Across the Plain of Shining Books

So today I'm a featured author at Across the Plain of Shining Books. Pat asked me a lot of great questions so I'm going to post a few of them here. Happy reading!

Poet and novelist Liz DeJesus stops by The Plain today to talk about her passion and inspiration for writing her magical tales. She’s also sharing an excerpt from her latest release, First Frost, a delightful young adult fantasy.Welcome, Liz. Tell us a little about yourself. Where are you from?
I was born in the small island of Puerto Rico. And when I was seventeen years old my family and I moved to Delaware.
You’ve written several well-received books. What sparked your interest in writing?
My mom. She’s a writer as well (still unpublished but we’re hoping to change that soon) and all throughout my childhood, I remember waking up to the sound of her typing on her typewriter. I remember the day that she bought a new one and gave the old typewriter to me. She was explaining to me how one key stuck and sometimes the capital letters are a little higher than the other but I didn’t care. All I knew was that I had inherited something extremely important. Mom gave me a stack of paper and at twelve years old I wrote my very first short story…about twin brothers that turned into dragons.
A wonderful start! What components, in your opinion, make a great story?
Great characters. I don’t care if all they are doing is going to the supermarket, I wanna care about those characters and why they’re doing what they’re doing.
How would you generally categorize the books/stories you write?
I would say fantasy. But then within that genre I would also include magical realism. I love the idea of magic happening during a normal, routine-like day. Sometimes I’ll write fiction but lately not so much.

Read the rest of the interview here.