What makes a successful young adult hero? In the case of Broody McHottiepants, a few book rejections, a couple glasses of wine, a quick wit, and a Twitter account.

Coming off a brutal round of querying in early 2015, Carrie DiRisio was mourning, just a little bit. Agents had yet to bite on her young adult novel, a book she'd written over the past while working full time and attending graduate school at the University of Pittsburgh. What did these people want? A brooding hunk? A handsome hero, fond of glaring and silence, but also prone to occasional bursts of wit and chivalry? Well, she'd give him to them.