What makes for YA? A reader opines

When, I sometimes ask myself, did my writing life begin?  Was it at nine, when I started penning those crazy purple poems?  Was it at sixteen, when my English teacher noticed?  Was it when Natalie Kutz answered a letter I'd written her, or when Iowa Woman accepted my first essay?



Or was it when I won a certain grant, my first, and upon that occasion had my first reading and also met (it's funny how this happens) people who have remained friends throughout this writing life?



One of those fri...