Welcome to our weekly special feature post, Author Of The Week!!
Each week we will be interviewing a different YA author and highlighting their upcoming release!
We will also be hosting a giveaway of the book we are highlighting!!
Introducing Kami Garcia, YABC’s Author of the Week!!
Kami Garcia is a #1 New York Times bestselling and Bram Stoker–nominated author and the coauthor of the Beautiful Creatures and Dangerous Creatures novels. Her solo series, the Legion, includes the instant New York Times bestseller Unbreakable and its sequel, Unmarked.
Kami was a teacher for seventeen years and coauthored her first novel on a dare from seven of her students. If she isn’t busy watching Supernatural, Kami can teach you how to escape from a pair of handcuffs or bake a Coca-Cola cake. She has never raced a car, but there is still time. Kami lives in Maryland with her family and their dogs, Spike and Oz.
Website * Twitter * Facebook * Instagram
Meet The Lovely Reckless!!
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Kami Garcia, a contemporary romance full of loss, love and redemption…
Seventeen year-old Frankie Devereux would do anything to forget the past. Haunted by the memory of her boyfriend’s death, she lives her life by one dangerous rule: nothing matters. At least, that’s what Frankie tells herself after a reckless mistake forces her to leave her privileged life in the Heights to move in with her dad—an undercover cop. She transfers to public school in the Downs, where fistfights in the halls don’t faze anyone and illegal street racing is more popular than football.
Marco Leone is the fastest street racer in the Downs. Tough, sexy, and hypnotic, he makes it impossible for Frankie to ignore him…and how he makes her feel. But the risks Marco takes for his family could have devastating consequences for them both. When Frankie discovers his secret, she has to make a choice. Will she let the pain of the past determine her future? Or will she risk what little she has left to follow her heart?
Your own heart will race with each page turn of this heart-stopping star-crossed love story.
Amazon * B & N * Indiebound
YABC: What gave you the inspiration to write this book?
The story was floating around in my head for a long time, and it has a lot of my life in it. In The Lovely Reckless, Frankie’s boyfriend dies and she makes some reckless choices that get her kicked out of her fancy private school. So Frankie’s mom sends her to live with her father — an undercover cop who works stolen cars. This was one of the places where my personal experiences provided inspiration.
Like Frankie, I know what’s it’s like to have a cop as a parent. My stepfather was an undercover cop, in Washington, DC, in Auto Squad — the stolen cars division. Being a teenage girl with a parent who is a cop makes dating challenging (and embarrassing). I used lots of those moments from my own life in the book.
When Frankie moves in with her dad, she has to attend public school for the first time. That’s where she meets Marco Leone — resident bad boy and the reigning king of illegal street racing. But there’s more to Marco than Frankie realizes. Add Frankie’s dad into the mix and you have serious drama.
I attended both private and public school and the illegal street races I watched back then also provided inspiration.
YABC: Who is your favorite character in the book?
It’s a toss up between Frankie and Marco. I love Frankie because, at the beginning of the book, she isn’t a badass heroine who knows exactly what she wants. She has to find her strength and figure out who she is over the course of the novel.
What I love about Marco is that he’s not your typical bad boy. People judge him based on the neighborhood he lives in and the fact that he street races, without knowing him — or the reasons behind his actions.
YABC: Which came first, the title or the novel?
The novel came first. For me, a title has to relate to the book in some way, but it also has to capture the mood — and it has to sound cool.
YABC: Thinking way back to the beginning, what’s the most important thing you’ve learned as a writer from then to now?
Whenever I’m drafting a new novel, I’ll get about halfway through the draft and I’ll decide that it’s broken. I have a crisis of faith, and I usually have to call my critique partners and/or my agent to talk me off the ledge.
YABC: What do you like most about the cover of the book?
Everything! I love the way it captures both the romance and the setting! I’m a little obsessed with it. My publisher and editor, Erin Stein, came up with the concept.
YABC: What’s up next for you?
My novel The X-Files Origins: Agent of Chaos about a young Fox Mulder releases on January 3, 2017. It’s an origin story about how Mulder became a believer. It’s also a thriller and you don’t have to know anything about The X-Files to read, but there are lots of Easter eggs if you watched the show. Jonathan Maberry is writing young Dana Scully’s story in The X-Files Origins: Devil’s Advocate.
YABC: Which part of the writing process do you enjoy more: Drafting or Revising?
Revising. Getting the words out of my head and onto the page can be a painful process. Once I have a draft to work, and I start adding and layering, the novel comes to life.
YABC: Is there an organization or cause that is close to your heart?
I’m a cofounder of YALLFEST, the young adult and children’s book festival in Charleston, SC, and I’m a board member of YALLWEST, the sister festival in Santa Monica, CA. I love that our festivals send authors to speak at underfunded schools. YALLWEST actually buses kids to the festival and provides them with vouchers for lunch and books. YALLWEST also established The Purple Ink Award to award teachers at underfunded Los Angeles public schools with books to build classroom libraries. I’m also on the Writers Board of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), an organization that promotes writing and supports writers of all ages.
Kami Garcia is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, and the coauthor of the Beautiful Creatures and Dangerous Creatures novels. Kami’s solo novels include Unbreakable and Unmark
Kami was a teacher for seventeen years and coauthored her first novel on a dare from seven of her students. If she isn’t busy watching Supernatural, she can teach you how to escape from a pair of handcuffs or bake a Coca-Cola cake. She lives in Maryland with her family and their dogs, Spike and Oz. Visit Kami at kamigarcia.com and on Instagram & Twitter @kamigarcia.
The Lovely Reckless
By: Kami Garcia
Publisher: Imprint/Fierce Reads
Release Date: October 4, 2016
*GIVEAWAY DETAILS*
One winner will receive a signed finished copy of The Lovely Reckless by Kami Garcia ~ (US Only).
*Click the Rafflecopter link below to enter the giveaway*
I love both the cover and the synopsis for The Lovely Reckless and cannot wait to read it
I love it! I’ll read anything by Kami Garcia!
I haven’t read anything of Kami’s yet but from the cover and the synopsis, it looks so good!
I was so innocent and naive in high school. This book is nothing like me, and that’s probably why I’d like it!
The cover makes me think of the movie Fast and Furious.
The cover is great, I like the street art look. The synopsis is interesting. Sounds like a fun read.
The cover looks different to me and also nice. The synopsis is mysterious and different.
The lovely reckless sounds like a good read ♡ I love the cover! Thank you
I somewhat like the cover. The book however sounds like it will be amazing.
I like the cover. It’s different from the norm. The book sounds great!
I will read this but not a fan of the cover.
I actually love the cover and I’m so excited for this book I would already own if I ordered books online (I got burned a few times) but even if i don’t win I get the book at some point!
This book sounds so sweet, and the cover is kind of different. I can’t wait to read this one!
I’m such a goner for love story’s like these, and once I start reading one I can’t stop until I finish it, so I can’t wait to get my grabby hands on this and devour all of it, and the cover looks amazing and definitely stands out.
I saw Kami Garcia’s quote on It Ends With Us, and I completely agreed. I need to read this now!
I like the watercolors of the cover and the synopsis sounds exciting. Lots of tough choices for these characters.
The cover looks cool and the synopsis sounds very intriguing!
Looks great!