Author Insight: What they write

In five words or less, how would you describe the genre and age group you write for? Why do you write it?

"YA, the best genre EVER!" - Elizabeth Scott, author of Grace.

"Entertaining, (hopefully) enlightening fiction." - Heidi Kling, author of Sea.

"Dark, disaffected urban fantasy YA. I like stories that are more serious, may not always have a happy ending, and explore life as a loner. I write things that I would have wanted to read in high school, so that's my mindset right from the start." - Scott Tracey, author of Witch Eyes.

"Teen fiction for real people. And I write it because that's where I found my voice and will always be a teen at heart." - Danielle Joseph, author of Indigo Blues.

"Post Twilight Pre True Blood.." - Margaret Stohl, co-author of Beautiful Creatures.

"Teens coming-of-age through a shredder. (You have to count the hyphenated word as one). As of yet, I write stories about how we change in face of violence because I think that almost no one gets to 18 without facing something serious. And teens don't have as many resources and often lack the power of choice that adults are afforded. As a result, teens often suffer in silence. I hope Split can help someone, can recognize someone." - Swati Avashti, author of Split.

"Teen angst... angstier with magic! I love writing paranormal and fantasy fiction because the genre provides great metaphors to explore regular old human problems in exciting ways. Such as drama associated with being in between a kid and an adult." - Karen Kincy, author of Other.

"I'd definitely describe it as 'dark fantasy for teens.' And I write it because it combines two of my favorite things: YA and horror movies. In real life, I am decidedly not-dark, so I figure this is me balancing myself out." - Brenna Yovanoff, author of The Replacement.

"Paranormal romance for ages 12+" - Bree Despain, author of The Dark Divine.

"YA: passion, discovery, self-awareness, and fun! I write YA because the teenage years are such a critical point in every person’s life where passion for everything is at its peak. They are learning about the world around them and about themselves, and there’s something beautiful about self-discovery that I find very inspiring." - Courtney Allison Moulton, author of Angelfire.

"Whoever likes gritty magic stories. I write what I do because it entertains me more than anything. These are the stories that I want to read." - Diana Pharaoh Francis, author of Bitter Night.

"Contemporary YA for ages 14+. It's possible that I write it because I have unresolved issues from high school. Ha! Also, though, I went to private school. We had our own sorts of drama, but it's fascinating for me to research and write about some of the aspects of high school that I never experienced." - Mindi Scott, author of Freefall.

"I like to switch it up. I've written mainstream comedy about an Ivy League co-ed who joins a previously all-male secret society, a contemporary fantasy about killer unicorns and the teenage girls who hunt them, and now I'm working on a post-apocalyptic retelling of Persuasion. In each case, I have found myself drawn the character or the subject matter or the setting or some other aspect of the story that spurred me on to explore." - Diana Peterfreund, author of Rampant.

"Young adult paranormal mystery. Shadow Hills is listed as ages 12 and up, but I think it depends on the person. I probably would have been fine reading it at 10, which is around the age I started reading Christopher Pike novels. But there are some dark themes in my story, and while I think they're---for the most part---brought to 'light' by the end of the book, I don't know if every 12 year old would be quite ready. I wanted to write in this genre because I love mysteries and stories set in high school, but I also wanted to add an otherworldly element to the mix. It allows the story to be so much more exciting than real life. Plus, paranormal elements lend themselves nicely to symbolism and themes without getting preachy." - Anastasia Hopcus, author of Shadow Hills.

"YA fiction for smart teenagers. YA chose me—the story had the characters it had, and those characters were in high school. It couldn’t have been any other way. " - Michelle Hodkin, author of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer.

"Middle grade historical fiction and fantasy. (Sorry, that’s six words!) I love middle grade because readers this age are so open-minded; the world is this big house with dozens and dozens of locked doors and the books they read are their keys, unlocking all these secrets that the adults try to hide away." - Kristin Tubb, author of Selling Hope.

Come back Thursday to find out what our other authors write and why they write it!
<< Previous