Blog Tour: Tonight the Streets Are Ours by Leila Sales

Today, I'm more than thrilled to highlight an absolutely amazing contemporary by one of my favorite authors, Leila Sales. Tonight the Streets are Ours is the story of Arden Huntley, a "recklessly loyal" girl who decides to road trip to find her favorite blogger when he posts about his break-up. What follows is surprising and true, but we'll expound on that in tomorrow's review. Today, in honor of the book's release and September 19th's hashtag event, #tonightthestreetsareours, we'll be switching up the usual blog tour format. Instead of talking to Leila, she'd like me to answer her questions about being a blogger.

Photo credit: Franck Goldberg

Leila: What's the hardest part about being a blogger?

Danielle: Time. 

I work 60+ hours a week at my day job and I have an apartment, a husband, and a cat that all require some sort of daily attention. (Rude, right?) I read a book every other day, which means about 2 hours a day of reading, and each review takes an additional 2 hours to write, format, post, and cross post to GR. I can't even begin to calculate how much time I spend networking, reading others' blogs, commenting, trying to keep up with pub news...I try to post two to three times a week, but sometimes it's all I can do to tweet a star rating. 

In TONIGHT THE STREETS ARE OURS Peter purposefully keeps his blog a secret from his friends and family so he can write whatever he wants about them. What do your friends and family think about your blog? Do they read it and comment on it?

My family is aware of the existence of my blog, but despite multiple links in all of my social media profiles, I'm not sure any of them have ever visited. Occasionally my husband and girlfriend will comment on my GR account, but they never cross over here. 

I think that's OK, though, because I've been more brutally open about my mental health issues than I think I could be if I thought they were reading.

What's your favorite comment you've ever gotten?

I don't even have to look it up; I keep it over my desk to remind me why I blog.

Dear Danielle,

There are a lot of firsts for a first-time author. In my day job as an editor, I've seen most of them. Two are pretty inevitable: the first bad review and the first good review.

I've seen most of them for the writers I've worked with, but now it's my own book out there. It's a very different thing to experience these firsts for your own work.

Thank you, Danielle, for my very first good review--hell, my very first great review. It means so much, and I don't suspect I'll ever forget it.

Sincerely,

Harrison Demchick

That came in September 26, 2012, in my first month of blogging. It was in response to my first ARC review. So you may not forget my review Mr. Demchick, and I'll never forget the day I realized bloggers make a difference.

Have you ever written a blog post that you later regretted?

Never a blog post, but I have regretted tweets. Blog posts take a lot of time to write and format, which has always given me the chance to step back. Tweets can be shot off without thought, and I have said thoughtless things in them.

(I did tell my husband I loved him for the first time in a blog post, but since that worked out, I'm not counting it.)

For how long have you been a blogger, and what inspired you to start blogging?

I've been book blogging for three years now, though I've been blogging in a lot of different iterations for more than a decade. (Reviews, creative writing, and personal blogs. Before Tumblr, before Blogger, before Livejournal and Xanga and Typepad, before Internet forums, we had a thing called Usenet that someone might, hypothetically post bad pre-teen poetry to. Please don't do the math.)

As for why blogging? Escapism, mostly, and a desire to feel heard. 

I faded out of the blogging world during/after college, but when my girlfriend went back to school, I was having trouble making new friends and I started spending a lot of time at the library. I missed talking about books with people. Then I read a book that was absolutely life changing(ly bad). I needed to tell someone, so I wrote 1400 words and stuck it up on Goodreads. Jessie, who's been with me since my Wheel of Time theory blog days, asked me to join her at Ageless Pages. It took me another 8 months before I was willing to jump in, but now I get to relax from my high stress job, make friends with whom I know I have something in common right off the bat, and talk about my absolute favorite thing with my favorite person.

Join the rest of the tour, and read everyone's answers, via these sites:

September 1- Reader of Fictions
September 3- Ticket to Anywhere
September 4- Alexa Loves Books
September 5- The Book Cellar
September 6- The Irish Banana
September 7- Adventures of a Book Junkie
September 8- Supernatural Snark
September 9- The Compulsive Reader
September 10- Miss Print
September 11- Book Rock Betty
September 12- Reading Teen
September 13- Ageless Pages Reviews
September 14- Perpetual Page Turner
September 15- Books and Whimsy
September 16- Fierce Reads

Tonight the Streets Are Ours

From the author of This Song Will Save Your Life comes a funny and relatable book about the hazards of falling for a person you haven’t met yet.

Seventeen-year-old Arden Huntley is recklessly loyal. Taking care of her loved ones is what gives Arden purpose in her life and makes her feel like she matters. But she’s tired of being loyal to people who don’t appreciate her—including her needy best friend and her absent mom.

Arden finds comfort in a blog she stumbles upon called “Tonight the Streets Are Ours,” the musings of a young New York City writer named Peter. When Peter is dumped by the girlfriend he blogs about, Arden decides to take a road trip to see him.

During one crazy night out in NYC filled with parties, dancing, and music—the type of night when anything can happen, and nearly everything does—Arden discovers that Peter isn’t exactly who she thought he was. And maybe she isn’t exactly who she thought she was, either.

Add it on Goodreads! Preorder it at Amazon, B&N, The Book Depository, or Books of Wonder.

Join in on social media with #TonightTheStreetsAreOurs.

Find Leila on her website or Twitter!

Plus, a challenge!

On Saturday, September 19, starting at sundown and going as late as you want, do something fun, make a record of it, and share it with the world. Using the hashtag #TonightTheStreetsAreOurs, instagram or tweet whatever happens in your night. If you’re going to a party, aimlessly driving around with friends, or watching a movie alone in your PJs, we want to hear about it.

Here’s why: We’re celebrating the launch of Leila Sales’s novel TONIGHT THE STREETS ARE OURS, the story of a 17-year-old girl who goes on an epic all-night road trip to NYC with her best friend in pursuit of her favorite blogger. It’s the sort of night where anything can happen, and almost everything does.

Now it’s your turn. Whatever you’re doing with your night, wherever you live, however old you are: you’re invited. Leila will be livestreaming her own nighttime adventures so you can join her remotely HERE. Or just do your own thing and post it online. We are all in this together.  #TonightTheStreetsAreOurs.

As we gear up for the big night, invite your friends, and leave a comment below with a story about some amazing night when the streets were yours. One lucky commenter on this page and three people who participate in the event on September 19 will win signed copies of the book.

Together, we will own this night.

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