Featured Author: Janet Gurtler
Ah, the power of the Internet. Previous to meeting the wonderful Janet Gurtler in person, we'd chatted a few times online. I was thrilled when one of my author visits was close enough for her to drop in and I'm pretty sure I modelled what NOT to do during such an event…lol. Janet has since had her second YA novel published, with another on the way. Though she's one busy lady, she was kind enough to answer a few questions.
What projects are you working on / have published?
I am currently working on an Anthology short story for an Ebook that a group of writers I am tied in with called the Debs. We all published our debut books in 2009 and are putting out an ebook together. Find out more here: http://debut2009.livejournal.com/1085...
I'M NOT HER is my first Sourcebooks title. I also have another single title coming out in October from Sourcebooks called IF I TELL. They are stand-alone books but the publisher has done a great job branding them together with covers that complement each other.
What's your road to publication story?
Oh it's a long and windy road! When my son was a baby (he's 10 now) I decided I had to fulfill my lifelong dream of writing a book. And so I wrote a romance novel. And then I joined RWA and started to learn about how to write a book (lol)! I wrote a couple more romance novels and then eventually had an idea for a teenage novel about a boy character and this became my first YA. I got an agent with that book and travelled down a few more windy roads, but eventually, with a different agent, the boy book became my first published novel. It was called Waiting To Score and I wrote it under a pseudonym. Things went wonky on the path for a while but when I started I'm NOT HER, I began looking for a new agent, and connected with the wonderful agent Jill Corcoran. She sold I'm Not Her to Sourcebooks and soon after my next book, IF I TELL.
Why YA?
I think the better question for me, is WHY NOT YA. I love the genre so much. When I started writing YA that's when I truly found my voice as a writer. It felt like I'd found my home. I only read YA now and it's really what I love to both read and write. In some ways I think it's because I sucked so much at being a teenager that my brain kind of got stuck there and revels in the chance to do it all over again and again through the lives of fictional characters. Honestly though, I think YA stories resonate strongly with adults too because adolescence is such a time of change and hope and really aren't we all still searching for that in our lives? Teenage protagonists have the luxury of having more choices and less adult restrictions and there's so much more freedom for characters to do so much more.
Best writing advice you've heard?
Write. Write through the blocks. Write every day. Just do it baby. Write.
What inspires you?
Mostly I think it's coffee. But really inspiration is everywhere. The news. Music. Movies. Eavesdropping on people's private conversations. Other writers.
Did you write stories as a teen? If yes, what has / hasn't changed?
I wrote in journals when I was a teen. I don't really remember writing stories as much as I wrote to myself trying to figure out my world. I was in a deep search for who I was and who I wanted to be and wrote to try to find myself. Writing has always kept me sane.
Can you describe your office / workspace / writer's cave?
I basically just sit on my living room couch, laptop in my lap, coffee at my side. Usually the dog is at my side and I do my best to ignore housework that needs to be done around me.
What's in your main character's purse/backpack/car/locker right now?
Tess doesn't carry a purse, but in her backpack are the usual school supplies. Her most prized possession she carries with her is her sketch book and a collection of her favourite sketching pencils.
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Thanks for hanging, Janet! I hope we'll get a chance to actually sip some java one of these days.
Can't get enough of Janet Gurtler? Join the club. Check out her website: http://janetgurtler.com/ , and/or follow her on Twitter: @janetgurtler
