Young Adult Books Are My Home

HOME. What a perfect topic for my first blog! 

Joining the authors at YA Outside the Lines feels like coming home and I want to say thank you for welcoming me. 

I wasn’t always a young adult author. I played with thrillers, mysteries, and contemporary romance (a few published). When my kids looked over my shoulder while I was writing, I’d have to cover the screen. At the time, they were too young for murders, crime, and all that takes place in a romance. When they asked, “When will you write something we can read?” I quickly penned a story about a soccer player and a gymnast. 

And fell in love with writing from a younger point of view. 

Teenage angst. First love. Popularity. Sports. Bullies. 

I’d always loved watching teen movies and shows, always loved reading young adult books, and yet never thought about writing a young adult tale. My kids were my inspiration, and I need to thank them too. 

While that first book will never see the light of day, it was what lit the creative spark to write young adult books. First came my Lost Daughters of Atlantis series. I’ve always been fascinated by the ocean and what lurks beneath. I love a fish out of water story, literally.

Then, my Warrior Academy series. Ancient warriors in present day San Francisco out to save the world from destruction.

My current series, A Glass Slipper Adventure, featuring kick-butt heroines in a twisted fairytale kingdom. And of course, a little romance.

 

You might’ve noticed all the books have a fantasy bent. They might be magical and make believe, but the books address real problems, real emotional conflicts, and real relationships. Things even I can relate to. But they also are fun quests, escapism, amazing worlds, and fantastical powers. 

After all, I’m a big kid—or teen—just with many more years of experience 😊 and one who finally found my home.