Michelle I. Mason
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Posted November 10, 2017 by Michelle I. Mason & filed under .

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Welcome!

Welcome to my blog, where I review* books I love, offer writing tips, and share thoughts about reading, my writing journey, and other random stuff. If you subscribe, you’ll also receive news about my books and upcoming events. Check out the categories in the sidebar to narrow down some of my older blog posts, or if you’re a writer pursuing traditional publication, visit my Resources page for more targeted links. If there’s something I haven’t tackled on the blog that you’d like me to address—including questions about my books!—please contact me and I’ll do my best.

*Please note I do not review books by request.

Your Life Has Been Delayed

Release Day!August 24, 2021
172 days to go.

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A Taste for Love by Jennifer Yen

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How adorable is this cover? And then it gets even How adorable is this cover? And then it gets even better, because it’s a PRIDE AND PREJUDICE retelling. I will basically read every P&P retelling, always.

A TASTE FOR LOVE by @jenyenwrites even starts out with a twisted P&P quote: “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a mother in possession of great wisdom, must be in want—nay, in need—of a daughter who will listen.”

That quote sets the stage pretty well for the tension between Liza Yang and her mom. There are two major sources: Liza wants to attend culinary school instead of pursuing a practical degree like accounting, and she wants nothing to do with the guys her mom deems acceptable. Things get interesting when Liza and her best friend, Grace, meet Ben (Bingley) and James (Darcy). And then Liza’s mom, who owns a popular bakery, recruits Liza to help with her annual baking competition and fills it with Asian American teen boys, turning it into a bachelorette-style situation. Both Ben and James jump in, making things even more fun, especially since James *does* meet Liza’s mom’s requirements.

The story has all of the usual P&P hijinks, and it works so well with the tension between Liza and her mom. I really loved the romance and the family drama, and then there was the baking. I’ve already looked up where I can go try out all of the pastries described in this book. I guess Liza would recommend I try Boba too…

Definitely check this one out!

#JenniferYen #ATasteForLove #ATFL #the21ders #DebutAuthorReads #YoungAdultRomCom #PrideAndPrejudiceRetelling #JaneAustenRetelling #YAFoodBooks #YAReader #YABookstagrammer #YABookshelf #YABooksOfInstagram #YALover #YALiterature #IReadYALit #IReadYABooks #IReadYANovels #YALoving #YAContemporary #YARomance #YARomCom #YARomanticComedy #WhatToReadNext #LoveYABooks #ReadersOfInstagram #BookReview
Happy book birthday to #the21ders young adult and Happy book birthday to #the21ders young adult and middle grade debut releases for the week of March 2! 

Young adult:
✨DOWN COMES THE NIGHT by @allisonhsaft 
✨I THINK I LOVE YOU by @aurianedesombre
✨THE BRIGHT AND THE PALE by @jessrubinkowski

Middle grade:
✨TROUBLE WITH A TINY T by @msaunders11
✨THE WEATHER WEAVER by @TamsinMori
✨THE KNIGHT OF THE CAPE by @terry.c.jennings
✨JUST LIKE ME by @onceuponalouise

Go buy, read, and/or request these fantastic new books at your libraries!

#2021debut #HappyBookBirthday #BookReleaseDay #HappyReleaseWeek #NewYABooks #NewMGBooks #DownComesTheNight #AllisonSaft #IThinkILoveYou #AurianeDesombre #TheBrightAndThePale #JessicaRubinkowski #TroubleWithATinyT #MerriamSaunders #TheWeatherWeaver #TamsinMori #TheKnightOfTheCape #TerryCatasusJennings #JustLikeMe #louisegooding
You know I’m always up for a YA rom-com. Throw i You know I’m always up for a YA rom-com. Throw in feuding families and food? Even better!

A PHO LOVE STORY by @loanloanle is the story of Bao Nguyen and Linh Mae, whose parents own competing pho restaurants. (I’ve never tried pho, but I’m adding it to my list once indoor dining is an option again!) For years, they’ve seen each other from across the street, but their only encounter was at the Buddhist temple as children, when their parents pulled them apart.

It’s sort of like Romeo and Juliet—except it’s thankfully not a tragedy! I loved how Bao and Linh bring out the best in each other. And I loved reading about their families and learning more about their history. Both of their parents had escaped from Vietnam and want the best for their children, which for Linh in particular isn’t a path she wants herself. An aspiring artist, she has to find a balance between pursuing her dream and meeting her parents’ expectations. 

It’s a fantastic story about family, first love, and discovering who you are and how to pursue that. I highly recommend you pick up this book now!

#LoanLe #APhoLoveStory #the21ders #DebutAuthorReads #YAFoodBooks #YAReader #YABookstagrammer #YABookshelf #YABooksOfInstagram #YALover #YALiterature #IReadYALit #IReadYABooks #IReadYANovels #YALoving #YAContemporary #YARomance #YARomCom #YARomanticComedy #WhatToReadNext #LoveYABooks #ReadersOfInstagram #BookReview
Today marks 6 months until the release of YOUR LIF Today marks 6 months until the release of YOUR LIFE HAS BEEN DELAYED, and I’m all about the research! Starting with the premise of a girl getting on a plane and landing 25 years later raised a lot of questions. I go in-depth into my research process on my blog (link in bio), but here’s a brief rundown of my major questions and how I went about answering them.

1. How would an airport handle a plane popping into the air out of nowhere?

This question required talking to a long-time pilot who could not only tell me about planes today but also 25 years ago. My source also inspired the opening chapter of the book and a character in the book.

2. What are Jenny’s goals? And how will the time jump complicate them?

I didn’t immediately know Jenny would be an aspiring journalist. Research into the jobs that had changed most drastically in the past 25 years brought up newspaper reporters, and it was a perfect fit for Jenny!

3. What did people who lost someone on Flight 237 do?

The logical assumption when a plane disappears is that everyone is dead. And then the legal issues come up. I researched what you have to do to declare someone dead—and what happens when they return 😳.

4. What’s changed since 1995?

Soooo much! Fashion, pop culture, the world around us, and perhaps most drastically for Jenny—technology. One of the trickiest things for me was finding the line of where things existed in her time but whether she would have been actively using them.

Many more details are available on my blog (link in bio). If you have any special requests for future countdown features, let me know!

#YourLifeHasBeenDelayed #YATimeTravel #LifeDelayed #ylhbd #the21ders #2021debut #DebutYARomances2021 #BloomsburyYA #BloomsburyKids #YoungAdultTimeTravel #michelleimason #BookResearch #TimeTravelResearch #YAAuthorsOfInstagram #YAAuthorLife #AuthorGram #igauthors #igauthorslife #igauthorscommunity #amwritingya #writinglifelessons #amwritingyafiction #yafictionwriter #yawritersofinstagram #writinglifeproblems #amwritingyoungadult
Happy release day to #the21ders young adult debut Happy release day to #the21ders young adult debut releases for Feb. 23! 🥳🎊🎉

✨DRAGONFLY GIRL by @marti.leimbach 
✨LIKE HOME by @louisaonome
✨PREPPED by @bethanymangle
✨A DARK AND HOLLOW STAR by @paper.ashley 

Go buy, read, and/or request these fantastic new books at your libraries!

#2021debut #HappyBookBirthday #BookReleaseDay #HappyReleaseWeek #NewYABooks #DragonflyGirl #MartiLeimbach #LikeHome #LouisaOnome #Prepped #BethanyMangle #ADarkAndHollowStar #AshleyShuttleworth
I read ALONE by @megan_e_freeman_writer in a singl I read ALONE by @megan_e_freeman_writer in a single day. As a verse novel, it’s definitely a quick read anyway, but even more, I just had to get to the end and find out whether Maddie was reunited with her family.

The setup is this: 12-year-old Maddie plans a sleepover with her friends at her grandparents’ empty apartment, telling each of her parents she’s staying at the other’s house. But her friends cancel, and in the middle of the night, everyone in the town is evacuated. The power goes out, there’s no internet, and her only companion is George, the Rottweiler from next door.

Like I said, I could not stop reading this book because the stakes just kept raising. What would Maddie have to survive next? Because it kept getting worse—winter, natural disasters, and perhaps worst of all, loneliness. Honestly, if it were me, I wouldn’t even know how to start a fire (despite the fact we have a woodpile and fireplace). If you pick this book up and are able to stop reading, I’ll be shocked.

ALONE released in January and is available for you to buy or request from your library now, so do it!

#AloneBook #MeganEFreeman #the21ders #2021debut #mgfiction #mgbooks #mgbookstagram #mgbookshelf #middlegradefiction #kidsbookstagrammer #kidsreadingcorner #kidsreadingnook #survivalstories #childrensbooks #kidsbooks #kidsbookstagram  #MMGM #MarvelousMiddleGradeMonday #versenovels #novelsinverse #whattoreadnext #readersofinstagram #bookreview
From the moment I read the description for HOT BRI From the moment I read the description for HOT BRITISH BOYFRIEND by @kristylboyce, I was in!

After a horrifying public rejection by her crush (oh, is it humiliating!), Ellie joins the high school’s study abroad trip to England and decides a hot British boyfriend is the solution to her image problem. Will checks all the boxes, and her classmate Dev is on board to help her learn about the things Will enjoys, like cricket. (Confession: I am forever mentally thinking croquet when I see cricket 🤦‍♀️.)

Aaaanyway, what I loved about this book was that while the title certainly leads you to think it’s all about romance—and that’s certainly a big part—it’s really about Ellie figuring herself out. She’s pretty lost when she goes to England, and as she makes friends, attends classes, and works through her Hot British Boyfriend plan, she starts to discover what she really wants in the future. I loved that path of self-discovery.

I also really enjoyed all of Ellie’s new friends—practical Sage, beatboxing Huan, smart and earnest Dev with the hidden love of fantasy. And the setting! I am always up for any book that takes me on a journey to new places, and this one not only delivered the English countryside but Venice! Someday…

Also, swipe 👉 to see how my cat, Starlight, got in on the #DebutAuthorReads photo shoot. 😻

Definitely go buy this book or request it from your library!

#KristyBoyce #HotBritishBoyfriend #HotBritishBoyfriendBook #the21ders #YAReader #YABookstagrammer #YABookshelf #YABooksOfInstagram #YALover #YALiterature #IReadYALit #IReadYABooks #IReadYANovels #YALoving #YAContemporary #YARomance #YARomCom #YARomanticComedy #WhatToReadNext #LoveYABooks #ReadersOfInstagram #BookReview #DebutYARomances2021 #YAStudyAbroadBooks
A couple of months ago, @bloomsburyya asked me to A couple of months ago, @bloomsburyya asked me to make a marketing video about YOUR LIFE HAS BEEN DELAYED, and I thought it would be fun to share it here. Text below as well:

Hi, I’m Michelle I. Mason, the author of YOUR LIFE HAS BEEN DELAYED. It’s about a 17-year-old girl who gets on a plane in 1995 and lands 25 years later. Jenny’s in a completely different century. She has no idea how anything works. A lot of people think the whole thing’s a hoax, and everyone in her life is 25 years older—or dead.

It’s all completely screwed up. Except for Dylan. He’s adorable but also has an awkward connection to her past. Jenny has to figure out how to adjust to all the things that are different for a teenage girl in a new century, but also discover how the most important things are the same no matter when you are.

YOUR LIFE HAS BEEN DELAYED is coming from @bloomsburyya Aug. 24, 2021. If it sounds like your jam, I hope you’ll add it on Goodreads, preorder, and/or request it from your library. You can also sign up for my newsletter; my next issue comes out Feb. 24. Thanks to a poll in my stories yesterday, I will be covering weird/interesting research topics for the 6 months to release countdown! All the links are in my bio!

#YourLifeHasBeenDelayed #YATimeTravel #LifeDelayed #ylhbd #the21ders #2021debut #DebutYARomances2021 #BloomsburyYA #BloomsburyKids #YoungAdultTimeTravel #MichelleIMason #AuthorVideo #WhatTheBooksAbout #YAWriterLife #WritersLifestyle #YoungAdultAuthor #IWriteYA #AuthorsOfInstagram #AuthorLife #WritingLife #YAReads #YALlit
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