Tuesday 16 March 2010

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Author Appreciation Week: Luisa Plaja

author appreciation month

Luisa Plaja

luisa plaja


Yesterday, I talked about how it was Stephenie Meyer who opened my eyes to YA novels. Well, that's only partially true. Stephenie paved the way, but Luisa went far beyond the the call of duty as author when it came to me discovering YA. Stephenie Meyer came along, and I started reading YA urban fantasies and paranormal romances, but Luisa introduced me to the other genres of YA.

Not only is Luisa an amazing author - I surely don't need to gush about how much I love Split by a Kiss and Extreme Kissing, you probably know just how much I love them by now - but she's also a huge supporter of people reading in general. Sex in Teen Lit Month only started because of conversations I had with Luisa by email, after a discussion post I had on Ink and Paper. The idea for me to look more closely at how YA in general - rather than YA fantasy, which I was referring to on Ink and Paper - came through talking to Luisa about how books deal with it, and she helped me with the month in so many ways. She suggested books I could read, she included her own thoughts on books she had read, she posted about it on an author website she's a member of, to see if any authors would be interested in taking part, she even used her blogging budget to send me some books to review for it. And since then, we have become email buddies.

But that's just how she's helped me, but she does a lot for other readers too. Luisa is the editor of the popular YA book review blog, Chicklish, where she reviews and has other younger readers review a fair amount of British YA books. She is a regular commenter among the YA blogging community, being incredibly supportive and putting in her two pennies worth in reading discussions. Luisa is also an assistant in a monthly teen book club in her own area. Luisa is just awesome!

If it wasn't for Luisa, I would be missing out on so many YA novels outside of the fantasy genre and Once Upon a Bookcase wouldn't exist, because she was the one who encouraged me to pick up others - and still recommends books to me. She's also already been a huge help in kick starting Body Image and Self-Perception Month, and I'm sure she'll continue to help me and other readers as the years go by, because that's just how brilliant she is. Luisa is more than deserving of my appreciation, and many others too.

22 comments:

  1. Hurray for Luisa! She's a complete star.

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  2. Fantastic post, Jo. Well said! Luisa is amazing both as an author and in terms of what she puts into the YA blogging community. She's also really modest! It's great to see another author appreciation week post about her.

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  3. I couldn't agree more. Luisa is one of the reasons I wrote "Girl, Aloud" in the first place and her knowledge and commitment to the genre continually impresses me. I heart her, I do!

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  4. Oooh, there was another? I am going hunting for it now! :D And yup, Luisa is awesome! :)

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  5. Cheers for stopping by to comment, Emily! Well, I'm SO glad for Luisa even more now, because Girl, Aloud is awesome! More reasons to love Luisa!

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  6. What a fantastic pick, Jo! I couldn't agree more, Luisa is both a great person and a brilliant author and editor and so much more! :D

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  7. Thank you! I'm glad you agree that Luisa is just fabulous! :)

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  8. Luisa is AMAZING. Enough said!

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  9. Lovely post! I think it was you're the reason that I want to read Luisa Plaja's books :) I remember reading about them. She sounds like such a great person and a good author.

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  10. I so agree with your post! She is AMAAAZING :-)

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  11. It's awesome to see all the love for Luisa! :)

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  12. I wholeheartedly agree. Luisa makes every new UK YA blogger welcome and part of our community. She is wonderfully supportive. I love her!

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  13. It's just so cool how many people think Luisa is great! :)

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  14. I don't think there's anyone who doesn't, by the looks of things! :)

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  15. Woo and yay for Luisa! She's a fantastic champion of teen and YA lit all across the genres - and of course a fabulous writer too. I am itching to get my hands on Swapped By A Kiss!

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  16. Oh, so am I! I am SO looking forward to Swapped by a Kiss, it sounds amazing! I can't wait to read it! :)

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  17. I absolutely loved Extreme Kissing, that twist hit me like a ton of bricks! I am also a big fan of Chicklish and was subscribed to the feed long before I started reading any other book blogs.

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  18. Extreme Kissing is just amazing! I absolutely loved it! And I didn't expect that twist either! It was so good! Chicklish is a great blog, isn't it? :)

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  19. I deffo agree! Luisa is FAB! And I loveloveLOVED her books ;) <3 xx

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  20. She is pretty awesome, huh? :)

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