Meet Some #UtopYA2014 Lovelies (Unofficial): Allyson Gottlieb

Another day and another lovely from UtopYA 2014!

I first met Allyson online, and she invited me to come and speak on a panel at her high school with several other authors. Yes, I said high school. Allyson is the girl I wanted to be when I was a teenager—she’s already published with several manuscripts in the pipeline, and she just started her freshman year of college at Emerson in August.

Then, I got to see her again at UtopYA. Yay, me! Now, please join me in welcoming Allyson Gottlieb to my blog.

So, how’s college life so far?

Allyson: It’s going great! I’m so in love with Boston, though it hasn’t started snowing yet, so I may be singing a different tune when it does, hehe. My dorm is surprisingly big and beautiful, my suitemates are super nice, classes aren’t overwhelming, and the best part of all, I’m surrounded by all kinds of amazing creative people. Such a welcome change from high school.

Yes, let's definitely chat again after the first snow; nothing beats California winters. We must get together next time you’re back here! I’m sure you get asked this all the time, but when did you know you wanted to be an author?

Allyson: Well, I was seven years old when I wrote my first story. It was a dream that I didn’t want to forget, so I asked my dad to set me up a word document so I could write it down. From there, I just kept going. So I can’t pinpoint a specific moment in time when I knew this was what I wanted to do with my life, but it’s kind of always been there, and as I got old enough to think about career choices and stuff I just gradually realized there wasn’t anything else I could see myself doing. (That’s not to say I’m planning on trying to support myself with my writing straight out of college—it’s a nice fantasy, but I know the odds of that are slim, haha.)

You never know. Never give up on the dream. You are off to an amazing start. Speaking of your writing, tell us about your Mortal Sin series. But, first, I have to share the covers... 

Allyson: The Mortal Sin saga is a serial, with approximately 20k words to an installment and designed to be released one a month. (We’ll see if I can continue churning them out at that rate, LOL!) The basic plotline is that seven young adults (ages 16-20) have been infected with demon energy representing the seven deadly sins. It deals with a lot of complex moral issues—one of the big questions the characters face is “what does it mean that this demon chose me? Am I a bad person?” And all of them approach that in very different ways. I do touch on the religion angle a bit, because you can’t really do the seven deadly sins without it, but it’s definitely not a “religious book.” And of course, there are some fun romantic subplots and complications that go along with that. 

Sounds intriguing. What’s up after the Mortal Sin saga?

Allyson: It’s interesting that you ask, because I have a couple of different things I’m working on right now and I’m still not sure what’s coming out first. There’s the first book of my NA dystopian series, which I’ve been tinkering with for several months now and had planned to release in the spring of 2015. But I recently bought a cover from a flash sale—because I just couldn’t resist—for an NA paranormal romance that’s been kicking around in my head for a bit, so you may see that from me before anything else. (NOTE: I write “clean NA”, aka no explicit sexy-times. My characters do occasionally steam up some windows, but they get to have a bit of privacy if and when they do the deed.) No matter what, I plan to have a couple different things out in paperback before UtopYA 2015. The Mortal Sin saga also has a spin-off full-length novel (I can’t say anything more until the serial is complete, because spoilers), so that will be written at some point, though the way things are going, it likely won’t be ready for a while.

Finally, what was your favorite part of UtopYA2014?

Kassandra Kush, Jesse Daniels
& Allyson

Allyson: God, this is such an impossible question! I loved everything—meeting the incredible people I’d talked to online for so long (including my author BFF Kassandra Kush, who I’d never met in person until that weekend), forging new and amazing connections, collecting awesome swag, learning so much from the panels, drooling over cover models, getting a pep talk from the fantabulous Janet Wallace...

For a girl who spent most of high school feeling like an outsider, UtopYA was everything I could’ve possibly hoped for and more. It was finding that community I’d always wanted, that group of people who believed in me. It was exactly what I needed to remind me that my dreams are worthwhile.

Quick Questions…

Favorite Punctuation Mark: Semicolon

Ocean or Mountains? Ocean

Favorite Dessert: Cheesecake

Shower or bath?  Long, hot shower

Sweet or Sour? Sweet

I hope I’ll see you at next year’s UtopYA and the next time you are in Cali.

Allyson: Absolutely! I’ll be home for a month around Christmas, we should definitely get coffee or something. I miss all my UtopYA Lovelies. J

More about Allyson

Growing up, Allyson was always the girl with a big imagination and even bigger dreams. A California girl by birth, she currently lives in Boston while attending Emerson College. She has a slight addiction to Starbucks, eyeliner, and chocolate—and, of course, books.

Website: http://www.allysongottlieb.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AllysonGottliebAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/GottliebAllyson

Tumblr: http://allysongottlieb.tumblr.com

Please come back for more #UtopYA2014 Lovelies (Unofficial), and check out the announcement post to see the schedule.