Debut Author Interviews

What should readers get from your book?

• Paula Chase on...Impact on Readers
• Joni Sensel on...Impact on Readers
• Ruth McNally Barshaw on...Impact on Readers
• Melissa Marr on...Impact on Readers
• Tiffany Trent on...Impact on Readers
• A.C.E. Bauer on...Impact on Readers
• Judy Gregerson on...Impact on Readers
• Jay Asher on...Impact on Readers
• Jeannine Garsee on...Impact on Readers
• S.A. Harazin on...Impact on Readers
• Sarah Beth Durst on...Impact on Readers
• Rose Kent on...Impact on Readers
• Carrie Jones on...Impact on Readers
• Laura Bowers on...Impact on Readers

What should readers get from your book?

I hope that readers will get that even though teen angst can be overwhelming it’s a natural thing and most things we angst over can be put into perspective as long as you have a support base - be it friends and/or family.

What should readers get from your book?

In my fondest dreams, my readers will understand that “imagination” is powerful, fun, and not just for kids or kooks.

What should readers get from your book?

From Ellie McDoodle: Have Pen, Will Travel, I hope readers take away
a sense of fun,
knowledge of a few new games,
some facts about nature,
and the realization that even a very antagonistic situation can work out well.

My website, http://ruthexpress.com, will help reinforce those points with
freebies and more fun.

What should readers get from your book?

There are obviously themes that matter to me. Some show up in the texts. I’d hope that a reader—even if s/he doesn’t walk away believing it—would consider these: that a preconceived definition of happiness can be modified, that no matter how deep the swamp seems there’s also choices, that we can survive things that seem impossible to endure, and that the experiences we have and the choices we make and re-make define us. Some really ugly things can happen sometimes. We can choose to let them destroy us, or we can let them temper us into something tougher. I vote for tougher: no regrets, no pity, just the knowldge that even if we break it doesn’t need to be a permanent state.

What should readers get from your book?

I don’t want to lead anyone into feeling that s/he must take some very specific and hallowed nugget from my books. But…one thing that became important to me as I wrote was to use history as a lens to understand how war can affect us at the deepest levels. It’s such an overwhelming thing these days, but war even now is still very personal and difficult and affects everyone whether we realize it or not. The ramifications of a war like the Civil War still reverberate today. What we do with it, how we live in the aftermath, are important issues to confront.

Also, I want readers to realize how much fun history can be, how much you can learn about yourself, your life, your ancestors…It’s all there for us to access any time we want, and it doesn’t have to be dull or boring or obligatory.

What should readers get from your book?

I hope my readers get a good story.

Sure there are themes in the book—friendship, self-confidence, overcoming prejudice, the joy of a little magic. But those are just themes. What I really want kids to get from my book is the sense that reading the book was worth their time. Anything else is gravy.

What should readers get from your book?

I want my readers to come away from my book with the understanding that they have great worth. I know there are many teens out there who face extreme family circumstances, like my main character. They feel like their lives are hanging in the balance every day and they don’t know how they’re going to get through. I want teens to know that if they develop a love for the truth and are willing to cultivate hope, they can get through anything, no matter how hard.

I also want them to think about considering the cost before they sacrifice themselves by denying what they know is true.

What should readers get from your book?

Chills.

What should readers get from your book?

If your parent, or another family member, is suffering from alcohol and/or drug addiction, this is NOT YOUR FAULT. Period. I can’t stress this enough. And in order to keep their sickness from destroying your own life, sometimes you have to make very difficult decisions. It’s never easy, but it’s a way to survive. Never give up your dreams to save someone who refuses to save themself.

What should readers get from your book?

I hope the reader gets the “aha!” feeling when they read the last sentence.

What should readers get from your book?

Eternal happiness.

Seriously, though, I hope people read INTO THE WILD and think, “WOW, THAT WAS SO COOL!” And I hope they think it in capital letters too because thinking in capital letters is EXTRA COOL.

What should readers get from your book?

I hope readers get some laughs, a warm fuzzy, a smidge of understanding about adoption or being of mixed-ethnicity, and a big dose of realizing that many kids wrestle with the middle school Who-am-I question. They are not alone — and they are just fine as the person they are. What Billy Joel meant when he sang, “I love you just the way you are.”

What should readers get from your book?

Ack. What a hard question.

I hope they get:

1. A story.

2. Friends. That’s how I feel about my main characters, Belle and Em. I feel like they are friends, and they are good friends to have.

3. Things to think about. Things like: What it means to be yourself, how it’s difficult to know the truth, that the truth of an individual isn’t determined by a majority vote

4. Their money’s worth.

5. A book that they don’t want to flush down the toilet, which is what my family members want to do when they really, really hate a book. Remember! Books and toilets do not mix.

What should readers get from your book?

I hope they have some giggles from the raucous bunch of characters and the goofy things they say. And I hope that when a reader finishes the last page, they sit silent for a few moments, replaying the final scene in their heads and recounting all my character’s steps that brought her there. That would be wonderful! But mostly, I hope they’re inspired to forgive, rather than clutch onto the bitterness and resentment that can weigh a person down, and then take this into adulthood.