Hi, Jillian! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?

Hi! I’m the author of 15 novels for teens and adults. I’ve published contemporary, literary, and historical fiction and now I have just published my first dystopian YA, THE SEASON OF LIGHT AND DARKNESS out August 4^th with Simon Pulse.

When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?

I’ve always loved to read, from a very young age. I spent all my elementary school summers begging my mom to take me to the library and then I would check out as many books as the library would let me. I’d read them all in a few days and beg my mom to take me back for more. My first foray into writing fiction I was in 4^th grade and had a teacher who assigned us to write one short story each week for the whole year. I was hooked!

Quick lightning round! Tell us:

• The first book you ever remember reading: The entire Nancy Drew series.
• The one that made you want to become an author: The Great Gatsby
• The one that you can’t stop thinking about: The Handmaid’s Tale

Your latest novel, The Season of Light and Darkness, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?

Thaw, live, love, run, fight

What can readers expect?

The Season of Light and Darkness is a dystopian novel set in a near-future authoritarian America where science is outlawed. My main character Ellie’s father was a scientist working in cryogenics, and when the anti-science government first took power he attempted to freeze their family in order to stay safe. However, a lot went wrong, and the book starts when the government finds Ellie and thaws her years early. Meanwhile, her brother, Scott, and her best friend, Mateo, have been hiding out in the mountains with a band of teenage rebels and when they realize what’s happened to her, they have to leave their own safety to try and save her.

Where did the inspiration for The Season of Light and Darkness come from?

I love dystopian novels and I’ve always wanted to write one myself. I actually first started working on this book over ten years ago – it started for me with the idea of Ellie being frozen and then being thawed into a version of our world that she wouldn’t at all understand or recognize. But at the time I wasn’t really sure where the book went after she woke up or what the world would be like and I set it down for years. I really started thinking about it again in the aftermath of the Covid era, seeing people who refused to believe in science. That inspired me to pull the book out and keep working on it again.

Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?

All of them! I truly had so much fun writing this book, and when I finally came back to it after so many years the process was really effortless and joyful. But of the characters, I think Olivia ended up being my favorite to write. She’s the one character who’s fully embedded in the new anti-science world, having followed all the authoritarian rules. At least. . . initially.

Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?

The biggest challenge was my 10 year gap between writing the first 50 pages and writing the rest. And having the courage to pull those first 50 pages out of the proverbial drawer so many years later. It was time, distance, and not being able to forget these particular characters that brought me back to it after so long.

What’s next for you?

The sequel to The Season of Light and Darkness will be out in August 2027. I just finished writing that and I’m really excited for readers to discover what happens next for Ellie and her friends! And I’m currently working on writing my next adult novel, which will be out with Atria in summer 2028.

Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up? Any you’ve read so far this year that you’ve enjoyed?

I just got a copy of Sunlight Finds You by Laura Moriarty which I’ve been so excited to read. And I just finished reading an early copy of Brenda Janowitz’s The Introvert’s Guide to Kissing in Europe (out Aug 18^th) and really loved it!

Will you be picking up The Season of Light and Darkness? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Q&A: Jillian Cantor, Author of ‘The Season of Light and Darkness’ appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

This is the story of Emma Woodhouse, who is very good at everything to do with numbers, but when it comes to people and everything not quantifiable (such as feelings), she’s not that gifted. That being said, she is co-captains with her friend George of their high school’s coding club and they are in desperate need of a project for a competition.

When Emma’s sister expresses her concern over Emma’s lack of friends and romantic relationship, Emma comes up with a plan for coding club and starts working on an app that matches people according to their compatibility.

Emma is pretty content with people finding each other all over school thanks to her app. However, that feeling quickly changes when both George and Sam (who is pretty dreamy and new to the club) also start dating their matches…

The Code for Love and Heartbreak is a modernised, young adult retelling of Emma by Jane Austen. As a big Austen fan, I love modern adaptations, but I am also deeply suspicious of them because the potential to disappoint is just so, so big. This book however, did the exact opposite of disappoint. I could not put it down and I was absolutely immersed in the story. I even sent continuous voice messages to my friend that were just me squealing and yelling “I LOVE THEM” over and over. I couldn’t wait to read what would happen next, which is odd, because I have read Emma multiple times.

The characters are fully rounded and I absolutely adore how everyone has at least one weird but very lovable quirk. It is so great to see Emma realised as a modern, socially awkward tech nerd who is absolutely fierce and knows what she wants (most of the time). If you have read Emma, you will probably have an idea who she will end up with in the end. If you don’t, I bet you will not see it coming. That being said, I need to mention the pining because holy everything, the pining game is so strong and Emma is completely oblivious to it, which results in the reader having the best time. For me, that meant squealing while re-reading paragraphs, pages, or even whole chapters and, for me that also meant sending a voice memo to my friend after finishing the book saying: “My heart is beating so fast right now.”

This story is absolutely giddiness inducing and I cannot recommend it enough. Cantor’s writing is just so spellbinding and wonderfully romantic, that it is impossible not to be excited, not to gasp to fall in love and to swoon. This is the book for everyone who loves a good romance, everyone who loves Jane Austen, everyone who is a bit socially awkward themselves and most of all, everyone who loves a good book. Short and simple.

The Code for Love and Heartbreak is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of October 6th 2020.

Will you be picking up The Code for Love and Heartbreak? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis | Goodreads

From bestselling author Jillian Cantor comes a smart, edgy update of Jane Austen’s beloved classic Emma.

Emma Woodhouse is a genius at math, but clueless about people. After all, people are unreliable. They let you down—just like Emma’s sister, Izzy, did this year, when she moved to California for college. But numbers…those you can count on. (No pun intended.)

Emma’s senior year is going to be all about numbers, and seeing how far they can take her. When she and George, her Coding Club co-president, are tasked with brainstorming a new project, The Code for Love is born—a matchmaking app that goes far beyond swiping, using algorithms to calculate compatibility. George disapproves of Emma’s idea, accusing her of meddling in people’s lives. But all the happy new couples at school are proof that the app works. At least at first.

Emma’s code is flawless. So why is it that perfectly matched couples start breaking up, the wrong people keep falling for each other and her own feelings defy any algorithm? Emma thought math could solve everything. But there’s nothing more complex—or unpredictable—than love.

The post Review: The Code for Love and Heartbreak by Jillian Cantor appeared first on The Nerd Daily.