18 Things #newrelease #ya #fantasy

Well, it's that time again. One of my favorite people's book releases today. I met Jamie Ayres last year during a contest I judged. By the end of her first chapter, I broke down into tears. Not many authors can claim they had ME crying that soon. Actually, I don't think any can--except Jamie. She captured the emotions of grief beautifully.

So of course Jamie won this contest--along with a few others--and she was offered a contract for publication. Honestly, I didn't think she was going to take it. When she did, I hemmed and hawed over whether I wanted to edit her work. I may have even assigned it to someone else and then stolen it back from that person.

Well, I should stop rambling and allow you to read what part of Jamie is in her main character Olga.

Take it away, Jamie!

What part of me is in Olga?

Hmm, this was a fun question for me and one that truthfully, I never really gave much thought!

Obviously, anyone who knows us would say we both drink an insane amount of coffee. The Keurig machine hubs bought me for Christmas may just be the death of me . . . which leads me to the fact that just like Olga, I don’t sleep much. On average, I’d say I get 4.5 hours a night. And nooo, I don’t take naps (I just make more coffee when I get home)!

On a more serious note, I’d also say love doesn’t come easy to us. I always had a steady stream of boyfriends from sixth grade on, always looking for what love really was and finding disappointment instead. On August 17, 1997, I finally met the man who showed me what love is . . . Jesus!

This is another way we’re alike. We’re Christians, and vulnerability, discipline (okay, not where the coffee is concerned . . . or the cupcakes) and peacemaking come with the territory. That doesn’t mean we’re overly religious, or that every doctrine mentioned in the book is true. That’s why 18 Things will be shelved in the fiction section! We’re not trying to preach to anybody, but we do hope the novel will inspire teens (and anyone else reading it) to live the life they were created for.

Lastly, to conclude my five paragraph essay (heeheehee—sorry, it’s the teacher in me), we’re geeks. I don’t know if I was necessarily a geek in high school, but my husband converted me. You can thank him for all the Star Wars references in my book.

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About the Author: Jamie Ayres writes young adult paranormal love stories by night and teaches very young adults as a public school teacher by day. When not at home on her laptop or at school, she can often be found at a local book store grabbing random children and reading to them. So far, she has not been arrested for this. She lives in southwest Florida with her prince charming, two children (sometimes three based on how Mr. Ayres is acting), and a basset hound. She spent her youthful summers in Grand Haven, Michigan and this setting provided the inspiration for her debut novel, 18 Things. She really does have grandmothers named Olga and Gay but unlike her heroine, she's thankfully not named after either one of them. She loves lazy pajama days, the first page of a good book, stupid funny movies, and sharing stories with fantastic people like you. Visit her website at www.jamieayres.com.