Let's talk to Laura, shall we?
Hi Laura! Thanks so much for being a guest today on YA Stands. I’m so excited
to have you and your novel Please Don’t Tell!
Let’s get started! How long have you known you wanted to be an author?
I started writing and figured out
I wanted to be an author at the same time, when I was ten. It was the only
thing that seemed like fun at the time.
Are you currently working on a new project?
Yes! I have like six different things I’m messing with, but right
now I’m working on a YA contemporary about family counseling and drugs and a
boy who can’t feel pain.
Oh! That sounds so awesome! I can't wait to read it. Speaking of books, what book do you wish you could
have written?
I would love to have written Finnikin of the Rock by Melina
Marchetta. Pretty much anything by Melina Marchetta. It would be nice if I was
Melina Marchetta.
What writing tips or advice do you
have to offer others writers and authors?
Remember that your first book
won’t be your only book. I know so many beginning writers who have been writing
and rewriting the same book for years. Sometimes the best thing for you is to
start a new project. (And that can be the case even when it’s not your first
book.)
Do you
have an agent? Who is he/she and how was the process? Painful? Painless? Do you
have any tips for those who are querying?
I do! Her name is Sarah Davies, of the Greenhouse LiteraryAgency, and she’s excellent. I lucked out and had a pretty painless querying
process—I got my first offer after about a month. My main querying advice is to
make sure you edit your book like CRAZY before you send it out. It should be as
perfect as you can possibly make it. Same goes for your query. Don’t rush to
send a book out because you’re excited or because it happens to fit a trend.
Whoa awesome! That's nice to hear. Sounds like you really put a lot of work into it! So when you are writing, do you have any writing
habits/practices? Tea and music? Silence?
Tea and music pretty much cover
it, haha. When it’s warm enough, I love writing outside. I like to do my
writing in large blocks of time instead of chipping away at it, but that’s not
always feasible.
The most hateable bad guy I’ve read recently is Eleanor’s dad
from Eleanor & Park, and the scariest one is probably the Mayor from the
Chaos Walking series by Patrick Ness. But my favorite villains are the ones you
can kind of sympathize with.
Which novel would you love to see
made into a movie?
I would die to see more YA contemp
made into movies. Eleanor & Park, for instance. I’d love to see a smart
film adaptation of a Courtney Summers book. The Diviners by Libba Bray would
also make an insanely awesome movie.
If your life had a theme song,
what would it be?
The absolute first thing that
popped into my head was the SpongebobSquarepants theme song, and I have no idea
why but now it seems unfair to say anything else.

I was one of those kids who was
never totally sure what their house was, but Pottermore said Slytherin so I’m
gonna go with that. Plus snakes are cute. And I would totally stalk Hermione. I
pretended to be her for an entire year in elementary school.
What is your favorite genre to
write? Is there a genre you think you will never write?
I love writing contemporary, obviously, but I also really
enjoy playing with fantasy. I literally can’t think of a YA fiction genre I
would never touch. I even googled a list of genres to double-check.
Who is your favorite current book boyfriend?
Does DaenerysTargaryen count?
Also, Saf from Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore.
Yes. I think they both count! Hehe. Now, let's go on to the lightning round!
Skittles
or M&Ms?
M&Ms!
Coke or
Pepsi?
Coke for sure
Night or
day?
Day! It’s too dark at night.
Coffee or
tea?
Tea. Coffee makes me crazy.
Sour or
sweet?
I like both!
Lord of
the Rings or Star Wars?
I haven’t seen Star Wars and I’m obsessed with
LotR, so…
Cinderella
or Sleeping Beauty?
I don’t think I’ve seen either, weirdly enough.
Hermione
Granger or Harry Potter?
HERMIONE. Hermione > everything.
The
Goonies or The Sandlot?
I think this is the hardest
question I’ve ever been asked. The…Sandlot???
Pirates or
Ninjas? Pirate-ninjas?
Pirates are way sexier, let’s be
honest.
Thank you so much Laura for being on YA Stands today! I can't wait to pick up PLEASE DON'T TELL!
About Laura Tims
Laura Tims
is an English major at Goucher College. She likes Hayao Miyazaki movies,
Florence & the Machine, and bubble wrap. She’s never gotten seriously
injured, so clearly she’s doing something wrong. PLEASE DON’T TELL, her YA
debut about a girl who kills the boy who hurt her sister, will be out from
HarperCollins in Fall 2015.
Add PLEASE DON’T TELL on Goodreads!
What do you guys think? Have you added Please Don't Tell to your Goodreads? Will you read it? Let me know in the comments below.
Words with writers is a bi-weekly feature run by Jolene Haley. If you wish to be interviewed on YA Stands, please email jolene dot haley at gmail. dot com. Or tweet her!
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