So, if y'all don't know about this amazing festival yet, please get on board. I have gone for the past 2 years (as long as it's been in existence) and it is the most fun I have in a day! The growth from the 1st year to the 2nd was phenomenal! I can only imagine what this 3rd year will be.
Check out yallfest.org or @YALLFest for more information!
Today's interview is with CJ Lyons!
Picture borrowed from http://cjlyons.net/
Describe your book in 5 words:
CJ: Girl dying of broken heart (literally)
What is the hardest line to write- the first or the last?
CJ: The first. I’ll often return to it over and over again
until I've sliced and diced and fine-honed it to that perfect combination of
intrigue, visceral reaction, and emotional connection with the reader.
What one young adult novel do you wish you had when you were
a teen? Why?
CJ: Code Name Verity
because it is so emotionally honest and inspiring, empowering, not to mention
gut-wrenching. Really brings the era to life as well as the sacrifices made in
the name of freedom.
Tell us 5 random facts about yourself.
CJ: When I was a kid I worked summer stock theatre and was
actually a theatre major undergrad before switching to pre-med. I've had two
hard landings in helicopters while working as a flight doc. I survived
rampaging Cape Horn Buffalo and a pack of wild baboons, not to mention a
leopard (he’s already eaten) while hiking in Hells Gate Park in Kenya. I’m a
Capricorn. I diagnosed my niece with the heart condition that’s at the center
of my YA thriller, BROKEN.
What are you working on now?
CJ: DAMAGED, my next YA thriller, due out in 2014. It deals
with the really tough topic of abuse and coercion and is the most difficult
book I've ever tackled—there have been times while writing when I was literally
in tears as I typed.
What is your favorite genre to write in? To Read?
CJ: I created my own genre of Thrillers with Heart—I love
writing fast paced stories with raising stakes but centered on the emotional
heart of an evolving relationship. As for reading, I read almost every genre
but especially love YA, magical realism, and thrillers. As long as a story
grabs me by the throat and won’t let me go because I’m too worried about what
the characters are going through, I’ll read it and love it.
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