Hopefully the next big thing will be the newly published YA novel written by an author like you or me!
A young adult novel is no longer “only a teen book.” Besides being as difficult to write as an adult novel, YA is just as likely (or more likely) to win literary awards and become a classic. It has the potential to be widely read by all ages. But first, readers need to know it exists.
This blog hop is a great way for both published and unpublished YA authors to get our names and the titles of our works out there. We post some information about our books and then tag, or list, other authors and their blogs for our followers to visit. Those authors do the same, and so it continues.
After I responded to an email calling for participants, Janet K. Brown, author of Victoria and the Ghost, tagged me on December 12. Check out the blog and books of Janet K. Brown at http://www.janetkbrown.com/ She didn’t even know me at the time! But this is one way you can get to know your fellow YA authors. And to share their blogs with readers who might enjoy their books, either now or when they are published in the near future.
As demonstrated on Janet’s blog and this one, ten questions (give or take) will be answered about each participant’s novel. If you are a writer but don’t have your own blog yet, following this blog hop may inspire you to create one.
After you’ve read the following questions and answers about my project, please take a look at the blogs of the talented authors I’ve listed below.
THE QUESTIONS:
What is the title of your novel?
Bird Face
Where did the idea for the book originate?
I had been thinking about the problems that shyness causes, even well into adulthood.
Which genre does your book fall under?
Young Adult Contemporary
Which actors would you choose to play the characters in a movie rendition?
That’s a difficult one because I don’t keep up with actors’ names, although I remember faces and acting ability. The main character, Wendy, should be played by someone who can come across as both sensitive and strong, like the lead actress in the movie Flipped.
What is a one-sentence summary of your book?
Anonymous sticky-notes, a scheming bully, and a ruined summer send almost-fourteen-year-old Wendy Robichaud down a trail of secrets and self-discovery.
And here’s a longer blurb:
Almost-fourteen-year-old Wendy Robichaud doesn’t care one bit about being popular like her classmates Tookie and the Sticks. That is, until Brainiac bully John-Monster schemes against her, and someone leaves anonymous sticky-note messages all over school. Even her best friend is hiding something. While juggling divorced parents, caring for abandoned puppies, and trying to make the high school track team, who has time to play detective?
Is your book self-published, published by an independent or other publisher, or represented by an agency?
Bird Face will be published by a notable award-winning independent publisher in Iowa, Port Yonder Press. It will be released in the spring of 2013. I do not have an agent.
How long did it take to write the first draft?
I worked on it in spurts for over a decade while pursuing my original career in design, advertising, and marketing. I changed jobs and either moved or commuted for a while, which interfered with writing a novel.
What other books compare to yours within its genre?
None exactly that I have been able to find. However, novels by Betsy Byars and Sarah Dessen inspired the tone and style.
Who or what inspired you to write this book?
I love preteens and young teens—especially awkward kids who speak without thinking first and are full of love but don’t always know where to direct it. Memories of my childhood and my daughter’s made me want to write a novel that would show kids from ages 10 to 14 how wonderful and powerful they are.
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
It delicately addresses serious issues of eating disorders and teen suicide. But it contains humor and is uplifting. I wanted it to appeal to kids in grades 5 through 8, as well as adults who care about them.
What’s on the horizon?
I am about halfway finished the first draft of a YA historical titled The Other Side of Freedom. It is about a boy and his Italian immigrant father who become involved against their will in a crime in the 1920s.
AND NOW, FOR YOUR NEXT HOP:
Laura Anderson Kurk
Leigh DeLozier
http://leighdelozier.com/blog/
Stefne Miller
Bird Face Wendy 