This week YA author Jess Corban took over our Twitter as a part of our weekly Thursday Twitter Takeover. Jess Corban is the author of the YA book A Gentle Tyranny. (See YEM’s interview with Jess Corban here.) See highlights from the takeover below.
Jess Corban here, author of the Nedé Rising series, a fresh new YA dystopian duology set in Central America. I’m taking over @YoungEntmag’s Twitter, so shoot me any questions you have about writing and/or A Gentle Tyranny! pic.twitter.com/hM4oJbxvlO
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) June 10, 2021
A Gentle Tyranny, the first book in the Nedé Rising series, imagines a world where men are “gentled” to keep women completely safe and asks the question, “If women held the power, would we wield it perfectly?” pic.twitter.com/W3gctr03wN
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) June 10, 2021
The initial idea for A Gentle Tyranny found me in 2015, but it took me a full year to find the courage to start writing it. I knew the story had merit, but I also knew it would take a lot of work to do it justice. Four years later, the story is finally out in the world!
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) June 10, 2021
In my opinion, music is one of the most powerful forces of art. Would you agree?#YAauthortakeover #AGentleTyranny #NedeRisingSeries #Music #YAbooks pic.twitter.com/wYm02JmQ3P
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) June 10, 2021
I wrote 12 nonfiction books before my fiction debut. Moving from nonfiction to fiction was a challenge! You’d think it would be easier to make up facts and characters out of thin air, but ironically, telling lies was more difficult than telling true stories.#YAauthortakeover
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) June 10, 2021
When I started this novel, I felt like someone had dumped an enormous pile of bricks in front of me and said, “Build a house.” It tested my creativity, perseverance, and patience like never before, stacking one brick on top of the next for days, weeks, years on end.
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) June 10, 2021
Have you ever dreamed of writing a book? If so, have you started? If you haven’t started, what’s holding you back?#YAauthortakeover
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) June 10, 2021
My favorite quote from A Gentle Tyranny… 🌅#YAauthortakeover #goldenhour #AGentleTyranny #YAbooks pic.twitter.com/845PWxHQqD
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) June 10, 2021
Like many authors, I’d love to see the world of Nedé on the big screen. What are your favorite dystopian books turned movies? I personally loved The Hunger Games adaptations!#YAauthortakeover
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) June 10, 2021
The location of Nedé was inspired and largely influenced by time I spent in Central America, especially Belize. Where would your ideal dystopian world be set?#YAauthortakeover #AGentleTyranny #YAbooks pic.twitter.com/M2HSMXtL90
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) June 10, 2021
When it comes to research, I’m a firm believer that the best descriptions are birthed from hands-on experience. What new skill or experience would you love to pass of as "book research?" #YAauthortakeover
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) June 10, 2021
To research for A Gentle Tyranny, I sailed the Caribbean, explored jungles on horseback, kayaked through dark caves, learned archery, climbed ancient ruins, and gave myself permission to eat every tropical fruit I could get my hands on.#YAauthortakeover #AGentleTyranny pic.twitter.com/goAsrPBwf2
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) June 10, 2021
One unique aspect of Nedé is that the founders valued simplicity and decided to form a society devoid of many modern luxuries. What modern convenience could you absolutely NOT live without? Mine might be my Vitamix blender. 🙃#YAauthortakeover
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) June 10, 2021
What book have you recently read and loved? I just finished Adrienne Young’s YA high seas duology Fable and Namesake and I’m ready to board a ship for the Narrows!#YAauthortakeover #YAbooks pic.twitter.com/WYEQShXbFt
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) June 10, 2021
Nedé’s motto is “Protect the weak. Safety for all. Power without virtue is tyranny.” Over the course of the series, the main character, Reina, has to decipher whether Nedé has upheld those ideals.#YAauthortakeover #AGentleTyranny pic.twitter.com/E9Kdb94kFH
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) June 10, 2021
The idea for this series came after I heard about a long string of crimes against women. I had this fleeting thought: “What if we (women) could do something about it? What if we could keep men from hurting us?” A complex question that sparked the idea for Nedé!#YAauthortakeover
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) June 10, 2021
Words sail further when tethered to action. That’s why I’m donating half of my earnings from this series to The Corban Fund, which partners with organizations fighting to end human trafficking. Every book purchased helps #EndIt . #StopHumanTrafficking #YAauthortakeover pic.twitter.com/6Odn8Cy10p
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) June 10, 2021
Behind the Scenes fact: Almost two dozen people—alpha readers, editors, and sensitivity readers—read and gave feedback on this book before it saw the light of day. It’s a far better series because of their input!#YAauthortakeover #AGentleTyranny
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) June 10, 2021
Fact #2: As part of my major characters’ sketches, I “cast” them with real-world actors or models to help write better descriptions. I like having a photo to go by, even if it’s not exactly how the fictional character looks in my mind’s eye.#YAauthortakeover #AGentleTyranny
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) June 10, 2021
That’s a wrap for this #YAauthorTakeover ! You can read the first few chapters of A Gentle Tyranny and find my social handles at https://t.co/k9zlSGAukl. Thanks for the invite, @YoungEntmag !
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) June 10, 2021
