Meet the Newbies: Mia Garcia

Welcome to today’s stop on Meet the Newbies!! I am excited to be hosting Mia Garcia, the author of  Even if the Sky Falls which releases on May 10!! It’s actually next up on my TBR and I am so excited!!

Mia’s Yearbook Entry!

Author Most Likely To Binge Watch Every Show on Netflix

Nickname: Most of my nicknames are based off my first name (Mia is my middle name) and don’t really make sense 🙂

First Day of School: May 10, 2016

Homeroom: Katherine Tegen Books

Grade: YA Romance

Extracurricular Activities: Being outraged with the new sorting hat in Pottermore. *flips table* RAVENCLAW FOR LIFE. But also photography, baking, buying odd stuff at flea markets, and daydreaming about future dog I shall own

Favorite Class: Care of Magical Creatures and Potions

Favorite Quote/Motto: “Have fun storming the castle! Think it’ll work? It would take a miracle.” – The Princess Bride (yes, I say all the dialogue)

My Q&A With Mia!

** This was the prompt that I gave to ALL the authors- and I will answer them myself at the end of the event 😉 **

I figured that since this is called “Meet the Newbies”, it might be fun to go ahead and actually MEET you! But when I was coming up with questions, I thought about how being an author was really just one part of the bigger picture. With that in mind, I want to ask some questions about things that make you you.

As a  Teen

What was your high school experience like?

Oh, sweet jesus. I was totally the weirdo dreamer with a bit of a class clown in me. The class clown was very much part of my “I want everyone to like me” issue I had in high school – still working on that by the way. You could simultaneously find me hiding in the library from my fellow students or cracking jokes in class in hopes that it would make me less of a target. I went to an all-girl school, which was very liberating in certain ways, like if you forgot to shave your legs that day whatevs, but at the same time I hid in the library for a reason. I got made fun of because I spoke English without an accent, didn’t party, and probably because I didn’t ‘try’ to be like everyone else. I don’t know. It’s hard to gauge why others decide to pick on you, you know? Towards the end I think everything shifted a bit, and I was just seen as the nice and weird girl, but I think by then my skin was so thin from years of self doubt I didn’t really notice.
Oh lord…was this depressing? I’m sorry.

Shannon’s Sidenote: Nope, just honest!! 😀

If you had the chance to go back and do it again, what would you change?

I would actually say, don’t try to fit in at all. Or do anything because you think people will like you for it. I think back the the cringe inducing moments in high school where I did something dumb or stupid or caused someone pain and it was because I wanted to be something I wasn’t or thought I should be something that I’m not.

As an Author

What has been the most exciting part of the process so far? The most rewarding?

Getting to meet so many awesome writers who are also writing their butts off! And of course, eventually seeing my book out in the world, that’s awesome, and just a bit scary as well. Ok, maybe more than just ‘a bit scary’ – it is terrifying

What do you wish you knew before you started this adventure?

I think this one is more, things I need to remind myself every day, which is to take my time, and be kind to myself. 2015 was an intense year with a full-time job, scary family health issues, and writing/editing a book that I burned out big time after handing in my final edits. So I need to continuously remind myself to be kind, take care of myself, and take the time I need to do the work I need to do. I don’t always remember it, but I’m trying!

Shannon’s Sidenote: I think this is fabulous advice that all of us should take! (I know I should be listening to you!) 

As an Everyday Woman

What are a few things you simply cannot get through the day without?

Slacking off a bit. Ha! No, but really, I need those tiny breaks where I’m taking a silly Buzzfeed test or searching my favorite tags on Tumblr. I LOVE Tumblr. I also have a hella sweet-tooth, so there’s always Nutella somewhere in the apartment. Nutella is also my secret for delicious hot chocolate!

Shannon’s Sidenote: I just realized what a time-suck treasure trove Tumblr really is! And Buzzfeed tests are fabulous. Also, I shall now be putting Nutella in hot chocolate, thanks for the tip 😉 

Describe the absolute perfect day for you- sky’s the limit!  

It would hanging with fam or friends and just relaxing. Waking up late in the morning, watching a film together, or reading a book while everyone does their own thing. After, getting back together to make dinner and dessert. Essentially just enjoying each other’s company with no expectations around delicious food…and also naps. Naps would be in there as well.

As a  Reader

What book has made the most impact on your life (in any way, really) and how?

This is probably what everyone says, but it really was Harry Potter! I promise. That series was the first series I devoured and was obsessed with. It was also the first time my mother acknowledged that maybe my dream of becoming a writer was something valid and worth my time. So, THANK YOU, JK!!!

I would also add the creepy fairy tales and folktales my grandfather told me when I was little. It is probably one of the main reasons I love scary stories, horror movies, and still believe there are things you can’t explain and you shouldn’t mess with. For example, you won’t catch me going into a haunted house without some form of back-up plan. I’ve watched enough films to know how this ends.

Shannon’s Sidenote: Yeah, everyone does say Harry, but I think they mean it 😉 One day I shall find my fellow Hunger Games obsessed weirdos fans. 

Is there a book that you could read over and over again and never get tired of?

I find myself re-reading Diana Wynne Jones’s Howl’s Moving Castle each year and continue to fall in love with Sophie and Diana’s writing each time. I love Sophie’s no-nonsense response to magic, and it feels like that’s how I’d react to magic if I ever encountered it.

Thanks so much for participating!

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Book & Author Info!

Even If the Sky Falls by Mia Garcia
Published by Katherine Tegen Books on May 10th 2016
Pages: 304

All she needs is one night to be anyone she wants.

Julie is desperate for a change. So she heads to New Orleans with her youth group to rebuild houses and pretend her life isn’t a total mess. But between her super-clingy team leader and her way-too-chipper companions, Julie feels more trapped than ever.

In a moment of daring, she ditches her work clothes for DIY fairy wings and heads straight into the heart of Mid-Summer Mardi Gras, where she locks eyes with Miles, an utterly irresistible guy with a complicated story of his own. And for once, Julie isn’t looking back. She jumps at the chance to see the real New Orleans, and in one surreal night, they dance under the stars, share their most shameful secrets, and fall in love.

But their adventure takes an unexpected turn when an oncoming hurricane changes course. As the storm gains power and Julie is pulled back into chaos she finds pretending everything is fine is no longer an option.

Mia García’s Even If the Sky Falls is a whirlwind twenty-four-hour romance about discovering what it means to feel alive in the face of life’s greatest danger: love.

Today’s giveaway is the tour-wide giveaway for a finished copy of ANY of these fabulous books in the event, open internationally!

Have any of you read this one yet? I have been hearing amazing things, so I am quite excited! And it’s almost Mia’s book birthday, so show her some love! ♥