Blogfest 2009

Every story that I write has a unique theme that is specific to that story. I don’t like to discuss those themes because I want every reader to bring their own viewpoint to the party and decide for themselves what it means to them. Books are the ultimate interactive fiction. Telling someone what the theme of a book is will instantly kill that personal involvement. However, all of my work tends to have the same general theme which is about self-empowerment. I usually write about young people who find themselves in difficult situations and learn that they have nowhere to go and nobody to turn to for help…except themselves.

I always write about characters that ASPIRE to something. I’m from New Jersey, and if you don’t ASPIRE to something, you end up… well, in New Jersey.

Maybe not a certain theme, but there are definitely common motifs in all my books: Brothers, medical issues, addictions, babies, dead parents, names that start with J, eating disorders, casts of characters mostly or entirely devoid of girls, cigarettes, nightmares, gay boys, bugs, holidays, and the ultimate unimportance of high school.

So far, my YA books have basically been about moving on from death. I think I write about it for a couple of reasons. First of all, every one of us, at some point in our lives, will experience the loss of a loved one. We might not be 16 when it happens, but it will happen. And I think I want to show that it’s hard and it hurts, but it is possible to move on, and to find happiness again. And I really believe that those who leave us want that for us. They want us to be happy, not sad. And of course we are sad, because we miss them. But ultimately, we have to move on and let them go, and make the most out of the life we’ve been given. So, I suppose I like writing about coming through that pain, to the other side, to a place of hope.

The other reason I write about loss is I have this deep belief that every day, we should give thanks for the family and friends in our life. Life is precious. Love is precious. And I hope at the end of my books, a reader will close the book and give thanks for the people in his/her life.

All of my books are fish out of water themes (ironic considering the answer to question #3). I love putting an ordinary girl into extraordinary circumstances or vice versa. Something about taking people out of their comfort zone and seeing how they handle the pressure fascinates me. I love stories about the indomitable human spirit.