TheGeekhoodGuy

I agree with the the whole romance thing, if it's a shoehorn. Too often, authors are almost told that they need a love-triangle in a plot, to make it appeal. Chrissy makes a good point that there are other types of relationship to explore and friendship between boys is something I've tried to take a look at. Ironically, the thrust of my book is about a boy trying to make a girl 'like' him, but it's the interaction between him and his friends that's the foundation for everything he does, right or wrong. Personally, I don't like the whole thing with hot guys and hot girls, which is why I went for a geek. I also don't like the whole 'it turns out OK in the end' thing because, in my experience, it rarely does - and I've tried to reflect that. Love might be the topic that most songs are written about but in a vehicle that gives you so much more room to manoeuvre, I think there are other avenues to have a march down.

Both my books (the Geekhood books) have bullying in them. I don't offer any answers; I wish I could - but I don't know what they are. In my experience as a bullied kid, the bullies rarely get their comeuppance - at least not in the way Hollywood films tell us they do. It's a tough subject and all I can offer is a look inside the head of a character who suffers at the hands of bullies and how this can impact on their lives. More importantly, my books deal with what happens if you keep your problems to yourself; bullying is still something YAs are afraid to talk about - to each other or to adults who might be able to help. If we could break down those walls, something positive might happen.

Evening all, I'm Andy Robb and I wrote Geekhood: Close Encounters of the Girl Kind and Geekhood: Mission improbable. They're both contemporary YA books. I'm ready for any questions - fire at will!

Hi, folks - and thanks to Michelle for mentioning my book! I think people tend to forget just how funny our teenage years are - primarily because of how extreme we are at that age; there's no such thing as a 'flatline' of a day - it's all massive peaks and troughs. Without realising it, teens can be some of the funniest people on Earth - much like Basil Fawlty was, because of his extremes of behaviour. But the other thing about humour is that it does allow you to slip some serious stuff under the radar; issues that might be a bit heavy or sensitive can sneak in and be presented in a much more accessible way. That's not to say that every gag should have a huge, moral undercurrent - but it is a good way of communicating messages without actually overstating them. There's my hat in the ring! Andy Robb