Ultimate YA

1.) Why did you choose to write books for young adults?

I never actually chose young adult fiction. It’s more like it chose me. I had written an early draft of Cycler as a screenplay back in the nineties but never finished it. Once I started writing fiction, Cycler began pulsating in the background, and eventually I sat down and converted it into a novel. This turned out to be exactly what the story needed. At the time though, I wasn’t aware of young adult as a fiction category. I thought I was writing a science fiction novel. About half way through the first draft, however, I noticed that a lot of my colleagues in science fiction were getting shelved in the young adult section. When I finished the novel, I showed it to Scott Westerfeld, and he said (paraphrasing here): “Yup, this is Y.A.” Once I sold it to Random House, I started reading extensively in the genre and realized how rich and varied it was. Also, the focus on powerful story telling really spoke to me. I feel that Y.A. is where I belong.


2.) What is your favorite book? Your favorite author?

I doubt very much that any writer can answer this question definitively. I’ve loved a great many books and authors. But if I had to single out just one, I’d choose Dan Simmons for his Hyperion series. Before reading those books, I was a screenwriter. Afterwards, I was a fiction writer. I owe him that and am eternally grateful. Among YA writers, I’m a big fan of Justine Larbalestier, Robin Wasserman, Meg Rosoff, and, of course, Scott Westerfeld. With Scott, I actually became interested in his work initially through his adult fiction. Outside the genre, I’m a fan of Junot Diaz, Jonathan Lethem, and Cintra Wilson. And the only way I can keep the list that small is by forcing myself to move on to the next question.

3.) With which characters in your stories do you identify yourself most?

Jack. He is my id. I feel his pain, his joy, his lust. All of it. He is probably the character most primally connected to me.

4.) Some authors work during the day. Some at night. What is your typical writing day schedule?

I do my best writing in the morning. Unfortunately, now that I have a baby, mornings pretty much belong to her. I typically fit two or three writing sessions into each day. Each session will last from one to two hours. Usually, I write at home with headphones on and music blaring so that I can block out the activities of my husband and daughter. A few times a week I go either to the library or to a café to meet up with friends to write. This helps alleviate the occasionally crushing solitude of the writer’s life.

5.) What advice can you give to an aspiring writer?

It is my firm belief that those destined to write need no encouragement. Fanatical obsession with storytelling is something that grips a person against her will. Once in that grip, all you have to do is obey. You will be rejected, misunderstood, maligned, worshipped, and ignored. If you’re not blessed with a rugged ego and a thick skin, do your best to acquire these. Then get back to work because your next story will always be better than your last.

6.) How much of your personal life to you tend to bring to your stories?

The whole of my soul is there on the page but it’s cleverly hidden behind a façade of invented goings-on. This is because, although my emotional life is rich, my actual life is pretty mundane. Occasionally, however, a whole nugget of my existence makes its way on to the page. The ski lift scene from Cycler is one of those instances. Also, Jill’s reaction to Tommy’s secret is based on a similar experience I had once.

7.) What do you do when you encounter the dreaded writer’s block?

I’ve never had it. The closest I ever came was after completing my third novel and realizing I didn’t know what my fourth novel would be. I spent one nervous morning free writing to see if I had anything burbling away in the old Mind Swamp. By noon, I had a premise, a basic plot outline, and three pages of the first draft. I have no idea what it feels like to have nothing to say. I just rest my hands over the keyboard and stuff comes out.

8.) How long did it take for you to get published? How difficult was the road to getting published?

I quit my job as a movie producer in January of 2001 because I was halfway through writing my first novel. I figured I’d finish it in another six months, sell it, and be on my way in a shiny new career as a novelist. In reality, I never sold that novel. Nor did I sell my second novel (or even finish it, for that matter). As my savings ran out and panic set in, I began writing short stories, only three of which ever got published. Then I began writing Cycler and sold it in February of 2007. If I had known it would be so difficult to get published, I probably wouldn’t have had the courage to quit my job. Thank goodness for ignorance!

9.) Do you have any book recommendations for the readers in our group?

Boy, do I!

Liar, by Justine Larbalestier, Skinned and Crashed by Robin Wasserman, All of Meg Rosoff’s books (but especially How I Live Now and What I Was), All of Scott Westerfeld’s books (but my favorite is Peeps), Octavian Nothing by MT Anderson, and for those looking for something a bit more mature but still focused on the teen years, Colors Insulting to Nature by Cintra Wilson.