Interview With Olivia Abtahi!

 

Hi, everyone! Today I'm pleased to present an interview with Olivia Abtahi, the author of the upcoming YA novel, Perfectly Parvin, which releases May 18th!

The bold font are the questions I asked, the regular font are her answers, and the bold italic font are my comments about her answers.

Would you please describe your book, Perfectly Parvin, in seven words?

Funny, Heartfelt, Ridiculous, Iranian, Delicious, Diverse, True 

What are some of your favorite Contemporary YA books?

Oh my gosh, this question is so hard! I think right now some of my favorites are "Watch Over Me," By Nina LaCour, "Emergency Contact," by Mary H.K. Choi, and "Frankly in Love," By David Yoon! 

I haven't read any of these, but I've heard great things about all of them! :)

Random Question! Do you listen to music while you write?

Yes! I have playlists for each of my manuscripts, and while I'm drafting I will listen to whatever Spotify tells me I'll like. It seems to work pretty well! 

What’s one piece of advice you would give aspiring authors?

Find your voice. I tried so hard to stick to the flowery language I'd see other authors use before realizing that that's just not my style. Rewatch your favorite movies and TV shows and figure out what you love about them. Re-read your favorite books or listen to your favorite albums and dissect why they speak to you. Take all those favorite parts of the things you love and write something that is inherently you. Start from your favorites and your novel will become another favorite, too.

I think this is excellent advice! :)

What are some books you’re looking forward to reading in 2021? And if you’ve already read some ‘21 books, would you like to mention them?

I can't wait to read "Black Buck," by Mateo Askaripour and "The Legacies" by Abdi Nazemian. I was also lucky enough to read Charlie Jane Anders' "Victories Greater Than Death," that's coming out next year and let me tell you: it is so epic and fun that I cannot wait to buy a dozen copies and hand them out to my friends! 

I haven't heard of these before! *goes to look them up on Goodreads*:)

Thank you to Olivia Abtahi for participating in this event! :)

Author Bio: Growing up in the DC area, Olivia devoured books and hid in empty classrooms during school to finish them. Her debut novel, Perfectly Parvin, will be published with Penguin Random House Putnam Books For Young Readers, with forthcoming novels from LEE & LOW Tu Books. In her spare time Olivia enjoys binging music videos on YouTube, laughing so hard she can’t breathe, and hitting 10,000 steps on her FitBit. She currently lives in Denver, Colorado, with a husband she met in high school and a tortoiseshell cat that has opinions about everything.

Here Are a Few Links:

Her Website

Her Twitter

Her Instagram