As a reader, I was never really interested in reading YA stories until a few years ago. I find them very compelling since the main characters are usually dealing with transition and emotional upheaval. What inspires you to write YA fiction? To me, they’re compelling because there’s so much our characters to deal with in such a short time and they’re not always ready for them. I love putting myself in the shoes of my heroines and seeing how they act/react. Life is suddenly very complicated. You’ve got your first love, first heartbreak, school, family, friends, the pressure cooker that is social media. When you’re a teenager, everything feels like a life-or-death situation. At least, that’s how I saw things back then! On top of all that, there’s the bewildering physical changes. And that’s just contemporary YA. Imagine what happens when you’ve got vampires, witches, ghosts, and/or aliens lurking around. Imagine if *you* are a teen witch and struggling to find your place in the world. It’s funny—I started writing YA fiction when I was about 13-15 and literally haven’t stopped. Like a lot of kids, I went through a turbulent time back then. The library was like a safe…

I’m Vanessa Barneveld, and I’m so excited take on the famous Fresh Fiction Title Challenge! UNDER THE MILKY WAY is a paranormal YA romance that’ll make you believe in – and fall in love with – aliens. I can’t wait for you to meet the stars of my book, Cassidy and Hayden.    U is for unidentified flying object. Also more fashionably known as unidentified aerial phenomena. N is for nefarious black-ops projects, the kind that seem too outlandish to be true… D is for dance floor. When Hayden takes Cassidy for a spin at the homecoming dance, it’s not his two left feet that freak her out. Nope, she sees something much more frightening and otherworldly.  E is for extraspecialterrestrials, aka humans, who believe we are not alone in the universe. R is for risk. By getting involved with Cassidy, Hayden puts his whole existence at risk. At first, he vows to keep her at arm’s length, but… * T is for the virtual tractor beam that draws Hayden to Cassidy. He can’t drag himself away from her. But sticking together could endanger them both. H is for Hayden, who’ll move galaxies to save Cassidy. E is for extra-special-terrestrials…