Hi everyone! I am so honoured to feature Keeping Her Secret and Sarah Nicolas. I really enjoyed Keeping Her Secret and I hope that this interview convinces you to check it out too!
About the Book
Keeping Her Secret by Sarah Nicolas
Releasing August 22nd 2016
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Two girls. One Kiss.
The last person Riya Johnson expected to run into at her new summer camp is Courtney Chastain—her childhood best friend and the girl who broke her heart after a secret, mind-blowing, life-altering kiss. She definitely didn’t expect to be sharing a bunk bed with her for four long weeks.
Courtney has what every girl wants—she’s beautiful, rich, and the object of every boy’s desire at Camp Pine Ridge. Too bad none of them make her feel an iota of what Riya’s kiss did all those years ago. But Courtney needs to uphold appearances at all costs—even if it means instigating an all-out prank war with Riya as her main target.
Neither girl can stop thinking about the other…but that doesn’t mean they can give up past hurts and take a chance on a future together.
About the Author
Sarah Nicolas is a recovering mechanical engineer, library event planner, and author. She lives in Orlando with a 60-lb mutt who thinks he’s a chihuahua. Sarah writes YA novels as Sarah Nicolas and romance under the name Aria Kane. When she’s not writing, she can be found playing volleyball or drinking wine. She is a contributor forBook Riot and at YAtopia.
The Interview!
1. Describe your latest book using in 5 words.
Pranks, summertime, truth, lady kisses.
2. In Keeping Her Secret, the main characters have a past before they reunite at a summer camp (by chance). What was your inspiration for a twist on a great trope?
I think everyone has at least one person they wish they’d been brave enough to pursue, someone who makes them regret all the things they didn’t say. For women from conservative families who are attracted to women, this feeling can grow so sour when you realize the thing that held you back that felt so immutable at the time was really just a flimsy social construct. I suppose, like many authors, I wanted to rewrite my own history and give these girls the strength I didn’t find until much later.
3. Is there any advice you’d give to teens struggling to figure out who they are?
First, know that everyone struggles with this — even the people who seem like they have it all figured out. Also know that you don’t have to be strong, amazing, burning bright every single day. I feel pressure to bring my A-game even when I’m feeling down and I have to remind myself that some days, it’s okay just to take care of yourself and survive. Past that, any advice would need to be more personal. Find whatever works for you — whatever excites or motivates or inspires or comforts you — and spend more time around that and less time around the other things
4. Friendship plays a big role in Keeping Her Secret. What is it about friendship that is so important in YA novels?
To me, friendship is everything. My friends (and sister) have gotten me through the darkest, most hopeless times of my life. Friendship is true. Friendship is two people picking each other out of a crowd of tens of thousands and saying, “I like you. We should share a significant portion of our lives together,” and that, when you really think about it, is astounding.
5. Can you tell us a little bit about your next project?
Right next to my laptop right now is a long to-do list that includes “email Rebecca (my agent) about next project.” I’m going to email her a couple of the ideas I’ve been playing around with to see what she thinks I should focus on. I’ll say this: it could be anything from a sweet contemporary to an other-world fantasy and I will definitely let Shelly and Octavia know when anything is finalized!
I want to thank Shelly and Octavia for hosting me again and for all the hard work they do in supporting authors, especially diverse and marginalized voices.
Thanks for doing this interview with us! (Also I very much approve hearing about this next project.)
