Greetings Younglings,

For this month's edition we had a chance to with MissJina about her YA themed celebrity romance stories!

About the Author:

Regina Brownell (MissJina) is an Adult/Young Adult Romance Author. Aside from her books and short stories on Wattpad she has two Adult Romance books published, The Two Week Promise and One Lucky Christmas and one on the way in March 2023. She resides on Long Island, New York, between the city lights of Manhattan, and the beautiful beaches of the Hampton's. With the support of her parents, husband, three children, and three cats, Regina spends her time balancing mom-life with her love for writing. Her stories are inspired by her life on Long Island. Using a lot of references, including her favorite place Jones Beach, which is featured in The Summer I Met You.

☆☆

About the Book Of The Month - The Summer I Met You

Starlien actress Lennox Taylor has it all; fame, fortune, and the most amazing fans in the world. Without warning her dream comes crashing down. Unsure of what to do with her life, Lennox heads across the country to live with her dads to escape her drama-filled life, her fake ex-boyfriend, and her overbearing manager; her mom. 

Seventeen year old Max Weston has had his share of hardships, and now with his father leaving the list of things just keeps piling up. When Max heads to New York for his annual summer trip, he wasn't expecting to bump into the famous Lennox Taylor nor was he expecting her to lash out at him. 

A second chance brings them together. For Lennox, liking Max was the easy party, but showing him she wasn't the girl he first met, was difficult. Max being open-minded accepted her, and the two grow closer than either imagined, relying on each other for comfort. 

When Lennox's Hollywood drama resurfaces, the two are torn apart by the whirlwind. Lennox knows she has to make things right, but she's not sure it will be enough to win Max's heart back.

 ☆☆

1) What made you start writing on Wattpad and what do you love the most about it?

I started on Wattpad back in 2013. I was inspired by a Hanson concert I went to and wrote a short fan fiction. It had been years since I posted my stories online and someone had mentioned Wattpad. I signed up and posted the story, and then discovered all the great features and contests that Wattpad offered and I have been writing on the platform ever since. 

2) Your book, The Summer I Met You, is a YA-themed celebrity romance. What inspired you to write a story on this theme? And what challenges did you face? 

I remember thinking I've only seen books where the male love interest is the celebrity and thought it would be fun to change it up and chose the female MC as it instead. At the time I was reading a lot of YA fiction, specifically ones with celebrities like Fame, Fate, and the First Kiss by Kasie West and others similar to that. My biggest challenge for this book was writing it in dual POV. I had never written a male POV before and was nervous about how it would turn out. 

3) Your main protagonists feel connected and rely on each other for comfort in all the difficulties and hardships they faced. According to you, what makes their relationship special? 

Max and Lennox didn't have the best first impression of each other. I think what made their relationship special was how they were able to get past their own insecurities to allow the other in and once they did that their relationship grew into something more and they were able to confide in each other. 

4) Besides the Hollywood romance concept in "The Summer I Met You", which type of Young Adult Romance concept intrigues you the most or you would like to try in the future? 

I would probably go back to trying paranormal romance. I do love that genre, but have a hard time writing a complete novel and have only dabbled in either fan fictions or short stories. It's definitely a goal of mine. 

5) Can you share us your favorite movies or TV shows? 

I'm a lover of all things romantic comedies. So, movies like How to Lose a Guy in 10 days and Thirteen Going on Thirty are some of my favorites. As for TV shows, I love Vampire Diaries and recently I fell in love with Julie and The Phantoms, it's such a cute show. 

6) Do you have any advice for new writers who want to try writing young adults with romance concepts in their stories? 

First, write what makes you happy even if it's not the trend, because trends come and go constantly and they seem to come back around after some time. When I started reading YA it went from vampire and other supernatural romance trends, and then it was a lot of forbidden "wrong side of the tracks" romance and now rom coms seem to be taking the world by storm and I have noticed the supernatural concepts coming back too. Definitely read a lot in the genre you are writing. What I knew as a teen is so different from what they go through today so definitely do your research. 

☆☆

Thank you for chatting with us!

Check out the author's works in the profile account MissJina

Have you read her works? Any author to suggest us for next month?