Gloria Chao's Blog, page 7

Hanging Out with David Arnold & Adam Silvera + Mosquitoland Review

I was extremely fortunate to have met and hung out with (!!!) David Arnold and Adam Silvera last night. David was in town on tour for his latest release, Kids of Appetite, which sounds AMAZING. I can’t wait to dive into my copy (signed, with the best inscription ever):

I wrote this review for Mosquitoland earlier, but held off posting since I knew his event was coming up. The room was full of writers and we spent the time talking about the writing process. I loved that David and Adam had di...

Revisions

I’ll be writing a series of blog posts the next few weeks about the tricks I’ve learned through revising, The Call (separated into Before, During, and After posts), and submission. It starts today with Revisions!

I am so excited to hibernate with my revisions this fall/winter. American Pandahas already been through quite the process, having been rewritten three times to change categories (NA–Women’s Fiction–YA) and POV (first–third–first), and I thought it might be fun and beneficial to write...

I dream of writing…

I fell in love with this when I saw it at the National Gallery in London 2 years ago. The quote from Vincent Van Gogh reads:I dream of painting … and then I paint my dream.

I started writing because of a dream I had, which turned into my first novel.

Now, a second book, an agent, and a book deal later, this card, which is on my wall beside my computer, reminds me every day that I’m living my dream.

I took a moment recently to reflect on how much my life has changed in the past 5 months.Start...

Tiny Pretty Things & Shiny Broken Pieces: Review

Written by Sona Charaipotra & Dhonielle Clayton

Synopsis forTiny Pretty Things

Gigi, Bette, and June, three top students at an exclusive Manhattan ballet school, have seen their fair share of drama. Free-spirited new girl Gigi just wants to dance—but the very act might kill her. Privileged New Yorker Bette’s desire to escape the shadow of her ballet star sister brings out a dangerous edge in her. And perfectionist June needs to land a lead role this year or her controlling mother will put an...

National Read A Book Day

Happy National Read A Book Day!



I'm currently finishing up Shiny Broken Pieces, the sequel to Tiny Pretty Things.

YA contemporary is my favorite category/genre to read...and write! And this series has been quite the page-turner. So. Much. Suspense! I thought the authors did a wonderful job making each of the three point of views sympathetic despite the characters' flaws. The dancing in this series was also so beautiful—some of my favorite scenes. And the best part? Diversity! All three main characters come from different backgrounds (race, socio-economic status, and family dynamics).

I'm looking forward to putting together a longer, in-depth review to be posted shortly!

What are you all reading?

Welcome!

Hello and welcome to my tea-filled world beside Lake Michigan!



Thank you for taking the time to stop by my page! My Ask the Author box is open and I'd love to answer any questions you may have about writing, reading, publishing, or anything else!

I write young adult contemporary novels, and my debut, AMERICAN PANDA, will be coming out spring 2018 from Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster.

For more information, please check out my Goodreads Author answered questions, my Twitter, website, or the blog posts I've recently imported to Goodreads from my pre-existing blog.

I look forward to connecting with you!

Interview by DL Hammons of WRiTE CLUB

I was honored to have been a semi-finalist in this year’s WRiTE CLUB competition where anonymous passages step into the ring to duke it out. The wonderful DL Hammons, the creator of WRiTE CLUB, hosted me on his blog recently to talk writing,American Panda, and the thrill ridethat was WRiTE CLUB.

Check out my interviewhere.

My Novel Has Found Not Just A Publishing House But A Home

I’m beyond delighted, beyond thrilled, beyond ecstatic to share that my YA contemporary novel about a Taiwanese-American teenhas sold to Jennifer Ung at Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster!

I am so impressed with Jen and the Simon Pulse team already, and I can’t wait to work with them. I cried when I read Jen’s letter that accompanied the offer, and I cried when I heard that the entire team supported my diverse #ownstory. When I started on this journey, I never even dreamed of finding an editor that...

Subjectivity

With the Pitch Wars picks being announced this week, I thought it might be helpful to talk about subjectivity, a word thrown around so often it risks losing meaning.

Recently,I’ve begun reading multiple books at the same time (no, not literally :D). At one point in time, I’ll often be a good chunk into 2 or 3 books and depending on the day and my mood, I’ll switch between them. It seems like such a strange thing, but somehow I’m able to dive right back to where I was when I left off, even if...

The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published – Review

Written by Arielle Eckstut and David Henry Sterry, aka The Book Doctors

Available on Amazon here.

Brief description:

Written by experts with twenty-five books between them as well as many years’ experience as a literary agent (Eckstut) and a book doctor (Sterry), this nuts-and-bolts guide demystifies every step of the publishing process: how to come up with a blockbuster title, create a selling proposal, find the right agent, understand a book contract, and develop marketing and publicity sa...