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Author Lada Ray, book reviews, Books, e-readers, ebooks, Gold Train, reading, Stepford USA, The Earth Shifter, YA literature, YA Revolution, Young adult fiction
The E-publishing revolution has just started, and already digital shelves are full of senseless imitations rehashed over and over again. Some books are just openly negative, violent or meaningless. All you need is an e-reader and a simple click of a button in order to purchase an ebook. No one can possibly police what our teens and young adults are reading. Meanwhile, their minds are still delicate and developing, and perhaps they haven’t yet learned to discern what is good and what is harmful. Much of what our teens may be downloading on their e-readers may not be what they should be reading in order to develop into good human beings and responsible citizens of our planet!
Typically, author organizations and promotional sites do not distinguish books for integrity, quality of message and positive energy. It is up to us, readers, writers, bloggers and reviewers to convey this information to each other. YA Revolution aims to unite all those who are tired of same old, same old and who want to read new, original, inspiring books with message and heart. It’s also for those who want the same for their kids. We intend to give voice and help promote authors who deserve to be heard, whether they write YA or adult literature. The more good books are promoted by us all, the easier both teens and adults will be able to chose the right books to read!
Whether you are a young adult or simply young at heart,
join the YA REVOLUTION!
We are for literature with message and meaning!
What’s in the name: Why YA Revolution? Putting on my trendcaster hat… ahem… 
This decade will continue seeing unprecedented interest in YA literature. The 20 year period from 2004 till 2024 is called “Period 8, or the period of young man” in the Flying Star System of Feng Shui. Everything that is associated with young people, including the rise of the military, rebellion, education, YA literature, and yes, revolution, is being emphasized. We live at a time when adults gladly read YA and teens read adult literature. This is why our YA Revolution is all-encompassing!
What is YA Revolution? Our objective is to give better visibility and voice to well-written, original books raising important issues and containing a meaningful message and/or positive attitude. This applies to both fiction and non-fiction. While these books deserve to be heard, they may be drowning in a sea of rehashed and meaningless stuff. The idea is to create a directory of GOOD new books to read for adults and teens alike.
Why will the YA Revolution benefit all, authors and readers of all ages alike? Very simple: Indie authors sometimes get a reputation for being less than original; the opinion oftentimes is that the quality of indie literature is subpar. This is because some of the indie books give everyone else a bad name. I met many indie authors who write great books, but they are overshadowed by those who yell the loudest or who have the flashiest covers (or perhaps by those who have deeper pockets, or those who perform various magic tricks). I am offering the recipe for solving all these problems! If we all pull together our resources, our influence, and our enthusiasm, we’ll be able to give bigger voice to authors of good books, and provide better choices for readers! A win-win!
Visit YA Revolution page on top navigation bar. This page’s reply section will become the depository for books with message and meaning recommended by readers, reviewers and authors. I will also post a badge with a link on my side bar.
As we grow, we plan to organize giveaways, contests and other YA Revolution events.
I had smashing fun designing the YA Revolution badges! I think it’s good to have them for every taste and genre, so more people feel they belong with our revolution.
Choose one or more themes that work for you and post them on your blog/site!
Theme FUNKY
Theme BOOKISH
Theme EARTH SHIFTER
Theme STARSEED
Theme CREATION
Theme COOL
And if you are feeling especially rebellious… Theme REBEL
Rules for joining the YA Revolution:
1. Pick the badge that appeals to you and post it on your blog or site (sidebar, a dedicated page or awards page), linking back to this post.
2. Tell as many people as you can so others could also join!
3. Readers/reviewers: post the badge in every post showcasing (interview, book review, spotlight) any author/book that you feel deserves to be awarded this badge! Mention YA Revolution in your post and link up to YA REVOLUTION page. For WordPress blogs, your link will become an automatic pingback (or you can chose to leave a comment with link). For all other blogs and sites, make sure you visit our page and leave a comment with the link to your respective post.
4. If you are an author and feel that you deserve this badge based on our criteria, post it with your book description and link up to this post. Follow above instructions for WordPress and non-wordpress blogs.
5. YA Revolution badge has dual purpose; it works both as a movement banner, and as an award. My future Author Features will include the YA REVOLUTION badge. Consider it my stamp of approval! (Read my post about the new Author Feature.) When someone else awards you this badge, proudly post it on your awards page – you’ve earned it! Remember to link to this post and mention my name!
Note: Post all your links/pingbacks in the YA Revolution page reply section, so that any reader could browse and choose better reads for themselves and their children. The idea is to create a directory of GOOD new books to read for adults and teens alike. However, we cannot police every link and pingback. It is up to the poster and readers to determine whether a specific recommendation will benefit our readers. Please be responsible while posting! Important: one link per book, please! Duplicates will be considered spamming and will result in removal of your links.
It is understood that we grow through adversity, and that inner and outer conflict and struggle is part of any good literature. YA Revolution is not meant to restrict or discriminate by genre. However, YA Revolution is NOT for books that promote or glorify violence of any sort, negative or senseless attitudes and actions, and characters/entities that have no redeeming value. While sexy romantic element as part of plot and character development is fine as long as our above criteria are met, no hard-core erotica allowed. It is advisable to specify what ages your book is appropriate for.
I also want to mention a couple of people who inspired the YA Revolution: 1. Author M.C. O’Neill, who said that my fantasy/thriller THE EARTH SHIFTER gave “a new definition to YA literature.” 2. Reviewer Michala at BiteMyBook.com, who said in her Amazon review of The Earth Shifter: “In a current age where every story is about wolves and vampires or witches or whatnot, it is nice to read a tale that engages the reader deeply.” For over a year, I had a persistent feeling that I wasn’t quite reaching my reader. Having read the above two reviews, the light went on and I came up with the YA Revolution concept.
About my work: I am the author of several visionary fantasy/adventure books and mystery/thrillers – YA and adult. Soon, I will start a non-fiction series, long in the planning. In addition to highly engaging plots and memorable characters, all my books carry strong and important messages. Incidentally, I am launching THE EARTH SHIFTER, Stepford USA and GOLD TRAIN (2nd edition) paperbacks, and from April 10 to May 5, I’ll be doing virtual book tour. If you are interested in showcasing (and/or reviewing) any of my books, please let me know! You can find all my books here. Or visit my official author site at LadaRay.com.
THE EARTH SHIFTER Book Tour begins on 4/10! Stay tuned!
GO TO YA REVOLUTION PAGE FOR MORE ON HOW TO PARTICIPATE
Related articles
- Announcement: Introducing the New AUTHOR FEATURE SERIES! (ladaray.wordpress.com)
- Why YA is Perfect for Moms (runwalksmile.wordpress.com)
- Defining Young Adult Literature (readfulthingsblog.com)
- Too much A in YA? (readfulthingsblog.com)
- Unexpected Spiritual Themes (And Creepy Faeries) In YA Paranormal Romance (rockandsling.com)
- The Girl “Problem”: Reading Girls in Young Adult Literature (teachread.wordpress.com)
- Return of Blog – Diversity in YA (fallsintowriting.com)
- The “Problem” with Teens (teachread.wordpress.com)
The Master and Margarita
Sorcerers (Charodei), movie poster.
