Guest Post with Ada Adams

Photo Content from Ada Adams

At the age of five, Ada Adams read her first chapter book—Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren. Ever since that moment, she developed an intense passion for stories and characters found within the pages of literature.

In her career as an actress and a writer, Ada currently spends most of her days immersed in imaginary worlds. Much like the characters she enjoys playing and writing about, Ada is a martial artist with a Black Belt in Shotokan Karate. She is also a big proponent of lifelong learning, and has attained a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology (it aids in creating characters with unique quirks!) as well as a Master’s of Science in Education.

Ada strives to bring a fresh voice and perspective to fiction. She has been writing creatively for many years, and is an editor of a global fashion/literary magazine called VEUX. ReVamped is her debut novel.

She lives in Toronto, Canada, and enjoys adventurous nature hikes with her adorable puppies Cara and Oreo.
INSTAGRAM | GOODREADS

Series: Angel Creek
Paperback: 278 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace; 2 edition (December 22, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1481140892
ISBN-13: 978-1481140898

TEN THINGS YOU WOULD CHANGE ABOUT YOUR HIGH SCHOOL YEARS IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME.

Looking back at my high school experience, I’m pretty satisfied with how I chose to spend the four years. Yes, there were many ups and downs (no one said that growing up was easy!), but I always did my best to strive for balance between friends, cliques, academics, and boys. While there were certain things I would definitely like to go back in time and change, there were also some things that I feel like I managed to do well. So, without further ado, I present to you some things I would change (and some I wouldn’t!) about my high school years if I could go back in time.

SPEND LESS TIME OBSESSING OVER BOYS
I would have advised my high school self to not be so boy-crazy. A huge part of my high school career centered on guys: crushing on guys, talking about guys, thinking about guys, dating guys, breaking up with guys, more thinking about guys, etc.

Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t date many guys (I was kind of picky), but I can’t think of a time when my friends and I weren’t focused on boys in one way or another. Since I had a very varied group of friends (from different social and academic circles), I know that this wasn’t a thing specific girls did. Even the shyest, most achievement oriented girls were still somewhat boy-crazy. I think that all of us expected to find the love of our lives at fifteen, while sitting in Algebra class. Yes, it can happen, but the chances are that it will not. And that’s okay. It doesn’t have to.

Sometimes I wonder if it those guys were worth all our time and energy. What if we spent less time obsessing over whether or not they liked us back and did something else…even if it meant just having more fun, girly dates with friends? (Yikes! Why do I suddenly feel like a faux Carrie Bradshaw?!)

"OKAY...NOT ALL BOYS HAVE COOTIES"
I mentioned above that I would tell my high school self to cool it on the boy drama. At the same time, I think that being a little guy-crazy is a natural (and fun!) part of growing up and being in high school. It helps us learn what we want and don’t want in life.

If I hadn’t dated a “wrong guy” in high school, I wouldn’t have known how I didn’t want to be treated. If I hadn’t suffered a single break up (you know the type—a world-shattering break up with “the one” who turns out to be “so not the one”), perhaps I wouldn’t be as strong and grounded as I am today. If I hadn’t experienced silly infatuation, I wouldn’t have understood what love really is.

I guess my point is...guys can be fun—in the right doses. Find a balance. It’s okay to crush on guys in high school, but sometimes it should just be about flirting or having fun as friends instead of worrying about finding the love of your life.

"DON'T CRY OVER AN A-"
I was such a perfectionist about my grades. An A- on a Grade 9 Math test meant that my chances of getting into the university of my dreams were ruined. Ruined, I tell ya! If I could go back in time, I would definitely order myself to spend less time fretting over tiny mistakes on tests and assignments.

I only started to learn the importance of this near the end of my high school career thanks to an amazing AP Chemistry/Physics teacher, Mr. Charles, who helped change my view of grades. His lectures were so enlightening and I always felt like I learned tons, but his exams were killer. Or maybe it was just chemistry and physics that were the murderers. Either way, my grades in his class were the worst (by far!) on my transcript. Still, I learned more from him that I had from any other teacher in my entire high school career. Taking his classes taught me a lot about science, but it also taught me that school is not always about a little grade on a single piece of paper—it’s about an overall experience and the knowledge you gain along the way.

While I’m still a strong believe that good grades are extremely important and that you should always study hard and not slack off, I wish I could go back to my high school self (and my university self and my current self worrying about book ratings) and just say: “Take a deep breath and enjoy life! It’s going to be okay.”

"FRIENDS FIRST, ALWAYS."
I met one of my best friends, Julie, in Grade 9 (when she came up to me on the bus to tell me that I reminded her of Sandra Bullock, haha!) and we’re still best friends today. I think the reason our friendship stood the trial of such a turbulent time as high school was because we didn’t let anything get between us—especially not boys, gossip, and the cattiness of other girls. True friends are so hard to find, so if you happen to find one in high school, don’t let her/him go and make sure that you work to preserve that friendship.

"CLIQUES ARE LAME"
I never really wanted to fit into a specific clique at school. I was an enriched program nerd (and proud of it)/cheerleader /swimmer/president of the girl’s athletic association with a diverse group of friends, and I preferred it that way. In grade nine, I alternated between spending lunch with my cheerleading friends one day, my enriched classmates another, my drama group the third…Sometimes it was hard to belong “everywhere” and “nowhere” at the same time, but in the long run, though, I think that this helped make my high school career as memorable as it was. By the end of grade twelve, the cliques dissolved. Everyone was sitting together at lunch and the division between the people in our graduating class was practically nonexistent.

"GOSSIP IS LAME TOO"
Gossiping is a hurtful habit. And it’s so easy to fall into its trap. I always tried my best not to perpetuate gossip in high school. Was I perfect at it? Probably not. I’m sure that many of us are guilty of joining a conversation that took place behind someone’s back. Not with the intention to hurt them, but perhaps because it felt cool to be “in on it”.

The thing is, while you may not consciously be trying to cause pain or even realize that you’re doing it, gossip is a very powerful weapon. It’s bullying! You never know the painful impact your words could have on someone, so if I had to go back in time, I would tell my high school self to make sure not to get sucked into the evils of gossip. Ever.

No matter who you are, there is a good chance that someone will say something about you behind your back in high school. While it may be hard, it’s important to try to hold your head high and not let the painful rumors have effect on your well-being. People who create rumors and perpetuate gossip are usually unhappy on the inside, and therefore compensating for the pain in their lives by trying to hurt someone else. If I could go back in time, I would tell my high school self not to mind rumors and instead surround myself with happy, confident people who don’t get involved in gossip because they’re too busy enjoying life.

"EXPLORE INTEREST"
I’m very satisfied with how I divided up my academic and social time in high school. I took a variety of classes, ranging from “AP Calculus” and “Physics” to “Creative Writing” and “Drama”, and I never regretted doing this! I wanted to challenge myself with heavy subjects (and, okay, I loved math), but I also knew that I had to explore my writing and acting passions. My schedule was very balanced and I always had a creative outlet. I think it’s really important for high school students to explore their interests by utilizing a variety of different courses offered at their school. I also joined a lot of different sport teams and organizations in order to stay active in school life. The social aspect of high school is important as well, and I truly believe that in order to have a more wholesome experience in high school, students should immense themselves in the culture of the school as much as possible.

"DON'T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF"
A pimple on picture day brought on the apocalypse! The world actually came to an end! I’m not sure if it was the hormones or the fact that as teens we felt like we were the centre of the universe, but everything was so. very. dramatic. And it didn’t need to be. If I could speak to my high school self, I would tell her to not worry about the little things and focus on the big picture...even if that picture had a tiny little blemish in it.

"ENJOY BEING A TEEN!"
My friends and I couldn’t wait to get out of high school and go to university to “grow up” and “start our adult lives”. Now, as a legal adult (though still a teen at heart), I wish I could go back to my high school self and say: “Slow down and enjoy being a teenager! You’ll have an entire lifetime to be a boring, old adult!”

A simple mission turned deadly.

Nineteen-year-old vampire Dawn has led a sheltered life within the confines of her father’s presidential headquarters. Upon being sent on a mission to revamp four goofy misfits into guardians of a peaceful little town of Angel Creek, Dawn believes that all her dreams have finally come true. What starts off as a simple task, turns into something unexpected, changing Dawn’s life forever and leading the action-loving, thrill-seeking vampire teen on a path of mystery, danger and intrigue.

When a human girl is kidnapped by a group of rogue vamps, Dawn discovers that there is more going on in Angel Creek than meets the eye. And it all connects to Ethan, the cute newcomer who seems too perfect to be true, Sebastian, the mysterious vampire with a turbulent past, and even Dawn herself. Dawn must not only succeed in revamping the troubled recruits, but must also prevent the vampire race from being overtaken by a malevolent villain who has a strange and obsessive fascination with her. As threat escalates, romance blooms, and ghosts from her past begin to surface, Dawn is sure of only one thing: her life will never be the same.

The remarkable world that Ada Adams has brilliantly created in ReVamped is absolutely unique and amazing. It is a world where humans and vampires peacefully coexist to the extent that vampires are admired by humans. At first, it sounds over-the-top but Ada knew what she was getting into. She provides readers with rich and bold descriptive text that her creative world becomes interesting and admirable.

Nineteen year-old Dawn, a stern vampire-born warrior, is assigned a mission by her father, the Vampire President, to train four vampires in Angel Creek to become the town’s new guardians. The simple mission quickly turns out to be deadly when it becomes clear that she is being hunted. But who is hunting her? Why?

Ada’s debut novel had a touch of everything. From the paranormal/supernatural aspects to nonstop action, and the humor and romance, it filled the pages to maintain its readers’ interests throughout. The writing prose is very precise and stunning. It is amazingly descriptive with a story plot that thickens with each page turn. The twists and turns readers are exposed to are thrilling and highly captivating. Ada has a natural talent of getting readers hooked onto the story. When the story seems to be heading to the obvious, the rug is pulled right under the reader’s feet and is surprised with a shift in the storyline. ReVamped will have readers feeling emotions that have been absent for a while. A very fun and unique read and a great way to introduce a series. 

You can purchase ReVamped at the following Retailers:

    

And now, The Giveaways.

Thank you ADA ADAMS for making this giveaway possible.

2 Winners will receive a Signed Copy of ReVamped by Ada Adams.

1 Winner will receive a Signed Copy of ReAwakened by Ada Adams.
1 Winner will receive a Poster and Bookmark of a Surprise Art by JamesVallesteros.
10 Winners will receive One bookmark of a Surprise Art by James Vallesteros.

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