Blogfest 2009 » Sanchez Alex

Alex Sanchez on “If one of your books got banned from somewhere, how would you feel?”

Sanchez Alex — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 17:00:19 +0000

My book, Rainbow Boys, has been challenged and banned. It makes me sad, angry, and frustrated that there exist people who think they have the right to determine what others should or shouldn’t read.

Alex Sanchez on “How do you feel about stuff like sex scenes in books? Inappropriate or okay?”

Sanchez Alex — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 16:30:34 +0000

Of course sex scenes are okay! More than okay. Sex is a huge part of teen experience. As teenagers we go through puberty, our biological coming of age as sexual beings. It’s irresponsible for adults to ignore that. We need to be honest with teens about sex and sexuality. And authors need to truthfully describe the experience of sexual awakening in books for and about teens. Otherwise we’re being dishonest through omission.

Alex Sanchez on “How often do you have to edit and rewrite while working on a piece?”

Sanchez Alex — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 18:00:20 +0000

Constantly. Each book I’ve written has gone through at least a dozen rewrites, often more. It’s part of the creative process. Write, read it over, revise, read it over, have somebody read it over, rewrite, repeat, repeat, repeat… until the point at which I start switching back to what I previously wrote—or worse, I want to throw the whole thing away. Then it’s time to stop.

Alex Sanchez on “Have you ever just wanted to give up?”

Sanchez Alex — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 13:00:55 +0000

Sure, lots of times with lots of things. Sometimes I do give up on something and sometimes I don’t. I think that life constantly challenges us to figure out when to give up on something and let it go—and when to stick with something, hard as it may be, and get to the other side.