Michelle I. Mason's Blog: Michelle I. Mason, page 9

Social Media Tips for Authors: Graphic Resources

Last month, I kicked off this series sharing how I’m using social media to promote my debut book by talking about my social media calendar. I originally envisioned the next post would be about how I use a particular platform, but I realized there’s another important factor to cover first:

In this very visual world, it’s important to be able to create graphics that catch the eye as people are scrolling through endless posts. And this is true not only for Instagram, which is a visual platform, but for Twitter as well. Posts that include images generally have higher engagement.

So how do you create those graphics?

Your Photos/Videos

First of all, take amazing photos and videos! If you are an experienced photographer/videographer, that will take you a long way. In all honestly, photography is not my strength, and I’m continually getting inspiration from others on how I can improve my photos. I tried to stage gorgeous photos of books for a while and decided to just give up on that–because it wasn’t my strength. When I’m posting a review, my go-to is now a basic photo of the book with something semi-related to it.

On the video side, don’t be afraid to splice videos together. You don’t have to get a whole video all in one take. As I have a Mac, I use iMovie to edit videos, and when appropriate, I add captions since the default is often for them to play without sound.

One extra side tip: get a stand! I take most photos and all videos with my phone these days (although I do still have a nice digital camera), and the stand is so valuable. I can position the photo exactly where I want it and avoid any shakiness. It’s especially helpful if I’m taking photos of myself and want to set a timer. If you watched my ARC unboxing video (link here), I used a stand for all of that and then edited it in iMovie.

Collage apps

You’ve probably seen posts on social that include multiple photos in a grid format. I created the one to the right using Pic Stitch, a free app that allows you to make photo collages and export them as jpegs. There are a number of these apps out there, and you can select the one that works best for you. Note that if you’re pulling images off the internet instead of using your own photos, be sure they are royalty-free.

Pixelmator

Pixelmator has been one of my go-to graphics apps for years, and it would probably still be my favorite if I hadn’t discovered Canva (more on that below!). I actually didn’t start using it to create graphics for socials but to make books for my kids every year, and it has the easiest features for removing photo backgrounds of any app I’ve found. (If you have other app suggestions for this, please tell me in the comments.) I use it for other things as well at times, but that’s probably the most relevant here. Once you remove a background, you can export the image as a PNG and add it to whatever other graphic you’re working on.

Book Cover Mockups

Want to make your book cover 3D? Or put it onto an e-reader or phone? Or make a collage of it on multiple formats? There’s an easy app that allows you to upload your cover image and select the format, then it spits out a PNG or JPG file for you to download. And it’s free! It’s located at http://diybookcovers.com/3Dmockups/.

Canva

It seems like everyone in my debut group was using Canva before me, and once I actually signed up, I was blown away. It’s a free service that curates templates, royalty-free images, and graphics for basically anything you could want to design. Not just social posts but flyers, postcards, bookmarks, and so on. You do have to keep an eye on which photos/templates are free versus part of the paid plan, but there are plenty of free options. I’m not ruling out signing up for the Pro version at some point, but for now the free version has worked just fine for me.

I’ve used Canva to create the following:

Twitter and LinkedIn headersDebut week graphics for #the21dersTeaser quote graphics for InstagramGraphics for books read on my Kindle, since I don’t have a book to photograph. This includes #the21ders ARCs.Character Corner graphics for my newsletter (next issue 3/24; sign up here!)Highlight graphics for my Instagram profileCover reveal graphic!

I definitely noticed a bump in engagement once I improved my graphics. They are still a work in progress as I continue to learn.

Do you have any tips on making graphics that catch and keep attention? I am always looking for more ideas!

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My Advance Reading Copies Are Here!

Last weekend, a very exciting milestone occurred: my Advance Reading Copies arrived! If you subscribe to my newsletter (link to do so here!), my February issue included a preview of my unboxing video. I’m so excited to share the completed video here now!

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Advance Reading Copies, these are not final copies of my books (those will arrive in August). These copies are for the purpose of promoting the book in advance of the Aug. 24 release–for booksellers, reviewers, librarians, and other influencers to read the book early so readers will be clamoring for it and stores, schools, and libraries will stock it!

If that’s you, great!! You can request ARCs from the Bloomsbury YA Publicity Department at TeensUSA@bloomsbury.com, or the book is also up on Edelweiss for request as well. Please do not ask me directly for an ARC, but do watch out for future giveaways!

I am so thrilled with this gorgeous book and want to once again thank cover artist Rosemary Valero-O’Connell and designer Danielle Ceccolini, as well as interior designer Jeanette Levy. Also my editor Allison Moore and agent Elizabeth Bewley for continually championing YOUR LIFE HAS BEEN DELAYED. I wouldn’t be at this moment of holding this early version of the book in my hands without everyone who has contributed to it. I’m just stunned by it.

I hope you are as anxious to get your hands on the final as I am!

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TAKE BACK THE BLOCK and a Few Other Books You Should Read

It’s been a while since I jumped into MMGM–and to be fair, not all of these books are middle grade–but the first two are, and I wanted to share them with the marvelous middle grade crowd. You just get a few bonus young adult books as well .

TAKE BACK THE BLOCK by Chrystal D. Giles is about sixth grader Wes, who resents the protests his parents are always dragging him along to—until a developer makes an offer to buy Kensington Oaks, the neighborhood where he and his friends all live. Tying into a school project on social justice, the effort to save his home leads Wes into research on gentrification and how it affects neighborhoods in general but also how he might save his own home.

This was a fantastic read from the standpoint of teaching me, a white reader, more about what gentrification is and how it is affecting inner-city communities. But it’s also such a great story of friendship and family. As a new middle schooler, Wes’s friendships are changing, and it’s exacerbated by what’s happening in his neighborhood. He has to figure out what’s most important to fight for—both with his friendships and his community.

I highly recommend this read, and for any librarian and teacher friends out there following me, definitely add this one for your students!

I read ALONE by Megan E. Freeman in a single day. As a verse novel, it’s definitely a quick read anyway, but even more, I just had to get to the end and find out whether Maddie was reunited with her family.

The setup is this: 12-year-old Maddie plans a sleepover with her friends at her grandparents’ empty apartment, telling each of her parents she’s staying at the other’s house. But her friends cancel, and in the middle of the night, everyone in the town is evacuated. The power goes out, there’s no internet, and her only companion is George, the Rottweiler from next door.

Like I said, I could not stop reading this book because the stakes just kept raising. What would Maddie have to survive next? Because it kept getting worse—winter, natural disasters, and perhaps worst of all, loneliness. Honestly, if it were me, I wouldn’t even know how to start a fire (despite the fact we have a woodpile and fireplace). If you pick this book up and are able to stop reading, I’ll be shocked.

From the moment I read the description for HOT BRITISH BOYFRIEND by Kristy Boyce, I was in!

After a horrifying public rejection by her crush (oh, is it humiliating!), Ellie joins the high school’s study abroad trip to England and decides a hot British boyfriend is the solution to her image problem. Will checks all the boxes, and her classmate Dev is on board to help her learn about the things Will enjoys, like cricket. (Confession: I am forever mentally thinking croquet when I see cricket .)

Aaaanyway, what I loved about this book was that while the title certainly leads you to think it’s all about romance—and that’s certainly a big part—it’s really about Ellie figuring herself out. She’s pretty lost when she goes to England, and as she makes friends, attends classes, and works through her Hot British Boyfriend plan, she starts to discover what she really wants in the future. I loved that path of self-discovery.

I also really enjoyed all of Ellie’s new friends—practical Sage, beatboxing Huan, smart and earnest Dev with the hidden love of fantasy. And the setting! I am always up for any book that takes me on a journey to new places, and this one not only delivered the English countryside but Venice! Someday…

I’m a sucker for stories with magic, but I can honestly say I’ve never read a story from the point of view of a fairy godmother, which is actually pretty surprising. So I was very excited for G.F. Miller’s young adult take in GLIMPSED.

It’s about Charity, who focuses her godmothering efforts on the students at her school. Whenever she “glimpses” a perfect outcome, she helps them achieve it. But then she meets Noah, who’s been watching her and says one of the wishes she fulfilled screwed up his life. He blackmails her into undoing the wish, and in the meantime one of her other wishes goes very wrong, making her question her powers and methods.

The growing relationship between Charity and Noah is absolutely adorable. It’s filled with Star Trek references that amused me, as my parents raised me on a steady diet of Star Trek–although not to the level of cosplaying. But what I enjoyed most about the book was Charity’s character growth, as she realized how to navigate all of the relationships in her life, not only with Noah but her family members and the people to whom she’d previously granted wishes.

So… THE OBSESSION by Jesse Q. Sutanto had me looking over my shoulder and wondering if I should delete all my social media accounts. It’s intense, but at the same time, I couldn’t put it down. I mean, just read the tagline on the front:

Boy meets girl. Boy stalks girl. Girl gets revenge.

And yet… there is soooo much more than that going on in this book. Logan and Delilah are both fundamentally flawed. And because the story is told in both points of view, I felt equally horrified and empathetic toward them both as the story kept unfolding. It’s truly masterful storytelling. I really wanted to give a slow clap.

Obviously, it’s clear from this description that the book includes a stalker, but there are some other potential triggers, including domestic violence (I don’t feel it’s a spoiler since it comes up very early). But if you can handle those, this book is one that will keep you turning pages until the very end. And if you do, let’s chat about how it all resolves!

All of these books are by 2021 debut authors and available now. I am furiously reading as many as I can, as quickly as I can. I’ve also read some fantastic Advance Reader Copies (including middle grades!), and I’ll be shouting about those closer to their release days.

Stay tuned for another review roundup soon.

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6 Months to Release: All About Research!

It’s Feb. 24, which means today marks six months until the release of YOUR LIFE HAS BEEN DELAYED!

I’ve been counting down the months leading up to release with behind-the-scenes information about the book. In case you missed any of the previous features, they included:

9 Months to Release: Playlist8 Months to Release: The Title Story (plus tips on titling your manuscript!)7 Months to Release: Watch List

And this month is all about research! I don’t know about you, but I love digging in to new and interesting topics. For this book, I started out with a basic premise: a girl gets on a plane and lands 25 years later. That left a number of questions to be answered and led to some fascinating and unexpected research.

How would an airport handle it if a plane popped into the air out of nowhere?

Obviously to answer this question I needed access to a commercial airline pilot! Fortunately, a fellow writer in my PitchWars 2017 group connected me with her husband, who graciously answered this and all of my other questions, including how planes and airports operated in 1995 vs. present day. What I love about talking directly with experts is that you can have all of your questions lined up, and then you end up learning even more fascinating information. That’s what happened as I talked with Jeff. He basically gave me an outline for how the first chapter of the book would play out. And our conversation further inspired the character of Art, my plane groupie who listens in to the pilots talking to air traffic control and clues Jenny in to what’s happening before the rest of the passengers have any idea something’s wrong.

As I continued to draft and revise the book, I also consulted aviation glossaries, listened to sample flight conversations guiding landings, and researched the rules for filing a flight plan.

What are Jenny’s goals, and how will this time jump complicate them?

I didn’t immediately know Jenny would be a future journalist, but once I researched which jobs had changed the most in the past 25 years and saw the decline in newspaper reporters specifically, I knew it was the perfect fit. (I also found a number of jobs that are now obsolete due to technological advances, and a couple of those come up in the Flight 237 support group.)

While I was a public relations minor in college (which is part of the journalism school) and am fully versed in AP Style and news writing, I haven’t ever worked on a paper. So that was fun to dig into as well.

What did the people who lost someone on Flight 237 but wanted to move on with their lives do?

As everyone on the plane has been missing for 25 years, their families all believed they were dead. In some cases, for various reasons, family members had them declared dead, which creates some interesting dynamics. I read up on all kinds of missing persons cases and the circumstances in which you can have someone declared dead—and what happens if they return. Talk about awkward!

What’s changed since 1995?

The biggest—and most fun!—question to explore. I was a teenager myself in the nineties, but I did not rely on my own memories as they can be deceptive, particularly when you’re trying to remember when exactly something happened. I spent countless hours double-checking dates for movies, TV shows, actors, songs, and any other pop culture references to ensure they were from before Aug. 2, 1995. That part was simple.

The trickiest part was the technology and finding the right balance for Jenny. Just because something existed doesn’t mean that Jenny would have been using it regularly. Take cell phones, for example. In the movie Clueless, released in July 1995, all the teens have cell phones. But those are rich kids in L.A. In suburban St. Louis, where Jenny lives, you were more likely to see pagers, if anything. And then there’s the internet. It existed, of course, but it was sooo different from what it is today. It was dial-up, and it took forever to find anything. In my senior yearbook (1996), it said, “Now it is possible for library patrons to gain internet access.”

But this should not be confused with computer use. Teens in the nineties used computers for all kinds of things—just mostly offline at that point. According to PEW Research Center, by October 1995, 18 million American homes were online, but only 3 percent of online users had signed on to the World Wide Web. If you’re interested, I have links to a few articles about internet usage on my book page.

Other fun nineties research: fashion (so Jenny could be appropriately confused by what everyone is wearing now) and popular phrases, some of which may appear in the book . Cha-ching! It’s the bomb! What’s the 4-1-1? Yadda yadda yadda…

Perhaps the oddest thing I spent hours researching is the fist bump. There’s a moment in the story where another boy starts to fist bump Dylan and Jenny flinches, thinking he’s about to punch him. I was sure fist bumping wasn’t a regular thing in the nineties, but once my editor questioned it, I went down a fascinating research rabbit hole. It turns out that the fist bump has been around since the 1970s; basketball player Fred Carter is given early credit for starting it. Others say the Wonder Twins cartoon, and others mention boxing rings, but it didn’t overtake high fives until the Obamas famously fist bumped in 2008. There are a crazy number of articles about it! It’s interesting how something so common now really became an everyday part of our culture so recently. But again, like so many things I researched, it’s not that it didn’t exist, just a question of whether it would have been a part of Jenny’s world.

As I mentioned in the seven months to release countdown, I also watched CNN’s The Nineties and The 2000s documentary series, which gave excellent recaps of those two decades and major world events Jenny would have missed. Obviously the book doesn’t go into every significant event over the past 25 years, but there are a number that come up.

I hope you enjoyed this glimpse inside my research process! Let me know if you have any follow-up questions.

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YOUR LIFE HAS BEEN DELAYED in 30 Seconds

Hi everyone!

A few months ago, my publisher asked me to put together a video describing my book in 30 seconds. It took a few takes, but I was able to get my summary down to just under 40, which anyone who has met me in real life understands is quite a feat. (I sure do love to talk!)

In any case, Bloomsbury gave me permission to share the video, so here you go. I hope you enjoy watching me talk about it!

In other news, if you aren’t already signed up for my author newsletter, my next issue will be going out Feb. 24. You can sign up here. There is some overlap in content with the blog, but starting with this upcoming issue, I will be including a Character Corner for the book and am working on some additional features for newsletter subscribers.

As always, please let me know if you have any behind-the-scenes questions as the publication of YOUR LIFE HAS BEEN DELAYED approaches. Next Wednesday will mark six months out, and I plan to cover weird/interesting research topics!

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Social Media Tips for Authors: Make a Social Media Calendar

On my last release countdown post, I asked if anyone had specific behind-the-scenes questions leading up to publication, and I received a question about how I’m using social media to promote my book (thanks for asking, Natalie!). Since I feel like this question is too big for a single post, I’m going to tackle it separately. I’m not really sure how many posts it will take, but I’m going to start with something I learned at a virtual Later* conference that has revolutionized how I organize my social media.

Create A Social Media Calendar

Now, if you’ve been following me a while, you can probably guess why this concept appeals to me. Any guesses?

It’s a spreadsheet!

I do love my my spreadsheets . But in all honesty, before I attended the session about the social media calendar, my posting was pretty haphazard. If you follow me here on the blog, you may have noticed there were long stretches where I didn’t post anything at all. That’s because I didn’t have a posting strategy. But having a calendar has helped direct my efforts with all of my social media.

So, how does it work?

For me, it’s an Excel spreadsheet using a calendar template, with a tab for each month. For the conference presenter, it was Google calendar (I tried that, but I’m still an Office products girl!). She recommended that you plan each month out in advance, and I do try to look ahead a certain amount, but I’m not quite that organized.

The Key

To get started, you need a key for your calendar. Mine is color-coded to the types of social media I use regularly. So anything I put into the calendar is in the font of the color where I plan to post it. Blog = red, Instagram = green, Twitter = blue, and if it’s going on all three = purple. These are the three platforms I use regularly, but if you are on, say, TikTok, Facebook, or YouTube, you could add more colors. Just throwing out there that TikTok is definitely gaining ground in the book world, and BookTubers have a ton of influence as well. I just don’t have the bandwidth for them–yet–but maybe at some point. One piece of advice I’ve consistently received when it comes to social media is to only do what you enjoy and can do well. I’m not sure I would go so far as to say I really enjoy social media, but I do feel that I can manage these three well for the moment, and if I get to a point where I think I can add more, I will.

Idea Box

Next, to the right of my calendar, I have a box with ideas for posts. While a lot of the big ideas are for my blog, it also includes some smaller ideas to keep on my radar for Instagram and Twitter. One of my best takeaways from the Later session was to think: What are your three or four main categories for posts? In my case, they are:

ReadingWriting/Author TipsReviewsBook News

So within that box, I keep a list of ideas for future posts I may write or already have in progress. For example, the Writing/Author Tips section now has additional ideas for this series; the Reviews section lists books I’ve read but haven’t yet written up; and the Book News section includes ideas for future release countdown posts as well as placeholders for other news I hope to share.

Start Scheduling!

Taking the advice of the session presenter, when I’m looking ahead at a month, I start with anything I know is happening on a certain date. For example, my release date countdown post happens on all three platforms on the 24th. I also participate in a Twitter chat with other debut authors on the 21st of every month. Then I look for other dates that may have significance. Like in December I posted Pretend to Be a Time Traveler Day and in January my main character’s birthday. For this entire year, I’m posting graphics celebrating the books debuting every Tuesday to support my fellow #the21ders, so I have those slotted into Tuesdays.

On the months I decide to participate in an Instagram challenge, I put the challenges into each day so I can look ahead. I also have a separate calendar for interviews I’ve scheduled, so the run dates for those are all on my social media calendar as well so I know when to promote. (I did initially try to merge these two calendars, but it didn’t work.)

Once I put the main dates in, I still have a lot of blanks, so then I look to my idea box to see what I might want to cover during the month. My main goal is to not leave several weeks without a blog post or a whole week of only books on Instagram (which has been known to happen!). For the record, I don’t schedule out all my tweets on the calendar. I just put any chats or particular posts I need to tweet about on the calendar.

Adding Flexibility

What I love best about the social media calendar is that it’s freed me up to be more flexible with my posting. That might sound strange since it’s getting everything organized, but I used to feel like as soon as I read a book, I had to review it. By putting it on my calendar and knowing it has a place, I feel much less stressed about it. There were also times in the past where I’d start to become stressed because I hadn’t posted for so long, but now that I have a calendar, I can space out the topics I want to address.

I also love the ability to put things I know I’ll want to promote months out onto my calendar and not have to think about them for a while. Then when I open up the tab for May or June, I’ll remember to do it. Yes, I know I have a strange idea of freedom, but hey, it works for me!

So, creating a social media calendar is my first tip in the series. I’ll be back with another set of tips in a couple of weeks, but in the meantime, let me know if you have any questions on this one!

*I’m not a Later member, so I can’t speak to their services, but the conference I attended was fantastic. I also receive Later’s free newsletter, which includes great tips.

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DRAGONFLY GIRL and A Few Other YA Books You Should Read

I can’t believe it’s already February and I haven’t yet shared a review roundup here on the blog! However, I’ve been reading quite a few ARCs (Advanced Reader Copies) for fellow #the21ders, and I plan to feature those books closer to when they release so you can actually get the books and/or request them from your library at that time. The first book on this list, DRAGONFLY GIRL, was an ARC I read a few weeks ago, and it releases later this month, so if you are a library reader, you should be able to put it on hold at least! The others are all out now.

The premise for Marti Leimbach’s DRAGONFLY GIRL immediately intrigued me: Kira Adams has discovered a cure for death – and now her life is in danger. Um, yes, please!

It’s about a science genius who’s awkward, shy, and doesn’t fit in at school. When her paper on dragonfly hunting patterns wins an international science contest (kudos for how well the science is explained in the book!), she finally finds her people–although they’re all adults. Her work draws the attention of a celebrated scientist, and she begins working at a top-secret lab. While conducting an experiment, she revives a rat in her care.

There’s so much to love in this story. A super-smart girl, constantly escalating stakes, academic rivalry and cooperation. I also love how this story shows multiple aspects of friendship, from long-term solidarity to the instant bond of like minds to the kind that grows out of hardship. And did I mention the awesome science girl? Definitely merits another plug!

DRAGONFLY GIRL releases Feb. 23, so pre-order or request it from your library! Thanks to NetGalley for the read.

I adored THE QUANTUM WEIRDNESS OF THE ALMOST KISS by Amy Noelle Parks! Told in alternating viewpoints between best friends Caleb and Evie, it’s set at a boarding school that specializes in science and math. Caleb has been in love with Evie forever (and has tallied up more than a dozen almost-kisses), while Evie just hasn’t been interested in romance—until Leo impresses her with a beautiful physics solution. The story centers around entering a competition to be considered for Frontier, a prestigious math competition. Evie and Caleb work on a project together that involves her math and his coding, while Leo enters on his own. Obviously that gets… awkward.

I loved how this story handled all of the various characters without turning anyone into a villain, which is something that easily could have happened. Caleb, Evie, and Leo are all great characters, and I also really loved Evie’s best friend, Bex. In addition to including a ton of math and physics (yay for smart teens!), it also tackled Evie’s anxiety, teens working through real issues with their parents, and figuring out what you really want in a relationship. Just a fantastic story all around.

I kept seeing praise for THE INHERITANCE GAMES by Jennifer Lynn Barnes and as I’d read and loved two of her other books, I didn’t take too much convincing.

WOW! I read this book in less than 48 hours and immediately told my husband and son to read it too. It actually involved me shouting the words “I knew it!” into the house, which is always a satisfying feeling . But I suppose I should back up and explain what it’s about.

First of all, it’s billed as ONE OF US IS LYING meets Knives Out, and this is the perfect description. Basically, Avery Grambs inherits from a billionaire she’s never met—and he disinherited his whole family at the same time. In order to earn her inheritance, she must live in his mansion for a year, with his family, and she can’t kick them out unless they do something to deserve it. Yeah, that’s not asking for trouble. Throw in four too-handsome and troubled grandsons, three of which are right about her age, and things get extra-interesting.

This book has intrigue and puzzles and relationship drama and a mysterious backstory with another girl plus Avery’s mom (separate mysterious backstories). And the best part is, this first book gets wrapped up rather nicely but at the same time leaves a nice cliffhanger for the next one. So, definitely check this one out. And also let me know if you have a similar “aha” moment!

HAPPILY EVER AFTERS by Elise Bryant is about 16-year-old Tessa Johnson, who has never felt like the protagonist in her own life and rarely sees herself reflected in the romance novels she loves. She buries herself in writing stories that she shares only with her best friend, Caroline. But when she’s accepted to a prestigious arts school, sharing her work is a requirement, leading to a serious case of writer’s block. Caroline encourages her to pursue her own love story to spark her creative juices.

And that’s where things get really interesting. Nico, a fellow student in her creative writing course, seems like the perfect target for her romance. But there’s also Sam, her classmate and neighbor and friend, who bakes the most extraordinary treats.

I love romance, so I was all in for the romance storyline, but my favorite part of this book was Tessa and how she grew as a character, both with her writing and figuring out who she was. I also really loved all of the side characters, from Tessa’s brother, Miles, to her best friend, to her new friends. It’s a great cast of characters, full of rich personality. Definitely add this book to your TBR!

So that’s the roundup for today! As mentioned above, they may be more sparse for a bit as I focus on reading ARCs for other debut authors, but it doesn’t mean I’m not reading. And I will be fitting in other reads as I can. I’d love to hear what you’ve been reading as well!

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7 Months to Release: Your Life Has Been Delayed Watch List

It’s Jan. 24, which means YOUR LIFE HAS BEEN DELAYED releases in just seven months! Also, in case you missed it, my cover was revealed last week. Actually, even if you didn’t miss it, I just really love looking at it, so I’m going to drop it here again anyway .

At nine months out, I shared a playlist of songs to go along with the book, and last month I explained how I came up with the title (and also included some tips for titling manuscripts). Today I thought it would be fun to give you a watch list, with a few hints of things to keep an eye out for in the book. It’s a mix of TV shows, movies, and even a documentary series.

 

Beverly Hills, 90210

And we’re talking the original Beverly Hills, 90210, since Jenny is from the ’90s. I know there’s been a remake since then (although even that is more than a decade ago now), but to truly understand Jenny’s love for the show, you’d have to watch the original. My early drafts had so many more 90210 references than made it through to the final book. Like that line about how if a certain thing was true she’d be more upset than when Dylan and Brenda broke up…

Also, ahem, the love interest is named Dylan…

Back to the Future

I mean, obviously. But I’ve included the poster for Part II here because it has a sort of interesting parallel. Marty and Doc jump from 1985 to 2015, and it’s sort of a trip to see how the writers envisioned technology for a time that is now six years in the past. One of the very first things Jenny notices about 2020 is that the movie got it wrong about flying cars. Yeah, I don’t think those are happening anytime soon…

I think it would be fun to do a group watch of this movie and tweet about it leading up to release. Let me know if you’re interested!

Miss Congeniality

Jenny’s best friend–who is now an adult–introduces her to this movie because she knows Jenny is a Sandra Bullock fan. While it isn’t mentioned by name in my book, While You Were Sleeping came out in spring 1995, and Speed came out the year before. Interestingly, the movie The Net, which is all about a woman whose identity is stolen on the internet, came out July 28, 1995. Jenny happened to be visiting her grandparents in New York that week, but if she had seen that movie, it would have opened up a whole new view of the internet for her!

Also, fun tidbit about this movie: in the original version of the book, Jenny used Gracie Hart’s SING tactic to physically fight off conspiracy theorists. But even though the ending changed, this movie still was a good fit for the best friend scene.

The Computer Chronicles

Speaking of the internet, you should totally check out this 1995 episode of The Computer Chronicles, which starts with the line: “Who says online users are a bunch of antisocial geeks?”

It talks about “electronic mail” and people starting to post videos and photos on the internet. It explains what it means to subscribe to something. Starting a business website was revolutionary. “Successful homepages can be seen by 20 or 30,000 people a week,” they explain. Anyway, it’s fascinating to watch and gives both an idea of what the internet looked like then and how the vast majority of people just didn’t get it yet.

The Nineties and The 2000s

My agent, Elizabeth Bewley, actually recommended these two documentary series to me as I was revising, and after watching them, I ended up working them into my book as well. They give an excellent overview of the major events, pop culture, and trends of each decade. I hope they’re working on the 2010s now!

It’s truly fascinating to see how quickly the internet took off in the second half of the nineties and then expanded in even more directions (social media, anyone?) in the early part of this century. One of the main reasons I chose 1995 specifically was because of all of the major changes that happened in late 1995/early 1996. I plan to do a post on that another month.

The Hunger Games

Jenny is a huge reader, but young adult wasn’t really a big category in the ’90s. I mean, all I really remember is Christopher Pike and R.L. Stine’s Fear Street, but it’s also possible I just missed out because I’d already moved on to adult romance novels. In any case, this is a situation where Jenny is like teen me and loves her romance novels. But Dylan introduces her to young adult and The Hunger Games in particular, including the trend of popular young adult novels being made into movies.

It’s a bit embarrassing that even Jenny’s mom–who is now a grandma thanks to her little-brother-turned-way-old brother–has read these books before her.

The Karate Kid

When Jenny took off in 1995, she had a younger brother. She was 17 and he was 12, so that’s quite an age difference. And now it’s even bigger–in the opposite direction. But even with a huge age gap, there are still things that can bring siblings together–like the movies they grew up watching together.

For Jenny and Bradley–or Brad, as everyone seems to call him now–one of those movies was The Karate Kid. And it ends up playing a role in convincing Jenny he is who he says he is, so keep an eye out!

Also, if I’d known about Cobra Kai when I wrote this book, I totally would have had Jenny binge-watch it!

Interview with the Vampire

Behold, the hot vampires of the early ’90s: Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt. Oh, and Antonio Banderas! There’s just a brief mention in the book, but it seemed appropriate, since vampires are one of those things that come back every decade (and I, for one, am totally fine with that!). So just for the record, these are Jenny’s hot vampires.

 

So there you have it, the YOUR LIFE HAS BEEN DELAYED watch list. And when you read the book (in just seven months now!), you’ll have some behind-the-scenes information.

Until next month, when I’ll share… well, I’m actually still deciding between a couple options, actually. If you have specific requests of behind-the-scenes information you’d like to know, whether about the writing process or something in the book itself, drop me a note in the comments! There are still several months to go, so I’ll do my best to get to it.

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Interview at Just Another Teen Reading Books!

Today, I’m honored to be included among the 2021 Debut Author Interviews at Just Another Teen Reading Books! Jessica asked me some fun questions about YOUR LIFE HAS BEEN DELAYED, including my inspiration for writing the book, as well as other fun tidbits like my favorite romantic comedy and anticipated upcoming 2021 releases. You can check out the interview at:

http://justanotherteenreading.blogspot.com/2021/01/interview-with-michelle-i-mason.html

You should check out the other interviews in her series as well.

Jessica was also so kind as to include YOUR LIFE HAS BEEN DELAYED in her list of 2021 books she’s looking forward to reading. You can check out that great list here for some upcoming books! http://justanotherteenreading.blogspot.com/2021/01/books-im-looking-forward-to-reading-in.html

I hope you enjoy this first interview of 2021! I’ll be back here on the blog on the 24th with my seven months to release countdown. And I’ve been reading some amazing books lately, so soon I will have another review roundup for you!

 

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YOUR LIFE HAS BEEN DELAYED Cover Reveal!!

Happy New Year, friends!

I’m so thrilled to finally reveal the cover of YOUR LIFE HAS BEEN DELAYED! The amazing Bloomsbury design team has been hard at work on this cover for a while, and I am so in love with it.

Thank you to cover artist Rosemary Valero-O’Connell and designer Danielle Ceccolini for this gorgeous scene that so perfectly captures Jenny. Also to my editor Allison Moore!

So, without further ado…

Oh, how I love it. Let me count the ways…

Jenny’s expressionThe colors!The St. Louis skylineThe departures/arrivals boardThe little planes on the boardThe way the word “DELAYED” stands outThe tagline, which you may have already seen, but still!MY NAME IS ON THIS BOOK!

I could keep going, but I’ll stop there for now. I hope you love the cover too! If you do, feel free to share it.

YOUR LIFE HAS BEEN DELAYED releases Aug. 24, 2021, and is available for preorder at my local independent bookstore, The Novel Neighbor, as well as at Bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon. You can also add it on Goodreads!

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