HUSHED Blog Tour ~ Guest Post from Kelley York

We are excited to be hosting today's stop on the HUSHED  Blog Tour.

I've read HUSHED, and let me say, this book is fabulous. Come back and check out my review on Friday.

Kelley York, the author of HUSHED, has written a lovely post.
Enjoy!

Discovering Your Niche

Once upon a time, as a kid, I devoured fantasy books. My favorites included MRS. FRISBY AND THE RATS OF NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien, THE FIREBRINGER trilogy by Meredith Ann Pierce, and the ENCHANTED FOREST CHRONICLES by Patricia C. Wrede. I loved talking animals, witches, dragons, and monsters.

Then came a period of my life where I didn't read much. When I did jump back into it, it was primarily YA books...and absolutely no fantasy. Instead, I was eating up paranormal—particularly ghost stories and vampire stories. The first book I wrote was paranormal, the first of a series I'd still really love to write out someday.

And I shunned everything contemporary. I didn't like 'real world' books with 'real world' lives. I always thought, "I live in a boring real world every day of my life. I want to read about ones that are different." I wanted creatures roaming the streets and magical powers and urban legends come to life.

But, quickly, I started losing interest. It seemed like every book I got just wasn't doing it for me. Too cliché, too far-fetched, too eyeroll-inducing. I was buying these books I thought would be right up my alley, and not enjoying them at all! For that matter, writing paranormal wasn't as much fun as it used to be. I was so unbelievably frustrated.

Somehow or another, while trying to think of a really good idea for my next book...I ended up writing a contemporary story.

Except HUSHED wasn't exactly 'contemporary,' though at the time I had no idea how to categorize it. But I had shocked myself by writing a story without a single paranormal element. Not to mention how easily this story came to me, and how it remains my favorite of anything I've written. It was fun. It was exciting. It was different.

Since I enjoyed writing a story in that genre so much, I very, very slowly began branching out with what I was reading, too. A majority of the boy-meets-girl novels were boring to me, but I started learning where to look for things a little more my style. Darker and edgier books that didn't necessarily focus on romance as much as character development and plot.

(Before I go further, I'm definitely not saying all these other books don't have all that. I'm just saying—for my personal tastes—I had a hard time getting into the romance-heavy stories.)

I came across books like Hannah Moskowitz's INVINCIBLE SUMMER, Jay Asher's 13 REASONS WHY, and Sean Olin's BROTHER/SISTER, among others. I began to discover this whole new world of amazing books I loved in a genre I'd been avoiding for so long!

The more I read, the more ideas I started to get for non-paranormal books. (Or some with very, very light paranormal elements.) I have a folder of characters, plots, concepts, and I just can't write fast enough in the time I have. None of them are heavy on the romance, and I've slowly started coming to terms that there is nothing wrong with that. I can create a good story without it.

The point of this post being, sometimes it takes awhile to really find your niche. Be it with genre, boy versus girl narrators, point of view, or even writing style. Sometimes you find it in the most unexpected of places, so don't be afraid to try new things and branch out to new horizons. You never know what you're going to find.

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'Kelley York delivers in this impressive debut. I was at the edge of my
seat waiting to see what would happen next! Bottom line, this was
unputdownable!!!' --- YA Fantasy Guide ---

Author Bio:

Kelley was born and raised in central California, where she still resides
with her lovely wife, daughter, and an abundance of pets. (Although she
does fantasize about moving across the globe to Ireland.) She has a
fascination with bells, adores all things furry - be them squeaky, barky
or meow-y - is a lover of video games, manga and anime, and likes to
pretend she's a decent photographer. Her life goal is to find a real
unicorn. Or maybe a mermaid.

Within young adult, she enjoys writing and reading a variety of genres
from contemporary with a unique twist, psychological thrillers,
paranormal/urban fantasy and horror. She loves stories where character
development takes center stage.

Kelley's website: http://www.kelley-york.com/blog

He's saved her. He's loved her. He's killed for her.

Eighteen-year-old Archer couldn't protect his best friend, Vivian, from
what happened when they were kids, so he's never stopped trying to protect
her from everything else. It doesn't matter that Vivian only uses him when
hopping from one toxic relationship to another - Archer is always there,
waiting to be noticed.

Then along comes Evan, the only person who's ever cared about Archer
without a single string attached. The harder he falls for Evan, the more
Archer sees Vivian for the manipulative hot-mess she really is.

But Viv has her hooks in deep, and when she finds out about the murders
Archer's committed and his relationship with Evan, she threatens to turn
him in if she doesn't get what she wants...And what she wants is Evan's
death, and for Archer to forfeit his last chance at redemption.

Purchase HUSHED at:
Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble