Sunday, April 24, 2016

Meet the Newbies (& Giveaway): Melissa Gorzelanczyk


Welcome to Meet the Newbies! Meet the Newbies is a blog event dedicated to introducing you to the “newbie” published debut authors. In this event, expect to learn more about the authors, their books, and silly fun facts!

Today, I'm featuring Melissa Gorzelanczyk, author of Arrows!

Nickname: Missy (Most of my family still calls me that)
First Day of School: January 26, 2016
Homeroom: Delacorte Press
Grade: Young Adult Contemporary
Extracurricular Activities: Music (Piano & Singing), Yoga, Art and Culinary (because she needs someone to cook for her, please!)
Favorite Class: Anything but Math
Favorite Quote/Motto: “This is your life. Do what you love, and do it often. If you don’t like something, change it.” –From the Holstee Manifesto






The Interview:

Alyssa: Hi, Melissa! Thank you so much for joining me today on my blog! 

Melissa: Hello again! I'm honored to be here, as always. *squeezes Alyssa*

Alyssa: My first question - how has the post-debut period been? It's been three months since Arrows was published (woah!).

Melissa: WUT?! *checks calendar* *checks for new gray hair*
It's amazing to me how slow publishing can feel, and then in a wink a book is published and has been out for three months. I think the biggest change for me is that I'm feeling a little more relaxed (most of the time) and focusing on writing new books, which makes me happy. I've been fortunate enough to bring ARROWS on book tour to places like the NoVaTEEN Book Fest in Arlington, VA, and I'm really looking forward to the rest of my 2016 events. You can find the whole schedule here. Come say hi!

Alyssa: What is something that you wished someone told you, about the period after the publication of your debut?

Melissa: Luckily because of joining The Sweet Sixteens and The Class of 2K16 author groups, I had a lot of opportunities to ask questions about what to expect after launch. I think the consensus is that you will never feel like you are doing enough to promote your book. The important thing to remember is that you can't do EVERYTHING. You'll burn out and it won't be pretty. With that in mind, I'm trying to enjoy the process. I'll never have a debut year again. It's been pretty special  so far and I don't want to ruin it by constantly feeling overwhelmed. It's a work in progress. :)

Alyssa: Has anything changed for you, in terms of your writing process?

Melissa: Leading up to launch, writing took the back burner. I'm happy to report that is no longer the case.

Alyssa: What's something that was cut from Arrows, that you wished could have stayed?

Melissa: I can't think of anything! The edits we made were, in my opinion, for the best of the story.

Alyssa: Can you share anything from your current project (or one of them)? A teaser, a line, an unofficial synopsis, a tiny spoiler? ;D

Melissa: Since I have four books in progress, I'll share part of my YA contemporary, a crime mystery involving sibling drama and broken hearts.

Last year, I painted the dresser across from my bed blue, a layer of white swirls on top. Words scattered the surface. Max and Coral in love forever and ever and ever and ever, around a curve, like that. The knobs were pink roses, my great-grandmother’s favorite flower. I was named after her. Coral.

Now, with a graphite pencil shading the edge of my open sketchbook, and my gaze on that dresser, I wrote:

Paint it black. 

Alyssa: Oooo, sounds intriguing. Thanks for joining me! I can't wait to read more from you in the future. :)

Melissa: Thank you so much! It's always a pleasure.


The Author:

Melissa Gorzelanczyk is a former magazine editor and columnist who believes love is everything. A dreamer for life, Melissa has been writing books since she was nine years old when she penned her first story about a beloved black horse. She is a member of the Class of 2k16, the SCBWI and The Sweet Sixteens. She lives in Green Bay, Wisconsin, with her husband and family.



The Book:


Arrows by Melissa Gorzelanczyk
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: January 26, 2016

Summary (from Goodreads):

People don’t understand love. If they did, they’d get why dance prodigy Karma Clark just can’t say goodbye to her boyfriend, Danny. No matter what he says or does or how he hurts her, she can’t stay angry with him . . . and can’t stop loving him. But there’s a reason why Karma is helpless to break things off: she’s been shot with a love arrow. 

Aaryn, son of Cupid, was supposed to shoot both Karma and Danny but found out too late that the other arrow in his pack was useless. And with that, Karma’s life changed forever. One pregnancy confirmed. One ballet scholarship lost. And dream after dream tossed to the wind.

A clueless Karma doesn’t know that her toxic relationship is Aaryn’s fault . . . but he’s going to get a chance to make things right. He’s here to convince Danny to man up and be there for Karma. But what if this god from Mount Olympus finds himself falling in love with a beautiful dancer from Wisconsin who can never love him in return?

This fast-paced debut novel explores the internal & external conflicts of a girl who finds herself inexplicably drawn to a boy who seemingly doesn't reciprocate her  feelings, touching on the issues of love, sex and responsibility, with a heroine struggling to control her destiny--perfect for fans of Katie McGarry's novels and MTV’s 16 and Pregnant.



The Giveaway:

Giveaway #1:

Win a copy of Arrows! This giveaway is hosted by the author, and it's USA only (sorry, non-USA peeps!).



Giveaway #2:

1 Pre­Order or Finished Copy of Any Debut Novel Featured on Meet the Newbies
International (as long as The Book Depository ships to your country)

16 comments:

  1. I am a YA fan. I have noticed there are a lot of books dealing with mental health issues lately. One, which I recently read, and it shredded me, was All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven. I thought Niven did a fantastic job of bringing me into the illness. I knew what Theo was suffering from just from her descriptions of what was running through his head.

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  2. I'm more of a fantasy person, although I've read several amazing contemporary YA novels. I can't wait to read this one!

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  3. Lovely post Alyssa :D Love the interview. <3 Hugs. I just love how much you love this book :D YAY! I'm still unsure about it, lol, but you are making sure I don't forget about it, hah :D Thank you for sharing sweet girl. <3

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  4. Great interview! Arrows looks really good. :D Wow, I can't believe she has 4 books in progress right now. WOAH.

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  5. I love YA contemporary...It's probably my favorite genre and it's the genre I write in! :) I recently read When We Collided by Emery Lord and it was one of my favorite reads this year!

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  6. Sounds great! I've heard so many good things about this book! Can't wait to read it! Loved the interview!

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  8. I love YA contemporary! It's one of my favorite genres! I have read YA novels about PTSD and running away from home. I'm interested in reading "Arrows"!

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  9. I am very excited to read this book and I love YA contemporary!
    Thanks for the chance to win!

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  10. Yes, I am definitely a fan of YA contemporary. :)

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  11. Congratulations Melissa on your new book. Yes I'm a fan.

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  12. Ohh I've heard so much about this book, and yes I love YA Contemporary !

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  13. I not a big fan of YA contemporaries, but I have read s few recently that I really enjoyed (Summer of Supernovas, the Girl Against the Universe, When We Collided) the last 2 tackling mental illness. I hope we'll see more and more books tackling issues girls are faced with, so much is just never talked about or in a positive way.
    I've been wanting to read this book since it first came out!

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  14. I used to prefer YA fantasy over any other genre but now I'm definitely opening up my reading scopes and I'm really enjoying YA contemporary!

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  15. Looks very interesting!

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Also, this an award and tag free blog. While I am flattered that you would think of me, I really do not have the time to follow up. Thank you!