My First YA Cover Quote

Asking busy and talented authors to provide a cover quote is NEVER easy. You send out your book (Pre-copyedit) and try to keep busy while you wait to see if they liked it enough to provide a cool quote. And this is even more scary when my book is my first YA, but I got my first quote today (with more to follow) from NYT bestseller, Sophie Jordan.

"Deliciously dark! Gritty and suspenseful, IN THE ARMS OF STONE ANGELS is a new take on the paranormal. One of the most compelling and honest voices in young adult fiction!"

~Sophie Jordan - New York Times Bestseller - Firelight (Harper Teen, Sept 2010)

Yay! Sophie Jordan has elevated my weekend. Her YA novel FIRELIGHT will be released Sept 7, 2010. A very cool cover. I had an opportunity to see this cover in my hot little hands and it shimmers. Gorgeous! And it's been getting great early reviews. I've pre-ordered it and can't wait to get started on her new paranormal YA series.

Need My YA Fix!

I have this major procrastination thing go on when I get down to the last chapters of a book. I know I have to finish and I'm on a contractual deadline to write THE END, but I hate knowing that I have to let go ... and leave the characters behind in their world. Some characters are impossible to let go of. They stick and lurk somewhere inside me forever.

But the beauty of what I get to do everyday is write. I just finished my latest adult book - RECKONING FOR THE DEAD (Avon/HarperCollins, 2011), and I love this book. It's the 4th book in my Sweet Justice series and I love hanging out with the characters. But now that RECKONING is done, I have a YA book proposal due to Harlequin Teen, book #2 that they bought. And I can't wait to get at it.

I love my adult books because crime fiction is my comfort read, but I've found that writing YA novels makes me very happy. YA books are amazing. The only limitation to them is the author's own imagination. They stretch your mind and the brutally honest ones deal with important issues. And they can communicate amazing messages. The only thing I love better than writing YA is READING IT.

So if you have any recommendations for YA books that you've read and loved, please let me hear from you. I love dark, edgy YA, but I'm open to anything. If you love it, I want to hear about it. And please tell me why you liked it. My TBR pile is getting low.