Today, Olivia is chatting with author Nyrae Dawn about her latest novel SEARCHING FOR BEAUTIFUL. Check it out!

Before, Brynn had a group of best friends, a loving boyfriend, a growing talent for pottery. She had a life. And after… she had none.

When Brynn lost the boyfriend who never loved her, the friends who feel she betrayed their trust, and the new life just beginning to grow inside her, she believes her future is as empty as her body. But then Christian, the boy next door, starts coming around. Playing his guitar and pushing her to create art once more. She meets some new friends at the local community center, plus even gets her dad to look her in the eye again… sort of.

But can Brynn open up her heart to truly find her life’s own beauty, when living for the after means letting go of the before?

Olivia with YA-Mag: Nyrae, welcome to the Young Adult Magazine!  I’m excited to learn more about SEARCHING FOR BEAUTIFUL!

YA:So let’s talk about Brynn. How did you two first meet? What makes her the perfect character to tell this story?

Nyrae Dawn: She just decided to tell me her story one day. She’s the perfect person to tell this story because she’s relatable. I think we all have a little Brynn in us. I know I do. 

YA: What sets Brynn’s story apart from other YA contemporary romances, like DEAR CASSIE by Lisa Burstein or CRASH INTO YOU by Katie McGarry?

ND: If I’m being honest, SEARCHING FOR BEAUTIFUL isn’t a book I would really consider a romance. There is a romance in it but it’s not what the story is about, at all. It’s different than anything I’ve written in that regard. 

YA: What non-book influences (films, television shows, music, plays, etc) helped spark this story?

ND: I wouldn’t say anything like that helped influence the book. For me it was more remembering things that happened to me as a teen. No, I didn’t go through all the things she did but I remember what it felt like to want love, to be lied to and to blame myself for it. 

YA:When you were a teen, what was your favorite book (YA or otherwise)?  Now that you’re an author for teens, what is your favorite contemporary YA?

ND: I used to be obsessed with the Chronicles of Narnia. I also liked Harry Potter and A Child Called It. As for my favorite now, there are so many! I love The Summer series by Jenny Han, Where she Went by Gayle Forman. I’m a Sarah Ockler fan and also love books like The Vast Fields of Ordinary by Nick Burd. Oh, and I’m a huge David Levithan fan. 

YA:  What is the story behind the title SEARCHING FOR BEAUTIFUL?

ND: I somehow knew the title from the beginning. I was only a couple chapters in when it came to me and it was almost like magic. One second it wasn’t there and then it was. I knew it was perfect for the book. 

YA: You recently attended the Romantic Times event in New Orleans! One: did you eat beignets at Café du Monde, omg, please tell me you did? Two: what would advice would you give to a first-time attendee heading to a big conventions like RT Booklovers?

ND: YES. They were good!
As for advice… soak up as much as you can. Go to panels and talk to people. There is so much knowledge there! 

YA: Now that my adoration for New Orleans and jealousy of your fun trip is out of the way… Ahem! If you could cast the Dream Film of SEARCHING FOR BEAUTIFUL, who would you cast?

ND: This question is always hard for me because I never really cast my books with actors. I can say that I had a My So Called Life era Jared Leto in mind for how Christian looks physically. 

YA: What’s up next for you in YA land? Any pet projects you can tease us about?

ND: I recently finished a YA book, strictly from the boy POV. It’s “going back to my roots” a little bit. It’s a fun book with lots of heart. That’s what I was going for at least 🙂 Hopefully I will have more on that to share soon. 

YA: All right, last one!  If you could spend one day with Brynn, what would you do together? What would advice would you give to Brynn about her past or future?

ND: We would spend the day making pottery and I would tell her that she is beautiful. We all are and that I hope she always remembers that. 

YA:Thank you very much, Nyrae!  And again, from YA Mag, congratulations on SEARCHING FOR BEAUTIFUL! 

~*~

Readers, be sure to check out Nyrae Dawn at her website www.NyraeDawn.blogspot.com. Or follow her on Twitter @NyraeDawn.

SEARCHING FOR BEAUTIFUL, published by Entangled Teen, is now available at your favorite retailers and local independent bookstores!

Olivia Hennis is a transplanted New England girl dropped by a tornado into the magical Land of Jersey.  For more info, follow her on Twitter.