Stacey Kade is the author of a multiple YA and Adult fiction books. I recently read one of Stacey’s latest books: Finding Felicity and wrote a post about it that you can read here.
I was lucky enough to be able to ask Stacey a few questions regarding her books, her career, and life mostly pertaining to Finding Felicity. So without further ado, here is my Q&A with Stacey Kade:
- What was your inspiration for Finding Felicity?
When I was a nervous high school senior, I was desperate for stories about going to college. High school was not an awesome experience, and I feared that college would be four more years of the same. Only with roommates and more beer. I wanted a book that would reassure me that geeky, awkward people like me could find a place to belong. But that kind of book didn’t exist then. So I wrote this one for the teens who are nervous about college, just as I was.
And the show Felicity was an inspiration in that it addressed the college experience in a new way, talking about belonging and falling in love and getting stressed out about your future. It was exactly what I’d been looking for. Albeit a few years too late to help me.
- Are you in any fandoms or have a love of a certain TV series like Caroline does?
I’m not actively involved in many fandoms beyond tweeting occasionally. I love Supernatural and I was—still am—obsessed with the possibility of #bellarke on The 100. (I’ve logged many, many hours on A03 under that hashtag.)
But my first fandom experience and one of earliest writing experiences was writing Star Trek: The Next Generation fanfic back in high school. Have I mentioned that I was a geek? I so badly wanted to live—and work—on The Enterprise.
- What made you decide to set the book in college rather than high school?
One of things you always hear is that “kids read up.” In other words, when someone is twelve, they want to read about someone who’s fourteen or sixteen. When someone’s in junior high, they want to read high school stories. It’s a way of vicariously experiencing—and learning—what’s to come.
The problem is that most YA ends at high school graduation. Kids who are currently in high school can’t “read up” about experiences to come, unless they’re going to read books written for the adult audience. And while they certainly can, most of those books probably aren’t covering the experiences they’re eager to learn more about. College, first apartment, first job. So I wanted to write a book that would help fill that gap.
- Was there anything different about writing this book compared to writing your other ones?
Oh, yes. This was a tough one. I think I rewrote it three times during editorial revisions? I found that writing this was harder for me, strangely enough, because it was in some ways based on my own experiences. I kept getting caught up in “it wasn’t really like that for me” instead of focusing on what the story needed.
On a related note, it seems I struggle with writing characters who are too similar to who I am in real life (ahem, Caroline). I do better at conveying characters I don’t outwardly have much in common with. Ghosts, aliens, mean-girl cheerleaders. I suspect that’s because I’m forced to put more work into understanding those characters and that, in turn, helps me bring them to life on the page for others more easily.
- Would you ever consider writing a sequel to Finding Felicity and if so, what would it be about?
I don’t have any plans for a sequel. But if I did, I think I’d have to continue my homage to Felicity by having Liam recognize his mistake in taking Caroline for granted and having him truly fall for her and pursue her. Then Caroline would have to decide what to do with that, how she feels about him.
I want to thank Stacey again for her answers. For more information about Stacey and her books, please visit her website.
As always, please like, follow, and comment below.
Until next time dear readers.
-Jessica
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It was 
It is no secret that for at least most people, writing a review for a book can be easier when you have strong feelings about what you just read. If you reacted positively for a book then you will be able to write about all the countless things you enjoyed about the book. If you reacted negatively to the book then you can rant and list all the reasons why you hated it. With a book that was just okay it is harder to describe and put into words a reaction because well…you really don’t have many articulate and strong feelings one way or the other. This is that book.
Sometimes we start to read authors and we are unsure what we will think of them. So we read the first book we can get our hands on of theirs and decide if we like it. Then, if we do, we continue to seek out more books. The more books we enjoy by that author, the more we consider that author to be one of our favorites. Maybe we are so confident in this person’s work that the first book solidifies our positive opinions of this author. Maybe we need to read a few books to be able to definitely say that this author is one of our favorites. Either way it all seems to start with one book that helps us finally make up our mind about this writer. I am happy to say that Serious Moonlight was mine.
Warning: Minor spoilers ahead
3. I Wish You All The Best by Mason Deaver
4. Serious Moonlight by Jenn Bennett
5. Going Off-Script
Hello!
Nick and June Were Here is a book that I read 10 times faster than I thought I would, which is technically not a bad or good thing.
I knew I was going to enjoy this book ever since I heard the synopsis.