Author: Amy K. Nichols
Pub. Date: August 4, 2015
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Pages: 304
Formats: Hardcover, eBook
Find it: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Goodreads
An artist without a cause meets a rebel without a clue.
Eevee is a promising young artist and the governor’s daughter in a city where censorship is everywhere and security is everything. When a fire devastates her exhibition—years in the making—her dreams of attending an elite art institute are dashed. She’s struggling to find inspiration when she meets Danny, a boy from a different world. Literally.
Raised in a foster home, Danny has led a life full of hurt and hardship until a glitch in the universe changes everything. Suddenly Danny is living in a home he’s never seen, with parents who miraculously survived the car crash that should have killed them. It’s like he’s a new Danny. But this alternate self has secrets—ties to an underground anarchist group that have already landed him in hot water. When he starts to develop feelings for Eevee, he’s even more disturbed to learn that he might have started the fire that ruined her work.
As Danny sifts through clues from his past and Eevee attempts to piece together her future, they uncover a secret that’s bigger than both of them. . . . And together, they must correct the breach between the worlds before it’s too late.
Title: NOW THAT YOU’RE HERE
Author: Amy K. Nichols
Pub. Date: December 9, 2014
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Pages: 304
Formats: Hardcover, eBook
Find it: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Goodreads
In a parallel universe, the classic bad boy falls for the class science geek.
One minute Danny was running from the cops, and the next, he jolted awake in an unfamiliar body–his own, but different. Somehow, he’s crossed into a parallel universe. Now his friends are his enemies, his parents are long dead, and studious Eevee is not the mysterious femme fatale he once kissed back home. Then again, this Eevee–a girl who’d rather land an internship at NASA than a date to the prom–may be his only hope of getting home.
Eevee tells herself she’s only helping him in the name of quantum physics, but there’s something undeniably fascinating about this boy from another dimension . . . a boy who makes her question who she is, and who she might be in another place and time.
And, coming soon, Duplexity, Part II: While You Were Gone flips this story on its head and tells the tale of the alternate Danny and the alternate Eevee, living in Danny’s parallel world.
Praise for Now That You’re Here:
“The perfect blend of sci-fi and swoons, Now That You’re Here is like no other book I’ve read. Riveting, romantic and utterly original, it kept me up late!” –Amie Kaufman, author of These Broken Stars
“Dynamic, dizzying, and downright daring, Now That You’re Here kept me guessing until the end, and ready for the next.” –Shannon Messenger, author of Let the Sky Fall
“Nichols infuses the story with a smattering of science fiction and science fact, while making a welcome departure from the stereotype of the book-smart outcast trying to fit in. These geeks own their intelligence like a badge of honor, using science to help a friend and explore strange new worlds. Riveting in its own right, the story sets the stage for a mirror-image sequel, which will follow the other Danny and Eevee.” — Publishers Weekly, STARRED
“While the world-jumping is fantastical, the personalities and characters (fully individual, without reaching trying-too-hard levels of quirkiness) ring true…. A debut with great characters and huge nerd appeal.” — Kirkus Reviews
Amy K. Nichols has been crafting stories for as long as she can remember. She is the author of YA science fiction novel Now That You’re Here, to be published by Knopf December 9, 2014. The follow-up, While You Were Gone, will be published in 2015. She is mentored by award-winning crime novelist James Sallis and lives on the edge of the Sonoran desert with her husband and children. Amy is a member of SCBWI and SFWA, as well as the Class of 2K14 debut authors. Visit her online at http://www.amyknichols.com.
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PLEASE WELCOME AMY TO BOOKHOUNDS
- What is on your nightstand?
This is by far the most unique question I’ve ever been asked! Right now on my nightstand is a lamp, an alarm clock I never use, the jewelry I wear most often, a teddy bear my daughter gave me, lip balm, hand lotion, and miscellaneous bits and bobbles. In front of my nightstand is the stack of books I’m currently reading.
- How does your graphic art influence your writing?
I think having a brain wired for visuals has definitely helped my writing. My process involves a lot of watching scenes play out like movies in my mind. As I write, I clearly envision how my characters look and how they move through their worlds. A couple of my characters in the Duplexity series are artists: Danny in Now That You’re Here is a graffiti artist, and Eevee in While You Were Gone is a classically trained painter. While I’m neither of those things, I think my work as a graphic designer and my own dabblings in art influenced the artwork Danny and Eevee created, as well as how they created their work. There probably was some wish fulfillment in making them both artists. I wish I were as talented as them, and as daring as they were with their art.
- What makes you cringe?
Ooh, just reading this question made me cringe. Let’s see . . . Plastic spoons scraping on Styrofoam. Cockroaches. Big spiders. Leeches! Movies with scenes where people are trapped underwater. When my kids puke. When my dogs bring me dead things as presents. Screeching feedback over a sound system. Anything involving maggots. Ugh. Excuse me now while I go freak out.
- So who are you going to sleep in line for at San Diego Comic Con?
Last year I camped out twice, once for the Penguins of Madagascar panel in Ballroom 20 (Benedict Cumberbatch!) and once for the Saturday Hall H bonanza bookended by The Hobbit (Benedict Cumberbatch!) and Marvel (Avengers!). I just got back from this year’s San Diego Comic Con, and while I didn’t camp out, I did get in line super early for tickets to meet the cast of Crimson Peak (Tom Hiddleston! Guillermo del Toro!). Some of my friends camped out for the Star Wars panel and ended up spending about 36 hours in line. Thankfully they got a huge payoff in the end, but I decided that was just too much for me. I had too many other things I wanted to do and see.
- Do you obsessively plot out each point or just go with the flow?
I don’t obsessively plot out my novels, but I do create a rough outline. I usually know where my story starts and ends, but the middle can get confusing. An outline helps me keep track of where I am and where I’m going. Writing a novel is a bit like taking a road trip, and an outline acts like a map. Say I want to drive from Phoenix to Chicago. There are any number of roads I can take to get there. A map helps me find a route that will keep me heading in the right direction. I’m not obsessive about the map, though. If I decide I really need to take a detour through Oklahoma, I just reroute while keeping my sights on Chicago. Writing works best when I’m sensitive to what the story wants, but when I attempt a novel without an outline, I end up driving around lost until I run out of gas. Then I sit there and wait for a new story to come along and give me a lift. I learned pretty quickly that I need that roadmap if I ever want to arrive anywhere.
Giveaway Details:
10 winners will receive finished copies of WHILE YOU WERE GONE. US Only.
Sounds like something I would enjoy reading. Thanks for the chance.
It’s finally here! I’ve been waiting for this book for months now and I can’t wait to read this! It sounds so amazing!
Sounds great!
What a fab interview!! Can’t enter because I’m in the UK but those covers a GORGEOUS & whoever wins is super lucky!
I loved the first book of this duology! I just can’t wait to put my hands on this one andI love how the covers match!
I love this cover and the book sounds really good. I hope I get to be the lucky recipient.
This book sounds really good and what a great interview .
A fascinating novel and an interesting interview. Thanks for this great giveaway.
Cockroaches and my cat’s vomit make me cringe. This interview was great and I loved the questions 🙂 I can’t wait to get my hands on this book.
New author for me. Sounds like it will be a good story.
Warm welcomes to you Amy.
Great interview! I really liked Now That You’re Here, and I’m looking forward to reading While You Were Gone. Thanks for the chance to win a copy.
I would love to read this story. I like the very pretty and colorful book cover.
I am so so SO excited for this book!!! I raved all over Twitter and to Amy after I devoured book 1 in the series earlier this year! I made it pretty clear just how much I loved it 🙂 and I’m so thrilled book 2 is almost here! I would loooooove to win this, fingers crossed! I encourage anyone who hasn’t read book 1 to do so — it is SO. SO. GOOD.
I’d hate to go to SDCC only to sit in line the whole time!!! I also don’t like movies with people underwater or drowning–I can think of one especially that makes me squeamish, but I’ll keep the details withheld for the better of all!
I love the Hobbes photo (Hamish is cute too).
sounds like a fun one!
Great interview! Can’t wait to read it! 🙂