Every odd Tuesday (because Tuesdays aren't odd enough), I feature a different young adult fiction author YOU should know - from best-sellers to debuts. And what better way to do this than asking them TWO fun questions. Short, sweet, and sassy - just the way I like interviews.
Today I'm featuring Sarah Tregay, author of Love and Leftovers, a novel in verse that received great reviews like: From Kirkus Reviews: A verse novel with real depth to accompany all that white space. full review. From VOYA: Although the words are simple, the themes of Love and Leftovers are not. full review —Ed Goldberg.
Sarah Tregay
Raised
without television, Sarah started writing her own middle grade novels after she
had read all of the ones in the library. She later discovered YA books, but
never did make it to the adult section. When she’s not jotting down poems at
stoplights, She can be found hanging out with my "little sister" from
Big Brothers Big Sisters. She lives in Eagle, Idaho with her husband, two
Boston Terriers, and an appaloosa named Mr. Pots.
FAN
ART is coming Summer 2014 from Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of
HarperCollins.
And now for the questions!
1. Love and Leftovers is a novel in verse, however you also write
"regular" (?) prose. ;) How is your writing process similar /
different between the two formats?
With a verse novel, each poem focuses in on a little piece of the
story and there is often a time skip from one poem to the next. I wrote LOVE
AND LEFTOVERS in the same way—in little pieces. With my overarching idea in
mind, I wrote the poems first. Then I put each poem title on a 3x5 card and
shuffled them around until I had the plot.
I tend to be a little more linear when writing prose. I might skip
around and write chapter ten before chapter five, but nothing as extreme as
writing all the paragraphs on 3x5 cards and figuring out the plot later. The
two types of writing aren’t mutually exclusive—sometimes my first draft of a
prose novel will have poems in it! (And sometimes my editor will let me keep
them.) My next novel, FAN ART, has poems between the chapters.
2. I see you're a fellow Class of 2K program alumni from the Class
of 2k12. Whoopa! I debuted with the Class of 2k10 (under my pen name, Judith
Graves). How very cool. For those out there considering...what were some of the
benefits you experienced launching your debut title with an author collective?
Debut author groups such as the Class of 2k are wonderful in many ways. First, there’s the marketing side of things. For example, we worked together to promote everyone’s titles to independent bookstores, schools, and librarians. Both the Class of 2K12 and the Apocalypsies put together in-person events the week of Book Expo America. These were opportunities that I wouldn’t have had if I were on my own. But more importantly, there’s the immense amount of support on a personal level. Everyone in the group is going through the same stresses—edits, deadlines, and second book jitters—so they understand and can offer suggestions and emotional support. I am really glad that I joined a debut author group and I would encourage others to do the same.
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