Today I am so pleased to welcome Quinn Anderson to Joyfully Jay. Quinn has come to talk to us about her latest release, The Academy. She has also brought along a great giveaway. Please join me in giving her a big welcome!
The Academy: The Novel I Wrote 4 Times
Many of you may not know that my first novel, IN EXCESS, started out as fan fiction. I was always very public about this fact, but I suppose no one cared when there were books to be read, ha ha. When I was a freshman in college, I wrote a long AU fic (Alternate Universe) for a friend that was based on a few different anime. Earlier in my blog tour, I mentioned that one of them was Ouran High School Host Club, a favorite of mine to this day.
The fanfic was extremely popular, and so after it’d finished, I thought about turning it into a novel. Fifty Shades of Grey was just making headlines at the time, so I thought, why not? I rewrote the fic with new characters and added storylines, polished it up, and sent it off to be published. To my absolute joy, it was accepted!
Years later, my contract ended, and the rights to IN EXCESS were returned to me. Upon rereading it, I had the cringe-flinch reaction that all writers have when reading over their old work. IN EXCESS needed to be updated, badly. For example, it was written before smart phones were ubiquitous, and the lack of up-to-date tech made it seem fifty years old, not five.
Two more rewrites later, I eventually got my fan-fic-turned-debut-turned-rewrite-turned-new-book into shape. It was a long journey, and watching this story change was akin to watching myself change and grow over the years. I’m finally in a place where I feel like I’ve told a complete, mature story that reflects me as a writer. Though I suppose you’ll have to ask me in five more years!
Blurb
True love stabs you in the front.
Nick Steele just wants a normal life, cliché or not. He had one once, back in Chicago. Before his father died and he took a year off from college to grieve. Now, he’s starting fresh at a prestigious—but tiny—Catholic university. Adjusting to small-town life will be a challenge, along with making friends and keeping his scholarship. All he wants to do is blend in, get his diploma, and go back home.
But Sebastian Prinsen—campus heartthrob and a notorious player—has other plans. He notices Nick right away and makes a bet with his two best friends: Who can kiss the new kid first? Nick seems immune to Sebastian’s charms, and yet genuine chemistry sparks between them. Even worse, real feelings do too. Sebastian falls more and more every time Nick blows him off, but if he comes clean about the bet, Nick will hate him forever.
The last thing Nick wants is to fall in love while he’s still grieving, but Sebastian feels like home to him. Nick wants that so badly he may ignore the warning signs and risk his fragile heart once more.
Bio
Quinn Anderson is an alumna of the University of Dublin in Ireland and has a master’s degree in psychology. She wrote her dissertation on sexuality in popular literature and continues to explore evolving themes in erotica in her professional life.
A nerd extraordinaire, she was raised on an unhealthy diet of video games, anime, pop culture, and comics from infancy. Her girlfriend swears her sense of humor is just one big Buffy reference. She stays true to her nerd roots in writing and in life, and frequently draws inspiration from her many fandoms, which include Yuri on Ice, Harry Potter, Star Wars, Buffy, and more. Growing up, while most of her friends were fighting evil by moonlight, Anderson was kamehameha-ing her way through all the shounen anime she could get her hands on. You will often find her interacting with fellow fans online and offline via conventions and Tumblr, and she is happy to talk about anything from nerd life to writing tips. She has attended conventions on three separate continents and now considers herself a career geek. She advises anyone who attends pop culture events in the UK to watch out for Weeping Angels, as they are everywhere. If you’re at an event, and you see a 6’2” redhead wandering around with a vague look on her face, that’s probably her.
Her favorite authors include J.K. Rowling, Gail Carson Levine, Libba Bray, and Tamora Pierce. When she’s not writing, she enjoys traveling, cooking, spending too much time on the internet, playing fetch with her cat, screwing the rules, watching Markiplier play games she’s too scared to play herself, and catching ’em all.
Connect with Quinn:
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/AuthorQuinnAnderson/
- Tumblr: quinnandersonwrites
- Twitter: QuinnAndersonXO
- Email: quinnandersonwrites@gmail.com
Giveaway
To celebrate the release of The Academy, Quinn is giving away a $10 Riptide gift card! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on September 22, 2018. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following along, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!
- By entering the giveaway, you’re confirming that you are at least 18 years old.
- Winners will be selected by random number. No purchase necessary to win. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning.
- If you win, you must respond to my email within 48 hours or another winner may be chosen. Please make sure that your spam filter allows email from Joyfully Jay.
- Winners may be announced on the blog following the contest. By entering the contest you are agreeing to allow your name to be posted and promoted as the contest winner by Joyfully Jay.
- Prizes will be distributed following the giveaway either by Joyfully Jay or the person/organization donating the prize.
- All book prizes are in electronic format unless otherwise specified.
- By entering you are agreeing to hold Joyfully Jay harmless if the prize or giveaway in some way negatively impacts the winner.
- Readers may only enter once for each contest. Duplicate entries for the same giveaway will be ignored. In the event of technical problems with the blog during the contest, every effort will be made to extend the contest deadline to allow for additional entries.
- Void where prohibited by law.
I think fan fic is an excellent way to start a writing career… I really enjoy some of it!
Congratulations on the re-release, Quinn. It sounds really good
susanaperez7140(at)gmail(dot)com
I’ve always liked fanfic (and now I have another manga to seek out, eek)!
vitajex at aol dot com
Best wishes, Quinn, on the re-release of The Academy. I can well imagine how quickly books become dated with changes in technology. (In a few more years, the original could have been marketed as a historical!) Thank you for the giveaway chance.
Hopefully you’ll still be happy with it in 5 years! It sounds good anyway.
jlshannon74 at gmail.com
I used to read soooo much fan-fic. Of course, that was before I discovered e-books. The Academy sounds like a good read. 🙂
aelnova@aol.com
Loved Ouran High School Host Club anime and manga. The live action drama was a bit weird to me but the general story line was okay. Hana Kimi was also a good one you might like. It came out before Host Club and has a girl pretending to be a boy to go to an all boy school (she has her own reason). Sorry I’m digressing. Thank you for sharing this about The Academy. I already pre-ordered my copy.
humhumbum AT yahoo DOT COM
I would love to read more. Bets never work out exactly as they started.
debby236 at gmail dot com
Congratulations on the re-release. The blurb sounds great. I have never read fanfic. Maybe I have start reading it though.
Tankie44@gmail.com
Congrats on your latest book release, Quinn. I’m really curious as to a story that’s been through rewritings.. gonna check it up!
puspitorinid AT yahoo DOT com
Congratulations on your book release, Quinn. You prolific author, you! I feel like I just finished the road trip book and now here you are with another one!!
amie_07(at)yahoo(dot)com
I too have read a lot of fan fiction before I startet reading e-books. Happy book release!
booklover-forever(at)web(dot)de
I don’t read much fan-fic. serena91291@gmail(dot)com