Sourcebooks Fire Week: Living in the Time of Covid-19, by author Miranda Kenneally

This week at TLT we are hosting Sourcebooks Fire week. Every day we will share a guest post by a Sourcebooks Fire author. Today we’re going to kick it all off will a post by author Miranda Kenneally, who gets real with us about living in the time of Covid-19. Check back daily as we will be having a giveaway as well.

I’m thrilled to join the Teen Librarian Toolbox for a guest post today. I don’t know about you guys, but trying to concentrate during the COVID-19 pandemic has been difficult. Okay, it’s been nearly impossible.

And that’s okay.

During this time, doctors, psychologists, and self-help blogs are telling us to be nice to ourselves, to take care of our safety and health foremost, and then try to come up with schedule that works for us. We shouldn’t try to meet all our goals like we normally would. It’s just not possible. Some things simply won’t get done right now. We should focus on our highest priorities.

We’re all worried about our friends and family getting sick. Some of them already are. We’re saddened by the rising death toll. We’re all trying to make sure we have enough food and paper products as we shelter in place. Things are not normal, so we shouldn’t be operating as if they are.

To that point, I had a heck of a time coming up with a focused blog post. My mind went in a billion different directions. Truth be told, even in normal times, I have trouble blogging. So, in the vein of being nice to myself, I’ve decided to share with you all a list of things I’ve been thinking about, in hope that you as readers, librarians, authors, teachers, etc. find it relatable and may have similar or additional thoughts.

• I’m currently writing a sexy book that takes place mostly outdoors at a music festival and the beach. As with all my books, my characters can’t keep their hands off each other. Even as I’m writing, I keep thinking they should be physically distancing themselves. They shouldn’t be holding hands or kissing! I guess I’ll have to set the book in a pre-2020 world. What will books look like going forward?

• Who is going to sell the first COVID-19 YA, where two characters fall in love during an online class and conduct a hot romance over Zoom?

• How in the world will we go back to wearing work clothes, bras, and makeup after this?

• Call me morbid, but I’ve always been interested in dystopian and apocalyptic stories. Some of my favorites include The Day After Tomorrow, Shaun of the Dead, and World War Z (book and movie). Have y’all ever noticed how quickly the apocalypse happens in these stories? For instance, in the novel Station Eleven, a virus takes over the world quickly and civil order breaks down in a matter of days. In real life, this COVID-19 pandemic is slow moving and yes, it sucks we’re stuck at home as we’re trying to flatten the curve and many of us are worried about money and our jobs, but I’m really happy with how people are taking the virus seriously and working to keep each other safe. I’m grateful to everyone who’s supporting their local businesses, including bookstores, so that they can stay open and hopefully survive this unprecedented time. If you have the means to buy a book from your local indie or Barnes & Noble, buy a gift card from a local business, or order takeout from your local restaurants, thank you for doing so!

• I’m worried for our pets. They clearly know something bad’s going on. How upset will they be when we go back to work?

• I deeply feel for the debut authors whose first books are coming out during this time. Authors spend years working on their books and when they come out, we all want to celebrate with a fun launch party or dinner/drinks out with friends and family, and it’s sad debuts aren’t getting that opportunity right now. In the publishing world, the sales of your first book are a big deal and influence your career moving forward. Please buy debut books from B&N or your local indie! For my next book order, I’m planning to buy THE BEST LAID PLANS by Cameron Lund and THE PERFECT ESCAPE by Suzanne Park.

• While I’m not a debut author, my new book, FOUR DAYS OF YOU AND ME, comes out May 5. It’s my first book in over three years and it’s my first time writing in a world outside of my Hundred Oaks novels (including CATCHING JORDAN, which is scheduled to be re-released this June). After the 2016 election, I had a tough time writing anything. I barely wrote a word in 2017. I worked on FOUR DAYS OF YOU AND ME throughout 2018 and 2019, and I’m so excited to share it with readers.

• FOUR DAYS OF YOU AND ME is about an on-again, off-again couple set over four years of high school. It mostly takes place on one day each year. I decided to write this book because in high school, many of us kept gravitating back to the same people over and over again. Some of those relationships were healthy, and some were not. I wanted to write a fun, but realistic, depiction of how people change and mature over four years of high school.

• While I’m disappointed that I won’t be able to attend book festivals and bookstore events and tell you about this book in person, I know I’ll see you again in the future. See you online!

About The Four Days of You and Me

A new swoon-worthy romance following a couple’s love story on the same date over four years.

Every May 7, the students at Coffee County High School take a class trip. And every year, Lulu’s relationship with Alex Rouvelis gets a little more complicated. Freshman year, they went from sworn enemies to more than friends after a close encounter in an escape room. It’s been hard for Lulu to quit Alex ever since.

Through breakups, make ups, and dating other people, each year’s class trip brings the pair back together and forces them to confront their undeniable connection. From the science museum to an amusement park, from New York City to London, Lulu learns one thing is for sure: love is the biggest trip of all. 

Coming May 5th, 2020. ISBN: 9781492684138

Meet Miranda Kenneally

Growing up in Tennessee, Miranda Kenneally dreamed of becoming an Atlanta Brave, a country singer (cliché!), or a UN interpreter. Instead she writes and works for the State Department in Washington, D.C., where George W. Bush once used her shoulder as an armrest. Miranda loves Twitter, Star Trek and her husband. Visit www.mirandakenneally.com.

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