Why YA?
Or, my polite response to the snide comment "you write YA because you still think you're in HS, right?"
So here is confession time.
YES, dear reader. I WRITE YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE BECAUSE I STILL WISH I WAS 16 YEARS OLD.
After all, aren't the bestest years of out lives the ones riddled with angst and depression and misunderstanding and lostness and confusion and heartbreak and disappointment and realization.
I decided I wanted to relive my high school years throughout my professional writing career. I wanted all of the injustices I went through re-written like a Natasha Bedingfield song. Or wait...it's unwritten, right?
Never mind me. I have a terrible memory when it comes to songs titles and musicians. But one thing I have an excellent memory of are my favorite parts of high school. I will tick them off in no particular order.
1) UFO pants. Back in 2002, UFO pants were all the rage. Everyone wore them. Except for me because they were to expensive so I got the "look a like" kind from Mandee.
* All of my favorite characters wear UFO pants because I never got to.
2) Wendy's. My high school was in the middle of Nowhere, Queens Village. There were only fast food chains around so all of my friends would hang out at Wendy's sharing fries. The staff would hate us because we would take all of the creamers, mix them with sugar and then drink them like shots.
* All of my characters are addicted to cream & sugar because that's what the cool kids do.
3) Strawberry Punk. The kind of punk that is so un-punk it sounds better as pop. And better yet acoustic.
* All of my characters spend hours lying on their beds replaying songs that, just, like, I mean, like, TOTALLY sing the lyrics to your life. Track #5 is especially dedicated to that one buy who chose your friend over you, you know the one.
4) Buffy and Angel.
Actually, that hasn't changed. Nine years later, I still watch these guys all the time. It's given me a superhero complex, like *all of my characters.
and finally my favorite!
5) BAD POETRY.
The kind that is about darkness and FEEEELINGS like you've never felt them before. Putting on my headphones (not earbuds, but HEADphones) and hitting PLAY on my portable CD player, jamming to that Slipknot grind.
There you have it Dear Reader. After all, why would I write about young people changing their lives and the lives of those around them when I could be writing real literature about my college roommate getting drunk or sitting and smoking in front of Hunter College. Real, hard-hitting literature.
*Lies
I'm glad I can finally come clean with all of you.
In fact, The Vicious Deep and its sequels are actually a retelling of my past life as a teenage merman.
Stay young everyone. And for Poseidon's sake, pretty pretty please,
WRITE ON.
So here is confession time.
YES, dear reader. I WRITE YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE BECAUSE I STILL WISH I WAS 16 YEARS OLD.
After all, aren't the bestest years of out lives the ones riddled with angst and depression and misunderstanding and lostness and confusion and heartbreak and disappointment and realization.
I decided I wanted to relive my high school years throughout my professional writing career. I wanted all of the injustices I went through re-written like a Natasha Bedingfield song. Or wait...it's unwritten, right?
Never mind me. I have a terrible memory when it comes to songs titles and musicians. But one thing I have an excellent memory of are my favorite parts of high school. I will tick them off in no particular order.1) UFO pants. Back in 2002, UFO pants were all the rage. Everyone wore them. Except for me because they were to expensive so I got the "look a like" kind from Mandee.
* All of my favorite characters wear UFO pants because I never got to.
2) Wendy's. My high school was in the middle of Nowhere, Queens Village. There were only fast food chains around so all of my friends would hang out at Wendy's sharing fries. The staff would hate us because we would take all of the creamers, mix them with sugar and then drink them like shots.
* All of my characters are addicted to cream & sugar because that's what the cool kids do.3) Strawberry Punk. The kind of punk that is so un-punk it sounds better as pop. And better yet acoustic.
* All of my characters spend hours lying on their beds replaying songs that, just, like, I mean, like, TOTALLY sing the lyrics to your life. Track #5 is especially dedicated to that one buy who chose your friend over you, you know the one.
4) Buffy and Angel.
Actually, that hasn't changed. Nine years later, I still watch these guys all the time. It's given me a superhero complex, like *all of my characters. and finally my favorite!
5) BAD POETRY.
The kind that is about darkness and FEEEELINGS like you've never felt them before. Putting on my headphones (not earbuds, but HEADphones) and hitting PLAY on my portable CD player, jamming to that Slipknot grind.
There you have it Dear Reader. After all, why would I write about young people changing their lives and the lives of those around them when I could be writing real literature about my college roommate getting drunk or sitting and smoking in front of Hunter College. Real, hard-hitting literature.
*Lies
I'm glad I can finally come clean with all of you.
In fact, The Vicious Deep and its sequels are actually a retelling of my past life as a teenage merman.
Stay young everyone. And for Poseidon's sake, pretty pretty please,
WRITE ON.
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