Agent Spotlight: Amy Jameson

This week's Agent Spotlight features Amy Jameson of A+B Works.
Status update on 12/19/2025: Amy is currently closed to submissions. Check the agency website to learn when she reopens to queries.
About: “Amy began her career in New York with esteemed literary agency Janklow & Nesbit Associates, where she launched Shannon Hale’s career. She currently represents New York Times bestselling author Jessica Day George and a select crop of new authors. Amy loves children’s literature, and is actively seeking Middle Grade and Young Adult projects.” (Link)
About the Agency:
“Two partners bring their respective expertise under one roof to help clients improve their writing, get published, and develop their personal brand. We think of your brand as a composite of every interaction people have with you, including your work, visual identity, and online/offline presence." (Link)
Web Presence:
A+B Works website.
Facebook.
AgentQuery.
QueryTracker.
What She's Looking For:
Genres / Specialties:
MG and YA fiction and non-fiction
What She Isn't Looking For:
Thrillers, science fiction, and literary fiction
Editorial Agent?
Yes
Clients:
Dan Austin, Karen Day, Jessica Day George, and Kathleen Reid.
Query Methods:

E-mail: No.
Snail-Mail: No.
Online-Form: Yes.
Submission Guidelines (always verify):
Fill out a contact form on the agency website.
See the agency website for complete, up-to-date submissions guidelines.
Response Policy:
They do not guarantee a response due to the high volume of queries that they receive.
What's the Buzz?
Ms. Jameson is particularly interested in middle grade and young adult fiction but takes on very few new clients. She has a small, select list.
Worth Your Time:
Interviews:
None found.
Contact:
Please see the A+B Works website for contact and query information.
Profile Details:
Last updated: 3/19/2024.
Last Reviewed By Agent? N/A.
***
Have any experience with this agent? See something that needs updating? Please leave a comment or e-mail me at natalieiaguirre7@gmail.com

Note: These agent profiles and interviews presently focus on agents who accept children's fiction. Please take the time to verify anything you might use here before querying an agent. The information found here is subject to change.

3000 FOLLOWERS MEGA, MEGA GIVEAWAY

Hi Everyone! Casey and I are beyond thrilled to celebrate reaching 3000 followers. In the two years I've been Casey's blog partner, I've been amazed to watch our following grow by 2000. Thank you all for being such great followers! I'm SO grateful for all the friendships I've made through this blog. I would never have gotten to know so many fabulous writers, readers, and book review bloggers if I wasn't blogging.

So to celebrate reaching 3000 followers, Casey and I have a fabulous giveaway for you. There's 3 separate giveaways.

Prize Package #1

Two lucky winners will win the book of their choice from the books below. Casey and I are each purchasing a book for this part of the giveaway. Click on the book title to read the book description. This is open to international followers as long as you live where The Book Depository delivers for free.

 

 

 

 

CLOCKWORK PRINCESS (Pre-order)
FALLING KINGDOMS
REACHED
REQUIEM
PROPHECY
SCARLET
THE INDIGO SPELL
THRONE OF GLASS
UNRAVEL ME 
DAYS OF BLOOD & STARLIGHT 
THROUGH THE EVER NIGHT

Prize Package #2 Twelve winners will win one book or ARC from the choices below. This is from me. As I've tried to get more ARCs from publishers to share with you, I've also gotten so many books and ARCs that are really awesome but I don't have time to review with other things scheduled. Some of these choices I've read and enjoyed. Others I've read good reviews of and seen on other blogs I follow. Thanks to Harper, Penguin, and Kennsington Publishing for making this possible.

And I'm happy to say that I found homes for all the older middle grade books from Harper and Penguin that I couldn't spotlight at our Families with Children from China Chinese New Year party. Even the Justin Bieber books. All the kids were excited, which was so great.

This package is open to U.S. and Canada only. Sorry everyone, but the postage cost would be too high otherwise.

 

 

 

 

17 & GONE (ARC)
CRIMSON FROST (ARC)
DON'T TURN AROUND (BOOK)
FANG GIRL(ARC_
FEEDBACK (BOOK)
OUT OF THE EASY (ARC)
PAPER VALENTINE (ARC)
TEN (BOOK)
THE RUINING (ARC)
JUST ONE DAY(ARC)
SOMETHING STRANGE AND DEADLY (BOOK)
THE MADNESS UNDERNEATH (ARC)


Hope you're excited about all the book choices in Prize Packages #1 and #2. I tried to pick ones that I thought you'd really like.

Prize Package #3 Casey is offering a 5 page critique to one winner. She's awesome at critiquing so I know someone will really love this.

To enter, all you need to do is be a follower (just click the follow button if you’re not a follower) and leave a comment and tell me the following:

Prize Package #1-Tell me which book you want. International entries are welcome as long as you live where The Book Depository ships for free.

Prize Package #2-Tell me your first two choices of books if you are from the U.S. or Canada. I'll try to match the books to the winners, but there's no guarantee I can do that for all the books. If you don't list any choices, I'll assume you don't qualify for this Prize Package.

Prize Package #3-Tell me if you want to be entered in this contest. International entries are welcome.

Please enter the contest by midnight on March 9th. I’ll announce the winners on March 11th. If your e-mail is not on Blogger, please list it in your comment.

If you mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or your blog, mention this in the comments and I'll give you an extra entry. International entries are welcome. We'd really love if you'd spread the word about this contest.

Here's what's coming up:

Next Monday I'm interviewing Carrie Harris about writing humor and platform and giving away her new book BAD HAIR DAY and BAD TASTE IN BOYS. Carrie has a great knack in creating funny, really likeable characters. I went to her book signing for BAD HAIR DAY and discovered she lives in my town. I was SO excited to find that out and I'm excited to share her books and advice with you.

Next Wednesday I'm thrilled to interview Shannon Messenger about her new amazing YA book LET THE SKY FALL, an urban fantasy. I'm part of her blog tour and the tour is sponsoring a giveaway. And because Shannon's my friend and I loved her book, I have a giveaway too.
 
The following Monday  I have a guest post by Anna Staniszewski and a giveaway of her new book, MY FAIRY EPIC TALE FAIL, and her first book, MY VERY UNFAIRY TALE LIFE.

The following Wednesday, I have a guest post with debut author Liesel Hill and a giveaway of her new adult dystopian, PERSISTENCE OF VISION.

And don't forget our Tuesday Tips and Casey's Thursday agent spotlights.

Hope to see you on Monday!

TIP TUESDAY #153 AND BITOPIA GIVEAWAY

Tip Tuesday features writers' tips on craft, research, querying, blogging, marketing, inspiration, and more. If you'd like to send in a tip, please e-mail me at agentspotlight(at)gmail(dot)com.

Hi Everyone! Natalie here today. I have a great tip by Ari Magnusson the author of BITOIPA, a fantasy that also deals with the contemporary issue of bullying. More about the giveaway after Ari' awesome tip.

Embrace Criticism

The biggest lesson I learned in writing my novel Bitopia was to seek out criticism. To embrace it. To beg for it if necessary. I had shared the draft of the book for years, hearing all the praise people had for it but turning a deaf ear to the improvements people suggested. Yes, I did hear the criticism, but I always had someone else’s positive opinion at the ready to counter it. And since at least a couple of people really liked the whole book (so they said), didn’t that mean that some agent somewhere would, too?

After years of rejection, I realized that I was getting nowhere precisely because, deep down, I was treating criticism as a negative statement about the book and my writing instead of embracing it as an opportunity to make the book better and grow as a writer. And when I revised the book, I was simply applying the same judgments to the text that I had employed when writing it. So I pulled out all the feedback I had received on the book, and when I reread it with an open mind, I clearly saw how I could improve the book.

After I finished rewriting the book based on the feedback, I asked anyone who would read the manuscript to tell me what he or she didn’t like. I no longer needed or wanted to hear what was good; now I wanted to know what could be improved. I received a wealth of criticism and carefully considered every comment, no matter how incorrect or preposterous it might initially have seemed. And the approach worked—Bitopia was named to Kirkus Reviews’ Best of 2012, an achievement that would not have been possible without all the suggestions for improvement that I received.

If you find yourself in a similar position to mine—where constant updates and revisions don’t seem to be resulting in progress—consider how you treat criticism. If you believe that you are honestly open to it, then test yourself; pull out feedback that you received in the past and recall whether you had dismissed it outright or carefully thought through how each suggested improvement would change the story. And if you are truly open to criticism, seek it out and embrace it when it comes.

The following types of individuals can be great sources of criticism:

·         Writing group members. My writing group is a wonderful and “safe” place to share new work. We kick around ideas, suggest new directions and alternative endings, push back on criticism and see if it remains standing, and feel comfortable admitting when something doesn’t work. Join a group and truly listen to what the members have to say.

·         Friends who are “general readers.” I’ve found that friends are usually reluctant to make suggestions unless specifically asked to help find places to improve, and then they are thrilled with having the freedom to criticize. Tell friends that you want to know where improvements can be made.

·         The target audience. Perhaps the most enlightening feedback came from a group of 5^th-grade students. I used my network of friends to find a schoolteacher who read the book to her class and sent me their wonderful comments. Find opportunities to share your work with the target audience and listen to their feedback.

·         A “super reader.” I have a friend who reads everything and anything: romance, mysteries, YA, nonfiction, classics, anything with two covers and sheets between. She devours books. And because she reads so widely, she knows stories. She knows what works and what doesn’t and can clearly explain why. Although a rare breed, find a super reader if you can. Try a local librarian or bookstore owner; they could serve as a super reader or help you find one.

·         Subject matter expert. Since my novel deals with bullying, I sought out a nationally recognized bullying expert to review the bullying scenes and confirm that the advice provided to readers was solid. Not only did he make wonderful suggestions to improve the scenes and fine-tune the advice, but he also gave me his feedback on the entire book as a reader, and provided me with an in-depth education on bullying. If your book deals with a specialized subject, engage an expert.

·         Editors. I hired three editors for my book. Who says I had to stop at one? I used my network of writing friends to find editors (I’m lucky—my sister is an editor) who charged reasonable prices. Each provided a unique perspective on the book, so I found using more than one worthwhile.

·         Agents. I got great feedback from two agents. I paid for the first one’s time at a writing conference, and he proceeded to shred my main character. The second agent was considering representing my rewrite and over a couple of months provided great feedback on the opening (I cut a full chapter based on her suggestion) and dialogue. I asked her for titles of books to use as examples, which she provided, and although she decided not to represent the book, I walked away with invaluable improvements to the book. Always approach exchanges with agents, whether at conferences or should they express interest in a manuscript, as an opportunity to learn how to improve your work.

·         Proofreaders. My proofreader is awesome. She knows grammar like Einstein knew physics. But she also asked, when I hired her, if I was open to editorial input, and she made great suggestions. Let anyone who is looking at the book know that you are open to suggestions for improvement. 

·         Family members. Not only do I have a professional editor in my family, but I also have the unofficial Attila of Literary Criticism: my mom. This woman, who once wrote the word “BORING” in big red letters across the top of a chapter and continues to bring up how terrible that chapter was years after the fact, contributed suggestions that resulted in one hundred and twenty-seven changes to my novel. In my opinion, the ultimate test of openness to criticism is the ability to receive it from a family member without it affecting your personal relationship.

Embracing criticism worked for me once I accepted others’ comments as opportunities to improve the story. And now I can’t get enough of it. I don’t need to hear what works; I need to know about the problems—where pacing is slow, where actions seem forced, where dialogue is clumsy—because that information will help me to improve the material and, I hope, help me become a better writer. I fully accept that the first draft of a book is the best that I can do on my own, but the best that I can do for the book itself is to seek out insights and suggestions that others have for what would make the best story. 

Thanks Ari for sharing your advice. You can find Ari at his website.

Here's a blurb about BITOPIA from Goodreads:

Named to Kirkus Reviews' Best of 2012!

When you run from bullies, you never know where you might wind up…

Bitopia is a wonderland of fantastical foliage and mysterious creatures. It’s also a place where Venators lurk, vile creatures that relentlessly hunt children. So the children of Bitopia, the only human inhabitants, are forced to live in a high-walled city for protection, a medieval metropolis of cold and shadow where time passes but no one ages, a place of no escape.

Like all the other children of Bitopia, Stewart arrives there unexpectedly while fleeing from bullies. And, like all Newcomers, Stewart dreams of finding a way back home. Risking exile from the city and the protection that it offers, Stewart and Cora, his Finder, discover a clue to escaping, one that presents them with a terrible choice: face their greatest fear and risk death, or be trapped in Bitopia forever.

A fast-paced adventure that addresses a fundamental element of bullying-fear-and provides readers with an example of how to deal with bullying on their own.

Ari has generously offered a copy of BITOPIA for a giveaway.  To enter, all you need to do is be a follower (just click the follow button if you’re not a follower) and leave a comment by midnight on March 2nd. I’ll announce the winner on March 4th. If your e-mail is not on Blogger, please list it in your comment.

If you mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or your blog, mention this in the comments and I'll give you an extra entry. International entries are welcome.

Here's what's coming up:

Tomorrow Casey and I have a super awesome 3000 follower mega giveaway which includes a HUGE book giveaway. You won't want to miss it. 

Next Monday I'm interviewing Carrie Harris about writing humor and platform and giving away her new book BAD HAIR DAY and BAD TASTE IN BOYS. Carrie has a great knack in creating funny, really likeable characters. I went to her book signing for BAD HAIR DAY and discovered she lives in my town. I was SO excited to find that out and I'm excited to share her books with you.
 

Next Wednesday I'm thrilled to interview Shannon Messenger about her new YA book LET THE SKY FALL. I'm part of her blog tour and the tour is sponsoring a giveaway. And because Shannon's my friend and I loved her book, I have a giveaway too.


And don't forget our Tuesday Tips and Casey's Thursday agent spotlights.

Hope to see you on Monday!

THE CADET OF TILDOR AND OBSIDIAN MIRRIOR GIVEAWAY AND ASK THE EXPERT INTERVIEW

Happy Monday! Before I get to my interview today, I've got a few things to share. First, the Cybil winners were announced this week. THE FALSE PRINCE by Jennifer Nielsen won in the Sci Fi/Fantasy category. I'm so excited because I'm in love with that book. AND I NOMINATED IT! It was a highlight of my week. THE RUNAWAY KING comes out next month and I'll be sharing that will you for sure in April as March is already too booked. I can't wait to read it. You can see all the winners HERE.

Second, if you're a published author, Kathy at I AM A READER NOT A WRITER is looking for authors to donate books for her giveaway hops. This could be a great way for you to get some extra publicity for your book as her giveaway hops are very popular. If you're interested, go HERE to fill out her form.

The WriteOnCon Pitch-Fest starts today. You can find out details HERE. Hope to see you there!
 
Next, I have some winners to announce.

The winner of PRODIGY is LUISA FREIHEIT!

And the winner of CITY OF A THOUSAND DOLLS isVIVIEN!
Congrats! E-mail me your address so I can send you your book. Please e-mail me by the end of Wednesday or I'll have to pick a new winner.

Today I’m excited to interview Celine, a teenager from Australia, who also blogs at Forget-Me-Not. It’s a great blog where she reviews mostly YA books. So you know, she answered these questions a few months ago because school in Australia is really busy in February for her.

Welcome Celine! Thanks so much for joining us.

1. Please tell us a little bit about yourself, your school, and what you like to read.

Hi everyone! As you know, my name is Celine and I live in Australia! I absolutely love to read, particularly YA books. I grew up with Roald Dahl’s books and my first YA book was...Twilight! I’m currently in my last 2 years of high school and it’s extremely busy. I have so many school works but I always try to spend my free time reading books! I do enjoy reading different types of genres such as YA dystopian, paranormal and also contemporary. And just letting you know, although I can’t choose my favourite YA dystopian and paranormal books, my all-time favourite YA contemporary book is none other than Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins!

2. I don’t read much contemporary, but I loved Anna and the French Kiss. And I’m a huge YA dystopian fan. Before you started blogging, how did you find out about the books you read? What about new books coming out?

Before I started blogging, I usually find out about the books I read from the library. Sometimes, the library makes a list of good YA books to check out and I normally just buy books when the cover and summary intrigue me. As for new books, I don’t really know much unless it’s a sequel to the series I started reading although since blogging and checking out Goodreads, I found out lots of different new books coming out each year!

3. I used to love finding authors through books at the library. Now that I’m blogging, I get more ARCs and go to the library less, sadly. I love Goodreads as a way to find books too. And bloggers like you. What made you decide to start blogging? Tell us a bit about your blog and how you juggle it with the demands of high school.

I decided to start blogging because I really wanted to share my love for books and found out this community called blogging (which I absolutely love!). So, I decided to write my first review and then publish it in the blog. My blog has just recently celebrated its one year anniversary and I just can’t believe I’ve been blogging for a year! When I started my blog last year, school wasn’t very busy so I was able to blog constantly and participate in different memes. However, since school is quite busy this year, I have to keep track of all books I read which I need to review and make sure that I’m up-to-date with writing my reviews and updating my blog.

4. I’m amazed you can find time to blog with the demands of high school. My daughter has no time to read for pleasure with homework, swimming, and the community service required on college applications. How has blogging changed what you read, if at all? What books are you waiting to be released?

Blogging has certainly exposed me to different genres. I first began by reading only YA paranormal and contemporary books, but after blogging, I discovered many other amazing genres out there such as dystopian, steampunk, fantasy and many more! I have a lot of books I’m waiting for to be released but the ones I’m most dying for are probably Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare (The last book in the series!), Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins and the third Divergent book by Veronica Roth!

5. Do you buy most of your book, receive ARCS, or get them at the library? How often do you go to a bookstore?

When I first started blogging, I bought most of my books. But, since some of the books I want to read are not quite available in the bookstores, I borrow some of them from the library too. After blogging for about 6 months, I started to receive physical ARCs from the publishers here and receiving my first physical ARC was one of the most unforgettable blogging moments. I visit the bookstore quite often, at least once a week and I just love looking around the YA section, trying to see which books I’m interested in that I haven’t got!

6. I also started out by buying a lot of my books. Now I get ARCs from publishers for most of my interviews and some ARCs I request. I was excited too when I first started getting ARCs from publishers. Do you read any teen book blogs, author blogs, or author or publisher websites? Become a fan of an author on Facebook? Why?

I definitely do check out a lot of YA book blogs, author blogs and publisher websites. Checking out other YA book blogs keep me updated with new books that I might not know yet and reading reviews from these blogs also help to know more about the books out there. As for author blogs, I love knowing what’s happening with the books they are writing! With publisher websites, I read them so I can also know when publishers here are going to publish certain books or whether or not they have picked up the rights to publish a book which has been published in the US because only some books published in the US are published here in Australia.

7. I read a lot of YA and middle grade book blogs for the same reason. Have any of your teachers recommended any blogs or websites to your class or to you?

My teachers rarely recommend blogs or websites to my class since we don’t really have a YA English class but sometimes they do when we are studying a particular book in class!

8. Are there things your favorite authors could do that would make you more likely to visit their website, their blog, or become a fan on Facebook?

I think I’m pretty happy with all the websites, blogs and facebook pages of my favourite authors. I particularly love it when their websites are neatly set out with creative and beautiful themes!

9. Have any authors visited your school? Who? Is there anything you’d recommend that an author do to make their presentation more interesting to you and other kids at your school?

So far, no authors have visited my school sadly. Although, if an author is going to visit my school, I’d really be excited and happy! I’ve only attended Melina Marchetta’s book signing (my favourite Aussie author!) and even though book signings are quite rare here, they are definitely an awesome experience!

Thanks Celine for sharing all your advice!

Today I’m sharing two awesome books, THE CADET OF TILDOR by debut author Alex Lidell and THE OBSIDIAN MIRROR by Catherine Fisher. I picked these because I really think that anyone would really enjoy these, even if you don’t like the fantasy genre. They are both fantastic stories that don’t have too many elements of magic which some of you may not like. I’ll keep my reviews brief so the post doesn’t get too long.

Here’s a blurb of THE CADET OF TILDOR from Goodreads:

Tamora Pierce meets George R. R. Martin in this smart, political, medieval fantasy-thriller.

There is a new king on the throne of Tildor. Currents of political unrest sweep the country as two warring crime families seek power, angling to exploit the young Crown's inexperience. At the Academy of Tildor, the training ground for elite soldiers, Cadet Renee de Winter struggles to keep up with her male peers. But when her mentor, a notorious commander recalled from active duty to teach at the Academy, is kidnapped to fight in illegal gladiator games, Renee and her best friend Alec find themselves thrust into a world rife with crime, sorting through a maze of political intrigue, and struggling to resolve what they want, what is legal, and what is right.

 
 Renee is a fantastic character that reminded me a lot of the strong girls that Tamora Pierce writes about. Right from the beginning of the story when her father says he’ll disown her if she goes back to the Academy, she doesn’t hesitate to stick to her principles and just leaves. It was the same when Savory is kidnapped. She’s loyal and she leaves to rescue him even if it means she might lose everything she’s worked for. And I loved that she finds her own strengths to compensate for the fact that she’s smaller than the male cadets.

Alec and Savory are great secondary characters with secrets and family pasts. Savory is not the most likeable at the beginning. But trust me, he definitely will surprise you and grow on you.
The world, often cruel, is fascinating and there’s plenty of stakes, mystery, and political intrigue that compelled me to keep turning the pages as fast as I could. I so hope Alex writes another book in this series.

Here’s a blurb of THE OBSIDIAN MIRROR from Goodreads:

Jake's father disappears while working on mysterious experiments with the obsessive, reclusive Oberon Venn. Jake is convinced Venn has murdered him. But the truth he finds at the snow-bound Wintercombe Abbey is far stranger ... The experiments concerned a black mirror, which is a portal to both the past and the future. Venn is not alone in wanting to use its powers. Strangers begin gathering in and around Venn's estate: Sarah - a runaway, who appears out of nowhere and is clearly not what she says, Maskelyne - who claims the mirror was stolen from him in some past century. There are others, a product of the mirror's power to twist time. And a tribe of elemental beings surround this isolated estate, fey, cold, untrustworthy, and filled with hate for humans. But of them all, Jake is hell-bent on using the mirror to get to the truth. Whatever the cost, he must learn what really happened to his father.

 
I’m a huge fan of Catherine Fisher’s and was thrilled when I received this ARC. Like her other stories, she does a fantastic job here making the Obsidian Mirror feel like the most mysterious, powerful object that everyone can’t help but want. It really says a lot about what an amazing writer she is.

This is told from multiple points of view of Jake, Sarah, Venn, and Wharton, the teacher who accompanies Jake to Wintercombe. Normally, I like stories from one or two points of view, but I could really see why this story needed so many points of view. All their lives are intertwined with the Obsidian Mirror. I don’t want to tell you how exactly because I don’t want to spoil it for you. I loved learning all their secrets, especially Venn’s and Sarah’s.

There’s time travel, a bit of magic, intrigue, deceptions, even between the main characters, and danger. This all equals a fantastic read. I can’t wait till the second book in the series comes out.

I’m giving away both of my ARCs. Thank you to Dial Books and Penguin Group from providing these ARCs. There will be two winners. To enter, all you need to do is be a follower (just click the follow button if you’re not a follower) and leave a comment about Celine’s interview and telling me which book is your first choice by midnight on March 2nd. I’ll announce the winner on March 4th. If your e-mail is not on Blogger, please list it in your comment.

If you mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or your blog, mention this in the comments and I'll give you an extra entry. International entries are welcome.

Here's what's coming up:

Wednesday Casey and I have a super awesome 3000 follower mega giveaway. You won't want to miss it.

Next Monday I'm interviewing Carrie Harris about writing humor and platform and giving away her new book BAD HAIR DAY and BAD TASTE IN BOYS. Carrie has a great knack in creating funny, really likeable characters. I went to her book signing for BAD HAIR DAY and discovered she lives in my town. I was SO excited to find that out and I'm excited to share her books with you.

Next Wednesday I'm thrilled to interview Shannon Messenger about her new amazing YA book LET THE SKY FALL. I'm part of her blog tour and the tour is sponsoring a giveaway. And because Shannon's my friend and I loved her book, I have a giveaway too.

The following Monday  I have a guest post by Anna Staniszewski and a giveaway of her new book, MY FAIRY EPIC TALE FAIL, and her first book, MY VERY UNFAIRY TALE LIFE.

The following Wednesday, I have a guest post with debut author Liesel Hill and a giveaway of her new adult dystopian, PERSISTENCE OF VISION.

And don't forget our Tuesday Tips and Casey's Thursday agent spotlights.

Hope to see you on Wednesday!

Laura Lascarso: Love Hurts

Did your characters have a great Valentine's Day yesterday? Yea? Well, perhaps they shouldn't have. Laura Lascarso is my guest today and she's here to talk about tough love and why it's good for YA romance. Enjoy!

Love Hurts: Why Tough Love = Good Romance in YA 

By Laura Lascarso

Are your fictional relationships in a rut? Is your hero’s love interest in danger of being relegated to the Friend Zone? Do you wish there was a little less conversation and little more action on the page?

Here are a few tips on how to spice up your characters’ love lives.

Love Takes Time: When X meets Y and despite never having had a conversation or knowing anything about each other, they fall instantly and madly in love, and they know that it will last FOREVER—cue the violins, it’s insta-love! It’s probably more like insta-like or perhaps insta-lust, but either way, it’s too soon to be throwing the L-word around so cavalierly.

Love is hard to come by, and it takes time for those feelings to be nurtured. Just as the reader must get to know our characters, so must our characters get to know one another. When there is a profession of love in the early chapters, it’s a bit of a letdown, and the romantic tension plummets. Unless of course, we’re going to do something terrible, like engineer a sudden car wreck which sends one of our characters into a coma, wherein upon waking, they no longer remember their loved one, at all.

In that case, sure, let’s get in our I-love-you’s while we can.

 But if there is no catastrophic event on the horizon, then let’s be frugal with our love and dole it out a little at a time; show the reader why these two people should be together despite the odds, and save the big reveal for when it will make the most emotional impact.

Fight More: Fighting is a fact of life, and conflict makes for great tension and character growth. If our lovebirds never fight, it’s a bit of a yawn. Characters who challenge each other, encourage each other to look inside themselves, to change and grow—that’s an interesting and believable relationship. Let your characters argue, get mad, fight, break-up and make up; that’s the stuff of life. What better way to reveal character, increase tension, and up-the-stakes than a good old-fashioned lovers’ quarrel.

In-laws and Natural Disasters: Romeo & Juliet, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hunger Games… There is something about the forces that pull us apart that is so compelling. Whether it’s generations of feuding families, a hurricane, or a Capitol-engineered blood sport, when two characters can overcome the powers trying to divide them, it makes the romance that much sweeter. Caveat: make sure the source of this external tension is also integral to the story’s plot.

Love Polygons: Love triangles are provocative because it’s twice the romance and exponentially more romantic tension. They can be a bit tricky to execute because the center of our love triangle is the same person in both relationships, yet both relationships must be completely different, and compelling, and convincing. The other caution with love triangles is that our reader will inevitably choose one suitor over the other. What if Captain Von Trapp had picked the Baroness? We’d have more than 7 weepy children and a heartbroken governess, the Sound of Music would have died right then. Team Maria!

We must arm our suitors with well-chosen weapons of love. Only one will pierce the cold armor to melt our hero’s heart. Choose wisely.

PDA’s and TMI: They’re acronyms for a reason. Like my son says, “Kissing is disgusting, and grown-ups are disgusting because they kiss.” Kissing is fine and great, but there are other ways to show intimacy. Just as real-life couples have inside jokes and special rituals, so will our characters. Even if our story is set in the zombie apocalypse, imagine our couple on a perfect day—what would they do or say; how would they act toward each other? Ruminate on how they might express their love and affection and try to incorporate these quieter moments into your story.

First Kiss: I’m having rewrite flashbacks here because the first kiss in CB was written and rewritten so many times that it began to feel robotic. (That’s when you break out the chocolate). It’s hard for some writers (me) to articulate the kiss, especially with words like “tongue” and “saliva” in the mix. This is why it might help to focus more on the build-up to the first kiss, both in terms of earlier missed opportunities for that connection, as well as the biological responses that happen right before. Beware, because it’s so easy to fall into cliché here, because our hearts really do race, palms do sweat, and yes, it kind of feels like the onset of a really bad virus. That’s amore.

So, in conclusion, when writing romance, make love tough, make your tender moments extraordinary (even if they’re extraordinarily awful), and allow space for healthy conflict. Now, for a few recommendations:

Pride and Prejudice (miscommunication abounds)
The Fault in Our Stars (tender moments)
Jellicoe Road (characters who challenge each other)
Hunger Games and Twilight (love triangle)
Graceling (slow burn)
Ella Enchanted (the curse of the in-laws)

Share some of your favorite love stories. What are some novels or movies that you feel do romance well, and why?

Laura Lascarso's debut YA novel Counting Backwards (Atheneum) is available in stores now. Visit her on the web at www.lauralascarso.com

COVER REVEAL: ICE DOGS BY TERRY JOHNSON

Happy Valentines Day!

Today I'm thrilled to share the cover of Terry Johnson's new book, ICE DOGS, which releases on February 14, 2014. I'll be interviewing her when it comes out.  I have a super soft spot for Terry because she was the first debut author I interviewed when I joined Casey as her blog partner.

So here's Terry's awesome cover!

Isn't it amazing? And here's a description of ICE DOGS:

Sometimes I wish I could trade places with the dogs. They only have to worry about running and eating. They love fiercely and don’t worry about things they can’t control. And when someone dies, they can sit on top of their house, throw their head back and howl.

Lost.

That’s how 14-year-old dogsledder Victoria Secord as felt ever since her father dies. A champion musher, Victoria is independent, self-reliant, and thanks to her father, an expert in surviving the unforgiving Alaskan bush. When an injured “city boy” and a freak snow storm both catch Victoria and her dog team by surprise, however, a routine trip becomes a life or death trek through the frozen wilderness. As temperatures drop and food stores run out, Victoria must find a way to save them all in this high stakes, high adventure middle grade novel of endurance, hope and finding your way back home. 

And here's some information about Terry.

 I write outdoor adventures for young adults. When I'm not writing, I work as a Conservation Officer, and before that, I was a Park Ranger and a musher. I love living in northern Ontario where I can snowshoe, kayak, and fish—all in the same month!








Hope you'll all let Terry know how much you like her cover.

And I hope to see you on Monday when I have an interview with a high school teen for my ASK THE EXPERT series and will be sharing and giving away THE CADET OF TILDOR, a fantastic debut fantasy, and OBSIDIAN MIRROR, another fantastic fantasy by Catherine Fisher, one of my favorite authors. Even if you're not a fantasy lover, I think you'd enjoy both of these books..