Today we are chatting with Rebecca Elliott, author of
Pretty Rude for a Girl!
Read on for more about Rebecca, her book, and a giveaway!
Meet Rebecca Elliott!
Rebecca Elliott is an author and illustrator. She earned a degree in philosophy and once did a brief stint in a dull office. Now, she enjoys eating angel delight, loudly venting on a drum kit, and spending time in her sunny garden. She lives in England with her family, some chickens, and a cat named Bernard.
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Meet Pretty Rude For A Girl!
Haylah Swinton is a comedic hit on her new YouTube channel, but will her popularity backfire? Prepare to snort, guffaw, and cringe through Rebecca Elliott’s hilarious companion to Pretty Funny for a Girl.
Big, bold, and funnier than a cat in a onesie playing bagpipes, Haylah Swinton’s been busy proving she’s an all-star comedian through her new YouTube channel. Yet life online is its own can of trolls. And proving she’s funny is tougher than she thought it’d be! Plus, her new boyfriend Dylan hasn’t even tried kissing her yet, and when her deadbeat dad decides to turn up, life as she’s known it is tossed into one big, colossal mess. And what better way to vent, than to spill the tea to her newly found audience online? But when friends and family discover Haylah’s ranting videos, it turns out Haylah’s got quite a lot of explaining to do.
Rebecca Elliott’s follow up to the hilarious Pretty Funny for a Girl fires on all cylinders for YA readers. Family drama, boy drama, and a budding comedian at the center of it all makes for a laugh-out-loud, binge-worthy read.
~ Author Chat ~
YABC: What gave you the inspiration to write this book?
In writing the first book Pretty Funny for a Girl I fell in love with the characters particularly the protagonist Haylah and I wanted to know where her story went next! Turns out there was a fair bit of drama ahead of her – In the first novel Haylah goes on a journey of self discovery and acceptance and in Pretty Rude for a Girl that continues, she’s now a big fan of her own curves, (though sometimes that confidence gets knocked), and she now has enough faith in her own comedic abilities to start her own YouTube channel (though that’s not without it’s stresses and set-backs!). She has a boyfriend, although he’s not being very boyfriendy and she’s trying to work out why. Oh and her Dad comes back on the scene having not been around for years and that kinda turns her world upside down.
I was inspired to write both books because we don’t see enough of my favorite kind of girl represented in YA fiction: the gobby, sarcastic, larger than life girl who makes you laugh until you pee your pants. And that’s also who I wrote these books for—all the opinionated, wildly inappropriate, funny girls who need to stop feeling like they’re not matching up to society’s expectations of them and instead jump under the spotlight and crack on with joyously wobbling their funny bits in the face of life.
Plus there’s too much serious stuff around at the moment, and pressure on teenagers who are constantly being told they need to ‘catch up’ on their studies before all is lost! If teenagers want a break from all that nonsense then I hope this is the antidote—a book that’s funny and life-affirming AND at it’s heart, I hope, about building up your self-esteem and having confidence in yourself, wherever you’re at.
YABC: Who is your favorite character in the book?
Well, Haylah, obvs, but then I still adore her little brother Noah, who’s based on my son Benjy who was about the same age when I started writing the book and didn’t mind me writing down a lot of what he said and putting it straight in! But I also grew to love more one of Hayah’s BFFs Kas as she goes on her own, to use that horrible word, ‘journey’ in this book and I loved writing that.
YABC: What’s a book you’ve recently read and loved?
Midnight Library by Matt Haig – a brilliant and uplifting book about how our seemingly small life decisions lead to drastically alternate lives and the ultimate realization that maybe the life that we’re leading, flawed and difficult as it is, is the best one.
YABC: What’s up next for you?
Well after a year and a half of lockdowns, home-schooling and a fair amount of personal upheaval (which I won’t bore you with) I’ve enjoyed taking it a little slower and have been concentrating on my Owl Diaries and Unicorn Diaries early readers series but now I’m eager to get back into my ‘grown-up’ writing and whilst I’m not ruling out a Pretty Funny/Rude book 3 I really want to write a novel for adults which maybe fights back against the stereotypical dull, motherly ‘middle-aged woman’ view. I’ll let you know how I get on with it!
YABC: Which was the most difficult or emotional scene to narrate?
Without a doubt, Haylah’s difficult initial conversations with her returning father – I had to stop and go for a walk a few times as I was getting a bit emosh!
YABC: Which part of the writing process do you enjoy more: Drafting or Revising?
Definitely the first draft as there’s so much freedom at that point to take the characters and plot wherever you want them to go. Unfortunately, though, the reality is that 80% of writing a novel is done in the editing and rewrites – they can be a slog but there’s no doubt that they always end up with a better book that you can actually be proud of. Thing is, a novel is a team effort in many ways and without my agent, first readers (thanks Mum) and the genius editors I have at Penguin (UK) and Peachtree (US), always gently pushing and pulling my books in the right direction, they would probably be rambling disasters!
YABC: Is there an organization or cause that is close to your heart?
My late gorgeous daughter Clementine was born with cerebral palsy so I have a big heart for all charities working with severely disabled children and their families. I’m also passionate about spreading the message (hence my picture books Just Because and Sometimes) that the profoundly disabled are just as valuable in society and life as the fully abled.
Living with Clemmie for the 10 years we had her brought me and everyone she knew immense joy and taught me so much about life, true happiness and the real value of just ‘being’, rather than striving to achieve and always ‘doing’. Clemmie couldn’t walk, talk, or ‘do’ anything yet was perfect and inspired so many in her short life.
YABC: What advice would you give to new writers?
Enjoy your writing! Have fun with it,and keep at it because it’s your favorite thing to do not because of some desperation to get published. That way you will only get better and better, and the inevitable rejections (part of any novelist’s life) won’t deter you.
(Oh and keep a stash of cream eggs available at all times for those dark and disturbing third re-writes when nothing else will save you.)
Pretty Rude for a Girl
Author: Rebecca Elliott
Publisher: Peachtree Publishing
Publish Date: October 1st, 2021
*GIVEAWAY DETAILS*
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The cover is fun and matches the dramatic synopsis well.