Tonya Kuper | Get Your Nerd On

Josie, the main character of my YA romantic scifi duology - ANOMALY and ENIGMA - is a nerd. She’s an unapologetic Star Wars lovin’, Trekkie to the core, bookworming, Marvel fangirling, doesn’t always fit in, quantum physics nerd. And that seemed to be the thing readers enjoyed most about Josie in ANOMALY.

The duology isn’t specifically about Josie being a nerd, but it is an important
aspect of Josie and Reid’s story. The nerdery is something I talk about when
speaking to groups of readers, specifically teens. I point out that Josie is
nerdy, but she’s also tough and feminine. Just because she’s nerdy doesn’t mean
she’s not attractive or “less than” in any way. But there’s so much more to the
nerdiness.

Like any main character, Josie has flaws and does plenty of things wrong, but she never apologizes for being a scifi and academic nerd. That was intentional. See, we’re all nerds in our own way. I believe the word nerd is synonymous with passionate. There are music nerds, science nerds, dance nerds, sports nerd, gaming nerds, comic book nerds, writing nerds, band nerds, book nerds, theater nerds, art nerds, fashion nerds, history nerds, math nerds, and everything in between. It means those people are passionate about whatever they’re into, and there is nothing wrong with that. In fact, that’s awesome! People who are passionate about something oftentimes put time and effort into it, talk about it, and take action. Our world needs more people who love something so much, who are passionate about something that they take some kind of action. People who are passionate and take action make a difference. Let’s shift the connotation of the word nerd from negative to positive. Will you help me that?

No matter what kind of nerd you are, embrace it, own it. Be a nerd and be proud.
Get your nerd on!