Hello Everyone! I hope all is well with you today! I’ve got fellow Astraea Press author Liz Botts here and she’s going to tell us about writing for the Young Adult Genre and about her new release “Curtain Call”.
Take it away Liz!
I never read young adult books as a teen. Instead I read classics and romance novels. By college I had transitioned to a lot of nonfiction reading as a history major. My younger sister (ten years younger) started reading young adult books, and once in awhile I would pick them up. From there I started to explore the genre. Since then I have consistently found my love of young adult books growing each year.
I love the risks young adult authors take, and the topics they are willing to tackle. As an adult reading young adult books, I find that there are always elements I can relate to from my own teen years. Plus I find that there is a lot of phenomenal writing in the young adult genre that many people over look simply because of the intended audience.
Why I write young adult fiction is another topic altogether. Part of it does stem from my love of the genre, but there’s more to it than that. Several years ago I worked as a youth director at a church. One of the programming activities I ran was a Wednesday night gathering where the teens in the youth group could come to hang out and de-stress from a busy week. The group that came loved being together and the hilarity that ensued often sparked story ideas.
Most of the youth group kids were in theater, something I had done in high school, as well, so many of the story ideas came from there. Having gone to the same high school as most of the kids, I could easily relate to a lot of the crazy things that went on in the theater department as almost nothing had changed in the ten years since I had graduated.
Another aspect of the stories that gave me a lot of material was the relationship drama inherent in any teen group. While none of the teens’ relationships have ever made it into my books, the general inspiration is everywhere.
One year I decided to take a story idea and create a book for NaNoWriMo. Eventually that story became my first published novel, In the Spotlight. Writing about teens proved a fun challenge, one that I have continued to enjoy. My latest release, Curtain Call, follows the story begun during, In the Spotlight. I hope you’ll check it out.
Blurb for Curtain Call:
Five years after their success in High School Theater, Josh and Hannah are still together. However, life has made things complicated, and Josh and Hannah have made some decisions that don’t sit too well with Hannah. During their final semester in college, Hannah begins questioning everything in her life. She decides that her relationship with Josh needs a break. Josh is heart-broken by this turn of events, but he remains steadfast in his love.
As their final semester in college progresses, Josh and Hannah find their way back to each other through school choices, family problems, and slightly meddling friends. Josh rediscovers his love of acting when he gets cast as the lead in Hannah’s senior project. And Hannah discovers that the things she wants in life might not have changed all that much after all.
Buy Links:
Astraea: http://www.astraeapress.com/#ecwid:category=662245&mode=product&product=13928801
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Curtain-Call-ebook/dp/B009GBDEEI
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/curtain-call-liz-botts/1113013420?ean=2940015607888
To find out more about me: http://lizbotts.com/
Thanks for stopping by Liz and I appreciate you taking the time to be here today!
Feel free to leave a comment for Liz and let her know what you think about her new release! 🙂
