I’m a day late, but I didn’t want to miss the online celebrating for Amy Spalding‘s fabulous second novel, Ink Is Thicker Than Water. Just released by Entangled Teen, this contemporary YA novel was praised by the awesome Stacked blog as:
an excellent example of a true YA novel. It’s coming-of-age, but it’s coming-of-age through a perspective that’s quite minute and not world-shattering. What Kellie is going through and experiencing is entirely within the contours of her own life and her own experiences. She’s navigating a tricky situation in her family life, a change in what she thought were forever friendships, and an opportunity to pursue a romance with a boy who she thought would never again be a part of her life. Despite the fact none of the things that happen impact the greater world, they each play a huge part in impacting Kellie’s own world. And each of the things she encounters leads to her coming to better understand her role in her own life and in the lives of those around her — as well as her role in the greater world.
Fellow KT Lit client Susan Adrian recently interviewed Amy on her blog, where Amy shares great insight on her characters, like this gem:
I actually wrote Oliver kind of as a reaction to a lot of the YA I was reading back in 2008 when I wrote INK’s first draft. There were so many romances where very quickly a boy would fall for a girl, and it would be intense and world-shattering…and the girls would always be soooo into it. And all I kept thinking was, “Whoa. This would REALLY stress me out!”
So my goal was really to write about a consuming romance kind of in a “real world” setting, and how that would actually go, and maybe what that would stem from. But, also, absolutely to gender stereotypes! Girls are often written as the ones who go overboard with romance, but from my personal experience, I saw just as many if not MORE guys fall for someone in that all-encompassing way. I know guys and girls sometimes act pretty differently, but I think deep down they’re more alike than not.
YA Highway also has am interview with Amy, discussing tattoos, permanence, and covers, among other things. And YA Bookmark had Amy over to talk about style and fashion, and share some looks for her characters.
Amy’s own site has a few more links to her meanderings on the web, and I have one more to share. On Friday, Amy and I will be engaging in the first ever (planned) KT Lit Google Author Hangout(tm). I can’t wait to share it with you! If you have any specific questions for me or Amy, please leave them in the comments below. One random commenter will also win a special prize pack of a copy of Ink, a “Ink Is Thicker Than Water” temporary tattoo, and a The Reece Malcolm List bookmark.
So ask away, and enter to win! And congrats again to Amy!
