BELINDA: Tell us about the science in the Dreamer Trilogy, Secrets of Aurora, and Skywatchers. LJ: In the Dreamer Trilogy everyone has a microchip implanted in their wrists which holds their personal and banking information. When it’s partnered with a Wristcuff (Device worn around the implant area) the wearer is promised pleasant dreams, better health … Read more
As a publicist, editor and occasional slush-pile reader, Jenna O’Connell doesn’t just know books, but the ins and outs of getting them on bookstore shelves and into readers’ hands.
BELINDA: Hot topic first. Do you think love is killing the teenage heroine and why?
JENNA: Killing is such a strong word! We’re certainly not seeing an absence of teenage heroines because of the current focus on love/romance. But is it killing originality in the YA genre? I think there’s an argument to support that.
Carolyn is the author of Facing Up a story about a girl trying to pick up the pieces of her life after a car crash ruins her life.
BELINDA: Tell us about Carly, what makes her an antiheroine?
CAROLYN: Carly is an antiheroine because she is cynical, prickly, quick-tempered, stubborn, impatient with her family and pretty much most of society. She is rebellious and smokes and tends to stir trouble rather than smooth things over. But she is also tough, fiercely loyal to her friends, and suffers from inner guilt about the innocent person killed in the car accident which she and her friends caused while joyriding. This is one of the main causes of her issues, and she eventually finds a way to atone for this.
Fonda Lee knows kung fu, so when she writes a fight scene you know it’s going to be awesome. Which is fortunate, since her debut novel, Zeroboxer, is all about boxing (plus you know, intrigue, planet-spanning criminal enterprises and a smattering of romance). Find out how you can win a copy of Zeroboxer at the bottom of … Read more
Cars, racing and a passel of my favourite movies! I talk with Jenny Martin about what makes YA sci-fi awesome and her book, Tracked. Don’t forget to check out how you can win a copy of Tracked at the bottom of the interview. BELINDA: What is YA science fiction to you? JENNY: First and foremost, it’s something near … Read more
A computer-hacking teen. The girl who wants to save him. And a rogue mirror reflection that might be the death of them both. That’s a great opening line and it’s on the back of Duplicity, a YA cyber-thriller by N.K. Traver. Find out how you can win a copy at the bottom of the interview. BELINDA: … Read more
Shallee McArthur is the author of The Unhappening of Genesis Lee, a sci-fi thriller about a girl who remembers everything, until the day she doesn’t. Don’t forget to find out how you can win a copy of The Unhappening of Genesis Lee at the bottom of the interview. BELINDA: What is YA science fiction (sci-fi) to … Read more
Janine A. Southard is the author of the Hive Queen Saga, a sci-fi (space opera, to be exact) trilogy about a group of teenagers who steal (kinda) a spaceship and take off on the adventure of their lives. If you haven’t read the first book, you can find out how to get a free copy of … Read more
Rebecca Lim is the author of the Mercy series, a paranormal fantasy about an angel, named Mercy, who hijacks the bodies of mortal girls.
BELINDA: Tell us about Mercy, what makes her an antiheroine?
REBECCA: In Mercy and the other books in the series Exile, Muse, Fury and the next instalment I’m writing at the moment, Wraith, I created an amnesiac, exiled creature of spirit who calls herself Mercy.
She’s been forced to live thousands of human lives for her own protection and keeps “waking” inside a new human body with no idea of who and what she really is, and why this is being done to her – a process that I called “soul jacking”.
I’d been hanging out to read Altaica ever since I saw the cover art (yes, I know, I’m shallow) and once I had my hands on it, I devoured it (in the literary sense). The storyline was engaging, the plot kept rolling along and there was never a moment when I was bored or tempted … Read more