And Your Thursday Posters Are...

Chanelle and Sharon are your Thursday posters, guys! There's some info about them already on the blog, but if you wanted to know a little more about them and perhaps win a book...



Sharon, everyone!


Q: Why did you start to write YA? Do you feel like there's a view from people who aren't involved in the writing industry for people over a certain age to write for adults?

A: The first novel I started writing was probably more Middle Grade as I was writing it for my son. But I put it on hold when the idea for Mishca started knocking in my head and refused to go away. It wasn’t intentionally YA, but it ticked all the boxes.

I don’t think readers care about the age of the writer, I think they care about an authentic voice, a kick-ass plot and characters they feel drawn to.

Q: What kind of books keep you up all night thinking about? What was the last book that did this?

A: The Time Travellers Wife definitely had me thinking. It took me about a month to read it as I found I wanted to put it down and really process what I’d read. This is not normally how I read – I devour books in a day or two depending on how much spare time I have.

Q: Describe yourself in five words.

A: An epically weird writing ninja.

Q: If you could write in any location in the world, where would it be or what would it look like?

A: I already have the best place in the world to write – Australian beaches. My husband works as a lifeguard so I spend every Saturday at the beach. After lunch I take an hour off by myself with my laptop and write. I wrote a lot of Mishca at Blacks Beach (see picture) and am writing Dirty Rainbow at Eimeo Beach, where my husband is currently stationed.

Quickfire questions:

Gold or silver? Gold

Coke or Sprite? Neither, I'm not big a softdrink (soda) drinker

Hair up or Hair down? Down

Fake eyelashes or fake nails? I fake nothing =P

Red or white roses? Red

And we have Chanelle, everyone!

Q: If you were only allowed to write one genre for the rest of your life what would you choose and why?

A: Ooh, that's a hard question. It would definitely be for YA, but within that genre, I'm not sure. I guess, I'd have to say Urban Fantasy because though I really do enjoy reading contemp stories and even trying to write them, I have come up with a lot more UFs than I have contemps. And for some reason, I feel like I'm not doing contemps 'right' when I try!!

Q:What do you think will be "the next big trend" in 2011 and why?

A: I think the big trend of 2011 will be UFs making a comeback. They kind of got a lot of stick in 2010. People complained they were overdone and there wasn't anything new. Contemps became more popular - especially issue driven books. But I think there's a lot of UFs coming out this year that are going to make people believe in the genre again.

Q:What surprises people the most about you once they get to know you?

A: That I'm actually a huge animal lover. I have two dogs, who are like my babies, and I used to have horses when I was younger and had a LOT more free time than I do now. And also, when I wasn't writing with every free minute of my day. I'm big on animal rights and believe that they should be treated with respect :)

Q: Which three writers would you most like to meet and what would you ask them?

A: Firstly, and probably obviously, JK Rowling. I have a HUGE amount of respect for her. She's done a lot for my own writing career and was also the first writer who made me read seriously. From the age of ten, I collected her books and still enjoy them to this day. Secondly, Suzanne Collins. What I wouldn't do to pick her creative mind for like ten minutes!! Then I would like to meet Cynthia Hand because I've actually become a bit of a fangirl after reading Unearthly. I want to know everything about that series!!

Rapid fire questions:

Purple or yellow? Purple. Yellow offends me.

Coffee or energy drinks? Neither. I hate both.

Dresses or pants? For everyday...pants (TROUSERS!!), but for occasions, dresses.

High heels or flats? Like above, flats for everyday, heels for occasions.

Horror or comedy? Horror, definitely. I'm a huge horror fan.

Now...THE GIVEAWAY!!

We will have TWO winners for this giveaway.

Sharon is kindly giving away a copy of Blood Countess by Tara Moss. All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning, is follow this blog and comment below with your email address. If you want an extra entry, tweet the following:

You can win a copy of Blood Countess over at @YAtopia - http://yatopia.blogspot.com/

But here's the catch, this part of the giveaway is only for Australian readers only. So if you have an Australian address, comment below for a chance of winning.

Chanelle is kindly giving away EITHER an order of Stolen by Lucy Christopher or Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma. The winner will get to choose which one they want. All you have to do is be a follower and comment below with your email address. Again, you can earn extra entries by either following Chanelle's personal blog Beyond Words and/or tweeting the following:

You can win a copy of either Stole or Forbidden over at @YAtopia - http://yatopia.blogspot.com/

This part of the giveaway is open to anyone Book Depository delivers to.

You can either enter for both or one. But please state which one you're entering for below. If you want to enter for both, please do separate comments for each giveaway. Just so it doesn't get confusing. Winners will be announced next Thursday.

Thanks for reading everyone, and I hope you stick around to see what other great stuff YAtopia has to offer. Trust me...it's a lot!!