Infraction Book Tour: Guest Post & Giveaway

Title: Infraction (Sequel to The Burn)

Author: Annie Oldham

Genre: YA Dystopian

Date Published: 11/1/12

Blurb:

Violent nomads. The coming winter. Jack's unspoken feelings. Leaving the relative peace of the settlement is more difficult than Terra ever imagined. But what she should fear most is the government that professes to protect its citizens. Imprisoned in a labor camp, Terra learns just how much the corrupt regime wants absolute control. Never has she felt more powerless to act. But there's always the call of the ocean, and her captors just might underestimate how powerful that call can be.

Excerpt:

 We burrow down in the hollow and scrape the bracken around us. I pile the leaves down against our legs and shiver as the dampness seeps into my pants. I'm pressed up against Jack, and his arm wraps around me protectively, before he can even stop to question—like he has on so many other nights—if I'd even want him to. There's no time for thinking, and when there's no time to overthink this, I realize I never want him to move his arm. But I can't follow that train of thought through to its conclusion because I hear footsteps coming toward us.

I reach my hand up to Jack's arm and squeeze it so tightly I'm sure he'll gasp, but he's silent and still as a tomb. I'm trembling, and even Jack's arms around me can't stop it. Nomads were one thing. They might kill us, but it would be quick. But agents? They would torture us to find out where we've been, how many other illegals we've come across, and what unauthorized settlements we've seen. They would probably kill us eventually, and there would be nothing quick about it. I look down and see the small thread of a tracker scar on Jack's arm next to the unblemished flesh on my own. Very few people have never had a tracker. What would the agents think of me, and what would they do about it?

Guest Post by Annie Oldham

WHAT IS YA FICTION?

I've written four books so far. (Well, five if you count my very first one—which I promptly threw away and am embarrassed beyond belief about. Yes, it was that bad.) All of my books have been young adult novels, so I consider myself a young adult author. There's been a lot of talk about young adult books lately, spurred on mostly by the wild success of several YA series, including Harry Potter and The Hunger Games. I like to follow these discussions, mostly to see how other people view the world of YA literature. There seems to be three different types of people: 1) those who love YA lit, 2) those who hate YA lit, and 3) those who just don't get it.

No matter what naysayers may naysay, it's my genre of choice to read, and here's why:

• Awkward teenagers. As an adult I have my share of awkward moments as well, and it's nice to see imperfect characters.
• Teenage love. I'm not talking about the love-at-first-sight that's so prevalent (and mostly unbelievable) in so many YA books. I'm talking about first loves. The first blush and first kiss that sends your heart pattering.
• The conflicts. Sure you may not have to fight to the death at the whim of a corrupt government, but breaking it down to a more realistic level, isn't high school social structure cutthroat? And most likely you won't have to duel with the most demonic wizard of all time, but don't we all have our own very real demons to face?

Those are just three of the things I love about YA lit. And here's what good YA lit does:

• Doesn't dumb it down. Good YA authors respect their characters. Teenagers are real people, and I think those who hate YA lit forget that. We were all teenagers once. We've been there and experienced all the angst that goes along with it. There needs to be a place for that in books.
• Is believable. Even fantasy can be believable as long as the characters are true to themselves and the problems facing them are real and meaningful to them. If the reader doesn't care about the characters or the problems facing them, the author hasn't done justice to their characters.
• Doesn't talk down to their target audience: teenagers. Teens are smart. One of the things that drives me nuts when reading a story is being told the consequence or the meaning of every detail. And teens can figure it out too. Don't tell me every nuance. Let me figure it out as I go.

YA lit done well is masterful. I wonder if the YA lit haters would say that The Chronicles of Narnia, Treasure Island, and David Copperfield were drivel? After all, these books are YA lit too.

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Author Bio:

Annie Oldham adores writing and reading YA novels. She grew up in a house full of books and developed an insatiable desire to read, which led to the insatiable desire to write. Away from her writing, she's the mother of the three most adorable girls in the world, has the best husband in the world, and lives in the hottest place in the world (not really, but Phoenix sure feels like it). She loves to cook, sing, and play the piano. She is the author of Infraction, The Burn, Bound, and Dragon Sister.

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