YA Expert Board Tells All!

For another edition of Young Adult Teen Tuesday, I'm giving you a gift. A surprise. Well, really not a surprise, but a long awaited post!!

It's finally here! My amazing YA Expert Board, comprised of fabulous teen writers, have answered some of your just-got-to-know questions.

YA Expert Board: 

Jacob Milhouse

Riv Re

Rhiannon Pelletier

Jenna Gustafson (our newest teen member & pubbed author)

FYI: Know of a teen who'd like to be a part of our board? Have them email me or leave a comment below. I'd love to add to our board!

Kelly Hitchcock asks: at what age do you feel you outgrow books marketed as young adult?

Jacob: Even at 19, I am still very much enthralled by YA lit as long as the story in itself is engrossing enough. I don’t even think that I will outgrow it, to be completely honest. There’s an intrigue with the genre that cannot be replicated with any other. I especially love seeing the development of YA characters, now more than ever. I can look back at my own growth and see how far I have come as a person, and to see that process take place in a fantastic book really keeps me turning the pages.

Riv: I wouldn't know. I'm still a YA. (Though people I know generally focus more on the "Y" when it comes to me.) Um...102, 103..maybe?

Jenna: Teenagers’ interest in young-adult marketed books may dwindle after age seventeen, simply because they begin to look for something more solid, tangible, and practical as they enter the “real world”.  Although some imagination is lost from our childhood years due to maturity, a mid-teen’s world still is full of dreamy possibilities, what if’s, and prince charming’s.  Books bursting with wonder, creativity, and unlikely events fit like a puzzle piece into their lives.  As the teen years flick by our ride on the magic carpet of dreams sputters to a halt one day around the beginning of senior year, when we realize life is not about looking towards a fairytale future anymore, but living life to achieve it….and surviving.  Suddenly these teens are too grown-up for silly tales, and replace them with self-help books.

With that said, I know many adults who are NOT restricted by young adult labels.  No one is ever too old to experience these spell binding tales while taking a small vacation back to the land of ungrownuphood, before reality.

Hart Johnson asks: What I want to know (in a very real way, as I have the issue looming for a book I wrote) is: Common wisdom is teens like characters a year to several years older than they are. Are you ever interested in MCs younger than you? And what does it take to secure this interest?

Jacob: Great question. I use to have issues with this when I was growing up. In my mind, back then, I didn’t want to backtrack because I was gladly progressing in my life so I didn’t want to go back and relive being a “youngster” with characters younger than myself. I took pride in saying I wanted to read about older characters. The age isn’t so much the problem for me now, it’s the maturity level of the character and their unique voice and plots that hook me. I have to admit I doubt I would read about a character younger than fifteen; age range would have to be older than that. But, like I said, it’s all about the voice of that character and the story itself. If it speaks to my interests and is wonderfully written, I’m all yours regardless of how old I am and possibly how old the character is.

Riv: I just want a teen I can relate to. Often 14-17 is ideal. Younger is too little to be relateable, older is to...mature. (And I'm far from mature. ;) )

Susan Kaye Quinn asks: How much romance is too much for the boy teen reader types? :)

Jacob: I don’t have too much of a problem with romance as long as it isn’t too overbearing. I think that’s when the red flag starts to wave, and I take my leave. If the character spends ten pages describing how beautiful a guy (or girl) is, has no sense of self-identity away from that person, or the two are just unhealthily obsessed without any real reason to love one another, I just can’t do it. We always love a good love interest, but there are lines that shouldn’t be crossed with guys. Which is very important with distinguishing your target audience. 

Jenna: Many teen boys that I know can handle sprinkles of romance woven into a story, but I don’t know any who have an affair with romance novel’s.  As long as the plot is not primarily love and the poor kid is not drowning in gooeyness, I think you are safe. 

Could they be anymore fabulous?!! 

I'm looking for more YA questions from you. Please email me your questions or leave them in the comments below. Please spread the word, so our board will have plenty to chat about. We'll have our next YA Q & A segment soon. 


For more YA, go visit these YATT Supporters:
Margo Berendsen
The Write Game
Julie Musil (not every wk)
Rosewood Pencil Box
Misha Gericke (not every wk)
Fairbetty's World
Concrete Pieces of Soul

ALERT: There will be no Featherbrained Friday, this week. I'll be leaving for the pageant on Friday, and I have a ton of preparations to finalize before than. I'm also teaching a writing workshop on Thursday to some middle grade students. Yikes!! Can't wait to write that post!! 

Wish me luck, and say a few prayers for me for the pageant. I'll leave you with this final image of me.Thank you for your amazing support. I HEART you all!!

The Red-Headed Step-Child

Being in the middle never feels like much fun.

There's monkey-in-the-middle, being sandwiched between other sweaty football players during a tackle, or standing dead center among other crazed fans at a rock concert. Can you see the red-headed step-child cringing?

We begin school at the elementary level, where everything is new and exciting. The end of our educational journey consists of high school and post-secondary colleges, at a time we're maturing, planning, and dreaming of what to do with our lives.

But what about the middle - MIDDLE GRADE?

What is it about being 12 to 14 that makes life so different? That is a question middle grade writers must ask themselves whenever beginning a story. So let's explore and give us something to chew on.

Middle grade is:

• where we have one foot in childhood and one the first step to adulthood.
• where we're beginning to discover who we are and who we'd like to be.
• where most begin to mature physically, causing awkwardness in body movements.
• where attitudes develop, wanting more independence yet still needing to be cared for.
• where we begin to see we have a place in the world and spend lots of time watching how others fit into their world.
• where peer pressure, popularity, and structured clicks usually begin. 
• where realizing there's more in the world then just 'me' is just annoying.
• where the line between male and female becomes more pronounced.
• where the world begins to get bigger.
• where everything is a big deal.
• where drama begins.

Now, use these prompts to inspire ideas to add to your middle grade manuscript. Not a MG writer? Take a stab at it anyway. 

How could you use these to develop your young adult or adult characters? Can you add to my list? 

To check out more topics about MG literature, click on Shannon Whitney Messenger's badge for more links!!

Princess & Fairy Godmothers???

According to my new blogging lineup, this is the day I'll explore world issues & headlines, humor, and all that encompasses Sheri--yup, that's what the 'S' in SA Larsen stands for.

For those of you who are unaware, I'm a contestant vying for the Mrs. Maine America 2012 title, which will be passed to the winner on February 5th. Eek!! That's just around the corner. I've been lax in sharing my pageant experience with you, but I'm about to change that.

Last weekend, I took part in what we called a Princess Ice Cream & Teas Social. The reigning Mrs. Maine was conducting a fundraiser to support a Habitat Humanity site. She invited this year's contestants to join her.

It was amazing!! Children from all over arrived to meet, and share ice cream and tea with their favorite princess. We even had story time. I played the role of Princess Ariel from The Little Mermaid. To my shock, Ariel was a huge hit. I must have taken 600+ photos with the sweetest little ones and signed autographs. Boy, do I have a new appreciation for celebrities. Stand up. Bend down. Up. Down. (Little kids are short, eh.) But taking those photos with them and making them smile was worth it! Plus, my thighs got a heck of a workout.

There weren't just little girls in attendance, either. Some of the little boys came to see their favorite girl--I mean princess. A few times the mothers would mouth to me, "He has such a crush on Ariel." It was the cutest thing ever!! (I feel a picture book story coming on...)

I'll let these photos tell the rest of the story.

Sleeping Beauty's Fairy Godmothers
Jasmine (my niece), Kate (my daugther), & Maddy (Kate's Bff)

2012 Contestants, Mrs. Maine 2011 in pink in the middle, & the Fairy Godmothers.

Princess Ariel - ME

Fairy Godmothers, Princess Ariel, & two beautiful princesses!

A little princess(one of my friend's daugthers) & my daugther.

Fairy Godmothers, Princess Ariel &
Princess Rapunzel

One of Princess Ariel's crushers.
He's so cute!!

Princess Ariel
with a little Cinderella

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!! Ooh, I'll be blogging a bit later today. I have another TV interview for the pageant. ALERT UPDATED! Bummer, it's 4:30 a.m. and I'm staring out my bedroom window, while watching the weather channel. Looks like I won't be able to make the one hour and a half trek to the Television studio. The roads are too icy and it's still snowing. Kiddos probably won't have school, either. Boo....

Young Adult Teen Tuesday & Giveaway!

Today is our first official Young Adult Teen Tuesday post. To honor our guidelines and chat about anything YA, I'm giving my thoughts and the opportunity to WIN a copy of a novella I recently read!

Title: Love's Long Shadow
Author: Ciara Knight
Genre: Young Adult/Novella
Publisher: Turquoise Morning Press
Release Date: October 2011
Pages: 35

I'd like to thank the author for an e-copy of this book to read for review.

Favorite Line/Passage:

Description: Sammy Lorre was cast from Heaven for conduct unbecoming an angel. Living in a demon-infested small town with no memory of her previous life, she faces never-ending purgatory until Boon saunters into her life with a promise of angelic love. But is he an angel from Heaven or a minion from the underworld preying on her human emotions? To discover his true identity, she must risk eternal damnation and her heart.

NIGHTSTAND WORTHY

Although I was given an e-copy of this story to read on my Nook, the first image that gripped me was the cover. I think what I like most is the color pallet they chose. It really says something about the mood of the story. The blurb written for the story is also attractive--soft and alluring. 

The story is fast paced, which one would probably expect for  a novella, but also even enough to keep a teasing pace. The plot is quick to engage the reader into a seemingly ordinary mystery--angels lost, trying to fight evil, etc.... But then it switches. The AH-HA. At times, I thought the writer was going in one direction with the story, and then the story changed gears. That made me want to know more. (Great technique.)

The doubt the writer plants in the reader's head about Boon is a great tease, intriguing in itself. There's plenty of questioning as the plot moves forward and the story drops crumbs from each character's past. And then the reveal is genuine, leaving the reader cheering for a positive outcome--which, of course, I won't reveal here. 

Written in a structure that flows and threaded with the growing emotions of each character, I really enjoyed this quick read. If you're looking for a little romance and a little action wrapped up in a short read, this story is for you. 

Visit Ciara's Website, or places to purchase the story: Amazon Kindle, Smashwords, Bookstrand, All Romance Ebooks/OmniLit, TMP bookstore. 

To ENTER for a chance win an e-copy, leave a comment below. Of course, spreading the word gives you extra entries. Just tell me what you did. Good luck!!

For more YA, go visit these YATT Supporters:
Margo Berendsen
The Write Game
Julie Musil (not every wk)
Rosewood Pencil Box
Misha Gericke (not every wk)
Fairbetty's World

If you want to join our team of YATT supporters, blog on Tuesdays (some are posting on Wednesdays, which is fine) about anything Young Adult from interviews, book spotlights, teen issues, crafting teen literature, YA books, giveaways or whatever. EMAIL ME the link to your blog, and I'll add you to my list.

Rebel Writer's Pledge for 2012

The Rebel Writer's Pledge is all about reflecting on successes and failures of last year, and then forging ahead and recommitting to life and writing goals with a new verve. 

Today, each participant is posting their goals for the year 2012 and highlighting at least one general goal to add to our pledge. I'll compile each highlighted goal into a list, linking back to this post. We'll leave the badge on our sites throughout 2012, reminding and encouraging us about our pledge.

Devising goals, whether out-right action goals or ones to develop a new mindset, will bring success.

• Be easier on myself
• Take healthy writing breaks for family and pleasure
• Finalize edits on YA novel and sub
• Finish a different YA novel, my MG series already started, & work on more picture books.
• Continue to market myself and build my platform/more hands-on work, raising awareness for Apraxia of Speech, and the importance of reading, with an emphasis on writing in children
• Publish more community interest stories, short fiction stories, and seek out more anthologies
• Improve my craft by reading, studying, and taking at least two classes or workshops

There are my goals for 2012. I've highlighted the one I'm going to add to the official Rebel Writer's Pledge 2012.

Visit the other participants and see what inspiration they have for you!!
Samantha Verant
Kris Yankee
April Plummer
Carolyn V
Heather McCorkle
Shannon O'Donnell
Susan Oloier
Sharon Mayhew
Leigh Moore
Melissa Sugar
Sophia Chang
DL Hammons
Rebekah
Kelly Hashway
Margay
Stephen Tremp
PK Hrezo
Yelena Casale

RENEGADE Scavenger Hunt Cover REVEAL!

In my opinion, Fridays are all featherbrained and are for chatting about life, love, friendship, motherhood and my sometimes failed attempts to keep my sanity. So today, I have a special treat for you! I'm giving major props to a special friend, who happens to be an amazing writer. 

I am so excited!!! One of my Oasis for YA sisters, the fabulous Jessica Souders, is releasing the cover for her YA novel! It is beautiful, my friends. 

Jessica Souders
w/a J.A. Souders
Website | Blog | Twitter | Goodreads | Facebook

J.A. Souders was born in the heartland with an overactive imagination and an over abundance of curiosity that was always getting her into trouble.  She first began writing at the age of 13, when she moved to Florida and not only befriended the monsters under the bed, but created worlds for them to play together.  

    Because she never grew up, she decided she’d put her imaginary friends to work and started writing.  She still lives in the land of sunshine and palm trees with her husband and their two children and is an active member of the RWA, CFRW, YARWA and SCBWI.  

She is represented by Natalie Lakosil of the Bradford Literary Agency.  Her debut book, RENEGADE, surfaces Fall 2012 from Tor Teen.

So, you want to see the cover now? You really didn't think we'd make it that easy, did you? No worries. You don't have to do much at all. In her brilliance, Jessica has broken the cover into six equal parts, real scavenger hunt style. Simply visit the following blogs and collect a word along with the puzzle pieces and head over to the three blogs hosting the giveaway on Monday. Your STARTING POINT is Jess's blog, Angels and Demons and Portals, Oh My!

7 AM: Woven Strands (http://wovenstrands.wordpress.com/)
9 AM: Writer's Ally (http://writersally.blogspot.com/)
10 am: The Oasis  (http://oasisforya.blogspot.com/)
11 am: Fire and Ice (http://fireandicephoto.blogspot.com/)
1 pm: Confessions of a Bookaholic (http://www.totalbookaholic.com/)
3 pm: Jessie Harrell-The Daily Harrell  (http://jessie-harrell.blogspot.com/)

For the final cover, on Monday visit one or all of the following blogs:

Reading Teen  (http://www.readingteen.net/)
Books Complete Me (http://www.bookscompleteme.com/)

Mundie Moms (http://mundiemoms.blogspot.com/)

Simple Love of Reading (http://simpleloveofreading.blogspot.com/)

Stuck in Books  (http://www.stuckinbooks.com/)

Here's your word: LIFE

Here's your puzzle piece. Pretty, isn't it??? 

Celery Tree: on-line bookstore 4 Indies!!

I'd like to welcome Nicki Elson, author of THREE DAVES, and member of Celery Tree. She grew up during the '80s--'nuf said--and has always known she loves to write. She shares herself through her Blog, Facebook Page, and Twitter. And today, she's here to guest blog for me. Welcome, Nicki!!

So...have ya heard of Celery Tree yet?  I'm excited to be a part of this brand new on-line book store & community for independent authors, and one of the elements I'm eager to take advantage of are the forums.  I see the forums as a great opportunity to take Writing and Publishing Topics that come up here at the blogs and turn them into true back-and-forth discussions. I also think it might be fun to host on-line Book Club Meetings and interactive Author Interviews. 

Karen Gowen, a founder of Celery Tree, said the forums have the potential to be whatever the authors/readers want them to be. She will be available at karen@celerytree.com to answer your questions about Celerytree.com during the Big Blog Tour. Feel free to email Karen about any questions you may have at this time on joining, registering, buying books, submitting books or any other issues. 

What I want to know is---what would you like them to be?  What kinds of discussion threads would make you want to stop by and participate?  What discussions would you like to start? 

Thanks, Nicki!!

You can visit Nicki and the other authors on the Celery Tree Blog, Facebook Page, Twitter, and Website. 

Now Alleywalkers, could you help Nicki with her questions? Give her something to work with. We writers ALWAYS have something to chat about. 

Here is a list of events for Celery Tree: The list of events go as follows:

Mon, Jan. 9: Kick Off Coming Down the Mountain and Celery Tree blog

Tues, Jan. 10: Promo post Melissa Sarno

Wed, Jan. 11: Interview with L.A. DeVaul Melissa Goodwin

Thurs, Jan. 12: Jessica Bell guest posts on Coming Down the Mountain

Fri, Jan. 13: Nicki Elson guest posts Theresa Milstein

Mon, Jan. 16: Karen Walker guest posts Tossing It Out

Tues, Jan. 17: Nicki Elson guest posts SA Larsen - YOU ARE HERE!!

Wed, Jan. 18: L.A. DeVaul guest posts Unedited

Thurs, Jan. 19: Promo Post Clarissa Draper

Fri, Jan. 20: Ann Best guest posts Thoughts in Progress

Mon, Jan. 23: Promo Post Ann Carbine Best

Tues, Jan. 24: Promo Post Karen Walker

Wed, Jan. 25: Promo Post Nicki Elson

Thurs, Jan. 26: Promo post The Alliterative Allomorph

Fri, Jan. 27: Wrap Up Coming Down the Mountain and Celery Tree blog

YATT: Celebrating YA

As I stated on Friday (short POST), I've decided to expand my blogging and include more from my life and the wisdom I've gained from 20 years of marriage and just over 18 years of motherhood.

Here's my new blogging regiment and, as promised, a BRAND SPANKING NEW MEM to spread around the blogosphere!

MONDAYS will be for my Munching on prompts promo, quotes-inspirational, MG & picture books, and Light Bulb moments.

TUESDAYS will be to highlight all that's Young Adult. See our new mem YATT Badge? Do you like it? For those wanting to participate, you can post on anything YA: about writing, book reviews, author interviews, giveaways, young adult lit, high school, CPs, all literary, craft/techniques, personal experiences from your youth you used in your writing, or your WS4U! progress update. I'll also personally include Q&A with a YA and any subject I post on a Tuesday from Oasis for YA. DON'T BLOG ON TUESDAYS? No Biggy. Just post on Wednesdays instead. I'll still link you to the list, stating that your a Wednesday poster!! DON'T WANT TO BLOG EACH WEEK ON YA? That's okay, too! I'll still leave you linked to my list.

Just email me (click little envelope in my right sidebar) and I'll add you to the list, which will be included in every YOUNG ADULT TEEN TUESDAY post. Please use our YATT badge. THX! <3

FRIDAYS will be for my Featherbrained Friday promo, life, TV shows, celebrities, kids, family, writer mom series, any subject, and/or the other.

There you have it. Hope you like the schedule I've finally come up with. I'm looking forward to celebrating all that's YA with our new YATT badge. I can't wait to see what you all come up with!

~Happy Writing Week~

Dear New Mom

Recently, I've been involved in discussions about blogging, the how to's and reasons.

When I began blogging, my full, God-honest intention was to put myself out there. My motivation was my decision to become a serious writer, published and beyond. I figured meeting other writers and learning more about our craft was the way to forge ahead.

credit for image

Over the last two years (come February, the two-year blogging birthday for Writers' Ally), I've grown as a writer. I've also grown as a blogger, a person. Writers' Ally was created for my publishing aspirations, but also to share my life and experiences through my 20 year marriage and motherhood of just over 18 years.

I'm finally making the leap to do both.

Writers' Ally will always be for writers, promotion, and such. But I'm also expanding to share the wisdom I've gained through the other aspects of my life. More details on this decision next Monday. So don't miss it! I'll be announcing a new Mem that I hope all you YA lovers will participate it.    


And to get a jumpstart on my expanded outlook, I've become a contributor to a fantastic new website for new mothers called Dear New Mom. It's the brain child of my fellow Oasis for YA sister, Nikki Katz. If you don't know Nikki, go HERE now! You won't regret it. And please follow Dear New Mom on Twitter and Facebook!

My first article is up on the site. Let me know what you think!! Dear New Mom

Book Spotlight & Giveaway: IF I TELL

Title: IF I TELL
Author: Janet Gurtler
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Release Date: October 2011
Pages:

I'd like to thank the publisher for supplying me with a copy of this book for review.

Favorite Line/Passage: Tina didn't even flinch. "Now here's a match made in crack heaven," she spit out. "The druggie and the not-quite-black girl."

My heart tripped over itself, but Jackson didn't even glance her way. He leaned down and whispered in my ear. "Remember what I said about gossip and judging?" (sounds pretty teen, huh?)

Description: It was like watching a train wreck. I wanted to look away but couldn't take my eyes off them.


Her best friend and her mom's boyfriend. Locking lips. This is the secret Jasmine Evans  has to keep at all costs. Because her mom is pregnant, and Jaz doesn't want to ruin her life-again (just being born did it the first time). But the harder Jaz tries to pretend everything is okay, the faster her life spins out of control. Until Jackson. He doesn't care about the popularity of her friends or the color of her skin. But can she really trust a guy who just transferred in from reform school? She might be willing to chance the heartbreak, but telling him everything and risking the truth getting out is a whole other level of scary. 

NIGHTSTAND WORTHY +1

My Splats: IF I TELL explores the age-old struggle of discovering information that could hurt someone if revealed and what to do with that information. And being a teen takes it to a new level. 

Jasmine is very easy to like, probably because she's like some teens who keep appearances outside but their insides tell a different story. She's never felt worthy of her life. Her birth put a damper on her mother's life, so she was raised by her grandparents. She and her mom have a good relationship, though, which was an interesting sway from what I expected.

Compounding matters, Jasmine's mother and grandparents are Caucasian, where her birth father was black. She ends up with dark skin and lives in an area that doesn't let her forget it. EVERYONE seems to know that she's a mixture of black and white, which bothers her. She doesn't feel black or white or that she belongs with either.Being a product of inter-racial parents as well as an absent parent (her birth father) is at the heart of so many emotions for this girl, and I'm sure many teens will relate to it.

The inner conflicts of this character from her racial attitude to her fear of water and not being accepted are deep and well distributed throughout the story. The reader discovers more about Jasmine just as Jasmine discovers more about herself. The writing is fluent, stringing one scene to the next.

The slow unfolding of a hidden lie moves the story along and intertwines other characters and emotions. Using a boy with a shady past added conflict for Jasmine and tension, even a bit of mystery to the story. 

In the end, the story and characters grow and the reader is satisfied. I would recommend this book to any teen or contemporary reader.

To ENTER the giveaway for a chance to win a free copy, fill out the form below. GOOD LUCK!!

I also need to announce the winner of a copy of HOOKED, by Les Edgerton, which I offered during the Season's of Reading Blog Hop. I'm also giving away a copy of Janet's book I'M NOT HER to my local high school library.

The WINNER is:

KELLY HASHWAY!!

Kelly has already joined me in donating a book to her local library!

Congrats!!

Author Spotlight: Janet Gurtler

It is my pleasure to introduce you to a wife, mother, and fabulous author of young adult fiction. She also would rather write then chat on the phone. :)

Janet Gurtler, YA Author of I'M NOT HER & IF I TELL

 Have you always known you want to write?

I think the writing bug for me was always there, but it really hit me that I wanted to write when I was in Grade 6. I had an encouraging teacher who really made me feel great about my creative writing skills and he made me feel it was something I should keep doing.  All through school I LOVED English the most and then when I graduated high school I went to college and took a Communications diploma. I was a copywriter for a short time before I went back to school and into sales. The writing bug kind of hibernated but returned after I had my son.  That’s when I started writing books and knew I wanted to try to get novels published!

What drew you to write YA?

Oh my Gosh! I just love the voice and the hope and the emotional depth in YA.  I started out writing adult romance, but my voice never felt authentic. I moved on to Chick Lit and then when I started my first YA,  I KNEW I had found what I loved to write. And read. I love reading YA more than anything. 


So true about the voice and emotion in young adult literature.

What’s the best writing advice you’ve been given?

For me I think the best advice I’ve been given was to write every day. I have to admit that I don’t always do it, but when I am in a writing groove, it is what works best for me.

Signature Graffiti Wall questions: Yogurt or ice cream? Hot tube or swimming pool? 

Okay. I want to say Yogurt, but that would be my responsible adult self who should be concerned about healthy choices talking. What I really LOVE is Ice Cream. Chocolate Mint. Yum.

I am not really big on hot tubs. I do love to swim though. As long as the water is warm. I do not do cold swimming pools very well. J

What is the hardest part of the writing process for you? What skills do you implement to work through it?

The hardest part of writing for me is getting the first draft down. And this varies in difficulty with different books. I really love the revision process which is probably because I am more of a seat of my pants writer, so most of my fine tuning and character development takes place in the revisions. The skill I use to get through it is plain old perseverance, which kind of ties back to the best writing advice, write every day. Even when it’s hard and I don’t want to, for first drafts for me -it’s the best way.  

If you could choose another genre to write in, which would it be and why?

I love the chick lit voice, but that genre kind of got killed off.  Let’s pretend it’s revived and I’ll choose that, okay? I love first person and snarky twenty year olds are kind of fun (and a wee bit naughty) to write.

You’ve worked as a DJ and in media advertising; you’re a mother, sister, wife and a spectrum of titles. How have those aspects of your life influenced your writing?

I think that my past experiences have helped me with character development, because I’ve worked in a lot of jobs where you really have to watch people or try to understand what they really want, versus what they say or think they want. i.e.- sales, motherhood and wife. J  I’ve met some interesting people over the years and seen some interesting things. That’s helpful when creating stories. I think overall with my experiences I’ve learned that I  really genuinely like people or at least I find them incredibly interesting  trying to understand them and that serves me as a writer?  I’ve kind of grown up with titles and jobs that make me ask why?


I totally agree. Living each and every day, while paying attention, definitely helps develop those fantastic characters.

 Your first YA book, I’M NOT HER, was released in May of 2011. I was honored to review it HERE. What inspired the story? (fabulous premise, by the way) 

Thank you! My inspiration for I’m Not Her really came with a vision of two sisters who had specific roles in their lives. I wanted to see what would happen when those roles were suddenly and drastically changed.  I wanted to write from the POV of the sister who was always in the shadows, and kind of comfortable there, and how things changed when she had to come out in the open (in more ways than one).

Your agent is the amazing Jill Corcoran of the Herman Agency. What was the biggest difference for you from writing unagented to becoming agented?

Jill is awesome. I think the biggest difference for me having an agent is that I don’t feel so alone in the writing process. Oh. That kind of makes me want to hug my lonely self. But honestly, it’s true. It’s hard to write stories when you don’t have an agent and you don’t know if the stories are going to sell, or even if they’re any good. An agent like Jill gives me feedback and reassurance, or a kick in the pants if I need that. And after the sale she takes care of all the yucky details of a contract J. Having an agent doesn’t mean everything I write will sell, but having someone on my side who believes in my writing is a huge confidence booster. And most writers need that boost. I know I do!

Your second book, IF I TELL, was released in October of 2011. Tell the readers a bit about it.
IF I TELL is a different book than I’M NOT HER in many ways, but it also has similarities. I hope that like I’M NOT HER, it’s an emotional journey about growth in the face of adversity. It’s the story of a teen girl who feels very alone in her world and is forced to keep secrets from her mom and other people around her. It makes her angry and isolates her and she has to learn who she can trust and when mistakes should be forgiven. I hope people like IF I TELL, it’s special to me in many ways!


Well, I've read it and it's fabulous! I'll be releasing the review soon. Thank you for sharing yourself with us, Janet.


Visit Janet on her Website, Blog, & HERE to find out where to purchase her books.