The time I was a host

So, I feel like we all know by now how I love Fiona Paul, yes? Well, did you know Fiona's name isn't really Fiona, but it's Paula? Once upon a time, the lovely and talented Paula asked to borrow my blog for a blog hop she had been tagged in.  And of course I said yes....

Check out the interview questions below and all of the information about Paula's awesome contemporary YA books that are coming out!!

Without further ado, heeeeeeeeere's Paula!!

 

The Next Big Thing Blog Hop

 

The Next Big Thing blog hop is a chance for authors around the world to tell you what they’re working on. The author answers ten questions about their next book, and tags the person who first tagged them, plus two other authors.

I was tagged by the lovely Kristi Helvig. Read about her Next BigThing here.

Some of you guys know me as my historical YA pen name, but I’m working on getting the word out about my contemporary YA books written under my real name—Paula Stokes. So far, the lovely people at HarperTeen have bought a contemporary romance and a dark and twisty psychological thriller. Since my new blog is still under construction, I asked my awesome twitter-friend Stacee-e-e-e if I could take over her blog for just one day.

Here’s me wrestling a fake crocodile:

 

 Here’s me petting a real tiger:

 

As you can see, my life has been pretty fun so far.  And the fact that I'm here telling you about my 4th novel? Yeah, that's the stuff dreams are made of.

1. What is the title of your work in progress?

The Art of Lainey. Check it out on Goodreads.

2.Where did the idea come from for the book?

Heh. This is super-lame, but I’m going to tell you the truth. A couple years ago, while I was seeing this awesome guy, I had to have bilateral foot surgery. I didn’t expect him to come over and help me do laundry or anything, but I was kind of hoping he might at least want to watch a movie or two while I was trapped alone in my apartment for five weeks. Mysteriously, he vanished and wouldn’t even return my texts. Depressed from being stuck inside and feeling like complete crap, I, of course, decided I must have done something wrong. Cue a mad google search about how to win back the affection of that guy who left. I didn’t find any answers, but I did find about a million other people who were just as hurt and confused as I was. Add in a copy of The Art of War and the ambience of my favorite coffee shop and you’ve got the setting, characters, and conflict.

3. What genre does your book fall under?

Young adult romantic comedy

4.Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Dude. Don’t laugh at me. Here’s what I recently realized—all of my male love interests turn into Taylor Lautner. Taylor with a mohawk.Taylor with a surfboard. Taylor with a glass eye and a couple of guns strapped to his body. I never even knew I liked him, but I guess I do. Saoirse Ronan would be great choice to play Lainey.

5. What is a one-sentence synopsis of the book?

A popular girl gets strategic to win back her boyfriend, but ends up winning a whole lot more.

6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

My book is represented by my fabulous agent Jennifer Laughran, from the fabulous Andrea Brown Literary Agency. It will be published by HarperTeen in 2014.

7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

About 3 months, and then another 3 months to revise.

8. What other books would you compare this story to in your genre?

I know it’s probably dangerous to compare my book to something as successful as Lola and the Boy Next Door, but I’m going to do it anyway, and here’s why: My agent read my MS and immediately compared it to Anna and the French Kiss. I hadn’t read any Steph Perkins and avoided doing so until after I turned in revisions and we went out on submission. Then I read Anna and Lola back-to-back and had a panic attack because there were so many similarities in voice, tone, and character. There was no way I was going to alter my voice, because, dude, I wrote 3 historicals in a ‘foreign’ voice and now I just gotta be me. But I did make revisions to plot and character elements because I didn’t want to feel like I had psychically plagiarized Steph Perkins.The collective unconscious…it’s a real thing.

9. Who or what inspired you to write this book?

This question is best answered by the book’s dedication: To the city that raised me, the music that saved me, and the ones who got away.

10.What else about the book might pique the reader's interest?

The book is set in a fictional suburb of St. Louis, yet multiple people have described the various settings as jaw-dropping. Yeah, we got game here, but a lot of people don’t realize it. Also, unlike the standard YA novel, Lainey has 2 parents who are married and both actually doing parent-type things. They were inspired by the parents from the movie Easy A and I really think they add to the story. I dunno guys, I just love this book. It doesn’t have five shocking twists and a bunch of death-defying action scenes, but it’s fun and has heart.It also has a guy that manages to be cool and desirable without acting like a douchebag.# Win. All my crit partners fell in love with him. If only he were real.

Speaking of crit partners, I’m tagging my beta friend Elizabeth Richards  and my new twitter friend Christianna Marks so look for their Next Big Thing post in the next week.

In the meantime, follow me on twitter @pstokesbooks and check me out as part of the YA Valentines.

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Now you see how awesome she is regardless if she's Fiona or Paula, right?  Make sure to pick up Venom if you haven't already... Oh, and FYI: Belladonna is just as fantastic.