I'm doing a happy dance to have my brilliant friend and awesome author, Saundra Mitchell here to brighten up my blog with a guest post to celebrate the release of SHADOWED SUMMER in paperback, coming in just TWO DAYS!

Welcome, Saundra! Let 'er rip:

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BOYS, FRIENDS AND BOY-FRIENDS

One of the things I really enjoyed about A MATCH MADE IN HIGH SCHOOL was that not every guy presented in the novel was destined to be a romantic interest. And not in the sad, unfortunate, he sure loved her but she picked someone else way.

Fiona and Todd never had a romantic relationship, and they never even hinted at it. There was no maybe-possibly teasing going on. Kristin wrote them as an enmity turned friendship all along.

And as much as I enjoy a good romance (and there is one in MATCH, btw,) it's a pleasure to see a friendship written with as much intensity and consideration as the love matches.

I think a lot of times, pop culture insists on the idea that young men and women can't be just friends. And lately, I've seen a lot of pop culture that insists that boys are pretty dumb and incapable of rich, inner-lives- which is why girls need girlfriends first.

Not only do I think that's untrue, I think it's unfair. Most of the people we meet in our lives, who become part of our lives, are our friends- male and female.

And guys aren't the bumbling dorks who inhabit every single commercial for an appliance ever. Every person has their own inner-life, their own secrets and feelings and self.

So while my book doesn't bring the funny or the hijinx that A MATCH MADE IN HIGH SCHOOL does, I'm pleased that we do have that in common. Boys who can be friends, who get to be people instead of gloriously perfect romantic foils for our heroines.

I think YA fiction could use a few more boy-friends, don't you?

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Isn't Saundra so wise and insightful? Yes, yes, she is.

Thanks for dropping by, Saundra!

Check out Saundra and SHADOWED SUMMER today:

SHADOWED SUMMER
by Saundra Mitchell
In paperback June 8, 2010
www.shadowedsummer.com




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