With Carolee Dean holding books about Texas and Bluebonnets! |
Why did you hate high school so much when you were a teen?
We were moving around a lot while I was in high school. We moved from California to Texas and I thought high school was very boring to me. I wanted to get out, get my GED and become a nurse. The only class that was interesting was Creative Writing but I never thought I would become a writer.
Why do you love high school now?
I like to make things interesting with the different subjects the way I wished they had made things interesting when I was in high school. I wished they had taught history class in story form. I've worked with different age groups and older kids are able to grasp the ideas a lot more than younger kids can.
Did you add any of your current experiences from working in a high school into your books?
I worked with a lot of boys that have the same disabilities as Dylan that struggle to choose the right path.
How do your students feel about you being a YA writer?
Whenever I say it they seem surprised, like they're not able to wrap their minds around it. After I tell a few people they usually just go along with it and don't really believe me until I show them the final copy of the book. That's one of the reason's why I think you should treat everybody as if they were interesting.
If you were able to go back in time and give advice to yourself when you were in high school what would it be?
Relax, have more fun. Don't spend a lot of teenage years worrying about certain stuff that will amount to nothing.
Make sure you stop by The Teen Book Scene to check out all the blog tour stops and enter their giveaways, Carolee is having a Texas Trivia Challenge and a grand prize giveaway, and to find out where you can get a signed copy of Take Me There Carolee Dean has a list on her livejournal blog here.
Giveaway: A Riverwalk Pen, a Take Me There tote bag and a good luck charm bracelet all provided thanks to Carolee Dean, all you have to do is fill out the form and winner will be chosen on August 30th. *US Only*
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I think it's really cool when Highschool teachers are YA writers! And thanks for the great contest!
ReplyDeleteGreat Job Cynthia! I think you do a Awesome Job!
ReplyDeleteAwesome picture and post!!! I love learning about what it's like to be a High School teacher and read and write YA!!!
ReplyDeleteVery interesting interview from an English teacher point of view it made me sit up and listen too. Thanks
ReplyDeleteAwesome from what you have told me this sounds like a great book!
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteLoved the interview! :)
ReplyDeletethanks for the giveaway!
ReplyDelete