In Love with Brazen

On the YA Muses, we always take an extra bit of time to celebrate the publication of one of our books. It's the culmination of years of hard work, usually, and that deserves recognition.

Here is Katy in Hood River OR while writing BRAZEN.

It's a lucky thing for me that my friends write great stories. To be honest, I have loved every one of the Muses manuscripts I've read to date. No lie. Even the ones tucked away in a drawer, or trying to crawl out of Word documents to begin the journey to the printed page. I think it's because I choose to be friends with people who are authentic, and honesty is big with me in real life, just as it is for me in books. My Muse friends don't pretend on the page. Sure, maybe there are aliens, or wicked voices called Skinny whispering in your ear. Or maybe the voices of dead kings and queens. Doesn't matter. They're honest voices. Authentic voices. They are real. Like I said... love 'em.

But BRAZEN, guys. BRAZEN, which published just last week... It resonated with me on such a deep level. That book lives in my heart. I don't know why it touched me so significantly. Maybe it's the fabulous characters, or the tragic and beautiful story. Maybe the lush writing, or the dear, dear writer, or maybe all of the above. Doesn't matter. This is a book that touched a place inside me that few books do.

It is gorgeous and heartbreaking and honest, and I'm so very proud of my friend, Katy.

Now go read it, so we can discuss, okay?