Wordy Nerd asked Patty Blount:

I just finished reading your book Some Boys. It was excellent. The topic is pretty serious. How do you write about a topic that is serious but yet mange to make a book that is entertaining (in a good way) to read? Would you say writing on a serious topic is like writing a historical fiction book? I know a topic like rape is nothing to joke or find entertaining so do not take my above question wrong.

Patty Blount Hi,

Thanks for your question. You're right -- this is not a joke. I wrote the book because I got really angry over the way the media portrayed the accused in the Stuebenville case. They wanted us to feel sorry for them because they won't have football scholarships and their good names are ruined. But where was the outrage for their victim? No, she was blamed for the crime committed against her. I can't really tell if writing issues-based novels is at all like writing historical, since I've never written a historical, but I'd say it's close. You have to do a ton of research, make sure the facts that support your plot are nevertheless accurately portrayed, even though it's fiction. I think all novels should be engaging enough that readers care about the characters, care about what happens to them and close the book with a new perspective... or at the very least, an open mind.

Thanks for reading my work and your thought-provoking question.

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