Blog Tour Guest Post with Kelley York.

When to Let Go by Kelley York 

We all get attached to our stories and our characters. We want so badly to see them succeed. After we've put in months—sometimes years—to make something of a book, it's hard to imagine just...setting it aside. Forgetting about it. Moving on.

I see authors out there with a book. Maybe it's a bad book, maybe it's a really effing terrific book. Either way, they haven't had luck placing it with a publisher or an agent.

So, they revise.

They rework.

They edit.

Months of fixes. Possibly years. And still, nothing.

Meanwhile, you might ask them, "What else are you working on?" and they will pause and say, "Nothing. I've been spending all my time on this book, so..."

This isn't a good thing. Of course it's great to edit the hell out of all your books, preferably before sending them out into the wild. But how long before you decide enough is enough and that, just maybe, this book is good but it isn't good enough? How long do you wait before you realize it's time to move on and write something else?

I don't think there's any definitive answer. I queried my first book for over a year (with a few-months break in the middle to hugely revise). I had a few close calls so I kept thinking I just had to find the one.

But the one never came.

Looking back, I'm thankful for that. Because with every book you write, the more you grow. The stronger your writing becomes. Honestly, I'm glad it was HUSHED, my second book, that finally made it because it was so much stronger than my first. Just as my third book was stronger than my second...and the one I'm working on now? Will be stronger still.

We learn. We adapt. We change and we grow.

But that won't happen if you're stuck on one project, trying to patchwork it to perfection.

If you have something you've been trying to place for way too long and it's keeping you stagnant, keeping you from moving forward, from working on something else...it might be time to let go. Your muse will thank you for it. 

Author Bio: Kelley was born and raised in central California, where she still resides with her lovely wife, daughter, and an abundance of pets.  (Although she does fantasize about moving across the globe to Ireland.)  She has a fascination with bells, adores all things furry - be them squeaky, barky or meow-y - is a lover of video games, manga and anime, and likes to pretend she's a decent photographer. Her life goal is to find a real unicorn. Or maybe a mermaid. Within young adult, she enjoys writing and reading a variety of genres from contemporary with a unique twist, psychological thrillers, paranormal/urban fantasy and horror. She loves stories where character development takes center stage.

Kelley's website: http://www.kelley-york.com/blog

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Hushed - Synopsis:
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He's saved her. He's loved her. He's killed for her.

Eighteen-year-old Archer couldn't protect his best friend, Vivian, from what happened when they were kids, so he's never stopped trying to protect her from everything else. It doesn't matter that Vivian only uses him when hopping from one toxic relationship to another - Archer is always there, waiting to be noticed.

Then along comes Evan, the only person who's ever cared about Archer without a single string attached. The harder he falls for Evan, the more Archer sees Vivian for the manipulative hot-mess she really is.

But Viv has her hooks in deep, and when she finds out about the murders Archer's committed and his relationship with Evan, she threatens to turn him in if she doesn't get what she wants...And what she wants is Evan's death, and for Archer to forfeit his last chance at redemption.

Amazon: Click this link to buy Hushed

Barnes & Noble: Click this link to buy Hushed

Read Jess's review for Hushed - Epic Rating!

'Kelley York delivers in this impressive debut. I was at the edge of my seat waiting to see what would happen next! Bottom line, this was unputdownable!!!

--YA Fantasy Guide--

A Review for Hushed by Kelley York

 Posted by Jess
Published Date: December 6th, 2011 
Finished Date: November 5th, 2011
Source: For Review 
Format: e-book
Pages: Unknown


The Blurb: He’s saved her. He’s loved her. He’s killed for her.

Eighteen-year-old Archer couldn’t protect his best friend, Vivian, from what happened when they were kids, so he’s never stopped trying to protect her from everything else. It doesn’t matter that Vivian only uses him when hopping from one toxic relationship to another—Archer is always there, waiting to be noticed.

Then along comes Evan, the only person who’s ever cared about Archer without a single string attached. The harder he falls for Evan, the more

Archer sees Vivian for the manipulative hot-mess she really is.

But Viv has her hooks in deep, and when she finds out about the murders

Archer’s committed and his relationship with Evan, she threatens to turn him in if she doesn’t get what she wants… And what she wants is Evan’s death, and for Archer to forfeit his last chance at redemption.

The Review: “He squeezed his eyes shut. A hand brushed his shoulder. Why did he always do that? Touch and go. It drove him crazy. Then Evan’s arms were sliding around him and all complaints vanished.”

I don’t even know what to say. If I could rate this book a 10, I so would. But it’s not even that, it’s just how incredible this book was. It’s something completely out of what I would normally read and I didn’t think I would love it. But God, I loved it. So much.  I loved it so much that I read it in one sitting, and now I only wish I had stalled and not read so fast. This is truly a wonderful read and had become on my favourite reads of 2011 so far.

Everything about Hushed is intense. The book starts of pretty grim with Archer persuading someone (I won’t mention who for fear of spoiling) to kill themselves on pain killers and vodka. Yeah, pretty gritty. And it doesn’t really ease up after that. Archer has tried to protect his best friend Vivian since they were kids, and after a horrible event that took place when they were kids, Archer swore to himself that he’d do anything to protect Vivian. And he does.

This book touches on some issues, unhealthy obsession, betrayal, homosexuality, murder, and even mental issues. It’s pretty intense throughout the book and even though Archer is supposed to be the ‘bad guy’ you can’t help but feel bad for him. His friendship (if you can call it that) with Vivian is not a healthy one. He’s always there, he’s sort of attracted to her but she won’t have him. She looks him over for the jerks that beat her up. Archer at first doesn’t really question his friendship with Vivian he just does what she wants, he goes where she wants him to. Beck. And. Call! It isn’t until Evan enters Archer’s life that Archer starts to feel that there are others out there that might care about him like he cares about Vivian. And it’s Evan that brings Archer back to life so to speak, he grounds him, he anchors him, he loves him. I loved Evan and Archer’s relationship, this is another love that was slow to build, Archer being very unsure of himself and others, thinking he couldn’t trust anyone but Vivian. But as he gets to know Evan more and more, he starts to fall for him. Now this is the first time I’ve read a book on Homosexuality, and I’m not against it AT ALL. In fact I find gay story lines some of the more romantic than the straight ones. It’s a wonderful moment when Archer frees himself and allows to be loved by Evan and it’s at that moment that you want nothing more than for the supposed bad guy, to get his happy ending. Kelly wrote their love wonderfully and I loved every moment shared between them, and I sighed and swooned anytime they were together and thought that there has never been a love more perfect than theirs. Watch out for that shower scene, it’s a beautiful moment because its unexpected and something that comes easily after so much tension. And it was this particular relationship between two people that surpasses all other relationships that I’ve read about in other YA novels.

Vivian at first I liked her...and it wasn’t until she became obsessed and jealous of Archer and Evan’s relationship that you finally see that she’s in fact the demon that has poisoned Archer all his life. She ultimately isn’t a very nice person at all, and I didn’t like her one bit. I found myself rooting for Archer all the way through and I’m glad he got his happy ending...sort of.

I commend Kelley for writing a book that not only touches on some serious issues but somehow manages to create characters that feel so real that you simply connect with them on some level (murder aside obviously).  She’s created a bad guy or a supposed bad guy and made you love him.

Hushed is a fast paced read that leaves you on the edge of your seat all the way through. It’s a pretty suspenseful thriller questioning and wishing for things that may or may not happen. Anyway I urge anyone to read Hushed and I hope you enjoy it. I most definitely did. I do urge that the mature YA community read this, just for some scenes of murder, blood, and a steamy scene in the shower...I'd say around 16+ would be best with regards to age.

Thank you to Entangled Publishing for allowing me to review this.