I will never give up writing in a variety of genres. I like new challenges, I get bored with one kind of literature, and I think switching it out now and then keeps my stories fresh. After all, I grew up on hard sci-fi and horror, so no matter how many fantasies I write underneath beats the black heart of some blood sucking alien, moohaha.
I started out with romance, in part because I thought that would be easier to market. Wrong. Everyone and their brother believe they can write a romance, so there are lots of them floating around. I think mine are good, but in the end it’s a romance, and a romance is a romance is a romance, more or less.
So I decided to focus on age group rather than subject matter. I first tried children’s stories. Again, hard to compete in that market. Even Madonna writes kid books. Next I tried young adult, usually written for the teen set. I had some success with a couple of YA books, Hagitha’s Chronicles (a detective witch), and Changeling (a Celtic sprite who comes to America). Although all is not lighthearted, the overall feeling of these endeavors was sweet. People liked them. I should correct that. Adults who liked light fantasy enjoyed them. Moms liked them. Young adults as a group, I’m sorry to say, did not.
I did much thinking and more research on YA literature after that. I discovered that young adults don’t want books about “kids” their age, they want books starring older teens and early twenties. They also want scary. Forbidden. Exciting. Something to take them out of their supposedly humdrum life. Altogether now… they want Twilight.
Today’s youth are immersed in society in a way I never was. I don’t believe this is better or worse than the way I grew up, just different. The fourteen year old targeted by the young adult market in 2010 is street smart, savvy, and has a low bullshit threshold. Which means if you’re going to write about something like death, incest, or bullying, it had better be real. For me, that’s sometimes hard to do, but I know it’s necessary if I want young readers to pick up my books. Er, Kindle. Ipod. Whatever.
Overall I love writing for this age group. I enjoy being around young people. I see them as hard working, enlightened socially, free, and open minded. Of course, being young isn’t always easy. Little problems seem monstrous. Big problems seem life ending. I take seriously that I can touch readers with my stories. If I can help one struggling teen understand there will be a better tomorrow, I feel like I’ve contributed far more than an entertaining tale.
I think to write young adults books one must be able to tap into that long ago version of themselves. I too loved anything exciting and dangerous and I dreamed of adventure. I have never forgotten that longing. The stories that kept me up all night were filled with characters such as Ursula K. Le Guin’s Tenar in Earthsea or C.L. Moore’s Jirel of Jory in Black God's Kiss; works that highlighted a young woman’s struggle against powerful dark forces.
I also remember watching my parents live their lives thinking oh no, not me. I will never lead such a boring life. I will live on the edge. I will do great things. I will live somewhere strange and beautiful and marry an exotic man. I’m only here now because I have to be.
Youth is a wonderful and uncomfortable time, all rolled into one. There was a song in the 80s titled Cruel Summer; a catchy tune, but sung in a flat monotone by three young women in slightly minor key. The words say it all; I’m bored being alone. But more than that, I’m afraid of being with my own thoughts. And of course, no one understands.
At that age thinking too much can be scary. Books allowed me to disappear into exciting worlds. But somewhere in the back of my mind I knew would never be Jirel or Tenar. So I kept reading. And reading and reading and reading…
But that’s OK. Realizing you will probably be ordinary is something done slowly. Because it is only as adults that we understand “ordinary” can be another word for peace, contentment, and happiness. I live twenty minutes from where I was born. I don’t know if anyone would call my life exciting. But I am married to the love of my life. I’m healthy. I enjoy my hobbies, profession, and my family and friends. Would I really want to be Jirel?
No. But it’s still fun to think about. And I hope it always will be.
Hot summer streets and the pavements are burning I sit around
Trying to smile but the air is so heavy and dry
Strange voices are saying…
What did they say?
Things I can't understand
It's too close for comfort this heat has got right out of hand
It's a cruel cruel summer
Leaving me here on my own
It's a cruel cruel summer
Now you've gone
You're not the only one
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