Goodreads asked Karol Ruth Silverstein:

Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

Karol Ruth Silverstein My upcoming YA novel CURSED is loosely drawn from my own experiences of getting sick as a young teen. I had a screenwriting mentor back in the 90s - Holly Goldberg Sloan (now writing AMAZING books for kids in addition to writing and directing films) - who suggested I write about this topic but I was hesitant to do so, not wanting to add to a cannon that I felt (probably unfairly) was largely sappy and cloyingly inspirational. While lots of kids who get sick are incredibly brave and inspirational, I wasn't that kid AT ALL.

It wasn't until years later, when I discovered my main character Ricky's voice in a writing exercise, that I saw a pathway to telling a story that honored my own in a way that was authentic, raw and funny. Thus, CURSED was born!

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