Wednesday, May 10, 2017

Blog Tour: And We're Off


Title: And We're Off
Author: Dana Schwartz
Publisher: Razorbill
Publication Date:  May 2, 2017
Copy Provided by Penguin Random House

Seventeen-year-old Nora Holmes is an artist, a painter from the moment she could hold a brush. She inherited the skill from her grandfather, Robert, who's always nurtured Nora's talent and encouraged her to follow her passion. Still, Nora is shocked and elated when Robert offers her a gift: an all-expenses-paid summer trip to Europe to immerse herself in the craft and to study history's most famous artists. The only catch? Nora has to create an original piece of artwork at every stop and send it back to her grandfather. It's a no-brainer: Nora is in!

Unfortunately, Nora's mother, Alice, is less than thrilled about the trip. She worries about what the future holds for her young, idealistic daughter and her opinions haven't gone unnoticed. Nora couldn't feel more unsupported by her mother, and in the weeks leading up to the trip, the women are as disconnected as they've ever been. But seconds after saying goodbye to Alice at the airport terminal, Nora hears a voice call out: "Wait! Stop! I'm coming with you!"

Summer is approaching, and for me, that means the travel bug is biting. Like Nora, I have a thing for Irish boys, although, at this point, it's Irish men for me. I've always had a dream that I would go to Ireland, fall in love, and never come back. And if that didn't work, at least bring someone back with me.

Now I don't really get to travel all that often, but I do travel through books, and books about traveling are some of my most read during the summer months. When I saw that Dana Schwartz's book involved traveling (and an Irish boy!), I knew I wanted to read it and see if it was the remedy that my soul needs for this summer.

Dana is on The Hardcover Lover today to let you know a little bit more about her book, And We're Off, and just how those moments when you're abroad can bring about fun, memorable, and sometimes disastrous moments.

Guest Post from Dana Schwartz 


Falling in love while you’re abroad is probably going to be a mistake, for several reasons. First, there’s something I like to call “travel goggles:” everyone looks cuter when you’re in a foreign country. You’re already in the mood for an adventure, everything is new, and he’ll probably have an accent. You’re not worried about whether you’re actually compatible or whether he has a job— you’re just excited to meet up with a person roughly your age with an appropriate sexual orientation. But then there’s the second problem: even if you meet someone perfect, you’re going to have to go home.

In And We're Off, Nora meets a charming Irish boy named Callum and instantly connects. Even though I didn’t meet anyone romantic when I was in Ireland (ask me about the tour guide who inquired about a threesome with me and my roommate on our first night of the trip) I did connect with some amazing friends: I was lucky enough to stay with the family of a friend from college who lived down a tiny road in County Wexford. And then when I went to London, I met a boy named Rory. I spent a full day exploring the South Bank with Rory and his friends, and thanks to the magic of the internet, we’re all still in touch to this day. Callum is based just a little bit on Rory—even though our connection didn’t turn out to be romantic, we still connected in a way that felt incredibly lucky.  Cheesy as it is, it was my connections with people that made my trip so memorable, and I wanted to make sure my protagonist Nora got that experience too.

About Dana Schwartz



Dana Schwartz is a writer whose work has appeared in the New Yorker, Mental Floss, the Guardian, the New York Observer, MTV News, and VICE. When she's not on Twitter as one of her parody accounts (@GuyInYourMFA and @DystopianYA), she's on Twitter as herself (@DanaSchwartzzz), sharing far too much personal information to ever pull off the Thomas-Pynchon-reclusive-author thing. She currently lives in New York City.

 

The Giveaway


Enter for a chance to win one (1) of five (5) copies of And We’re Off by Dana Schwartz (ARV: $17.99 each).

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Enter between 12:00 AM Eastern Time on May 1, 2017 and 12:00 AM on May 15, 2017. Open to residents of the fifty United States and the District of Columbia who are 13 and older. Winners will be selected at random on or about May 24, 2017. Odds of winning depend on number of eligible entries received. Void where prohibited or restricted by law.



So... Do you plan on reading And We're Off this spring or summer? Have you already read it? Feel free to sound off below to let me know why you want to read it or why you loved it.

Also, because summer is just around the corner, let's talk about your summer travel plans? Any exciting vacations planned? Let me know below!

 

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