Happy Sunday and welcome to my interview with Hope Bolinger and Alyssa Roat, authors of DEAR HERO! I’m so excited to share my interview with you today, plus more information about the book and authors!
Dear Hero by Hope Bolinger, Alyssa Roat Published on September 28, 2020 by INtense Publications
Genres: YA, Contemporary, Romance, Fantasy, Superheroes
Pages: 430
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Cortex and V need a new nemesis. Cortex's last villain dumped him, and V got a little overeager and took out her hero prematurely. They meet on Meta-Match, a nemesis pairing site for heroes and villains. After throwing punches at each other behind coffee shops and hiring henchman to do their bidding (mostly just getting them coffee), they realize they have a lot more in common than meets the eye. And they may have a lot more hero and villain inside than they realize.
If you could trade lives with any YA character for a day, who would it be and why? What about a week? A month, year, or forever?
Ohhh this is so hard. If we’re talking in the DH world, definitely V. She’s badass. If we’re talking YA in general, I would still probably pick V. Alyssa did a great job with her, and who doesn’t love throwing daggers at people?
What would you do if you spent the day with Cortex and V? Where would you go to eat, hang out, relax, etc.?
Knowing them, we’re probably going to some sketch bowling alley and throwing punches at each other. But I’d probably just bring popcorn and watch the show. They’re also fans of roller coasters and movie nights. So when this pandemic is over, I’d love to join them and catch up on the latest superhero flick.
If Cortex and V were to hang out with characters from other YA books, who would they be and why?
Hmm good question. Cortex is certainly an extrovert, so honestly I think he’d hang with a ton of people. I think he’d love a lot of the characters from Frankly in Love, Hot Dog Girl, or any John Green book. Basically anyone with a sarcastic sense of humor. As long as they aren’t eyeing his girl. Because then he might break out into a fight scene 😉
What was your favorite bit of research you ended up not using?
Oooh good question. A lot of intricacies of how powers work didn’t end up in it. We had to research a lot about copyright and make sure we didn’t step on any toes of the major superhero players. We also send the characters to a lot of places in the United States where one or both of us hadn’t been, so a lot of digging into locations didn’t really make it into the book. And of course reading loads of other epistolary novels to get an idea of the style of the genre. As much as we would love to throw some Illuminae Files and I Hate Everyone but You in there, it wouldn’t fit. But we do love those authors for helping to pioneer this new genre that’s taking YA fiction by storm in 2020 and 2021.
What is your favorite quote, scene, or moment from Dear Hero?
Aaah so hard. But I think mine has to be this because I relate so hard
V: I have friends. You. Fluffy. Mr. Flappers.
Bernard (V’s Henchman): The cat and stingray do not count as friends. They are pets.
But of course any scene where sparks fly between V and Caleb has me going. We shipped them so hard. They never stood a chance.
Were there alternate endings you considered, or did you always know where the story was headed?
We did have a clear idea-ish of how we wanted it to end, but because we had to rely on each other to get the story there, we didn’t have a guarantee if it was going to happen. Spoiler: Be we do want somewhat of a HEA in this. Whether or not we got there is a whole other story.
If you could trade lives with any YA character for a day, who would it be and why? What about a week? A month, year, or forever?
I think Lila Bard from V. E. Schwab’s Darker Shade of Magic series. I absolutely love the magic system and world, and Lila is such a firecracker.
What would you do if you spent the day with Cortex and V? Where would you go to eat, hang out, relax, etc.?
I’m pretty sure V and I would bond over our love of knives and dangerous aquatic creatures while Hope and Cortex choreographed fights. We would have to pick an action movie to watch, and preferably have breakfast for dinner.
If Cortex and V were to hang out with characters from other YA books, who would they be and why?
I think V and Caelena from Throne of Glass would be buds, bonding over tragic backstories, sarcasm, and creative assassination techniques.
What was your favorite bit of research you ended up not using?
I looked up how much it costs to hire a choreographer in the Tucson, AZ area. Turned out Cortex and V cashed in a favor instead of hiring one, which is good, because it’s expensive!
What is your favorite quote, scene, or moment from Dear Hero?
I love so many quotes. The sarcastic humor is strong. I think I’m a big fan of the comebacks. Like this one:
Kevin: Make a wish 😉 I’m staring at you guys from an upstairs window.
V: I wish for you to fall out of that window.
As for moments…there is a certain moment with a dragon plushie that melts my heart every time. But, spoilers.
Were there alternate endings you considered, or did you always know where the story was headed?
We knew where we were going, but we didn’t know exactly how we were going to get there. And there was a major plot twist neither of us saw coming 😉
Hope Bolinger is a literary agent at C.Y.L.E. and a graduate of Taylor University’s professional writing program. More than 800 of her works have been featured in various publications ranging from Writer’s Digest to Keys for Kids to HOOKED to Crosswalk.com. She writes about 250-300 articles a year. Her modern-day Daniel, “Blaze,” (Illuminate YA) released in 2019, and the sequel “Den” released in 2020. The final installment Vision releases in August 2021.
Her superhero romance she co-wrote with Alyssa Roat releases from INtense Publications in September 2020. Sequel Dear Henchman set to release in April 2021. Her favorite way to procrastinate is by connecting with readers on Instagram and Twitter @hopebolinger. Find out more about her at hopebolinger.com
Alyssa Roat studied professional writing at Taylor University. She is a literary agent at C.Y.L.E., the publicity manager at Mountain Brook Ink, and a freelance editor with Sherpa Editing Services. She has had 200+ bylines in publications ranging from The Christian Communicator to Keys for Kids. Find out more about her here and on social media @alyssawrote.
Hope Bolinger
Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Instagram
Alyssa Roat
Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Instagram
What’s your favorite multi-authored book? Let me know in the comments and have a splendiferous day!
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