It’s guest author time again. The lovely Jamie Ayres has agreed to be my guest on the blog today to tell us about her debut novel, 18 Things and her take on writing YA fiction. So, grab yourself a coffee (or, in my caffeine-phobe case, green tea) and read on…
Hi, ya’ll *waves* Big shout out to Sharon for hosting me! Let’s get this party started . . .
I made the transition from Wannabe YA Writer to Bona Fide Published Author just last month. I didn’t set out to write YA love stories, but I guess that’s what I enjoy reading the most, so that’s what flowed out of me. Specifically, I love coming-of-age stories . . . that time in our lives when we’re figuring out who we are and often falling in love for the first time and kinda getting away from the watchful eye of the parentals and the vulnerability that stems from all of that. Makes for great writing material!
It’s when I was a young adult in high school that I really discovered I wanted to be a writer. Teaching was tugging on my heartstrings too, so that’s what I majored in, with the intent to write in my ‘spare’ time. Back then I was naïve enough to think I’d have spare time when I grew-up (metaphorically speaking of course, because on the inside, I’m still a sixteen-year-old girl who still weighs one hundred twenty pounds, lol).
About the time kid #2 was entering kindergarten, I felt more free to read books for fun again, and it was perfect timing since my good friend started a book club. We were all moms in our thirties, but we got to talking about Twilight (I know, I know . . . we’re sooo original, hahaha). I wasn’t into vampire stories at all, but when I finally caved and picked it up, I couldn’t get enough. I loved how fast the story got under way. The pacing was so much quicker than what I was used to. Like most young adults (or wannabe YA), I have a short attention span, but everything in that book immediately grabbed me. Too many books I was reading before that left me with a “why should I give a crap?” feeling for far too long. They all gave me a nice character sketch for several chapters, but nothing to make me worry, to make me feel concerened, to make me feel like I wanted to be part of their world. Then, all of a sudden, I was living inside Bella’s head. LIVING each moment as she experienced it. The action was ACTIVE.
I was hooked on YA love stories after that, and I’ve never looked back.
About Jamie
Jamie Ayres writes young adult love stories with a paranormal twist by night and teaches young adults as a public school teacher by day. When not at home on her laptop or at school, she can often be found at a local book store grabbing random children and reading to them. So far, she has not been arrested for this. She lives in southwest Florida with her prince charming, two children (sometimes three based on how Mr. Ayres is acting), and a basset hound. She spent her youthful summers in Grand Haven, Michigan and this setting provided the inspiration for her debut novel, 18 Things. She really does have grandmothers named Olga and Gay but unlike her heroine, she’s thankfully not named after either one of them. She loves lazy pajama days, the first page of a good book, stupid funny movies, and sharing stories with fantastic people like you. Visit her website at http://www.jamieayres.com/ or find her on these social media sites:
Sharon Sant 