Interview with YA author Kevin Sharp

Last month, I was fortunate enough to meet Kevin Sharp when we both participated in a reading in San Jose called the Flash Fiction Forum. Kevin read a beautiful and funny short story, "In Blackest Night," that you can read here published on 100-Word Story. We talked for a bit after the reading, and I got a copy of his debut YA novel After Dakota. I loved it!

Kevin's characters are so real and their problems so compelling that I found myself thinking about them as I went about my day, as if they were my friends. He treats every character with dignity and gives them room to move and grow on the page, making mistakes and being human. And I loved his wealth of descriptions and details, plus all the 80s references seamlessly woven through. I am so glad I read this book -- and very grateful that Kevin took time out of his day to answer some questions about writing for the blog today!

Thanks for stopping by the blog, Kevin! Tell us about your novel After Dakota. What was your inspiration/motivation behind this book?

The novel is about a year in the life of three teenagers in the 1980s, following the death of one of their friends in a plane crash. Although the subject matter might sound heavy, it was written as a tribute to the classic teen movies of the 1980s, like Fast Times At Ridgemont High, The Breakfast Club, and Say Anything (and so many more). Simply put, I missed seeing those kinds of stories. The characters in the book are older than I was at the time (1983-84), but I definitely have distinct memories of living through those years. I wanted to try and capture that world for a reader who wasn’t alive then, but also bring it all back for a reader who was. My target audience for the book is anyone who is now, or has ever been, a teenager.

Have you always wanted to be a writer? How did you get into writing?

I used to write and draw my own daily comic strips (like the kind you’d find in a newspaper) as a kid. In fourth grade I adapted Star Wars into a stage play, which was performed for our class. It was about as not-good as it sounds. I went on to write a science fiction trilogy my freshman year of high school (the essay “Walking on Sunshine” delves into this painful memory). I recently discovered all three of those manuscripts but am afraid to read them. After college I got involved in screenwriting, which was fun for a while, but I got too burned out on the business side of the movie business.

What is your writing schedule? When/how do you find time to write? 

Because I teach high school, I get home from work in the afternoon. I often go to a favorite café to write because I can find 10,000 distractions at home. Writing someplace away makes me feel like I’m going to a job, which in turn makes me more productive. I wrote After Dakota in a house with no internet & can report I got a lot more done in a lot less time. Funny how that works.

What is your biggest advice for other writers, particularly young writers just starting out? 

This isn’t some deep wisdom thought up exclusively by me, but… Finish everything you start. Even if the ending is terrible, put one on and make it better later.

Who are some of your favorite writers? 

The younger version of me devoured anything I could get my hands on by Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Piers Anthony, and Stephen King. Some of those writers I still enjoy, others not so much. I’d now add J.D. Salinger, Ray Bradbury, Harlan Ellison, Grant Morrison, Jo Ann Beard, and Mary Karr to that list (all for different reasons).

What's next for you? 

A short story of mine will be appearing in an upcoming anthology, scheduled to be published in spring 2015. I’ve been working on YA sci-fi novel for what feels like a decade. After that I have another book lined up, loosely based on an experience I had in Hollywood.

How can readers get in touch with you?     

My website has links to buy After Dakota in all ebook formats, or as a “real” book. You can also find links to some of my short stories, articles, and essays at www.kevin-sharp.com. Find me on Twitter @thatkevinsharp.

Interview with YA author Melissa Conway

Today I am honored to feature Melissa Conway on the blog! She is the author of four young adult ebooks, the latest of which, Xenofreak Nation, she'll be discussing here today. Melissa is the founder of the book review site Booksquawk. Her website is here, her YouTube channel here, she blogs at Whimsilly and can be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Thanks so much for taking the time to be here today! What would you like readers to know about you as an introduction?

 

I’d like my readers to know how much I appreciate that they chose my book. Beginning any book is not only a time commitment; it’s an investment that the reader hopes will pay off emotionally. I strive to produce work that will take them on a satisfying journey, and it’s especially gratifying when they take the extra time to give me feedback.

Tell us about Xenofreak Nation. What was your inspiration/motivation behind this book?

 

The story alternates between the two central characters, Bryn Vega, the daughter of the head of the Pure Human Society, and Scott Harding, an Xbestia gang member who is really an undercover agent for the XIA. At its heart, Xenofreak Nation is both a love story and an exploration of ethics set in the near future in a world mired in a deep economic depression where government decision-making has ground to a halt. Authorities have failed to regulate the medical practice of bioengineering animals to be compatible with humans for organ transplantation. Rogue xenosurgeons are responsible for the development of an underground sub-culture derogatorily referred to as Xenofreaks, who have replaced tattoos with grafts of bioengineered animal skin, teeth, horns and even tails and wings. When Bryn is kidnapped as retaliation for her father’s anti-xeno activities, she’s thrust into this frightening world. Scott is torn between his duty and his developing feelings for innocent Bryn.

What have you learned through writing this book?

 

I don’t know that I learned anything exactly...but certainly the story opened up a way for me to communicate a concept we are all familiar with: that there are two sides to every story. Given the state of the world, it can’t hurt to emphasize cultural tolerance!

 

How did you get started writing?

 

My family was poor, so the library was a big source of entertainment. And since I was shy, writing was one way for me to express myself. I wrote a silly poem in the fourth grade that my teacher submitted to a contest in the local paper. When I won, it was the first time I felt as if my writing had merit. I admire teachers in general, but good teachers, the ones who take that extra step to encourage children to flourish, they are my heroes.

What is your writing process like?

 

I’m kind of embarrassed to admit I find it hard to write unless the house is clean and all chores attended to. But I have this great set-up in the living room -- I sit in a La-Z-Boy with my PC discreetly hidden in a cabinet next to it. My monitor is mounted on a swing arm so I don’t have to turn my head, I set my wireless keyboard in my lap, and my wireless mouse rests on the arm of the chair. Very comfy!

 

I do like to see my characters not just in my mind's eye, so I use DAZ Studio to create them. Then I can put them in my book trailers, too, like the one I made for XN, here.

 

How do you get ideas for what you write?

 

My young son, with his limitless imagination, is constantly beginning his sentences with, “What if..?” The other day, I realized that’s how my ideas start, too. A little spark of curiosity about something -- almost anything -- will set my mind on that “What if..?” path, and the next thing I know, I’m actively plotting.

What are some of your favorite books?

 

I’ve made an effort to give new authors a chance this year and have discovered some great new voices: Rebecca Lochlann’s Child of the Erinyes series and J.S. Colley’s debut novel, The Halo Revelations, to name just a few. 

 

What is your biggest advice for young people reaching for their dreams?

 

First of all, I wouldn’t restrict my advice to young people! Whatever your age, it’s good to have dreams. Learn your craft, set goals, and follow through. Try not to let criticism slow you down too much. Filter the useful from the not-so-much. My personal mantra is: “You can’t please everyone.”

Review of "Mockingbird" by Kathryn Erskine

Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was impressed by how authentic the voice of the main character, Caitlin, seemed as a portrayal of a young girl with Asperger’s Syndrome. On Kathryn Erskine's website she shares a long list of books she read to research Autism and Asperger’s; it also mentions that she interviewed experts and teachers and had them read her manuscript and give her feedback. I think this level of detailed research shines through this book. I took a literature class last semester that focused on portrayals of disability in fiction, and one of the commonalities we discussed was the tendency of authors to give disability some sort of heightened symbolic meaning, or for the characters with disabilities to be defined wholly by their disabilities/differences rather than being portrayed as whole and nuanced human beings. I thought Kathryn Erskine avoided both of these tired tropes in Mockingbird. Caitlin’s voice is unique, but not in a way that impeded me from seeing her as a vivid, real character. As I read further along into the book, it was like her disability faded into the background and I knew Caitlin more for her other traits: her artistic talent, her bravery and curiosity, her quick thinking, her stubbornness, and her compassion and thoughtfulness.

This book tackles difficult subjects—grief, violence, bullying, difference—with a gentle and generous spirit. It is a great reminder to students (and teachers and parents!) that we all have our differences, but we also all have much the same about us. Mockingbird seems to argue that the only way to combat exclusion and meanness is to strive towards understanding each other and being patient with each other, and though some adult readers might find the treatment of this theme/motif a bit heavy-handed, I think it is a valuable lesson for all readers and one that is worth sharing.

Caveats: A school shooting plays a major plot point in the book, which may be upsetting for some students to read about. Teachers should be extra sensitive to this topic and perhaps use the book as a jumping-off point for discussion on school safety, violence, bullying, etc.

Teaching idea: This book would be excellent to pair with To Kill a Mockingbird (and possibly the film version of the novel as well.) Teachers might also work in creative art time by giving students an assignment to draw a mockingbird as a charcoal or pencil sketch (black and white) and then to do another version with pastels or watercolors (color). What different beauty can be found in each version? A reader-response question might be: Think of a time you had an argument or disagreement with someone. Write down your point of view of what happened. Now, turn over the piece of paper and write about the same event as if you are the other person telling the story. Get inside this person’s head/perspective, much as Caitlin tries to do in the book when she is learning to empathize with others.

Other books by Kathryn Erskine: Quaking (2007) and The Absolute Value of Mike (2011)

Themes/motifs: grief and healing, art, family, community, friendship, loss, disability and difference, black & white vs. color & nuance

View all of my Goodreads reviews

Review of Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was completely riveted by this book from beginning to end. The book starts off “in medias res” with Nailer in the pitch-dark bowels of an oil tanker and the tension and action only builds from there. I never found myself glancing ahead, waiting for the action to pick up—the tension was always palpable. Bacigalupi does an incredible job building a world that seems vivid, dangerous, and wholly real. Set in the future, there were enough details recognizable from life today (hurricanes, oil tankers, the Gulf Coast region, tension between rich and poor) that this dystopian future felt eerily possible. This would be a great book to teach in conjunction with a science unit on hurricanes or a history unit on New Orleans and the recent oil crisis.

Nailer is a character that I think many young people, particularly boys, will relate to. He is brave, daring, intelligent, and also has a lot of heart. He is easy to root for, and I was very quickly swept up into his life and perspective. The prose is fast-paced, filled with vivid imagery and details, yet also easy to follow.

Caveats: There is a great deal of violence, and also mentions of drugs, underage drinking, and innuendos of sexual violence. It might be most appropriate for a high school audience.

Other books by Paolo Bacigalupi: The Windup Girl and Pump Six & Other Stories. (He is known as a “biopunk”/sci-fi writer for both adult and YA audiences.)

Themes/motifs: human destruction of nature; climate change/global warming; wealth versus poverty; corruption of power; compassion and being generous and kind towards others; “family” defined as people who make you feel safe; gumption and courage

View all my Goodreads reviews

Interview with Young Author Corinne Fombelle

At just thirteen years old, Corinne Fombelle published her 245-page novel Below the Surface, which she describes as "a novel about a girl and her best friend who wind up in a wild ocean adventure full of sharks, dolphins, fun, and surprises." The book is available as a Kindle download. Read on for Corinne's inspirational interview!

How did you get the idea for Below the Surface?

I decided I wanted to write a book, and I was trying to come up with something. I remember looking around the room trying to come up with a random idea. I saw a picture of a boat on the water and imagined something big going on underwater. That's when I first got the basic idea, and it just snowballed from there.

What made you first interested in writing?

In the fifth grade, when I was ten years old, my teacher Mrs. O'Brien gave us a creative writing assignment. It wasn't anything crazy, just a few short pages would do. So I wrote my little story for class and ended up really enjoying it. After I had turned it in, I decided to write a longer story, more like a book.

What is your writing routine? 

When I was writing Below the Surface, I would go on our desktop computer in the basement about every day and type. My family didn't even really realize the extent of my project until I told them it was finished. I asked my mom if she would print it for me. I would always just call it "my story" so they assumed that it wasn't much longer than the one I had written for class. She told me that when she went to print it, the printer ran out of paper, and she was so surprised. That was when she realized that I had really written a book at the age of ten. I just liked writing so much that I would go and work on it nearly every day.


What do you like about writing?

My favorite thing about writing is probably that there aren't really any restrictions. You can take it wherever you want and think of anything that pops into your head and weave it into an entire plot.

How do you deal with disappointment and rejection?

As a writer, there are many times you get turned down. The biggest problem I faced was my age. To get a book published with a real company, you need to get an agent or they won't listen to you regardless. But I also think it's hard to make agents pay attention if you're under eighteen. When I finally realized that there wasn't a way to get agents to read my manuscript, I tried to find another way to get my book published, which was my ultimate goal from the time I finished it. I did many revisions and tweaked lots of things, just to get it that much better while I was trying to find another way to get the public to read my work. Finally, my uncle sent me an email about Kindle publishing, and how it was a great opportunity. I looked into it, and found out that there was no down side, and went through with it. Basically, I just always try to find a way to make things work out.

What is your biggest advice for a young person going after their dreams?

I would tell anyone who wants to get into writing or anything else that they should do the best they can to perfect their skills at whatever it is they're doing, and then things will just work out. If you're put a lot of work into something, people will notice and try to help you reach your goal.

Is there anything else you'd like to add?

I finished Below the Surface when I was ten and didn't get it published until I was thirteen. I never gave up on it. I didn't quit. I still was working on it even further and fixing little things in the story. I was still trying to find a way to make it happen, and finally my uncle gave me the last boost I needed, the information about Kindle publishing. If I hadn't still been editing the book and trying to make it better yet, I wouldn't have been told about Kindle publishing because I would have probably stopped writing. So, even if you face disappointments that seem to stop you, keep trying and always keep the things in your life that make you happy, and they will someday benefit you because of your passion for it.

Interview with debut YA author Emily Hendricks Jensen

Emily, thank you so much for being a guest on the blog today! What would you like readers to know about you as an introduction?

I have a pretty uninteresting bio. I was born in Missouri and was an only child until I was 12 and now I have 8 siblings (halves and steps.) I majored in Journalism and I loved it, though I don’t use the degree in the conventional sense of working for a newspaper. I do, however, use all the courses I took on researching and investigating to find information for my writing. I moved to Wyoming in mid-July and will be getting married in mid-August. I’m already writing under my future married name. I love that.

Tell us about Fault. What was your inspiration/motivation behind this book?

The plot came from a writing prompt I saw on a website when I was in high school. It was started it as a short story, but before I knew it I had written one young adult novel that I eventually split up into five different novellas. The story is about Cecelia, a 15 year old drug addict who will do anything for acceptance, love and drugs. Her parents send her to a facility to help her with her drug problems, but they won’t acknowledge the abuse she had in her past that started all of her drug problems in the first place. It is written in verse.

What have you learned through writing this book?

How cathartic writing can really be and the what all the things you write can tell you about yourself as a person. I didn’t realize how much of myself I poured into the story until my fiance told me he saw certain people in the characters. I’m not a drug addict and I’ve never been to a rehabilitation facility, but I’m the only child of a bitter divorce and I understand what it feels like to be shuttled from house to house. I know what trying too hard to be perfect feels like.

How did you get started writing?

I’ve always been some sort of writer. Short stories when I was younger, then poems (that were awful) in high school. I never had the confidence to write a book, but one day I sat down and started one. Finished that one, tried to get an agent. Didn’t happen. Tried again with my second book. Nothing. At first I felt like a terrible writer, then I realized that those two books were absolutely not my best pieces of work. After that I wrote Fault. I sent it around to agents and small presses, and everyone who read it “loved the concept” but said it would be a hard book to market. That is why I went through the self-publishing process.

What is your writing process like? Do you write on a computer? In a spiral notebook? Do you draw illustrations?

I write everything on either my computer or my iPhone. I do a lot of traveling (both in the US and internationally) and I think I do my best work on planes and trains. My books don’t have illustrations, probably because I can barely draw a stick figure.

How do you get ideas for what you write?

Mostly the news. I’m a huge news junkie, especially entertainment news.

What is your biggest advice for young people reaching for their dreams?

Never ever give up. I know that’s what everyone says, but it’s so true. If you give up, all you will have is regrets and regrets get you nowhere.

What are some of your favorite books?

My two favorite books ever are The Saving Graces by Patricia Gaffney and Wish You Well by David Baldacci. I also love anything by Ellen Hopkins, Melissa Senate, and Maureen Johnson.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

I am so excited about my novella series! A new novella will come out every two months. Next summer I intend to publish a full length young adult novel. I have other things in the works as well, so stay tuned!

Contact Emily:

• Website: http://www.emilyhendricksjensen.com/

• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/EmilyHendricksJensen

Interview with Jennifer Probst

Yesterday, we featured an interview with young author Taylor Probst. Today, in Part 2 of our feature, we talk with Taylor's aunt Jennifer, who is a successful romance author. Welcome, Jennifer!

What would you like readers to know about you as an introduction?

I have always known I wanted to be a writer, and started spinning high school romance tales when I was a pre-teen. My journey has been filled with hard work, rejections, and seeing my dreams of being published come true. Along the way, I had my own happily-ever-after when I met my husband and had two beautiful boys. Now, the writing is a bit harder to accomplish, my life is chaotic, and my house is never clean, but it's so worth it!

You have been writing since you were a kid and have had much success as a writer yourself. How does it feel to now see your niece Taylor blossom as a writer?

Watching my niece create a story and see it develop into print is an amazing experience. She is like my daughter, and I am so proud of what she has accomplished. She's learned a lot about working hard and not giving up on what she wants. Watching someone you love grow into a beautiful young woman is a humbling experience.

How did you first get started writing?

I knew my whole life. When I was in sixth grade, we had to complete a career report and I did mine on being a writer. I wrote teen romances and read them to my friends, and passed them around school. It was only a matter of time before I began seriously submitting to publishers and honing my craft.

What is your writing process like? Do you write on a computer? In a spiral notebook?

I am only comfortable writing on the computer because I type an insane amount of words per minute, and my fingers can't keep up with my brain if I'm writing longhand. I don't have a set writing schedule -- with a hectic household I write any time I can squeeze in a moment.

I'm assuming that helping Taylor write and publish Buffy and The Carrot was a much different experience than when you write your novels. Can you talk about this a bit?

Absolutely. I have been published in the romance market and am comfortable with the environment. I never ventured into the children's market but after my boys were born, I thought I would try if I found a great story. Once Taylor told me the story of Buffy, I knew it was special. We sat together one morning in the diner over breakfast and we wrote out the story longhand on the back of a placemat -- she had only the verbal version at the time. Then we agreed we would try to get it published. She was involved in every step of the way: editing, deciding on illustrations and what she imagined Buffy looking like, the cover, etc.

Again, writing a book and publishing one is a very different experience. I sent out a few queries for the book but received rejections. I then contacted Strategic Publishing about their program and found it a perfect fit. They accepted the book and we all agreed to publish the book in a more non-traditional way. Then we needed an illustrator and my best friend's husband is a fantastic artist. He agreed to do the illustrations so I feel like the book is almost a family event.

What have you learned or been reminded of about writing from Taylor? 

The story is the most important. Tell a great story and the possiblities are endless. Marketing and agents and sales are important but she reminded me to go back to basics.

How do you get ideas for what you write?

Everywhere. I have a long commute to work so I do a lot of daydreaming. As a writer, I believe ideas lurk in every corner of the world -- it is our job to unearth them. Every conversation or encounter is the idea for a story. You just need to find the one that is interesting enough for you at the time. That will change as life progresses.

What is your biggest advice for young people reaching for their dreams?

Believe in yourself. If you have a dream, work hard and go after it. There will be a million people ready to tell you to give up -- rejection is everywhere. Dig deep and believe you can do it and the possibilities are endless. People used to pat my head and call my writing a "nice little hobby." I received tons of rejections but I dug deep and kept trying. Eventually, I found an editor who loved my voice. It's a long journey and it's hard, but if you do the work and don't give up, I believe you will get there.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Competition is fierce and the market changes on a dime. Write what you want. Write your dream -- the book you believe in and has to be written. If you can't sell it, write another one. I had to write five full length novels before I got published. It's the journey that is everything -- not the goal. Sure, it's wonderful being published but it's not the end of your career -- only the beginning.

Young adults need to be encouraged to love books and write what they want. We need to encourage them every step of the way.

Dallas, on a side note, you are an inspiration to many people out there and I really aprpeciate being able to be on your blog.

Happy writing, everyone!


Contact Jennifer:

• Website: http://www.jenniferprobst.com

• Blog: http://jenniferprobst.wordpress.com

• Order Buffy and the Carrot: http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/BuffyAndTheCarrot.html

New Online Resource for Teens

I recently found out about a new free resource for tweens and young teens that’s available from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children’s NetSmartz Workshop. It’s designed to help kids make smarter choices when it comes to some of today's tough issues like online gaming, cyberbullying, and social networking.

This site stood out to me because all of the materials have been peer reviewed along the way, and the suggestions of real kids have been incorporated in the content. Go to www.NSTeens.org to check it out!