You asked for it, so here it is! (Oh...you didn't...ask? Oh, well! Here it is, anyway...) My Writing Process!

Thanks to Kym Brunner for inviting me to participating in the “My Writing Process” Blog Tour! Find Kym on her website, http://www.kymbrunner.com!

First, a bit about me: this is my bio, (in which I speak of myself in third person, LOL):

In addition to writing Young Adult Contemporary Fiction, Beth Fehlbaum is an experienced English teacher who frequently draws on her experience as an educator to write her books. She has a B.A. in English, Minor in Secondary Education, and an M.Ed. in Reading.

Beth is the author of Big Fat Disaster (Merit Press/F+W Media, March 2014); Courage in Patience (Kunati Books, 2008); and Hope in Patience (WestSide Books, 2010). Hope in Patience was named a 2011 YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers. Truth in Patience, which rounds out The Patience Trilogy, is as yet unpublished.

Beth has a following in the young adult literature world and also among survivors of sexual abuse because of her work with victims' advocacy groups. She has been the keynote speaker at the National Crime Victims' Week Commemoration Ceremony at the Hall of State in Dallas, Texas and a presenter for Greater Texas Community Partners, where she addressed a group of social workers and foster children on the subject of "Hope".

Beth is a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, like Ashley in The Patience Trilogy, and the day-to-day manager of an eating disorder much like Colby's in Big Fat Disaster. These life experiences give her a unique perspective, and she writes her characters' stories in a way meant to inspire hope.

Beth lives with her family in the woods of East Texas.

You can find Beth online at http:www.bethfehlbaumbooks.com , on Facebook , and on https://twitter.com/bethfehlbaum .

And now...onto the questions!

What am I working on?  

My latest novel, Big Fat Disaster, just released, so I’m working on getting the word out about it. I recently returned from the Texas Library Association conference in San Antonio, where I presented with other authors on a panel about religion in YA fiction, attended some events, and generally worked non-stop for two days straight.

I’m brainstorming story ideas. My publisher, Merit Press/ F+W Media, would like either a follow-up to Big Fat Disaster or a stand-alone new novel. I plan to start it this summer (2014).

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I write Contemporary (Realistic) YA Fiction—but I guess what distinguishes my work is the fearless nature of my storytelling. One of my favorite authors, Jennifer Brown (Hate List), has said that I write without looking over my shoulder. I am committed to truth-telling and authenticity, which translates to what some have called a “raw” nature to my novels.

Why do I write what I do?

I was inspired to begin sharing my writing with others by Chris Crutcher’s Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes. I read it just before I began writing novels when I was in therapy for childhood sexual abuse. I had been writing short stories and poems, trying to process my anger, disbelief, and grief, and I was sharing them with my therapist. About a year or so into therapy, he suggested that I try writing a novel. After about four months of starts and stops—I kept falling into my own head and bumping up against the same question: “WHY?”—and I finally decided to step outside of myself and observe the recovery of someone else through her eyes. That person was Ashley Nicole Asher, age 15, who is removed from her abusive home with her mom & stepdad and placed in a tiny Texas town (“Patience”), where her life begins again. Book 1- Courage in Patience was published in 2008 by a tiny Canadian publisher called Kunati. They went bankrupt in 2009, and the book went out of print. Book 2- Hope in Patience was published in 2010—and named a 2011 YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers. Its publisher, WestSide Books, went out of business not long after. Book 3- Truth in Patience was written in 2011 but it has yet to see the light of day—except for the Chapter 1 excerpt on my website, because the very day I was going to submit it to my editor as my follow-up book, I received an email from WestSide Books informing me that they were closing up shop and selling the business. It took me 18 months to get my rights back to Hope in Patience. Courage in Patience and Hope in Patience are available on a limited basis through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and private sellers. Here’s a buy link  for the low-down on availability of my books. 

My first two publishers’ failure to thrive placed my Patience books in No Man’s Land, and it breaks my heart; it really does, because The Patience Trilogy  books are my “heart” books. Writing them was so intensely healing for me, I hardly have words to express it. I am hoping that Big Fat Disaster will do well and that a publisher will be willing to take on The Patience Trilogy. At this point, my agent and I are in waiting mode to see what sorts of sales Big Fat Disaster has so that we can approach a new publisher and say, “See, there? People love this woman’s work. Take this on, and you won’t be sorry!”

How does my writing process work?

I do a lot of mental pre-writing before I even put a word on paper. After I know who the character is and what she wants; the basic thing that will get in her way; how the story will end—then I begin writing. I normally do the mental thing during the majority of the school year, but with the release of Big Fat Disaster, I’ve done mostly work leading up to that, this year.

Coming up next in THE WRITING PROCESS BLOG TOUR, on April 28!

Jessica Rising: Her heart and soul is -- and always has been -- in children's literature. She holds a master's degree in children's literature, and all of her books are middle grade (for ages 7-12). She also loves speculative fiction; she proudly writes fantasy, sci-fi, and any and all of their subgenres.

Jessica blogs here: http://gutsandglorybooks.com/blog/

Lori Gaudet: L. V. Gaudet is a Canadian fiction writer who writes mainly the darker forms of fiction.  L.V. Gaudet’s writing is influenced by growing up with a love for thrillers and horrors, sneaking down as a kid to watch old Vincent Price movies and devouring thriller novels.

Samples of her work can be found on her blog:

The intangible world of the literary mind

What secrets of the mind lurk beyond the mist enshrouded bridge?

http://lvgwriting.wordpress.com/

Follow on Facebook:

www.facebook.com/LVGaudet.Author