YALLFest author spotlight: Rainbow Rowell

Drumroll for the intro, please!
YALLFest is one of the only book festivals focused entirely on Young Adults. It's held in Charleston, South Carolina and this year it starts November 9th. The best part is, it's mostly free! The only thing that cost money are the ticketed events- the keynote conversation and the closing YA smackdown. All signings are free!

I really wanted to go this year! This year's lineup includes 50 young adult authors, including 25 New York Times Bestsellers. That's a pretty impressive lineup! Unfortunately, I don't have the money to go this year, but am definitely planning on going in the near future. If you love to read, live in the South Carolina area (I live in Florida and would DEFINITELY make the drive!)  I absolutely recommend going to this. 

Since I am so sad about missing it this year, I am so excited that I am able to get involved in other ways! I was given the opportunity to host interviews with some of this year's YALLFest authors!

Don't forget for more YALLFest info you can head to their Facebook or website. You can also get updates with their twitter @Yallfest

Rainbow Rowell is known for her best selling books Eleanor & Park and Fangirl. Personally these books are in my to-be-read stack and I am pretty excited to read them because some of my favorite authors have sang praises for them, so they must be good!

Since Rainbow is one of the authors that I wish I was seeing most at YALLFest this year, I'm REALLY really excited to be able to post her interview!

What one thing do you need to have when you write?

Lip balm.

Describe your book in 5 words.

FANGIRL:

Earnest, snowy, swoony, minty, bookish.

What is the hardest line to write- the first or the last?

THE FIRST! The whole first page is a nightmare. I want people to just skip it. And I always end up rewriting it.

Best writing tip you ever received?

“Just finish your book.”

What one young adult novel do you wish you had when you were a teen? Why?

Homecoming by Cynthia Voigt. I think it would have made me feel less alone.

Where's your favorite place to write?

At coffeeshops. In giant overstuffed chairs.

What are you working on now?

I’m revising my adult novel, Landline, which comes out in spring 2014, and playing with a romantic/political/tragicomic fantasy.

What is your favorite genre to write in? To Read?

I write mostly contemporary. I read mostly fantasy.

At what point in the development of an idea do you know that it will become a full-length novel?

All of my ideas are full-length novels. I have a hard time narrowing my scope.

Hope you enjoyed today's edition of YALLFest author spotlight! Check back tomorrow for yet another interview!! 

And see below for all the past authors in this series:

Cinda Williams Chima can be found here

Lauren Oliver can be found here

CJ Lyons can be found here

Sean Williams can be found here:

Posts may come in fast and furious over the next few weeks. Got a lot of info to cover! Hope you can keep up ;)

Follow your bliss,

Ember Darling