Hi! You found your way over to Austin Aslan during the final farewell Fall 2020 YA Scavenger Hunt! Congratulations. You probably arrived here via Darcy Woods. Awesome. (And my Team Purple #YASH host is Heather L. Reid. Check it out!)

If you happen to not know what the heck I’m talking about, Go to the YA Scavenger Hunt page to find out all about the hunt. And if you’re experiencing any technical glitches, don’t worry, Glitch Happens. Go here for some tasty medicine.

Now, without further ado…let’s YASH!

144 (ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY-FOUR)

AND NOW NOW, without further ado-doo, here’s the  MAIN EVENT! I’M HOSTING Paula Stokes.

Paula Stokes is author of Stellar. Fun, funny, and feminist af, Stellar is a story of best friends, first love, and learning to believe in yourself.

Read the book link: https://www.swoonreads.com/a/paulastokes/CU1OHJ/

Book Description: In the unforgiving world of popular video game Project Survival, seventeen-year-old Stella takes no prisoners. Her ability to annihilate both human and computer-generated enemies with the help of her partner Betsy earns the girls a chance to compete in the national championships in Seattle. But claiming victory isn’t the only reason Stella’s excited to head north. It’s also a chance for her to meet Noah, a Project Survival newbie she took under her wing a few months ago who’s become more to her than just another player—a lot more.

When the two finally meet, Noah is even cuter in person than in the pictures he sent Stella, but for some reason the real-world chemistry doesn’t match the intensity of their late-night chats. Is it possible that the boy of her dreams doesn’t exist IRL?

With a huge cash prize on the line, Stella must navigate the dangerous terrain of Project Survival and her own conflicting emotions, even as she discovers that the lines between real life and online are blurrier than she ever imagined.

Paula: Hi YASH-ers! I’m really psyched to be participating in the final YA Scavenger Hunt. I haven’t managed to sell a book to a publisher since my seaside mystery HIDDEN PIECES, but that hasn’t stopped me from maintaining my goal of releasing one book a year. (Can’t stop won’t stop!) Last year I released STRONGER THAN WORDS on Wattpad and the free SwoonReads platform, as well as re-releasing my NA novel THE KEY TO EVERYTHING on Wattpad.

This year I’m thrilled to share my girl gamer internet romance, STELLAR, for free on the SwoonReads platform. You can also read the first few chapters on Wattpad. STELLAR is probably my second favorite out of all my books (behind GIRL AGAINST THE UNIVERSE) because like GATU it hits that balance of being both hopeful and realistic. It’s funny and empowering, and although I am a former gamer, the tournament is mainly the backdrop to Stella’s journey of discovering who she is and what she wants, both in love and in life. You don’t have to know anything about video games to enjoy this novel.

Enough of my blathering. Here’s the cover:

I worked with independent graphic designer Diana Zhang in creating this cover. I wanted to capture the iconic Seattle setting, as well as the romance element. And I think the Neon One font adds a bit of whimsy. I’m thrilled with how it turned out. What do you think of this cover? Share your thoughts in the comments