When I was in junior high, I devoured Christopher Pike’s The
Last Vampire series. I can’t quite remember what YA was like back then, but I
do remember thinking there weren’t enough books with kickass female characters
like Sita or Alisa. I started working on my first novel—told from the POV of a
vampire, naturally—not long after finishing the series.
I don’t even remember what that first book was about, but it
was handwritten and kept inside a miniature 3-ring binder and I thought it was
amazing. I bought my first publishing reference book around that same time. But
then I read the terrible, dream-crushing news that it generally takes people
years YEARS to get published and that they don’t make much money doing it. I
was a money hungry kid, growing up in a lower income family. I wanted to be
rich.
Then I became a teen mom. And I spent a lot of time at home
with a baby. Somedays I needed an escape, so I started writing again and
never stopped.
Writing for me is still about the fantasy. It’s like living
in a virtual reality game. On the outside, it looks like we’re just sitting
there typing away, but on the inside, we’re fighting pirates, slaying vampires,
kissing hot boys! There is power in the written word, and even more power in
having written it.
So that’s why I write now. The boring story is, I started
because of a vampire. :D
Jennifer Rush is the author of ALTERED coming Fall 2012 from Little, Brown. Check out her blog for news and updates.
I had this orange and pink three-ringed binder that I wrote a fantasy book in. Like you, I can't remember anything about the book, but when I think of that binder I know a whole other world lay inside it and I LOVED those pages and that binder.
ReplyDeleteOMG I LOVED THOSE BOOKS. I was a huuuuuge Christopher Pike fan. I'm actually re-reading a lot of his old books now (I just read Fall into Darkness). Of course, they're never as good when you re-read them as an adult, but still fun.
ReplyDeleteClaire --- I loved writing in a binder and having a special place for the novel! I miss that, but I just don't have the time to write longhand any more. :(
ReplyDeleteElizabeth --- I should dig up some old Christopher Pike books! I did have a hard time reading THE VAMPIRE DIARIES again, but it was still fun.
I LOVED those books! Christopher Pike is my hero, seriously. I REALLY, really wanted to write like him when I was a teen. So, yeah, I'd have to agree that I decided to publish because of a vampire. :)
ReplyDeleteAlso, I was a teen mom, too, so I totally can relate. :)
OMG I devoured Christopher Pike novels. My favorites were the REMEMBER ME ones. I think I read the first one several times.
ReplyDelete