Blogfest 2009

I had been a television producer for several years and I got fed up with working on projects that reflected other writers’ ideas.  I had my own, so I sat down one day and started writing.  I created a character that loosely reflected my first experiences moving to New York City after college.  Lindsay Bradley took on a life of her own and became the lead protagonist in my first book “Cosmopolitan Girls”.  Three books later I felt like my soul was calling for me to tell a story about teens.  Some of the best times in my life were high school.  There was also plenty of drama and pain, and some heartache too.  The Come Up book series has been even more challenging to write than adult fiction, because with teens it’s about “keeping it real” and connecting with the experience of junior high and high school, even post high school as you prepare for college.  I’m super proud of The Come Up and what it represents for teens.  Dreams, self-confidence, and determination mean everything to teens today!

My parents didn’t speak English when we moved to Canada. So, I became an interpreter at a very young age (five). I interpreted not only words for my parents, but also culture, and most of this was as I was learning it myself – let’s face it, most five-year-olds are still building a working vocabulary! When I think about what made me start writing, I always go back to that particular time in my life. I started writing to give voice to those who couldn’t find the words themselves – to write myself and those I loved into existence in a way.

But mostly, I starting writing to connect with people and to give the unknowable some form of expression. It feels like such an accomplishment when I find the exact, perfect sentence or word to describe what is inside – that vast vat of roiling thoughts and emotions, all merging and colliding into a mess within our selves. Trying to pick through all that and give it shape and form and then refine it and polish it and throw it up . . . and hope it grows wings. I think that’s why I write, mostly.