1) What genre(s) do you write? And why?

I write YA.  I’m a YA librarian and I spend 40 a week with my target audience, plus I’m immersed in the market as part of the job, so it was kind of a no brainer to write YA. Plus, this market exploded right when I decided to jump back into writing, so it was the route to take. I found out I loved it after cranking out a few YA novels.

2)  Tell us about your latest project. This is your chance to crow about being published, agented, or winning a contest.

 My dystopian, NOT A DROP TO DRINK, is being subbed right now.  My agent, Adriann Ranta, is doing an excellent job of getting it on the desks of people who can make it happen. DRINK is about a future where there is very little freshwater, and people kill over backyard ponds and streams. The query can be found here.

3) Other than writing, how do you like to spend your time?

I have no time. I’ve got five acres, and yes – a pond, a massive old farmhouse and feral cats that seem to flock to me. They hate me, but they love to tribute me with their babies. It’s a lose – lose. I also knit, scrapbook, read like a fiend, and blog. Sometimes I eat. Once in awhile, I try sleeping.

4)  Do you have any tattoo’s, if so where? If not, do you want any?

No tatts. I’m hard pressed to think of something I want on my body for the rest of my life.

5) What is the last book you read? Did you like it?

I just finished up THE DARK AND HOLLOW PLACES by Carrie Ryan last night. It’s the third of THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH trilogy. I’m sold on these books because Ryan does an excellent job of writing with female narrators, but making the books accessible to males. I’ve got more male readers of the series in my library than females.

6) What is your advice to those who want to be authors? (I know, it’s a crummy one, but needs to be asked)

My advice? If there’s anything else you think you want to do, do that instead.  No really, you do have to ask yourself how much you want this, and how much you’re willing to give for it. I was trying to find an agent for ten years before I landed Adriann.  Granted, I wasn’t actively querying and looking for that whole time, but it was a decade-long slog of rejections and disappointment.

Part of the reason I failed on such a grand scale is because I was naive enough to think that talent is what lands you the contract. I didn’t do research, I didn’t know how to write a query, I didn’t want to invest the time involved in knowing how to do things the right way. I was self-righteous enough to think that someone would instantly fall in love with me, and it’d be magic.

Wrong.

Do your homework, always. Yeah, it sucks that there’s rules, and formulas, and red tape everywhere to keep you from your dream, but if you want it, you jump through those hoops. Join sites like AgentQueryConnect and QueryTracker, find crit partners, read industry and writer-related blogs, and know your market.

7)  Tell us one thing no one knows about you

I can’t think of one thing no one knows about me. I’m a talker, so this one always stumps me when it comes up. Um… I’m not wearing a bra right now. Nobody knew that.