High school senior and internet sensation Madison Nakama seems to have it all: a happy family, good grades, and a massive online following for her pop-culture blog. But when her mother suddenly abandons the family, Madi finds herself struggling to keep up with all of her commitments. Fandom to the rescue! As her online fans band together to help, an online/offline flirtation sparks with Laurent, a French exchange student. Their internet romance—played out in the comments section of her MadLibs blog—attracts the attention of an internet troll who threatens the separation of Madi’s real and online personas. With her carefully constructed life unraveling, Madi must uncover the hacker’s identity before he can do any more damage, or risk losing the people she loves the most… Laurent included.

I’d move full-time to Waterton, the small town in the mountains where I grew up. I’d also happily move to Banff (another small town in the Canadian Rockies) or Canmore (you guessed it… another mountain town!)

The first book I remember having read to me was Gulliver’s Travels. My dad read it to me. I also loved the entire Beatrix Potter series, which I read myself! Squirrel Nutkin was one I loved!

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” Mark Twain

It’s whatever I’m binge-watching at the moment, which means I’m reading The 100 fanfic obsessively these days! I also ship Jaime / Brienne (GOT) more than anyone. Wow. They just… 

*stares happily off into space*

Sorry. What was the question again?

If I’m writing a character, I fall in love with them. I spend ALL my time thinking of them and what they like and do. When I was writing Internet Famous, it was definitely Laurent. And most recently, it’s a character named Haylee from a super-secret YA project I’ve been working on! (Details on that will be coming SOON.)

Internet Famous is the story of Madi Nakama, a world-famous teen blogger. While her internet-fame is a rising star, she has difficulty with face-to-face interactions… especially romantic ones! This all changes when she meets a super-cute (nerdy) French Exchange student with a comic-book fixation. While their romance explodes online, she also catches the attention of a troll. Madi and her online circle of friends must figure out who it is and stop him before the troll damages her real life reputation and drives her and Laurent apart.

Okay – as bizarre as it sounds, the whole Oregon Trail video game would make an AWESOME phone app! I’d totally play it. I also would love to see Some Kind of Wonderful remade in modern day. I love that movie!

Madi’s a fandom-focused teen so her clothes reflect that. She lives in flip-flops, fandom tees and jeans. She loves pops of bright colors, and her accessories are definitely where you see that.

I had met Mark Oshiro from Mark Does Stuff – a really AMAZING blogger – many years back. Mark is so kind and outgoing with his fans. He really makes them feel part of his blogging! 

I took the idea of a truly internet-famous person and expanded that into a character: Madi. Once I had that, I started thinking about what everyone online has experienced at one time or another… Trolls / bullying. The plot spun out from there!

While Internet Famous is a YA romance, it also delves into the serious topic of bullying. I love this particular line because it’s true. There’s no reason other than the bully WANTS to bully their victim. The want to hurt others. In our society, victim-blaming has to stop before the real issue can be addressed.

I loved writing about Laurent and Madi coming through the woods and hearing something in the bushes. Flipping the expectations – Laurent as the damsel in distress and Madi as the hero – was SO much fun to write! Ha ha!

I think a great one would be “New Slang” by The Shins. First off, it’s an old song and much of Internet Famous has to do with rewatches from the 80s and 90s. Also the book deals with the unique online language that populates the internet and what it’s like to try to communicate in that forum. Lastly, I just love the moodiness of the song!

Since Internet Famous is all about Madi’s rewatches, you need to choose a perfect movie – hopefully one from the 80s – and cuddle up and do a rewatch before you begin. Bonus points if it includes Molly Ringwad. Have popcorn and candy, and then, when the movie ends, pick up the book and start reading. You’ll be set!

I have a new YA book from Swoon called Sip Sip Bang Bang! It’s a fun, action-packed contemporary. I can’t WAIT to share it with everyone! I also have a sequel coming for my contemporary mystery series. This new book, called The Dark Divide is being published by Stonehouse (Canada.)