Go Pick Some Violets!

One of the coolest things about being a writer—aside from the vast quantities of cold, hard cash, all-expense-paid trips ‘round the world on book tours, A-lister treatment wherever you go and so on (yawn)—is that you get to meet other authors. Authors who are way cooler than you could ever hope to be. Authors who can write circles around you. Authors who dress better than you. Authors who simply ARE better than you. But they’re still nice to you because you’re an author too (or at least you say you are!).

One such author: Melissa Walker, whom I consider to be one of my new best friends. Sure, she’s a virtual friend I’ve never met in person—but a friend nonetheless. A lovely, charming, I’m-totally-stalking-her-and-she-doesn’t-even-seem-to-mind friend. And hello? If people are nice to you and respond to your emails no matter how freaky you seem, that’s kind of cool. Don’t you think?

ANYWAY (goodness how I do go on!), I’m sure you already know how ridiculously RAD Melissa is—but just in case you’ve been living under a teen fiction-deficient rock for the past couple years (which I sort of was up until I began writing YA books myself—so no judgments here. Promise), let me fill you in. Melissa is the author of the Violet series: Violet on the Runway, Violet by Design and, OFFICIALLY OUT TODAY (WAHOO!!!!), Violet in Private (which we authorial types like to refer to as VIP, natch).

When I began reading the Violet series, I felt a little queasy, jealous, and annoyed. Why, you ask? Because the writing was so incredibly sharp and witty, the characters fun and interesting and complex…and the plot? Well, hello? Don’t you wish YOU’D come up with the idea to write a series about being (or at least feeling) like a gawky average high school outcast who gets discovered by an agent and is suddenly, well, America’s Next Top Model? I mean, it’s genius, right? Yes. I’m right. And because I’m right, you should run out immediately and buy this book:

And, if you haven’t already done so, you should buy this book:
And this one too:
HAPPY RELEASE DAY, MELISSA! YOU ARE THE ULTIMATE VIP TO ME!

xoxoxoxo