Cupid's Sweet Six Arrow Thingamajig: Book Rave/Interview With Victoria Scott, Author of FIRE & FLOOD

Guyyyyyyyyyys! It's Paula! Today I'm going to squee about The Crow, Iron Man, Cadbury Creme Eggs, Victoria Scott's awesome new book FIRE & FLOOD!! Aren't you proud of me? Look how bookish my priorities are. I am a professional writer!

Let me start off by saying that thanks to some sort of voodoo mind meld I put on Victoria, I actually got to read this book 8 months ago. I read it in one night when I was supposed to be revising something--I don't even remember what. But yeah. I about died of awesome. And then I had to keep one hand clasped across my mouth going 'Mmmmph' until some of my friends read it too.

Here are just a few reasons why I <3 Fire & Flood: 

1. THAT COVER. I love how stark and yet totally alive the cover is. I love the raindrops in the letters.

2. Tella feels like a REAL TEEN GIRL. Not all of us would become Katniss Everdeen if we got in over our heads in some creepy survival race. It's okay that at certain points Tella longs for her makeup and wonders if the guy walking behind her is looking at her butt. Girls think these things. Not ALL girls, of course, but this is the character Victoria wanted to write and I for one dig how different she is from the normal knife-throwing, rock-climbing, suddenly-good-at-all things YA heroine (though I like those girls too :D)

3. The Pandoras. Oh my sweet Jesus! I need like 6 or 7 of these immediately. I would buy them all in plush, but I really want them in REAL. 

4. The tone of the story. This book could have gotten grim really quickly, but Victoria keeps it from treading into super-dark territory by blending humor into a narrative that's already brimming with romance, mystery, and action.

Okay, enough blabbering on my part. Now let's hear what Victoria has to say about her masterpiece :)

1. Tell us about your book.

FIRE & FLOOD is a YA thriller set in modern day. The main character, Tella, enters a race across Jungle, Mountain, Desert, Sea to try and win the cure for her brother's illness. Each Contender in the race receives a Pandora--a genetically engineered animal--to help them try and win. I had a ton of fun writing this adventure book!

2. What scene in your book do you LOVE the most?

Probably the scene where Tella's Pandora hatches. I can't wait to see what animal readers think it will be. 

3. If you had to pick a YA character you LOVE (and not your own!) who would you pick and why?

I'm going to choose a fan favorite--Hermione Granger. She's smart, sassy, loyal, courageous, and grows as a person across the series. Win! 

4. What's the craziest/most memorable Valentine you've ever received?

It was in fourth grade from a boy I was mad crushing on. I was sure it meant he loved me...even though he gave everyone else one, also. I spent hours reading between those pre-printed lines. 

5. If you were a Brach's candy heart, what phrase would be written on you?

Poisonous. [Paula: Ugh. My least-favorite flavor of candy.]

6. And finally, the all-important choice: flowers or candy?

Flowers, all the way. Specifically, Peonies. 

I don't even know what peonies are, but they sound fun...like PONIES! Thanks for hanging out with us YA Valentines, Victoria! :) *activates mind meld in order to receive book #2* Also, if you guys haven't read THE COLLECTOR, that is one of the most hilarious books ever, and you should read that too--for the bad boy who totally is a bad boy who maybe is a little bit of a good guy but still deliciously bad throughout :) Basically, I am obsessed with everything Victoria writes.

Victoria Scott writes teen fiction and is represented by Sarah Crowe. She’s the author of the Fire & Flood series published by Scholastic, and the Dante Walker trilogy published by Entangled Teen. Her books have been bought and translated in nine foreign markets including the UK, Germany, Turkey, Poland, Australia, China, Brazil, New Zealand, and The Netherlands. Victoria lives in Dallas with her husband and adores cotton candy. Visit her online at VictoriaScottYA.com.