and say, No offense, but damn, girl, how you got with Dré?

I’m not. Never have, never will. This flashy thing that he’s doing is our signal for me to check his hair. My only job is to make sure it still looks good. I nod and sway to the music, ignoring Mesh Girl’s eyebrows, which are raised to the top of her blond head. Is it bad that I like the attention? I enjoy her envy, even though I’m not the girl she thinks I am.

Some girl dressed like a pumpkin shuffles past me and reaches out to touch Dré’s hand. What she doesn’t know is that he’s transferring half a store’s worth of product onto her fingers. He spends so much time on his hair, we have to speed to school—which is the last thing we should do in Dré’s rusty old car, the Bat Mobile. It’s already two gearshifts away from blowing up with us inside. We call it the Bat Mobile not because it’s cool, but because it looks like a hundred bats dropped turds all over it and eroded the paint.

Even though it’s pretty much trash on wheels, I’m so jeal­ous. I can’t even get my mom to let me practice my learners in her car. The queen of burning out engines thinks I’ll mess something up. Then again, here I am on Halloween, the only girl in the club not having fun because of my shitty choices.

Mesh Girl bumps me with her shoulder. “He’s hot, right?” She’s talking about Eli, and I do a weird laugh thing and nod, because I’m the worst at small talk, and it’s too much to yell, Yeah, I’ve thought that for years. I can like the way he looks, right? That’s normal, right?

She doesn’t seem to care that my laugh was borderline psy­chotic. “Oh my god, we should totally dance for them. Guys love that shit.” Suddenly this girl that I don’t know from Eve is pulling me toward the stage, and I start freaking out.

I’ve watched enough romance movies to have this scene planned in my head—but those are fantasies, and this is get­ting too real. People are staring at us as she starts twerking and swinging her arms around.

She waves at me. “Come on!”

Nope. I just smile and shrink back into the crowd. She’s clearly one of those people who really believes in herself—like, no one has ever told her she can’t do a damn thing, because, here she is, shaking her ass like she invented the booty pop.

Mesh Girl isn’t looking at me anymore. She’s dancing and looking at Eli, and—he’s looking at her. I know I’m not sup­posed to care, because he’s just my best friend and he and Dré are supposed to interact with the crowd—that’s part of the gig—but he’s looking at her and smiling like he’s impressed. He thinks this girl’s half-baked dance moves are cool. He thinks she’s cool.

I can dance better than that. I could be that cool.

Except I’m not.

I’m the girl who hides in the crowd. I’m the girl who isn’t even in costume. And now, the guy I maybe-sorta-like is smiling and singing to the girl who is doing the scary thing, even though she’s not that good at it.

Fuck my life. My crush is about to go up in tired-ass flames like the rest of my dreams. This isn’t the first time I’ve passed up doing what I want because I’m afraid of looking like a clown. It isn’t even the tenth or the hundredth.

Hell, just this morning I walked by a flyer for the school musical auditions, and when the drama teacher offered me one, I did the weird laugh, and—let’s just say she’ll probably never make eye contact with me again.

All I had to do was say yes. All I had to do was tell my­self I’d try.

Why am I so chickenshit?

I make my way to the bar and order a soda.

The guy at the bar eyes me as he sprays Coke into my glass. He puts the Coke down in front of me, and just when I want him to walk away and leave me in my despair, he pulls off his pink bunny ears and puts them next to my bubbly soda. “Take these. I don’t want you to stand out.”

I shake my head. Honestly, he’s got long hair and it’s kind of greasy, so there is no way I’m putting that on my head. “I’m cool. Don’t need pity ears, but thanks.”

He laughs, and it’s low-key judgmental. “Yeah, because cool people don’t wear costumes, right? You must be a blast at parties.” He looks around at the club behind me. “Oh, wait.”

Rude. “Look. I happen to be a very cool person, thank you very much.” I shouldn’t talk when I’m in my feelings, because my voice goes up an octave and I can never get my eyebrows to stay still. They’re up in my hairline now, show­ing the whole damn world that I have no chill.

Dude puts his bunny ears back on and leans on the bar. “Yeah, it’s so cool sitting by yourself at a Halloween party with no costume.” He shrugs. “I’m not saying high school is going to be the best time of your life, but you should get over yourself enough to have a little fun while you can. Oth­erwise, you’ll be a cool adult sitting alone at a bar wonder­ing why your life sucks.” He stands up, crosses his arms and looks proud of himself.

Is there a sign on my head that says, I’m having a hard time. Please do pile on? I take a deep breath and hate myself, because my first reaction is to smile and nod. But I stare him dead in the eye and say, “Because being a bartender at thirtysome­thing is so great.” I feel a little badass for saying it, but also super guilty for being a bitch.

“Well, one of us is having fun.” He wiggles his bunny ears. “And the other one is at a party full of kids and only has the bartender to talk to.” He pulls the white towel off his shoul­der and starts wiping down the bar. “Don’t forget to tip.” And then he’s moving away and pulling out waters for a group of guys in some anime costumes.

I drop my head to the bar, which, regrettably, is sticky. That turd of a bartender doesn’t know me, but he’s kinda right. Some girl on YouTube—the one with the minimalist white walls that look chic instead of broke as hell—said everyone has a moment in life when there are two paths before them. The cool one where you change your pathetic ways and ev­erything gets brighter and better. And the other one where you die sad and alone.

She obviously knows what she’s talking about, because she manages to make millions of people listen to her talk about hacking procrastination and how to make your room over with just a succulent and a few black-and-white photos strung up on the walls.

I don’t want to be sad and alone, or to freeze every time my moment comes to shine. I want to be the fierce inner beast I know I am. I want Eli to look at me like I’m the only one in the room.

Something has to change, because that bartender and the succulent girl are right. If I don’t, I’m going to disappear like I was never here.

 

About the author

 

Francina Simone believes in one thing: authenticity. She writes YA stories full of humor and hard life lessons with sprinkles of truth that make us all feel understood. Her craft focuses on stories about girls throwing caution to the wind to discover exactly who they are and what it means to love. Francina is also known for her BookTube channel, where she discusses controversial topics in books.

 

Author website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Youtube 

 

Q&A with Francina Simone

Q: Please give the elevator pitch for Smash It!.

A: Olivia James, is done with letting her insecurities get the best of her, does what any self-respecting hot-mess-of-a-girl who wants to SMASH junior year does—she makes a F*ck It list.

 

Q: Of all of Shakespear’s tragedies, to do a comedic retelling of Othello is an ingenious idea for a story, especially with all the drama of high school. Why did you choose Othello?

A: If I’m honest, I think Othello chose me. A long time ago when SMASH IT was more like my lie than a book idea, I read the play and fell in love with the villain Iago. I thought of Iago more as Othello’s Ego getting the best of him. He was a secure man until Iago used his insecurities against him. Fast forward years later, I had this story idea of this girl and these two boys in my head and I saw this climactic scene happening between them and it reminded me a lot of the themes in Othello: Jealousy, illusions, perception, womanhood, sexuality. How it all unravels in Smash It was just clandestine.

 

Q: Which came first: the characters or the plot line?

A: They came at the same time, a moment between the three characters that I’ll never forget. I won’t mention it here because it’s very spoilery. But one day it  just played in my mind on loop, and I needed to know how this thing that happened between them had gotten that far and how they could go on from there. The event is really one of those world ending things that you just don’t know how people are going to come back from. From there it was about listening to the story as Olivia told it. 

 

Q: Liv is a bright, authentic, relatable character. She slowly comes into her own in all the best and worst possible ways. She is a refreshing main character joining the YA space. What advice do you think Liv would give others going through a similar situation(s) as hers?

A: You’re going to mess up. You’re going to be problematic. You’re going to speak up when you should be quiet. You’re going to be quiet when you should speak up. You’re going to do all the wrong things even if you think you know you won’t. It’s human. The question is, can you get up and try again? Because, the world doesn’t end just because you fucked up. So go fix it.

 

Q: Why do you love Liv and why should readers root for her?

A: Liv is unapologetically herself. She’s not a cookie cutter you can copy and paste yourself into. She’s a person who can teach us all empathy and how to see the world from another perspective. She shows us how you can be aware and still not know right from wrong simply because life is skewed in as many ways as there are people breathing. Root or her because in doing so you’re rooting for yourself.

 

Q: Who or what made you decide to become a writer? What inspires your writing?

A: I like to think I’m a storyteller because when the stories come whispering I take the time to listen. Being a storyteller takes courage, belief in yourself, so I guess what inspires my writing is ignoring all the fears so I can write and discover the story just as the reader does. There is something exhilarating about experiencing a story for the first time and I get to do that with every book I write.

 

Q: I relate to Liv so much I thought we could be twins. For me, Smash It! is one of those books that you wish had been around when you were younger. What made you decide to write Smash It!? What impact has this story had on you?

A: I decided it was okay for me to be Black and write what it’s like being a Black girl in a world where all the other books just want me to be Black struggle and strife. You for sure can’t “paint” Liv white and the story be the same. She’s Black American and her perspective is so different and really eye opening into a sliver of Black culture. We live, we love, we laugh, we get to Eat Pray and Love, but we do it in a very different way. We do it while Black and that is the most beautiful and glorious part to me, because that me.

 

Q: I have to ask this next question because it’s one of my favorite things I love about Liv: If any, what are some of your favorite musicals?

A: the only musical I’ve seen live is Aida and I loved it. I mean, it was problematic as hell (the casting and such) but I loved the music and it woke me up inside. Phantom of the Opera has music that just delivers me. Hamilton of course! Wicked. Rent—I know I”m forgetting a few but honestly Rent was one that really made me want to be an actor!

 

Q: You write stories that are “full of humor and hard life lessons with sprinkles of truth that make us all feel understood.” What conversation(s) do you hope readers will have after reading Smash It! (nerdy talks or otherwise)?

A: I just humor to help us get through tough conversations like: being a Black girl sometimes means we internalize racism and that can mean thinking the guy you like that probably likes you too, doesn’t because you’re not a white girl and can’t live up to that beauty standard. I want people to talk about intersectional casual racism and feminism. There are ways that PoC in America mingle that are very different than how we mingle with Whtie people. We talk different between groups in positive and negative ways. I want people to talk about how dark skin black girls have to wear armor and fight for every thought and opinion they have because they’re used to being less than second rate. I want to talk about sexuality and how girls don’t owe their sexual experience to anyone except who they want to have it with, boys too. I want readers to talk about how boys aren’t given the same space to be emotionally vulnerable. I want readers to talk about different family dynamics; that family life can be loving and toxic and how that shit doesn’t just go away because you joined a musical and sang a song.

That’s the biggest thing. I want readers to talk about how life isn’t fixed just because you got to the end of the book. That life goes on. It always goes on and the little problems will too.

 

Q: What was your last 5-star read?

A: I’m very much into graphic novels these days and the Awkward, Brave, Crush series by Svetlana Chmakova is a FAVORITE. I love the stories of everyday contemporary life, the emotional punches, the art, and the diversity. Honestly, her art is so moving I wish I could spend a day in her sketchbooks.

 

Q: What is one thing about publishing you wish someone would have told you?What inspired you to write this story?

A: Truth be told, I’m a curious person and researched via the internet, my author friends, agent, anyone who could give me an answer about all things publishing. I think a piece of advice I would give though is, know who you’re writing your story for, and stand in that proudly. If you know, then you’ll never make compromises unless it serves the story. That’s important.

 

Q: Describe your main character in 3 words.

A: awkward, brave, beautiful

 

Q: What was the most challenging part to write in this book?

A: The most challenging part to write is always the end. I hate saying goodbye. I almost always cry.

 

Q: What's a typical writing day for you?

A: HAHAHAHA. I laugh. I don't’ have writing days. I live my life and then when it’s time to write I type out a book anywhere from in a week to a month (depending on the length of the book). I’m not saying that’s my routine necessarily. It just is what it is right now. It’s been that way for years. I’m a very creative person I like to storytell in many ways, painting, illustration, music, etc. so If I were to write everyday it would be like milking a cow with no milk….sometimes you have to do other things on the farm to make sure the whole farm is working and happy, not just milk the cow all day.

 

Q: Where do you like writing and why? Favorite snacks and/or beverages?

A: I can write anywhere. I usually use music as a way to transport me into my mindspace so I’m not bothered by my physical space. With two small kids—it’s hard to be in two places at once but so far it’s working...kind of. I tend not to eat while I work though I do enjoy a cherry soda and licorice. I think when I’m really working I tend to eat high sugar foods because I write anywhere from early morning to early morning. I just—don’t sleep much. Once the story starts it’s like being in a movie theatre with the volume on high. I can’t focus on anything else until it’s done.

 

Q: What author or story inspired you growing up or inspired you in some ways?

A: I think everything I read inspired me. I mean, we talk about very specific stories or people all the time and not enough about how everything we consume is part of our making. That includes negative things (which can slow you on your way to inspiration) I think my family and friends inspired me once I realized how special they were. My friends read SMASH IT and the first thing they ask is “Am I so and so or so and so because I feel like both.”

Authors inspired me in that I dared to dream. I dared to do what they’d done. Stories inspired me in way that I wanted to replicate feelings or word pairings or in some cases I just wanted to prove that I could do something better than the garbage in front of me. Honestly. Movies and TV inspired me more than books. I’m very visual and my Kdramas know how to tell a rollercoaster of a story!

 

Q: Is there anything you can tell us about the book that is not a spoiler and not on the blurb? Something you'd like to share with us?

A: I will say, this story, while funny and light-hearted on the surface usually is making a statement about something serious in almost every scene. If you feel something positive or negative, you’re supposed to feel something. These characters aren’t role models or people you’re supposed to agree with just because you like them. You’re supposed to sometimes not agree and hopefully that will give you the courage to disagree with people in your life that like you like who do and say things that aren’t quite okay. Also, hopefully it helps you to see that just because they have a perspective you disagree with, itt doesn’t mean they are the root of all evil.

Ignorance, funny enough, is something we see in others because we too have it. So be careful putting people on pedestals, and be careful knocking them off too.

 

Q: How did you choose the title?

A: haha it was a wild ride. I wanted a title that summed up the book and SMASH IT means so many things from “You got this!” to “Sex” so I thought, it was the perfect way to say all of it in one phrase. The more you read the more you see the many layers of the title unravel.

 

Q: What scene, in the book, are you most proud of?

A: I can’t say there is any one scene. Instead I’m very proud of the way the scenes unfold. They seemingly don’t relate any more than “Liv living day to day” but once you get about a third of the way through the book everything starts tumbling and catching speed and everything from the beginning to that moment just comes crashing into a perfect cacophony of chaos.