Meet the Author: Karen Fortunati

A New Jersey native transplanted to Connecticut, former attorney Karen Fortunati writes books for children and teens. In her spare time – after family, rescue dogs and writing – she attends graduate school at Trinity College’s American Studies program and works part time as a museum educator.

Karen’s debut, THE WEIGHT OF ZERO (Random House/Delacorte, Fall 2016), is a contemporary Young Adult novel. The story follows Cath, a teenager with bipolar disorder who is contemplating suicide, and her march towards – and struggle to recognize – better mental health, supported by a network of family, doctors, and friends.

Fun facts:

• Favorite time/place to write: Morning at a clean desk or table at home or in car (anytime)
• Book most recently read: BIGGIE by Derek Sullivan
• Greatest thing about being a 2016 debut author: That it actually happened!

Where to find her:

 Website | Twitter | Add Book

Meet the Author: Julie Hammerle

Before settling down to write “for real,” Julie Hammerle studied opera, taught Latin, and held her real estate license for one hot minute. Currently, she writes about TV on the internet, ropes people into conversations about Game of Thrones, and makes excuses to avoid the gym. Her favorite YA-centric TV shows include 90210 (original spice), Felicity, and Freaks and Geeks. Her iPod reads like a 1997 Lilith Fair set list. She lives in Chicago with her husband, two kids, and a dog. They named the dog Indiana.

Julie’s debut, THE SOUND OF US (Entangled Teen, June 7, 2016), is a contemporary Young Adult novel. Kiki Nichols, who is more in tune with her internet friends and the characters on her favorite cult TV show than anyone in her “real” life, finds friendship, love, and acceptance at a pre-college summer opera program.

Fun facts:

• Julie’s first book love is the Betsy-Tacy series by Maud Hart Lovelace. She feels a special kinship toward Betsy Ray.
• Childhood aspiration: Julie was convinced she was going to be either a famous singer or an Oscar winning actress. Or both.
• Book currently reading/most recently read: UNDER THE LIGHTS by Dahlia Adler.
• Favorite things to do (other than reading): Julie watches a lot of TV and movies, and she consumes way too much pop culture gossip. She has been known to shut down parties by talking too much about Game of Thrones.
• Favorite sports teams: Julie remains fiercely loyal to her hometown teams — the Cubs and the Bulls. She also cheers loudly (and in an ancient, mangled T-shirt) for her alma mater, Butler University.
• Surprising personal fact: Before having her own kids, she taught Latin to second graders. And third graders. And fourth through eighth graders.
• Greatest thing about being a 2016 debut author: Julie is excited and humbled to be in such great company. Also, 16 is one of the LOST numbers, so, obviously, it’s going to be a great year. Those numbers are LUCKY, right? Not cursed?

Where to find her:

Website | Twitter | Facebook

 

Meet the Author: Emily France

Emily France is a graduate of Brown University where she diligently prepared for her first career cleaning cabins on a horse ranch in Wyoming. She went on to earn an M.F.A. in creative writing and a J.D. She is now a happily recovering attorney and a full-time writer in Colorado where she lives with her astronomer husband.

Emily’s debut, SIGNS OF YOU (Soho Teen, July 19, 2016), is a contemporary Young Adult novel. In a John Green meets Dan Brown contemporary mystery, SIGNS OF YOU tells the story of 16-year-old Riley Strout who believes she’s the reason her mother is dead. But when she starts catching glimpses of her mom and other deceased around town, she realizes it has to do with an old Jesuit cross necklace she recently tried on and she enlists her friends to solve the mystery.

Fun facts:

• Favorite book growing up: A WRINKLE IN TIME, Madeleine L’Engle
• Childhood aspiration: At age five, she told her parents she was going to be a writer. And that unicorns were real. RIGHT ON BOTH. Huzzah!
• Favorite time of day/place to write: In the morning at the public library in Boulder, Colorado.
• Book currently reading/most recently read: 21 PROMS
• Favorite things to do (other than reading): There are other things to do?
• Favorite sports teams: Her high school volleyball team. They won. Once. Or was it twice?
• Surprising personal fact: She married the guy who asked her to the ninth grade dance.
• Greatest thing about being a 2016 debut author: The moment she told her husband and family that she had gotten a book deal. They’ve cheered her on for so many years as she’s pursued this dream, and it’s been a gift beyond measure to share this with them.

Where to find her:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Add Book

Meet the Author: Paula Garner

Paula Garner spends most of her time playing with words and food, despite being surrounded by an alarming TBR pile and a very bad cat. Paula is represented by Molly Jaffa of Folio Lit, and lives in the Chicago area with her family.

Paula’s debut, PHANTOM LIMBS (Candlewick, Sept. 27, 2016), is a contemporary Young Adult novel. Sixteen-year-old Otis copes with grief by swimming, training to fulfill the lost Olympic dream of his tyrannical one-armed friend/self-appointed coach, Dara, but her hold on him is threatened when his first love comes back to town, forcing Otis to face the tragedy that drove them apart.

Fun facts:

• Favorite book growing up: She never would have been able to pick just one! 
• Childhood aspiration: Writer 
• Book currently reading/most recently read: BONE GAP by Laura Ruby 
• Favorite things to do (other than reading): Consuming things and making things to be consumed. 
• Favorite sports teams: Chicago Bulls 
• Surprising personal fact: The summer she turned sixteen, she worked for a chimney sweep. 
• Greatest thing about being a 2016 debut author: Sharing a debut year with so many other talented writers!

Where to find her:

Twitter | Goodreads | Add Book

Meet the Author: Kathleen Glasgow

Kathleen Glasgow has lived in Pennsylvania, Arizona, New Mexico, and Minnesota. She has four chickens, a cat, and several koi. They should not get along, but they do.

Kathleen’s debut, GIRL IN PIECES (Random House/Delacorte, Aug. 30, 2016), is a Young Adult Contemporary novel. 17-year-old Charlie Davis is a girl on the edge of losing herself: to cutting, to homelessness, to grief. Pitched as Girl, Interrupted for a new generation, this is a novel about finding your people, finding your art, and fighting your way back, one hard minute at a time.

Fun facts:

• Favorite book growing up: THE OUTSIDERS by SE Hinton; THE CATCHER IN THE RYE by JD Salinger, and A WRINKLE IN TIME Madeline L’Engle.
• Childhood aspiration: Well, duh: writer.
• Favorite time of day/place to write: The morning, in the downstairs spare room (aka, THE LEGO ROOM, formerly “her office”), after several cups of coffee, looking out her window at the birds dipping into the koi pond, hearing the chickens nestling in the coop.
• Book currently reading: THE BOOK OF UNKNOWN AMERICANS, by Cristina Henriquez.
• One of her favorite things to do: Searching for 50s prom dresses online.
• Surprising personal fact: Her predilection for pepperoni.
• Greatest thing about being a 2016 debut author: Like, really, literally, knowing a life dream came true: becoming a published novelist. And joining a superb crowd of debut authors.

Where to find her:

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Meet the Author: Mike Grosso

Mike Grosso is a writer, teacher, and musician from Oak Park, Illinois, where he lives with his wife and son. He grew up in a musical family. He hopes to one day get out of his apartment and into a house where he can finally have a drum set without driving his neighbors insane.

Mike’s debut, I AM DRUMS (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt/Clarion Books, 9/6/2016) is a contemporary middle grade novel. While other kids dream about cars, sports, and fashion, all Samantha Morris dreams about is playing the drums. But it’s hard to make her dreams come true when her parents are against it, she bangs on dictionaries because she can’t afford a real kit, and her middle school is planning to cut its music program. Sam’s only hope is to find a private teacher and pay for lessons herself, all without her parents finding out.

Fun facts:

• Favorite book growing up: A three-way tie among ANASTASIA KRUPNIK, SIDEWAYS STORIES FROM WAYSIDE SCHOOL, and THE THING AT THE FOOT OF THE BED.
• Childhood aspiration: A rockstar with really weird hair.
• Favorite time of day/place to write: Whenever his son is taking a nap.
• Book currently reading/most recently read: He’s reading THE 8TH CONTINENT by Matt London and listening to FANGIRL by Rainbow Rowell in the car during his commute.
• Favorite things to do (other than reading): Playing music, bothering nearby family members, spooky video games, staring at things.
• Favorite sports teams: um… uh… the Chicago Cardinals?
• Surprising personal fact: He teaches fourth grade and enjoys telling his kids there’s a chocolate swimming pool in the teachers’ lounge.
• Greatest thing about being a 2016 debut author: The greatest thing about being a 2016 debut author is that he still gets to be a debut author! He’s a former 2015 debut who lost his initial book deal with Egmont when the New York office closed, so for a short time he didn’t know what was going to happen. It’s great to be back on the road to publishing his debut while meeting so many talented authors!

Where to find him:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Add Book

Meet the Author: Erin Teagan

Erin Teagan has a master’s degree in science and worked in biochemistry labs for more than ten years, where she wrote endless standard operating procedures.  She lives in Virginia with her two little mad scientists, a ninety pound lap dog, and a husband that regularly puts himself in danger with all of his extreme sports.

Erin’s debut, THE FRIENDSHIP EXPERIMENT (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Fall 2016), is a humorous middle grade novel. Madeline Little, genius scientist in the making, keeps her life in control by creating standard operating procedures (SOPs), like “How to Fake the Bubonic Plague to get out of a Party.” But when her life flip-flops at the start of middle school, and the SOPs no longer do the trick, it’s up to Madeline to discover a new cure for her newly messed up life.

Fun facts:

• Favorite book growing up: WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS by Shel Silverstein, anything by Roald Dahl.
• Childhood aspiration: Always and secretly a writer, even when she declared she was going to be a scientist.
• Favorite time of day/place to write: Before the sun comes up at her very own beautiful desk (newly purchased).
• Book currently reading/most recently read: EL DEAFO by Cece Bell.
• Favorite things to do (other than reading): Traveling with her husband and reading in a safe place while her husband does something dangerous.
• Surprising personal fact: She was once quarantined on a virus stricken cruise ship for 72 long hours.
• Greatest thing about being a 2016 debut author: She can’t think of a single thing that’s not the absolute greatest about being a 2016 debut author.

Where to find her:

Website | Twitter | Facebook

Meet the Author: Tom Crosshill

Tom Crosshill has operated a nuclear reactor, taught public speaking and worked in a zinc mine, among other things. His fiction has been nominated for the Nebula Award (thrice), the Latvian Annual Literature Award, and has appeared in venues such as Clarkesworld, Beneath Ceaseless Skies and Lightspeed. In 2009, he won the Writers of the Future contest. After some years spent in Oregon and New York, he currently lives in his native Latvia.

Tom’s debut novel, THE CAT KING OF HAVANA (HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen Books, Fall 2016), is a Young Adult Contemporary. It follows Rick Gutierrez, avowed nerd and self-styled Cat King of the Internet, who travels to Cuba for a summer of learning salsa and reconnecting with his mother’s roots. He’s determinedly not doing any of this to impress Ana Cabrera, his just-out-of-reach dance partner. In Cuba, however, they discover that there is a lot more to the country than they first suspected—and the greatest danger may lie where they least expect it.

Fun facts:

• Favorite book growing up: MARCHENMOND (“Magic Moon”) by Wolfgang & Heike Hohlbein
• Childhood aspiration: A teenage wunderkind bestselling author
• Favorite time of day/place to write: Mid-morning, somewhere with palm trees
• Book currently reading/most recently read: THE SHADOW OF WHAT WAS LOST by James Islington
• Favorite things to do (other than reading): Dancing salsa, playing the piano, learning new skills
• Surprising personal fact: He got licensed to operate a nuclear reactor at the age of 18
• Greatest thing about being a 2016 debut author: His book, set in Cuba, is coming out at a time of tumultuous, promising change for the country

Where to find him:

Website | Twitter | Facebook

Meet the Author: Pete Catalano

Pete Catalano lives in Charlotte, North Carolina where his wife is an artist. He has degree in Technical Theater.

Pete’s debut novel, ARTIFACTS (Month9Books, May 3, 2016) is a Middle Grade contemporary fantasy. Pitched as PETER PAN meets THE GOONIES, ARTIFACTS is about a group of middle school friends who find themselves in a race against Fairy Tale villains to gain control over a single, authentic artifact: a pen used by Jacob Grimm’s that can rewrite Fairy Tales.

Fun facts:

• Favorite book growing up: Like everybody else, THE HOBBIT.
• Favorite time of day/place to write: Middle of the day in a very well worn leather chair.
• Favorite things to do (other than reading): Go to the movies. There is nothing like a Friday matinee in the middle of the summer.
•  Favorite sports teams: NY Mets and very proud of it!
•  Surprising personal fact: He won the Drug Free National Bench Press contest.
•  Greatest thing about being a 2016 debut author: Knowing so many of the writers and waiting for more friends to show up.

Where to find him:

Website | Twitter | Facebook

Meet the Author: Elly Swartz

Elly Swartz is a middle-grade author, but that’s not the whole story. She’s been a Sesame Place ride operator, messenger, legal author, lawyer, business owner, and college essay adviser. To that add, mom of two amazing sons (19 and 22, yikes!) and wife to one great guy. Recently, the fortune in her Bazooka Joe gum read, “You have the ability to become outstanding in literature.” Elly continues to find inspiration in the most unexpected places!

In Elly’s middle-grade novel, FINDING PERFECT (Macmillan/Farrar Straus and Giroux, Oct. 18, 2016), when twelve-year-old Molly’s mom, aka The Juice Lady, leaves the family to take a job in Canada, Molly tries to deal with her out of control world by organizing, counting, and ultimately, winning her middle school’s slam poetry competition.

Fun facts:

• Favorite book growing up: Judy Blume, ARE YOU THERE GOD, IT’S ME MARGARET?
• Childhood aspiration: To be a doctor (until she realized she faints at the sight of blood)
• Favorite time of day/place to write: The early morning at her desk with her coffee and her puppy beagle, Lucy, sleeping next to her.
• Book currently reading/most recently read: Tara Dairman, ALL FOUR STARS/ Jeanne Ryan, NERVE.
• Favorite things to do (other than reading): Anything with her family, hike, run, work on crossword puzzles, cook, walk Lucy
• Favorite sports teams: Patriots, Celtics, Red Sox
• Surprising personal fact: When she was little, all she ate were hotdogs with yellow mustard and black olives!
• Greatest thing about being a 2016 debut author: Everything! And, she gets a year and a half to enjoy the anticipation.

Where to find her:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads