Young Blood

Last Friday I met with a high school book club who wanted to talk to a real author. I am sure some of them were disappointed to greet a silver-haired woman who has been writing since the fifth grade and only now has her first book coming out in May, 2010. But, they listened politely even after I confessed my novel was a romance. I tried not to dwell on me as writer, but rather on the degree of perfection demanded in today's market, pitfalls to watch out for, and how to deal with rejection. I tried to be real and not yet too discouraging because these are the authors of the future. Once my talk finished, most of the group vanished into the stacks at B &N or got in line at the coffee bar, but six young women remained behind to ask more questions and tell me about their work. We covered everything from Pride and Prejudice to Ender's Game while discussing what they liked and wanted to write. I hope I gave them sound advice. I hope they will succeed far faster than I did because of it.