Author Chat With Vanessa Len (Never a Hero), Plus Giveaway! ~ US/CAN Only!

Today we are very excited to share a special interview with author Vanessa Len (Never a Hero)!

Read on to learn more about her, her book, and a giveaway!

Meet the Author: Vanessa Len

Vanessa Len writes YA fantasy about girl anti-heroes, monsters, and enemies who are maybe in love. She’s read every Diana Wynne Jones book more times than she can count. She’s a graduate of the Clarion Writers’ Workshop, and she lives in Melbourne, Australia. Only a Monster is Vanessa’s first novel, and you can visit her online at www.vanessalen.com.

About the Book: Never A Hero

These Violent Delights meets This Savage Song in this sequel to the contemporary fantasy Only a Monster from Vanessa Len that New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Garber called “mind-bending, heart wrenching, and unputdownable!”

Despite all of the odds, Joan achieved the impossible. She reset the timeline, saved her family – and destroyed the hero, Nick.

But her success has come at a terrible cost.

She alone remembers what happened. Now, Aaron, her hard-won friend – and maybe more – is an enemy, trying to kill her. And Nick, the boy she loved, is a stranger who doesn’t even know her name. Only Joan remembers that a greater and more dangerous enemy is still out there.

When a deadly attack forces Joan back into the monster world, she finds herself on the run with Nick – as Aaron closes in.

Torn between love and family and monstrous choices, Joan must find a way to re-gather her old allies to face down the deadliest of enemies, and to save the timeline itself.

Vanessa Len’s stunning Only a Monster trilogy continues with this second instalment, a thrilling journey where a secret past threatens to unravel everyone’s future. 

~Author Chat~

YABC:  How was writing a sequel different from writing the first book?

In many ways, it was much, much easier to write Never a Hero! Only a Monster was my first novel and, while writing that, I had spent lot of time trying to work out how to write a book at all. When I got to Never a Hero, I knew much more about how novels worked. I’d also already developed the characters and the magic system, and I’d set up a lot of plot points in the first book. So it was really fun to write the twists and payoffs of those plot points in Never a Hero.

There was definitely still a learning curve, though. I had to figure out how much to re-explain about the world building (which had taken the entirety of the first book to reveal), and how to remind readers of the events of the previous book. I wanted any exposition to feel inevitable and natural, and to always be filtered through the characters’ experiences and emotions.

YABC: Have your feelings changed about any of the characters?

I did several years of development work before I started writing the first book, so I always knew the characters’ backstories and their story arcs. But I do think that spending so much time with them has made me very fond of them. I’ll miss them at the end of the series!

YABC: Has the series had the impact you were hoping for?

I’ve been blown away by the reception; when I was writing Only a Monster, my dream was that one day it would be read by someone other than my own friends. It’s been beyond a dream come true to have reached so many readers in so many countries.

In Australia, some of the responses from readers of the Asian diaspora have made me tear up! I wrote the book because I’d never got to see representation in books when I was growing up. So hearing people say that they’re excited about seeing characters like themselves in this series has meant the world to me.

YABC: When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

I think I’ve always been a writer and storyteller; as a kid, I used to make up stories for myself before I went to sleep every night; and I wrote little plays for my brother and cousins to act out. But I didn’t imagine that I could write books as a job – not until, as an adult, I saw some friends publish books. It made me feel like maybe I could do that too.

YABC: What type of scene do you love to write the most?

I love writing big twists and the emotional payoffs that come with them! I love the feeling of a paradigm shift – the moment when plot points come together to reveal a twist that transforms the story into something new.

YABC:  What is your favorite writing space?

I love quiet spaces when I’m writing, especially quiet places with beautiful, unchanging views that don’t offer much distraction. Where I actually tend to write, though, is my own couch!

YABC: What do you do when you procrastinate?

I think – as I’ve learned to write – I’ve also learned that the desire to procrastinate from writing, at least for me, often stems from a problem I’m having with the story or a feeling like I’ve gone in the wrong direction. When that happens, I find that if I move away from the page and change my environment by going for a walk or having a hot shower, the solution will often spontaneously come to me.

YABC:   What’s up next for you?

I’m working on the third and final book in the Monsters series. Without giving away any spoilers, I’ve been really looking forward to writing this book after what was set up in Never a Hero, and it’s been really fun to write!

Book’s Title: Never a Hero

Author: Vanessa Len

Release Date: 8/29/23

Publisher:HarperTeen

ISBN-10: 0063024691

ISBN-13: 9780063024694

Genre: YA Fantasy

Age Range: 13+

~ Giveaway Details ~

Five (5) winners will receive a copy of Only A Monster & Never a Hero (Vanessa Len) ~US/CAN Only!

*Click the Rafflecopter link below to enter the giveaway*

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