OZYA Interviews Archives - Page 8 of 8

#LoveOZYA Author Interview: Will Kostakis

Apr 15, 2016

I love Aussie YA. I love reading books from authors that live in the same country as me, that know things that people out of Australia might be so confused about. I love how sometimes they can incorporate this into their book and it is fabulous.

So in saying that, I have decided to start a new feature on Angel Reads spotlighting Australian YA Authors. Each Friday for the next couple of months, I am going to interview an OZYA Author. I thought it would be a fun way to share my love for Australian Young Adult authors with not only fellow Aussies, but everyone around the world. I want more Australian YA books to be read, because they are amazing.

First week I interview Sarah Ayoub, then Fleur Ferris, and this week it’s the ever so amazigng Will Kostakis. Will Kostakis is the author of YA novels Loathing Lola (Pan MacMillian, 2008), The First Third (Penguin Australia, 2013) and Sidekicks (Penguin Australia, 2016)

Hi Will, and welcome to Angel Reads. First can you introduce yourself to everyone? Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I’m Will Kostakis, a 26-year-old author from Sydney. I’ve written four books – three are young adult novels. I’m also a freelance journalist.

What has your writing journey been like? Where did you start? Why?

It started in primary school. I just always enjoyed creative writing, and was encouraged by teachers to keep at it. One urged me to try writing a novel. I did, in Year Seven. It was mostly terrible, and when a publisher got back to me, they confirmed it. But I kept at it, writing and rewriting, and rejigging the book as I accumulated more life experiences. Then, in Year Twelve, I pitched it to a few publishers, and one loved the idea. It was released two years later.

What was the process of getting your first book published?

There was a lot of rejection, but the more I wrote, the more my confidence improved, and the better the story became. While at the beginning of the process, all I wanted was to get published first-go, by the end of the process, I was thankful it took a while. I wasn’t ready as an 11-year-old. And who is? I don’t even think I was ready at 17 when it happened.

Was it different when getting your proceeding books published?

Loathing Lola was a modest seller, but not a runaway hit, so I took some time off, finished uni, and came back with a story I really believed in. And it was tough – figuring out what my second book would be and making sure it was good. I changed publishers, and they made me work for that book deal. While I earnt the Loathing Lola deal off a synopsis, for The First Third, half of it had to be written, and it had to be good. Again, I wish it happened instantly, but I’m glad they took their time and pushed me. It was a similar process with The Sidekicks. I’m not at that stage where my work will be accepted sight unseen, but that’s a good thing. It forces me to consistently up my game.

You are an OZYA author, what are some of your favourite Aussie YA books?

Oh there are too many to say. I am a huge Barry Jonsberg fan (his whole body of work is stellar). I love Ellie Marney’s Every series, and Amie Kaufman is on a roll at the moment, if Sci-Fi is more your thing. Gabrielle Tozer and Melissa Keil are also definite-reads.

You can find Will at @willkostakis on twitter,willkostakis.com and add his books to your goodreads.

The Sidekicks by Will Kostakis

Pages: 256
Publish date: February 29th 2016 by Penguin Australia
Publisher: Penguin Australia
ISBN: 9780143309031
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon US – Amazon AU – Dymocks

The Swimmer. The Rebel. The Nerd.

All Ryan, Harley and Miles had in common was Isaac. They lived different lives, had different interests and kept different secrets. But they shared the same best friend. They were sidekicks. And now that Isaac’s gone, what does that make them?

Will Kostakis, award-winning author of The First Third, perfectly depicts the pain and pleasure of this teenage world, piecing together three points of view with intricate splendour.

***

Thank you Will for joining me at Angel Reads. That is it for this week’s #LoveOZYA Interview. What did you think of Will and his books? I hope you enjoyed it. Let’s Chat!

Come back next week for some more Aussie fun. If you want to know more about the #LoveOZYA movement check out the website for all the details.

#LoveOZYA Author Interview: Fleur Ferris

Apr 8, 2016

Last week I interview Sarah Ayoub and this week I am interviewing Fleur Ferris. Fleur is the author of Risk (2015, Penguin Random House) and the upcoming novel Black (2016, Penguin Random House.)

Hi Fleur, welcome to Angel Reads. First can you introduce yourself to everyone? Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Hello! I write fiction. My debut book, Risk, was published last year by Penguin Random House. It was a contemporary thriller/drama for young adults. My next book, Black, is another stand alone, and is also a contemporary thriller for young adults and will be out July this year.

What has your writing journey been like? When did you start? Why?

I’ve kept journals since primary school, however I started toying with getting my work published when I was 25. One of my short stories was published in Woman’s Day Five Minute Fiction. After that I started writing longer works, teaching myself to write novels. While I worked and studied in various fields, I wrote a number of full length novel manuscripts before seeking publication.

What was the process of getting your first book published?

Getting published is tough! After attending many festivals and listening to publishers, editors and authors, doing workshops, and reading everything I could about the industry I formulated the idea that if I wanted to be published three things must happen (this is my opinion only):

The right manuscript
Must land on the right desk
At the right time

I had no contacts in the industry and therefore didn’t know how I was going to line up these three magical components. To give myself the best chance I felt I needed a good agent.

I can’t remember who said it now, but at a festival a publisher gave some great advice. She said, “Research who you want to send your work to and shoot like an arrow to that person.”

This is what I did. I researched agents and found that the agent I wanted (and representing authors with books similar to mine) was running half hour pitch sessions at the Write Around the Murray Festival in Albury, NSW. My application for one of these pitch sessions was successful. The agent requested to read my full manuscript and a number of weeks later offered representation.

I edited my manuscript with my agent before it was sent out to publishers. While publishers were considering my work I began writing my next book, Risk. The book that was on submission was rejected, but one publisher liked my work enough to read and consider Risk. This publisher was at Penguin Random House and they offered me a contract. I immediately began the editorial process with my editor and it was released July 2015. The whole process took about eighteen months.

Was it different when getting your subsequent books published?

Yes and no. Yes it was different because I had developed a good working relationship with my editor and publisher. My publisher was able to look at my other work and choose the strongest book to follow on from Risk. The title of this book is Black. But from there on it was the same. Black was taken to an acquisition meeting and went thought the same assessment process that Risk went through before a contract was offered.

What was the difference between getting your books published here in Australia and internationally?

Risk was published in France (March 2016) and Germany (release date not yet disclosed). When the contracts were signed all of the work was already done, so I didn’t go through an editorial process with my international publishers. They were sent straight off to be translated.

You are an OZYA author, what are some of your favourite Aussie YA books?

Cooper Bartholomew is dead by Rebecca James, Ellie Marney’s Every Series, I’m loving Rachael Craw’s trilogy (I’m claiming NZ books!) – Stray, Shield and I’m waiting impatiently for her third book!

I loved The Intern by Gabrielle Tozer, The Whole of My World by Nicole Hayes, The Pause by John Larkin and Pieces of sky by Trinity Doyle. I know Two wolves by Tristan Bancks is for slightly younger readers, but it is brilliant and suitable for any age.

I’m also a big fan of Skye Melki-Wegner’s Chasing the Valley trilogy and Vikki Wakefield’s All I ever wanted. I have so many favourites!

You can find Fleur at @FleurFerris on twitter, fleurferris.com and add her books to your goodreads.

Risk by Fleur Ferris

Pages: 279
Publish date: July 1st 2015
Publisher: Penguin Random House
ISBN: 9780857986474
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – Dymocks

Taylor and Sierra have been best friends for their whole lives. But Taylor’s fed up. Why does Sierra always get what – and who – she wants? From kissing Taylor’s crush to stealing the guy they both met online for herself, Sierra doesn’t seem to notice when she hurts her friends.

So when Sierra says Jacob Jones is the one and asks her friends to cover for her while she goes to meet him for the first time, Taylor rolls her eyes.

But Sierra doesn’t come back when she said she would.

One day. Two days. Three . . .

What if Taylor’s worrying for nothing? What if Sierra’s just being Sierra, forgetting about everyone else to spend time with her new guy?

When Taylor finally tells Sierra’s mum that her daughter is missing, Taylor and her friends are thrown into a dark world they never even knew existed.

Can Taylor find Sierra’s abductor in time? Or should she be looking for a killer?

Black by Fleur Ferris

Pages: –
Published Date: 26th June 2016
Publisher: Penguin Random House
ISBN: 9781925324976
Purchase: Book Depository – Dymocks

Ebony Marshall is in her final year of high school. Five months, two weeks and four days . . . She can’t wait to leave the town where she’s known only as ‘Black’. Because of her name, of course. But for another reason, too.

Everyone says Black Marshall is cursed.

Three of her best friends have died in tragic accidents. After Oscar, the whispers started. Now she’s used to being on her own. It’s easier that way.

But when her date for the formal ends up in intensive care, something in quiet little Dainsfield starts to stir. Old secrets are revealed and terrifying new dangers emerge.

If only Black could put all the pieces together, she could work out who her real enemies are. Should she run for her life, or stay and fight.

***

Thank you Fleur for joining me at Angel Reads. That is it for this week’s #LoveOZYA Interview. What did you think of Fleur and her books? I hope you enjoyed it. Let’s Chat!

Come back next week for some more Aussie fun. If you want to know more about the #LoveOZYA movement check out the website for all the details.

#LoveOZYA Author Interview: Sarah Ayoub

Apr 1, 2016

To open this new feature I am interviewing the lovely Sarah Ayoub. Sarah is the author of Hate is Such A Strong Word (2013, HarperCollins Australia) and The Yearbook Committee (2016, HarperCollins Australia). Let the Interview begin.

Hi Sarah, welcome to Angel Reads. First can you introduce yourself to everyone? Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Hi everyone! I’m a Sydney-based journalist and author of two novels published by Harper Collins (Hate is Such a Strong Word and The Yearbook Committee). I teach Journalism at the University of Notre Dame Australia and run writing workshops in high schools. My work has been published in Marie-Claire, Sunday Style, CLEO, Girlfriend, Cosmopolitan, Shop Til You Drop, Yen, Frankie and more. I wanted to be a journalist from the age of 10 – I was a big fan of Superman and basically wanted to be Lois Lane. I love cake and afternoon tea, am a hopeless Francophile, and often feel like I was meant to be born in a different time. I’m definitely an old soul, with a big sense of wonder and wanderlust.

What has your writing journey been like? When did you start? Why?
I suppose I started writing in my late teens, but I wrote a lot of rhyming poems that were very ‘young’. I went to university thinking I would wind up in PR, before realising in third year that I was a hopeless suck up and sales person and that my sense of curiosity and unabashed penchant for asking questions would suit feature writing better. I didn’t plan on writing books – they were never a part of my ‘plan’ – but I started writing Hate on a whim and eventually had ten chapters to show an agent. I just felt like Sophie’s character was strong and she had an important story to tell.

What was the process of getting your first book published?
I was really lucky in that it happened without too much effort on my part. I had ten chapters which I took along to a manuscript assessment day at the NSW Writer’s Centre. Following my session (which had its fair shares of compliments and criticisms), I sent my ten chapters to an agent I had been introduced to and she immediately said that while the story had potential, my writing needed a lot of work. I hadn’t studied creative writing so there was a lot of trial and error. I wrote my manuscript three times (the third time on trains as I travelled round Europe) before sending it to the agent from a remote village overseas. I returned home two weeks later and found that I’d had an offer from a publisher. It was all incredibly exciting for me.

Was it different when getting your subsequent books published?
Writing my first book was simpler because I had no expectations. I just wrote because I didn’t know what would come of it. I wrote with complete freedom. Writing the second book was harder – I wrote it in a short space of time because by then I had the creative writing skills (showing not telling) that I had not had before – but this time I had a publisher who had expectations so I didn’t know if I was meeting them. It was a very anxious time.

You are an OZYA author, what are some of your favourite Aussie YA books?
I love Australian stories and I love that Australian YA leads the charge in areas of diversity and intelligent books for its readers. I loved reading John Marsden (So much to tell you, Letters from the Inside, Winter etc) and Jaclyn Moriarty (The Brookfield/Ashbury stories) in my teens and Melina Marchetta’s books are constant faves (I seriously can’t choose between Looking for Alibrandi, Saving Francesca, and On the Jellicoe Road). Lately I’ve loved Kirsty Eager’s Summer Skin, Fleur Ferris’ Risk, and Claire Zorn’s The Protected.

You can find Sarah at @bysarahayoub on twitter, sarahayoub.com and add her books to your goodreads

Hate is such a Strong Word by Sarah Ayoub

Pages: 256
Publish date: September 1st 2013
Publisher: HarperCollins Australia
ISBN: 0732296846
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – Dymocks

I hate being invisible.

I hate that I still can′t fight my own battles.

I hate that I can′t keep up with the demands of high school.

Sophie Kazzi is in Year 12 at an all-Lebanese, all-Catholic school where she is invisible, uncool and bored out of her brain. While she′s grown up surrounded by Lebanese friends, Lebanese neighbours and Lebanese shops, she knows there′s more to life than Samboosik and Baklawa, and she desperately wants to find it.

Unfortunately, her father has antiquated ideas about women, curfews and the Lebanese ′way′. Bad news for Sophie, who was hoping to spend Year 12 fitting in and having fun – not babysitting her four younger siblings, or studying for final exams that will land her in an Accounting course she has no interest in.

Just when it looks like Sophie′s year couldn′t get any more complicated, Shehadie Goldsmith arrives at school. With an Australian father and a Lebanese mother, he′s even more of a misfit than Sophie. And with his arrogant, questioning attitude, he also has a way of getting under her skin…

But when simmering cultural tensions erupt in violence, Sophie must make a choice that will threaten her family, friends and the cultural ties that have protected her all her life.

Are her hates and complaints worth it? Or will she let go … and somehow find her place?

The Yearbook Committee by Sarah Ayoub

Pages: 304
Publish date: March 1st 2016
Publisher: HarperCollins Australia
ISBN: 0732296854
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – Dymocks

Five teenagers. Five lives. One final year.

The school captain: Ryan has it all … or at least he did, until an accident snatched his dreams away. How will he rebuild his life and what does the future hold for him now?

The newcomer: Charlie’s just moved interstate and she’s determined not to fit in. She’s just biding her time until Year 12 is over and she can head back to her real life and her real friends …

The loner: At school, nobody really notices Matty. But at home, Matty is everything. He’s been single-handedly holding things together since his mum’s breakdown, and he’s never felt so alone.

The popular girl: Well, the popular girl’s best friend … cool by association. Tammi’s always bowed to peer pressure, but when the expectations become too much to handle, will she finally stand up for herself?

The politician’s daughter: Gillian’s dad is one of the most recognisable people in the state and she’s learning the hard way that life in the spotlight comes at a very heavy price.

Five unlikely teammates thrust together against their will. Can they find a way to make their final year a memorable one or will their differences tear their world apart?

And that is it for this week’s #LoveOZYA Interview. What did you think of Sarah and her books? I hope you enjoyed it. Come back next week for some more Aussie fun. If you want to know more about the #LoveOZYA movement check out the website for all the details.