An Extremely Skilled YA Author - Adrian Stephens

Dear Readers:

I have recently been given a truly fantastic YA novel titled, In My Shoes by the author, Adrian Stephens, and I literally have to tell you this is a book that absolutely everyone - every age - would enjoy!

For a constant reader and an all-out book ‘obsessed’ woman, I find myself missing the classics. I’m not talking Shakespeare, or even Jane Austen (especially considering that there are hundreds of writers basing many novels on that great lady nowadays). I mean YA fiction. In this current world, YA is synonymous with demon-killers, witches, wolves, vampires, death, suicide, disease - you know - peppy subjects. Just kidding, there are romance and adventure YA’s out there that are fantastic reads, but writers like Judy Blume, Mary Rodgers, and others really put their stamp on the YA world long ago, and this one book has brought that all back to me.

Using a VERY modern take on the plot of Freaky Friday, Adrian Stephens has created a book that is filled with life lessons, humor, love and the ultimate discovery of who we are and how we can better appreciate the others around us.

Jake Matthews is a senior in high school and is sitting in his physics class day-dreaming. A top-student, Jake is highly dependable and is working his proverbial behind off to get great grades so he can land a full scholarship to college, and not have to put extra pressure on his Mom - a single parent who makes sure that Jake is raised in a house full of love, even though it’s short on money.

Mike is Jake’s best friend. Mike is one of those class clowns that loves to gain attention. However, Mike is also extremely smart - he just can’t seem to find the need or want inside his soul to work harder and make something out of himself. He just likes to kid, laugh and act a bit like a five-year-old. Jake and Mike always hang together, but Jake is a little off today. All he wants to do is stop Nicole Evans at her locker between classes so that he can ask her out. To him, she’s the perfect girl, and not only because of looks. He’s listened and watched Nicole for a long time and believes her to be one of the smartest girls he’s ever met. Unfortunately, Mike picks this day to embarrass his buddy by tripping him in class and making him look like the idiot. So when Jake does corner Nicole, she not only turns him down - she annihilates him.

Crushed and absolutely shocked, Jake heads home mad at his best friend and completely disgusted with that ‘perfect’ girl. The last thing he expects is to wake up AS the perfect girl. Morning arrives and Jake finds himself with female parts that he’s ashamed to look at, high heels that he needs to learn how to walk in, and jars of make-up that he has no clue what to do with. While back in Jake’s room, the perfect Nicole has become one of the creatures she loathes - a boy.

There are absolutely magical scenes in this novel, because it is not based on slap-stick comedy at all times. Yes, there are scenarios that are hysterical, but the conversations that each one of these teens have with parents, friends, teachers, and each other really delve into what it’s like to stand in someone else’s shoes for a while. As ‘Jake,’ Nicole has the ability to get Jake’s Mom to speak about past history, as well as finding out all the wonderful traits that Jake owns. And as ‘Nicole,’ Jake really sees how a two-parent family operates, and just how much they care for one another. (And yes, as always, the Twilight world takes a bow as father and daughter talk over the essence and ‘draw’ of the movie and its actors.)

Working together, and trying not to ruin each other’s life, Nicole and Jake find a balance, a friendship, and perhaps a future attraction. Not to mention the author offers an ending that, as a woman, I am in total agreement with. Fun, charming, and a really perfect story that brings back what YA used to be all about - a great story with a great lesson that everyone, teen and adult, should take the time to learn!

I was also lucky enough to ‘sit down’ with the author, himself, and get his answers to a few questions that will literally help and inspire many authors who wish to turn their writing dream into a reality. So, without further adieu, I give you the extremely skilled, Adrian Stephens.
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Readers always like to know where the inspiration for a story came from. I sensed that you are a ‘Potter’ fan, and got a little ‘push’ from that magical author?

It’s funny you should say that because my bio mentions that the Harry Potter series sparked my interest in reading fiction. Growing up, I did not like to read. I was a fine reader, but the books I read just didn’t grab me. My brother got me the Harry Potter series (at least the six that were out at the time) and I finished them in a month. I read a lot now, but I still have a lot of holes to fill from my childhood with the classics I missed out on. So, the short answer would be, yes. J.K. Rowling had a large influence on my reading which eventually inspired my writing.

I have to ask, are you the Dad of any teenagers? You seem to really understand both girls and boys feelings at that age, so I was wondering if you are writing from past experience or, like me, currently immersed in the teenage world?

Thank you, first of all. I am the father of two amazing boys, but they have not yet reached their teens. I was the son of divorced parents and I lived with my mother growing up. I would say that I have pulled a lot from past experience, where I had very close friends - both male and female. In the end, teens today may have iPhones instead of Walkmans, but much of the same fears, frustrations and insecurities we felt during that time period are very relatable across generations.

Is the YA genre your favorite genre to write in, or will you be exploring other areas?

Young adult can cover a wide variety of stories, and I would guess that most of my works will at least fit into that genre classification. I do enjoy writing for a YA audience, especially because people of all ages can enjoy YA if the story is done right. I am working on stories that are not as light, but they will still be likely targeted to a YA audience.

With that being asked, what is the next book that you’re working on?

My next novel, 31 Days to Life, is actually much darker than In My Shoes. Sometimes I really struggle to write it, not because I can’t find the words, but because the subject matter is difficult to deal with…at least for me. It focuses on a girl who is kidnapped and assaulted for thirty-one days before being let go by her unknown captor. Once released, she must learn how to pick up the pieces of her life, knowing that the man who did the horrible things to her is still out there. 31 Days to Life is due out next August, but I have the first chapter of the book available on my website, www.adrianstephens.com.

Is your wife one of your ‘readers?’ I ask this because the female perspective, again, is so well done and right on the money, I was wondering if there was a wifely bit of input in the manuscript?

Again, thank you. My wife is one of my readers. That said, she did not want to read the book and feel like she was reading about herself. She would give me input when I asked, but most of the habits for Nicole came from lots of research. When I was done, I gave the book to many ‘readers,’ five of which were women. I asked them each to be as blunt as possible with anything that stood out to them as being unconvincing. I can’t thank my readers and editors enough. I think they did a great job helping me with Nicole.

Is writing your first passion? Readers love to know how it all began for an author - their first experience with the written word. Can you share your beginning?

I can say that, although it wasn’t always my first passion, it is wholeheartedly my first passion now. As a kid I was very practical. As much as I would have loved to have been a writer, singer, or actor, it wasn’t something I paid much thought to because I felt I couldn’t start a family with the instability that ‘trying to make it’ brings. I wanted a family more. So, I went to college and got a degree in Business Management, and started my family.

My beginning came a few years after I had read the Harry Potter series for the first time. It was that series that made me realize how amazing the journey can be to immerse yourself in a book. As I continued reading anything and everything after that, ideas would come to me and I would just write a bit down and save it for later. When I had the idea for In My Shoes, I finally said, “I really think I want to write this.” I didn’t know if I COULD do it, but I decided to try. I wrote the first chapter and, looking back, it wasn’t very good the first time around. As I continued writing I found my voice, my style, how I wanted to develop my story. I went back and fixed the first chapter, but the main thing is, when I got to that last page, I realized that I not only COULD do it, but I loved doing it.

What advice would you give to a debut author just starting out?

I’ve said this in other interviews, but I really feel that getting a good education is important. And, though I think college is really important, most of what I learned for writing occurred in middle and high school. The best advice I can give is, do yourself a favor by learning all that your teachers try to teach you. You never know - 15 years after you learned it, you may just find a real love for it. For every writer, you need to learn your grammar and spelling; spell check can only take you so far. Your characters won’t always use perfect grammar, but you have to know the difference so you can develop your characters with the ‘voice’ you are trying to give them.

Do you like the direction that YA is going in? What do you believe will be the next big ‘hook’ after the vampires recede?

I think it’s great that YA is opening up so many people to reading and finding worlds they would never have found otherwise. There is a lot of creativity out there. I just wish that the market weren’t so flooded with, say, vampires. I mean, I like vampires, wizards, and a couple of elves, but there is a lot out there to be discovered that doesn’t involve fangs. Hopefully we can find some diversity so that a great, original vampire or wizard story doesn’t come along when everyone is too burned out to read it.

And, we always end with a few questions that our readers get a kick out of - it’s a bit of an ‘Ode to James Lipton’:

What is your favorite book?

I know that people will feel it’s too easy an answer, but my favorite book is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. J.K. Rowling is brilliant. I have never anticipated a book coming out as I did that one. Maybe it’s because it was one of my first, but that is my favorite.

What is your favorite word?

I don’t really have a favorite. As a kid I liked arduous. I don’t know why, but it stands out.

What is your least favorite word?

Again, I don’t really have a least favorite. Let’s just go with words of the four-letter variety.

What author do you love to read?

J.K. Rowling would be too obvious, but true. I’ve read a few series by authors I enjoyed, but I don’t have an author who I’ve followed across different stories. I read The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. Time travel is so difficult to do and I felt she did an amazing job. I would love to read another story created by her.

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

For a practical profession, I would want to try architecture or engineering. Impractically, I would have loved to have been a singer. I love to sing.

What profession would you not like to attempt?

That’s more difficult because there’s not a lot that doesn’t intrigue me. Everything is something to learn. I think I’d have a hard time being a lawyer. I’d always be worried I helped convict an innocent person, or set someone free who was guilty.

What is your favorite thing about writing?

Much like reading, sometimes you don’t know where the story is going to go. I mean, you have the general idea of where you want it to go, but sometimes you start the journey and something occurs to you that changes everything. I love that creative process where even if you may have planned to take a story one place, you feel pulled to take it somewhere else.

My advice, readers? If you are in the mood for a truly inspirational, emotional, powerful and truly humorous story - In My Shoes is the perfect choice!

Until Next Time, Everybody!
Amy