Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Monday, January 22, 2018
Hi guys, I'm so excited to "officially" share my good news here at We Heart YA!! Here's how it all happened:
Six years ago, I started writing a contemporary young adult book about an honors student who finds herself trapped in a dangerous life with her addict mother and a ruthless drug dealer. In October of 2016, a wonderful literary agent fell in love with my manuscript :) Six month after that, the story sold to a publishing house (yay!). And a few short months from now, my little book baby will be released into the wilds of the world (here's a link to prove it's not a dream).
My road to publication has been long and twisty, full of detours and potholes. And the journey didn't just start six years ago; it really started back in the 80s, when I was barely a young adult myself, pecking away on a dinosaur of a computer and writing my first novel. A lot of living and learning happened between then and now. Many, many dominoes fell into place to get me from there to here. And this past year has been nothing short of a dream come true. But it has also been a roller coaster ride, full of excitement and anxiety, exhilaration and terror. I know I'm not alone in this, so I'm planning to share a few articles about my experiences leading up to my (eeeep!) official pub date of April 3, 2018!
Next month I'll talk about what inspired the idea for the book as well as details about my publishing journey. But for now, I'd simply like to introduce you to Andrea -- my proud, beautiful-inside-and-out protagonist (hopefully someday she'll forgive me for torturing her) -- and her story, ALL OUT OF PRETTY...
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| All Out of Pretty - Creston Books - 4.3.18 |
Sixteen-year-old Andrea Hathaway knows what it's like to be pretty. Thanks to her gorgeous, drug-addicted mother, she also knows where pretty can lead...
When things with her mom's boyfriend take a darker turn than she can bear, Andrea devises a plan to save herself. But freedom may cost her everything—and everyone—she cares about.
Check it out on:
Saturday, April 27, 2013
While I was growing up, I was lucky enough to have several adults in my life that were really inspiring. From my third grade teacher, Mrs. Johnstone, who taught me a love for storytelling, to my ninth grade English teacher, Mr. Nicholson, who was the first person to tell me I was good at writing. These people were a big part of what shaped who I’ve become.
I’ve always loved films like Dead Poets Society, Mr. Holland’s Opus, and Freedom Writers that show how an adult who cares can leave a lasting mark on a kid’s life. I think those people really do exist. They’re not perfect, never as eloquent as in movies, and we don’t always appreciate their influence as it’s happening. But most of us have had at least one of those people in our lives.
I see these leaders a lot in Science Fiction and Fantasy — Dumbledore, Gandalf, etc. — but rarely is Contemporary YA. I heard a literary agent (who will not named… partly because I can’t remember who it was) define YA as always having the adults in the background. I don’t think this is true at all. One of the biggest parts of being a teenager is how you interact with the adults in your life.
I would love to read a Contemporary YA novel about the relationship between a kid and a parent, or a student and a teacher. There are a few out there, but it’s usually a subplot, never central to the storyline. Someone write one pretty please!
Thursday, August 30, 2012
This question has nagged at me since, well, since I was a teenager. Growing up (as the
youngest of five), I noticed a huge lack of “sibling” books on YA shelves.
Whenever I stumbled upon a MC with more than two siblings, I would buy the
book on the spot because I desperately wanted to read books with characters
like me—kids with brothers and sisters around all the time! 
Finding those large-family books was a rare occurrence then, and still is today—even
with the increase in young adult titles overall. Even though statistics say
that only about 24% of US families are single-child
families.
There are obvious reasons for a MC to be an only
child or to have just one sibling— for simplicity in plotting and to keep word
count manageable. But what do readers miss out on when the families in books
don’t reflect their own experiences?
I’ve faced this issue as a writer as well as a reader. One
of my protagonists has three older brothers. During revisions, I considered cutting one of the brothers in an
effort to cut my overall word count. Ultimately, I decided to keep all three—not
out of sentimental attachment, but because they each serve a unique purpose in relation
to the MC and are essential to the family dynamic.
Have you noticed that the majority of YA protagonists seem
to be only children? How do you feel about it? Know of any great books where the siblings are fleshed-out characters, or books that delve
into sibling relationships? Would you like to see more books featuring large families?
Let us know!
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Stephanie, Ingrid, Sarah & Kristan — we read, write, discuss and celebrate Young Adult lit.
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