Meet the Newbies: Kerry Kletter

Meet the Newbies is a blog event dedicated to introducing you to the “newbie” published debut authors. In this event, expect to learn more about the authors, their books, and silly fun facts! Check out the full Meet the Newbies lineup here.

I read an excerpt of The First Time She Drowned, and the writing was exquisite. I've heard nothing but good things about this book, and Kerry is such a talented author.

Author Most Likely To Be a Suspect in a Rash of Candy Store Robberies

Nickname: Gidget

First Day of School: March 15, 2016

Homeroom: Philomel/Penguin

Grade: Contemporary

Extracurricular Activities: Surfing, Running, Reading, Laughing at my own jokes, Texting, Emailing, Texting some more, Binge-watching Netflix.

Favorite Class: Lunch

Favorite Quote/Motto: “If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.” –Booker T. Washington

Meet the Newbies: Jenna Evans Welch

Meet the Newbies is a blog event dedicated to introducing you to the “newbie” published debut authors. In this event, expect to learn more about the authors, their books, and silly fun facts! Check out the full Meet the Newbies lineup here.

I absolutely love Italy, and Jenna's debut Love & Gelato is a contemporary which takes place in Tuscany. Romance AND gelato? This sounds like a book I'd definitely enjoy!

Author Most Likely To Figure Out A Way to Incorporate Her Love of Sugar Into a Novel

Nickname: Yenna

First Day of School: May 3, 2016

Homeroom: Simon Pulse

Grade: Contemporary YA

Extracurricular Activities: Reading voraciously, attempting (then failing) to write a "serious" novel, riding scooters, baking cupcakes, dancing, hiking

Favorite Class: English literature (of course), Biology, Italian

Favorite Quote/Motto: "If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced." --Vincent Van Gogh

Meet the Newbies: Brittany Cavallaro

Meet the Newbies is a blog event dedicated to introducing you to the “newbie” published debut authors. In this event, expect to learn more about the authors, their books, and silly fun facts! Check out the full Meet the Newbies lineup here.

Brittany's debut, A Study in Charlotte, is such a fascinating retelling of Sherlock Holmes! I love the idea of this story surrounding Holmes and Watson's descendants. I flew through this book, and I can't wait for the next one. The mysteries are creepy, and the book is totally unpredictable. This is definitely a favorite 2016 release of mine!

Author Most Likely To Be Dancing To Taylor Swift In Her Car

Nickname: Bri

First Day of School: March 1, 2016

Homeroom: Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins

Grade: YA

Extracurricular Activities:Lit Mag, Glee Club, That Weird Dinner Club Where We Cooked In Our Dorm's Basement Kitchen And Ate It On A Ping-Pong Table

Favorite Class: Detective Fiction (I've actually taught it!)

Favorite Quote/Motto: "Love me, because love doesn't exist, and I have tried everything that does." -Jonathan Safran Foer

Meet the Newbies: Anna Breslaw

Meet the Newbies is a blog event dedicated to introducing you to the “newbie” published debut authors. In this event, expect to learn more about the authors, their books, and silly fun facts! Check out the full Meet the Newbies lineup here.

I really loved Anna's debut, Scarlett Epstein Hates It Here. It's such an honest portrayal of teen life and our insecurities, and the voice is so realistic. It's smart, fresh, and hilarious! I definitely recommend you pre-order this book.

Author Most Likely To Have A Panic Attack At Forever21

Nickname: The Indoor Kid
First Day of School: April 19, 2016
Homeroom: Razorbill/Penguin
Grade: Contemporary with a sci-fi story within the story
Extracurricular Activities: None, but manages to appear at any extracurricular after-school meeting with free pizza
Favorite Class: AP English Literature, Defense Against The Dark Arts (same thing).
Favorite Quote/Motto: "This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force.” —Dorothy Parker

Meet the Newbies 2016: Introduction

Thank you Kaitlin @ Next Page Please for the pretty graphic!

Welcome to the second annual Meet the Newbies, a debut event dedicated to enriching the debut experience for both readers and authors. Come learn about the authors, their books, and silly fun facts that you can't learn anywhere else!

#MeetTheNewbs ~ Kim Liggett Author of Blood and Salt (Guest Post+Giveaway)

Meet The Newbies is a blog event co-hosted by Dana @DanaSquare and I, in which we introduce you to all of the new kids in school, the 2015 debut authors!

Meet Kim Liggett:

At sixteen, Kim Liggett left her rural midwestern town for New York City to pursue a career in both music and acting. While attending the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Kim sang backup for some of the biggest rock bands in the 80′s.

After settling down to have a family, she became an entrepreneur, creating a children’s art education program and a travel company specializing in tours for musicians.

She’s married to jazz musician Ken Peplowski, has two beautiful teens, and a very neurotic dog that drags her through Riverside Park everyday on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

#MeetTheNewbs ~ Mackenzi Lee Author of This Monstrous Thing (Guest Post+Giveaway)

Meet The Newbies is a blog event co-hosted by Dana @DanaSquare and I, in which we introduce you to all of the new kids in school, the 2015 debut authors!

Meet Mackenzi Lee:

Mackenzi Lee is reader, writer, bookseller, unapologetic fangirl, fast talker, and perpetually-anxious badass. She holds an MFA from Simmons College in writing for children and young adults, and her short fiction has appeared in Inaccurate Realities, The Friend, and The Newport Review. Her young adult historical fantasy novel, THIS MONSTROUS THING, which won the PEN-New England Susan P. Bloom Children’s Book Discovery Award, as well as an Emerging Artist Grant from the St. Botolph Club Foundation, will be published fall of 2015 by Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins. 

She loves Diet Coke, sweater weather, and historical fiction. On a perfect day, she can be found enjoying all three. She currently calls Boston home.

#MeetTheNewbs ~ Nicola Yoon Author of Everything, Everything (Guest Post+Giveaway)

Meet The Newbies is a blog event co-hosted by Dana @DanaSquare and I, in which we introduce you to all of the new kids in school, the 2015 debut authors!

Meet Nicola Yoon:

Nicola Yoon grew up in Jamaica (the island) and Brooklyn (part of Long Island). She currently resides in Los Angeles, CA with her husband and daughter, both of whom she loves beyond all reason. Everything, Everything is her first novel.

#MeetTheNewbs ~ Marcy Beller Paul Author of Underneath Everything (Guest Post+Giveaway)

Meet The Newbies is a blog event co-hosted by Dana @DanaSquare and I, in which we introduce you to all of the new kids in school, the 2015 debut authors!

Meet Marcy Beller Paul:

Marcy Beller Paul is a young adult author, former editor, and full-time mom who still has all the notes she passed in seventh grade (and knows how to fold them). 

She graduated from Harvard University and lives in New Jersey with her husband and two children. Underneath Everything will be published by Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins, in Fall 2015. It is her first novel.

#MeetTheNewbs ~ Ann Jacobus Author of Romancing the Dark in the City of Lights (Guest Post+Giveaway)

Meet The Newbies is a blog event co-hosted by Dana @DanaSquare and I, in which we introduce you to all of the new kids in school, the 2015 debut authors!

Meet Ann Jacobus:

Ann Jacobus writes children’s and YA fiction, blogs and tweets about it, and teaches writing. She has a B.A. from Dartmouth College and an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts. In her spare time she volunteers on a suicide crisis line, eats chocolate covered caramels and reads. Her debut YA thriller, Romancing the Dark in the City of Light, will be out from Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin’s Press in October, 2015. San Francisco is home to her and her family.

#MeetTheNewbs ~ Mikaela Everett Author of The Unquiet (Guest Post+Giveaway)

Meet The Newbies is a blog event co-hosted by Dana @DanaSquare and I, in which we introduce you to all of the new kids in school, the 2015 debut authors!

Meet Mikaela Everett:

Mikaela Everett has lived all over the world, from Africa to Australia, and now lives in Alberta, Canada. She graduated from university in 2011, with a degree in biological sciences. This is her first book.

#MeetTheNewbs ~ Lee Kelly Author of City of Savages (Guest Post+Giveaway)

Meet The Newbies is a blog event co-hosted by Dana @DanaSquare and I, in which we introduce you to all of the new kids in school, the 2015 debut authors!

Meet Lee Kelly:

Lee Kelly has wanted to write since she was old enough to hold a pencil, but it wasn’t until she began studying for the California Bar Exam that she conveniently started putting pen to paper. An entertainment lawyer by trade, Lee has practiced law in Los Angeles and New York. She lives with her husband and son in Millburn, New Jersey, though after a decade in Manhattan, she can’t help but still call herself a New Yorker. 

City of Savages is her first novel. Visit her at NewWriteCity.com.

#MeetTheNewbs ~ Heather Petty Author of Lock & Mori (Guest Post+Giveaway)

Meet The Newbies is a blog event co-hosted by Dana @DanaSquare and I, in which we introduce you to all of the new kids in school, the 2015 debut authors!

Meet Heather Petty:

Heather has been obsessed with mysteries since she was twelve, which is when she decided that stories about murders in London drawing rooms and English seaside villages were far superior to all other stories. Lock & Mori is her first novel. She lives in Reno, Nevada with her husband, daughter, and four hopelessly devious cats.

#MeetTheNewbs ~ Alexandra Sirowy Author of The Creeping (Guest Post+Giveaway)

Meet The Newbies is a blog event co-hosted by Dana @DanaSquare and I, in which we introduce you to all of the new kids in school, the 2015 debut authors!

Meet Alexandra Sirowy:

THE CREEPING is Alexandra Sirowy's first novel. She was born in Northern California and grew up in Providence, Rhode Island and the San Francisco Bay Area. She attended a women's college as an undergraduate and has a graduate degree in International Studies. She lives in Northern California with her husband. Her second novel, A CROOKED LIKENESS, also a YA thriller, will be out from Simon & Schuster BFYR summer of 2016.

#MeetTheNewbs ~ Katie Stout Author of Hello, I Love You (Guest Post)

Meet The Newbies is a blog event co-hosted by Dana @DanaSquare and I, in which we introduce you to all of the new kids in school, the 2015 debut authors!

Meet Katie Stout:

Katie M. Stout is from Atlanta, Georgia, and works for an international charity that sends her to fun places like Spain and Singapore. When she's not writing, you can find her drinking an unhealthy amount of chai tea and listening to Girls' Generation, Teen Top and all her other favorite K-pop tunes. HELLO, I LOVE YOU is her first novel.

#MeetTheNewbs ~ Melissa Grey Author of Girl At Midnight (Guest Post)

Meet The Newbies is a blog event co-hosted by Dana @DanaSquare and I, in which we introduce you to all of the new kids in school, the 2015 debut authors!

Meet Melissa Grey:

Melissa Grey penned her first short story at the age of twelve and hasn't stopped writing since. As an undergrad at Yale, she learned how ride a horse and shoot a bow and arrow at the same time, but hasn't had much use for that skill since graduating in 2008. 

#MeetTheNewbs ~ Sharon Huss Roat Author of Between the Notes (Guest Post+Giveaway)

Meet The Newbies is a blog event co-hosted by Dana @DanaSquare and I, in which we introduce you to all of the new kids in school, the 2015 debut authors!

Meet Sharon Huss Roat:

Sharon Huss Roat grew up in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and now lives in Delaware with her husband and two children. She worked in public relations for 20 years before deciding what she really wanted to be when she grew up. BETWEEN THE NOTES is her debut novel. When she's not writing (or reading) books for young adults, you might find her planting vegetables in her backyard garden or sewing costumes for a school musical. Visit her online at www.sharonroat.com or on Twitter @sharonwrote.

#MeetTheNewbs ~ Lauren Gibaldi Author of The Night We Said Yes (Guest Post+Giveaway)

Meet The Newbies is a blog event co-hosted by Dana @DanaSquare and I, in which we introduce you to all of the new kids in school, the 2015 debut authors!

Meet Lauren Gibaldi:

Public librarian and author of THE NIGHT WE SAID YES (HarperCollins / HarperTeen, June 16, 2015) and MATT'S STORY (a The Night We Said Yes Novella, out August 2015). Fan of dinosaurs and cheesy jokes. And you.

Blog Tour ~ The Night We Said Yes

The Night We Said Yes

by Lauren Gibaldi
Publisher: Harper Teen
Release Date: June 16th 2015

Synopsis:

A fun, romantic read, perfect for fans of Sarah Dessen and Susane Colasanti!

Before Matt, Ella had a plan. Get over a no-good ex-boyfriend. Graduate from high school without any more distractions. Move away from Orlando, Florida, where she’s lived her entire life.

But Matt—the cute, shy, bespectacled bass player who just moved to town—was never part of that plan.

And neither was attending a party that was crashed by the cops just minutes after they arrived. Or spending an entire night saying “yes” to every crazy, fun thing they could think of.

Then Matt abruptly left town, and he broke not only Ella’s heart but those of their best friends, too. So when he shows up a year later with a plan of his own—to relive the night that brought them together—Ella isn’t sure whether Matt’s worth a second chance. Or if re-creating the past can help them create a different future.

In alternating then and now chapters, debut author Lauren Gibaldi crafts a charming, romantic story of first loves, lifelong friendships, uncovered secrets, and, ultimately, finding out how to be brave.

Buy Links: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | iTunes | Kobo

#MeetTheNewbs ~Chandler Baker Author of Alive (Guest Post)

Meet The Newbies is a blog event co-hosted by Dana @DanaSquare and I, in which we introduce you to all of the new kids in school, the 2015 debut authors!

Meet Chandler Baker:

Chandler Baker got her start ghostwriting novels for teens and tweens, including installments in a book series that has sold more than 1 million copies. She grew up in Florida, went to college at the University of Pennsylvania and studied law at the University of Texas. She now lives in Austin with her husband. Although she loves spinning tales with a touch of horror, she is a much bigger scaredy-cat than her stories would lead you to believe.

You can find Chandler as the books contributor on the YouTube channel Weird Girls.