Ask the Author: Why did you choose to write YA?

January 13, 2021

Beverly Cleary (of Ramona the Pest greatness) said, “If you don’t see the book you want to read on the shelf, write it.” As an avid reader, I read across genres and categories, and like all authors, probably took a bunch of paths to finally find my place as a writer. Before I get to my answer of the question, I think it’s a good idea to have a common framework so that we’re all speaking the same language.

“If you don’t see the book you want to read on the shelf, write it.”

— Beverly Cleary

Genre is defined as the categorization of artistic expression—as in literature—based on common characteristics of form, style and subject-matter; in literature this can be defined further by literary technique, tone and content. There are five primary genres in writing: Fiction, Non-fiction, Drama, Poetry and Media. These main genres are further defined into sub-genre. We’ll hang out in fiction for the sake of time and this blog’s content, but here’s a graphic if you’re interested:

Fiction sub-genres have been defined into these sections: General Fiction, Fantasy, Folklore, Historical, Horror, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, Thriller and Western. Each of these sub-genres can be further broken down into specific categories. Take Romance, for instance. Romance has a single category “historical” but historical can also be defined further in Regency, American Western, or Inspirational. The age for which one writes, adult, new adult, young adult, and children are categories of each sub-genre.

Why does it matter? This is how agents decide how to sell the work to a publisher. This is how publishers know how to market and publicize. This is how bookstores know where to shelve the book and this is how readers know how to find you.

Which brings me back to the question. So how did I make it to YA Contemporary? Long story, but here goes...

First, fiction has always been my favorite thing though I also write a lot of poetry. Nonfiction has been written only because I had to do it and I taught writing essays for MANY years. Wrote lots of models—and as this blog attests—I’m not adverse to the joys of rhetoric. But my first sub-genre love affair has to be with romance since I was a sapling on a farm in Oregon. After graduating from Ramona the Pest and then reading my way through the Christopher Pike novels, I discovered the twins: Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield of Sweet Valley High. This led me to Sunfire Romances which combined my love of history and romance, and then I graduated to romance novels by Lavyrle Spencer and Judith McNaught. Eventually, I picked up suspense novelist Tami Hoag and branched out to Stephen King and Thomas Harris. All the while, I loved romance. I decided that was my genre, because I adored the feeling of escape and falling in love over and over.

When I finished college and settled into my adultish life, I wrote my first historical romance novel. It was terrible (and so embarrassing, now) but of course, I was sure I was going to be the next big thing. Nope. Into the drawer it went. I tried again. This time, romantic suspense. I wrote two novels in this style (one of them is indie published: The Letters She Left Behind) but I wasn’t quite there yet. I began dabbling in varied genres. I wrote a contemporary adult romance as a screenplay that’s a combination Sleepless in Seattle and Serendipity (have you seen those movies?) which felt even closer to what sat right in my bones as a creator, and I can see now I was learning about character and dialogue.

By now, the YA category was beginning to explode, and as an English Literature teacher, I was always looking for books for my students. As a writer, I was working on a historical novel with a teen protagonist that crossed into speculative fiction, and because I loved fantasy, I started a YA fantasy story.

About this same time, I read Twilight by Stephanie Meyers. I enjoyed it, and like the rest of the world, was enamored with the story she created. My students and I sat during breaks and talked about it. They were on fire for a book carrying it around to classes, talking, dreaming, creating! It was everything. When I made it to Eclipse, I was annoyed (I was Team Jacob, my friends. Are you surprised?) and Breaking Dawn just made me so angry. Not disparaging Ms. Meyers (who I am sure dropped her heart and soul into these books). Love them or hate them, I would argue the Twilight Saga is critical in understanding the framework of the Young Adult category as it is today just as the Harry Potter series is to understanding the Middle Grade category and its growth into YA. But this isn’t a post about arguing for or against a specific series, but about why I chose to write YA.

Why was I upset? When I closed the book, I was disheartened by the way the characters had been relegated to props to tie up loose ends rather than fully realized characters (insert Jacob, Renesmee and imprinting here). I thought: If you’re so opinionated about it, why not write your own? And suddenly Beverly Cleary’s quote came to life. I wanted to see a different book on the shelf.

Then I sat down and wrote a copy (LOL). It was the fantasy story called Fallen about a girl named Abby who’d returned to the home of her mother and reconnected with her childhood friend Seth, but there was this mysterious outsider named Gabe who piqued her interest. Classic love triangle trope with a portal fantasy element. Gabe was a fallen angel who’d disobeyed the rules of engagement between angels and demons in the fight for souls over an ancient relic that creates portals between the worlds. Seth and Abby were connected as Earth Guardians of the portals. The first book ended with Seth being dragged into hell so Gabe sacrifices himself to go in after him. It was a mess, but it was mine. I loved it (you can read this first version on Wattpad - but fair warning, it isn’t very good :) Right as I set out to query, the market exploded with angel and demon stories. Fallen by Lauren Kate, Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick, and City of Bones by Cassandra Clare (Yeah. Mine was dead on arrival).

I put them away. And they sat. And you know the rest of the story, right? Seth wouldn’t stop nagging me: “You’ve left me in hell! Get me out!” He wouldn’t shut up and he was the reason I’d written the story in the first place. So I thought, stand alone. Contemporary. And The Ugly Truth was born. And then Abby’s story Swimming Sideways. And then Gabe’s in The Bones of Who We Are. Abby, Seth and Gabe were back, but developed into stories that reflected their original voices and my unique style rather than a copy. I’d stumbled into a category of fiction that just fit: edgy character-driven YA-NA contemporary fiction with romantic elements. You’d find them on the shelf with other YA-NA writers like Brigid Kemmerer, Sarah Dessen, Jeff Zentner, Jennifer Niven, Jandy Nelson, John Green . . . you get the picture.

Next Week: The second part of this answer including other YA author voices.

Reading Wonderland: an Introduction

April 29, 2020

Reading is the opportunity to slip through a portal and walk in the shoes of the hero. Stephen King wrote that reading was “portable magic.” John Green said reading is the unique opportunity to develop empathy. Anyway around the description, reading is a way to escape while staying right where you are. And that is exactly where we find ourselves - stuck right where we are.

I’m an avid reader regardless of circumstances. Whether I’m following “Stay-at-home” governmental mandates or just my own introverted stay at home preferences, reading is what I enjoy. Here’s some perspective, I set a Goodreads 2020 challenge of 100 books (last year I read 92). I’m reading my 34th book this year as I round out April and head toward May. I finally picked up the fantasy A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab, and as I write this am about 40 pages into the narrative (I can see why there are rave reviews!).

I started reading at a young age (though I don’t think that it is a prerequisite to finding a love of reading) and that book was Beverly Cleary’s Ramona, the Pest. After making my way through all of Cleary’s books, I found a science fiction book by Jean Karl called But We Are Not of Earth. When I was a preteen, I babysat so I could go to my hometown’s one bookstore to buy Sunfire Romances and in high school, a friend introduced me to Lavyrle Spencer and Judith McNaught historical romances. I was hooked. I graduated to suspense novels, horror and mysteries until I was reading whatever I could get my hands on to help me find that portal and escape into a different world.

Always an introverted kid who hid social anxiety behind smiles and tools to seem like an extrovert, books allowed me to be brave. They helped me to take risks, to be the hero, or solve the mystery. They helped me fall in love and imagine worlds where bookish girls could be just as brave as ones who were really brave. Books helped me escape and find solace in the struggle of growing up and trying on who I was becoming.

So, I’m always surprised when someone says, “I hate reading” or “I don’t read.”

Seriously?

My answer is always: You just haven’t found your book yet.

The truth is that there are so many books new and old, so many different writers and writing styles, so many different approaches, so many different tropes, so many different genres and subcategories, it must be a statistical improbability that you wouldn’t find a book that speaks to you.

So, with that in mind, I know that sometimes people don’t know where to look or how to get started looking. (It was a librarian who handed me Ramona. Thank you, Mrs. DeWitt). With that said, because I am a Young Adult writer as well as a teacher of young adults, I’m always drawn to this genre. This is where we will begin our journey. Additionally, YA books typically resolve in a way that offers hope and light which seems like a great place to begin especially in uncertain times. And be forewarned, YA isn’t only for young adults. I can say with great certainty, YA has the potential to make readers of all of us.

During the month of May, I will be featuring four different wonderful YA writers of varied categories who generously agreed to give me some of their time. In their interviews, we’ll talk about their specific title - which I have enjoyed immensely - and they will also share the books that inspired them, books they recommend. My hope is that perhaps you’ll find a title that speaks to you, a book that offers that magic portal for you to move through for a little while to find some adventure, joy, love, the treasure, the magical elixir, solve the mystery or to save the day.

So, like Alice in Wonderland, (a book by Lewis Carroll in case you’re interested in checking that classic out), we’re sliding down into the rabbit hole. See you at the bottom!

Next Week: Lisa Brown Roberts,

author of The Bookworm Crush.

The Bones of Who We Are: A Difficult Story

September 16, 2019

My father - my rock - passed away in October 2017. I miss him everyday. I didn’t think I would ever find the words to write again. When I tried, all that made it to the page were visceral and painful images of where I was stuck: my cave. About six months later, I was sitting at a traffic light and heard Abby say “I need you to write my story.” The pilot light was relit, and I found my way through a new draft of SWIMMING SIDEWAYS.

The summer of 2018, with SWIMMING SIDEWAYS and THE UGLY TRUTH drafted, I went home to Oregon for a month to help my mom and sister go through my father’s things. Most of the month was spent broken-hearted, trudging through necessary spaces. I cleaned the garage breathing in my father’s work space and going through each of his tools. This was something my mother wasn’t going to be able to do. My dad and his workshop were symbiotic; he could fix anything, and his workshop reflected this. So, immersion in his workshop, going through each of his toolboxes and trinkets, the jars of things he saved because they’d come in handy one day, cracked me open. Somehow, in the breaking of my heart and the diligent reorganization of his things, I was able to assemble the broken parts of myself back together. It was during this four weeks in Oregon that I began drafting Gabe’s story, and as I stitched myself back together, Gabe’s began to unravel.

I’ve warned readers that Gabe’s story isn’t an easy story to experience, and that is because THE BONES OF WHO WE ARE deals with heavy topics: bullying, depression, identity, loss, grief. Maybe in a way, the loss of my father is reflected in the pain of Gabe. My pain became his, though Gabe’s story was always this, I just couldn’t write it before. The pivotal scene in the book - the reason Gabe is who he is - was written back in 2009, eight years before I lost my father; nine years before I went through his workshop and faced my own undoing.

Perhaps, I was never going to be equipped to tell Gabe’s story without understanding the complete loss of someone so essential to my own identity. Perhaps, sitting inside my father’s workshop by myself allowed me to grasp loss, life, and grief in a way I never would have without that struggle. As writers our life experiences impact the depth of our knowledge. Virginia Woolf wrote, “Every secret of a writer’s soul, every experience of his life, every quality of his mind is written large in his works.” So, I suppose by realizing how painful it was to look at my father’s empty steel-toed work boots and be slammed with the awareness of how much I missed him, it forced me to jump into the deep end of loss. When the only thing I could do was climb into bed and bury myself in romance novels because those stories were as much as I could handle to not sink and drown, I found a way to tread water. Perhaps, this trial was the only way I was ever going to be able to empathize with Gabe’s experience.

THE BONES OF WHO WE ARE isn’t an easy story, but then life, love, loss, grief never are. That is the truth of what it means to be human. We hurt, but there is power in the warmth of hope. That - the hope - is what my father would have loved about Gabe’s story.

Release date: October 1, 2019; Kindle Pre-orders available at Amazon.

NEXT WEEK: A Letter from Gabe to readers

The Bones of Who We Are releases October 2, 2019 (pre-orders for kindle are live).

The Bones of Who We Are: Journey to Gabe

September 9, 2019

When Gabe became a character in my mind, he started as a fallen angel. There was something magical and beautiful about him in those first drafts of the original paranormal story. He was the blameless sacrifice - the Christ figure - idealized in all his beauty and glory. Then in 2009, I was teaching a class on creativity and in our daily pages, I wrote a heartbreaking scene that I couldn’t shake. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that the character was Gabe as a child, and it shattered the paranormal drafts of the work-in-progress at the time. Nothing already drafted could stand if I used the scene. What the heck was I supposed to do with that, I wondered.

So the scene sat in my head as an unresolved issue with Gabe’s character. I put the manuscript - two years and nine drafts completed - away (partially because of this unresolved issue, but mostly because a wave of fallen angel stories broke in 2009 and 2010).

In 2015, Seth - the loudest of the three characters - who’d been dragged into hell at the end of the first paranormal story, began nagging me about having left him there. I pulled the story out again. I was teaching Homer’s Odyssey and the Hero’s Journey to my freshman at the time, and decided to plot Seth’s story using Chris Volgler’s work, and suddenly something clicked. The story was there, but I believed it to be a stand alone novel assuming Abby and Gabe were just secondary characters. So, I finished THE UGLY TRUTH in 2016; I was never happy with its ending. My family and friends enjoyed it (or pretended to), but I couldn’t get the nagging feeling out of my head and heart that the ending was all wrong.

So, it sat for another two years.

Then in March of 2018, I was sitting at a traffic light, waiting, and I heard Abby say in my head, “I need you to finish my story.” In that moment, it dawned on me that all three of them needed their own story. Abby. Seth. Gabe. With Seth’s already done, I went back to the original paranormal manuscript to see if there was anything salvageable for Abby and Gabe. With a ton of cutting, rewriting, and creating new content, Abby’s story, SWIMMING SIDEWAYS, came together, but like Seth’s narrative, I struggled with the ending. I couldn’t figure out how it was supposed to connect until it dawned on me: Abby’s story was first and both she and Seth’s stories were necessary in order to tell Gabe’s. Like finding the last pieces of a puzzle being put into place, I understood the whole story in three parts. The entire series had been moving toward the culmination of Gabe’s narrative all along.

That quiet, painful scene I wrote back in 2009, suddenly made sense, and served as the cornerstone around which Gabe’s entire story is built.

Next week: the difficulty of writing Gabe’s story .

The Bones of Who We Are: Aesthetic

July 8, 2019

I love Gabe. He’s the moody, brooding hero, and his story explores the why of his emotional journey. But his story needs a trigger warning. He’s dealing with some dark stuff (with support), so in the forward, I’ve provided an escape hatch for readers in case they aren’t in the head space to read it.

As I’ve been writing In The Wait: A Companion to Swimming Sideways and The Ugly Truth, (published to Wattpad or look for a new installment each Wednesday here) I’ve had more clarity about Gabe’s journey which I hope readers will be able to see as well.

I created this aesthetic to provide a visual reflection of Gabe’s story.

Happy Book Birthday: A Character Interview

May 6, 2019

Interview with Adam Kāne and Alexandra James from…

The Letters She Left Behind

May 6, 2019

New romantic suspense book by CL Walters available May 7, 2019

Tomorrow is the book birthday for my new adult romantic suspense The Letters She Left Behind. In celebration, I thought I would commemorate the event with an interview of the main characters, Adam Kāne and Dr. Alex James. Born on the page in 2004, these characters have waited patiently for this author to rediscover them in 2019.

Some context for your reader imaginations:

Adam Kāne is a successful Hawaii business man at 47. He’s hard working, and loves his children. He misses his late wife and is in the late stages of grief at the opening of this story; he’s complex and definitely not perfect. Of course, he’s perfectly handsome - a gorgeous Hawaiian man (does Hugh Jackman with Hawaiian features help to picture him?).

Alex James - Adam’s counterpart - is an independent and smart woman. A forty-six year old college professor who’s bread and butter is Women’s Studies, she’s bright. But she also a fallible human woman who has secretly loved Adam for her entire adult life. She’s a beautiful, engaging, loyal, and funny. When I think of Alex - the beautiful Lauren Graham comes to mind.

So now, fifteen years after their creation … without further ado:

Welcome, Adam and Alex. I know that living in my head has probably been a bit stifling. Was it worth the wait?

Adam: Definitely. I’m a patient guy.

Alex: Sure, though it’s difficult sitting around and waiting for you to get your act together.

Hahaha! Wow. Okay. Why do I feel like there’s more in those answers than meets the eye.

Alex: I’m not one for being passive aggressive, CL, but you did write the story. You know.

Adam: (chuckles and shakes his head): Patience is a virtue. So is biting one’s tongue when necessary.

Moving on then. Without giving any spoilers, what do you like best about your story?

Alex: Megan. While she doesn’t make a huge appearance in the story, her part in the journey is equally important to the entire narrative on so many levels. I love that about her starring role. The way it all comes together.

Adam: Me too. I also like how there is the sense of time. The way life works sometimes to bend and twist in order to get you where you need to go when the timing is just right. It’s like as much as you might want something right now, it isn’t the right time for it.

Kind of like this story. Fifteen years ago, when I wrote it, I was in my late twenties - early thirties and here I was writing about grief and second chances. Perhaps I needed additional time and world view to draw the story together. On another note, there’s this point in the narrative when both of you see yourself - or the truth of who you are - outside of the fear. Can you comment on how that moment or moments like that are impactful.

Adam: I know exactly the moment you’re referencing, though I would say I had more than one of these sort of ah ha moments. It’s like that one step forward, two steps back paradigm. A person discovers a truth about themselves. Moves forward and then regresses until another discovery occurs. I think most times, for me anyway, those self-discoveries or facing those honest truths can be painful, which is why we regress.

Alex: I think so too, which is why sometimes we don’t face them. It’s easier just to stay in one place because the threat of change might be more than we can accept. I know that for my part in the story, this fear of things being different was paralyzing.

I love that scene - when you walk into the ocean, Alex. It was pivotal for your character.

Alex: Yes. Truly makes the difference in the overall movement of my journey.

What about you, Adam? Is there a pivotal scene for your character?

Adam: There are a few, but I don’t want to give anything away by sharing them. I can say at the beginning of the story, I’ve been in a tailspin of grief for nearly a year. I’m raw at the opening, at the precipice of either burying myself in it completely, or doing something different. Megan’s journals were pivotal for me. Without them - well, there wouldn’t be a story.

Let’s talk a little bit about place and culture. As a Hawaiian, Adam, do you think your ethnicity is relevant to the story?

Adam: Not so much. I think I represent a Hawaiian male, but I don’t necessarily embody the cultural values of being Hawaiian, if that makes sense. In all fairness, I would add that who I am is on the edge of understanding my own Hawaiian identity. With the loss of language and culture, how does one rediscover those losses when you’re disconnected from them?

Alex: Do you think that lack of culture then misrepresents you in the story?

Adam: No. I feel like it accurately represents that it is a missing piece in my life, but more could be done to explore that. Maybe not in this story, but perhaps in others. But I think place is explored and the usage of ʻOlelo Hawaii vocabulary which add depth to an understanding that Hawaii is more than a tourist destination.

Funny you mention stories to explore that. I’m working on a story for Trey. I don’t know if it will be a short story or longer - beginning stages - but that idea of cultural rediscovery is a theme I’m noticing as I work on it. Speaking of secondary characters, who do you think will be a fan favorite?

Adam: The kids.

Alex: The kids.

Neither of you are partial… Why the kids?

Alex: Each of them are unique and bring a whole different dimension to the story. Without them, I think the story wouldn’t be as layered.

Adam: I agree. I’d like to see them all with their own stories.

What are you hoping happens with your story?

Alex: I hope that a reader can close the book and feel like “Wow, I don’t need to worry about that thing anymore.” I think it’s easy to get caught up in the minutia of our lives and forget the big picture, the what’s really important.

Adam: That! Yes. And to remember that life is a journey. It doesn’t stop. It moves forward and we move along the timeline with it. Sometimes we’re blindsided, sometimes we’re broken, but always the timeline continues. Something else I hope people remember - we can’t live it alone. Along the way, we need those special people to share it with in some capacity.

Thank you for hanging out in my head for a bit. Happy Book Birthday tomorrow to The Letter She Left Behind!

Order here.

The Letters She Left Behind PLAYLIST

May 1, 2019

BOOK PLAYLIST

This Spotify playlist is a labor of love for two characters I’m so excited to share with you: Adam and Alexandra in The Letters She Left Behind (Available on Amazon May 7, 2019).

Each of the songs selected is a part of the journey of rewriting this story to share with you. The order of the Spotify playlist tells Adam’s and Alex’s story like a soundtrack, and as I wrote supported the emotional connection to their experience. I sincerely hope listening to this soundtrack will help you fall in love with them like I have; I adore this love story. All the feels. I hope the music will enhance your reading of the novel when you do.

Motion by Khalid
Bed by SYML
Naive by RKCB
Gravity by Sara Bareilles
Forgiven by Vancouver Sleep Clinic
1000 Times by Sara Bareilles
Josephine by RITUAL
Under You by Nick Jonas
This Ain’t Love by Andy Grammer
Breathe Again by Sara Bareilles
Better by Khalid
Hurt Somebody by Noah Kahn & Julia Michaels
Fuel on Fire by Bear’s Den
Hurt Nobody by Andrew Belle
Closure by Vancouver Sleep Clinic
Far Out Dust by Talos
Can’t Help Falling In Love with You by Kina Grannis
Crystalline by Jome
I Choose You by Sara Bareilles
As Long as I have You I’m Home by Imaginary Future

YA Author Series - Author Spotlight: Genevieve Jane

April 29, 2019

Tell us three things about who you are and why you write...

My name is Genevieve and I have just completed writing my first novel! I am excited to share some of it with you.

I am married to my best friend and together we have a 5yr old daughter, 2 dogs, a cat and 2 birds. I am an avid reader and always have at least two books on the go. I love the winter because of the cold, and my favourite drink is tea, of any kind.

I write because I love to immerse myself in a world either I create or one I am reading. Writing allows me to creatively capture moments in time and space in my mind, giving me the opportunity to bring to life heroines and evil witches, castle ruins and bright blue skies across meadows filled with daisies.

I love being able to make a scene or character come alive on paper.

Tell us about the story.

My novel is about a modern day heroine who is thrown into a centuries old curse, falling in love with an immortal man.

The curse is simple. Love another and earn their love in return, true and without obligation to escape the darkness. There is romance, a bit of magic and a forest full of fairy tales.

What are three things you want us to know as we read.

As the story unfolds, you will be find yourself at the start of a beautiful romance, and your heart will break for a man who finds himself at the center of his woven tales.

Once you start to see a glimmer of hope, the darkness will come full circle, surrounding a young woman who finds her inner strength to save the man she loves.

Where can we find this story? Where can we find you?

When I am not reading or writing, or out hiking with my family, you can find me on Instagram @genevievejaneauthor), where I love to post tons of book-ish photos or photos of my wonderful family. I also post tidbits of the story there, as I am currently seeking publication.

From A Love Across Time by Genevieve Jane

GenevieveJaneBookImageCompilation(ALoveAcrossTime2019).jpg

Below is part of Kathryn and Jacob's story, as written in A Love Across Time.

(Copyright Genevieve Jane 2019)

As Kathryn stood alone in the ruins of Hohengeroldseck, she shivered. She should not have run from Jake. The look on his face when she turned back one last time was heartbreaking. He had told her things, things she refused to believe, even now.

A little voice inside her mind spoke to her heart, and she knew it spoke the truth. He was not lying to her. What if everything he said was true? That could only mean he was over two centuries old. How had that happened? Was that even possible?

As a child Kathryn had believed in magic. Of course she had, what child hadn't believed that magic was real? It was so bright and exciting. Now, how could she believe in magic when everything, everyone she loved had been taken from her. Her parents were gone and now her grandmother.

Kathryn shoved her hands inside her pockets. Not everyone she loved was gone though.

Jake. Or Jacob, as he told her. She loved him. Oh, how she loved him, and with all of her heart. She always had.

        Shivering, Kathryn dropped to her knees in the snow. What has she done?
        With her arms wrapped around her she stared up at the sky through the top of the tower. The sky was growing darker. She glanced behind her and she saw that she had, in her train of thought, climbed a whole lot of stairs.
       As fear started to sink in, Kathryn didn't know what to do. She was really high up and the wind blew with such force through the cracks in the walls that it howled.
       "Oh great, cracks," Kathryn thought out loud, as she yelled at the stars, "I'm going to crumble, just like this old castle."
      "No. You are certainly not," a voice stated from below the tower. "He is meant to crumble, not you." As Kathryn stood and slowly turned around, she peered through the opening of the tower to the ground below.
       A wolf paced beneath her. In her mind, she then heard a question.
      "After all he has done, you want to give him your heart, you still wish to set him free?" The wolf then disappeared and entered the castle ruins below.
      Kathryn frantically looked around, and her heart beat with the realization that she was not alone.
   Then with a rush of cold air, the wolf appeared. Kathryn watched as the wolf turned into a beautiful woman with long hair the colour of the sun, knotted and braided down her back. She wore clothes reminiscent of years ago, and Kathryn, now startled, realized who she was.
    “You're her aren't you, the witch who cursed him?” she whispered.

“So he has told you of me,” the woman spoke, her words like silk against Kathryn's skin, “has he told you why I despise him, what he did, and why he suffers the way he does?” The witch walked closer to Kathryn and automatically Kathryn took a step back. Looking over her shoulder, she realized she was suddenly very close to the edge.

In less than a second, the witch had Kathryn by the neck, over the wall.

“So, this is love?” the witch sang, her voice melodic and clear in the oncoming night, “will you die for him?”

Struggling, Kathryn looked at the witch, not wanting her fear to be seen. Taking whatever breath she could, Kathryn replied, “I would, if it would set him free, I would do anything for him. I love him.”

As he watched the snowflakes start their dance from the sky, Jacob tried again to break free of the tree. He leaned in, putting all his weight on the smaller branches, and hoped that they would snap.

When nothing worked, he sat back down. The light was fading from the sky, although there was still enough light to see the tower in the distance.

Jacob could barely see two shadows, which he assumed were Kathryn and the witch. Kathryn was over the edge and Jacob feared he had lost again, when suddenly the limbs of the tree started to untangle themselves and that created an opening.

Quickly, Jacob ran through the opening and towards the castle ruins. As he reached the castle, he looked up, “Kathryn!” he yelled as loud as he could.

At that moment, Jacob could see a faint glow all around Kathryn, extending across the arm that the witch had out holding Kathryn over the ledge. He watched in amazement as the light grew brighter and Kathryn stepped back onto the edge, forcing the witch backwards.

As the snow started to fall quicker, Kathryn looked at the witch, and she had a fire within her. This was the man she loved. She would do anything for him, even without magic, she would defeat this witch. She knew it in her heart that love was stronger.

Her love. His love.

Love was stronger, love would break the curse, and she would fight with everything she was to keep him. She was stronger. She would save him, and no longer would he have to live in all the darkness. He would be free.

Free to love and free to live.

Shedding whatever hatred and self-doubt she felt before, Kathryn looked at her arm. Still in the witch's grasp, a light, brighter than any she had ever seen started at her hand and crept up her arm.

The light engulfed her whole body and with a shove she pressed the witch back and planted both feet firmly on the ledge once more.

As she brushed the snow off her shoulders, Kathryn watched as the witch stepped back a bit, now looking at Kathryn through different eyes. Within seconds, the wolf was standing in front of her again, the woman was gone.

“You don't scare me that way either”, Kathryn took another step towards the wolf. Feeling the anger and the strength inside her, Kathryn continued walking.

“You won’t even fight me as you are!” She lifted her hands and the same glow appeared once more.

Watching it dance between her hands, Kathryn continued.

“Love, that is what he told me. That love would break the curse. You have no power over him, not anymore. You have to let go. He hurt your daughter, I understand that, but he is not that man anymore. He has had two hundred years to change. That was what you wanted right? To end the curse he had to find true, selfless love? Let him love, please, he finally deserves it. I want to love him. For our whole lives. Mortal lives. Take his curse away.”

YA Author Series Launch: CL Walters

March 25, 2019

Over the next seven weeks, this blog will feature seven different authors who write Young Adult Stories.

Each Monday in April (and into May), a new author (published and unpublished) will be featured along with a 500-1000 words selection of her work (sorry, guys - no men submitted! What the heck!?!? Your assignment is to go read any or all of these authors: Marcus Zusak, Jeff Zentner and John Green).

Today, I will launch the format using my own work so you’ll get a sense of what to look for in the coming weeks. I hope this series is beneficial for you as readers (maybe you’ll find your next favorite author in the coming weeks), as well as for the author as a growth opportunity to share their voices.

FEEDBACK WANTED!

Be sure to provide the guest authors some CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK! Either in the comments section or in some capacity on their social media platforms. As writers - constructive feedback fuels us.

Drum roll please . . .

CL Walters

Tell us three things about who you are and why you write . . . I write because I can’t not write (please forgive the double negative). When I don’t, I turn into a bitch and that isn’t healthy for my family or my marriage. Writing is like breathing, so without it, I’m not living. Second, I adore stories - reading them, studying them, writing them - it all blends together. Finally, I write stories which I categorize as “young adult” but I hope they are just human stories that anyone at any age can enjoy.

Tell us about the story we’re going to read (your elevator pitch). . . Gabe is faced with a choice between life and death; the question is, what will he discover about himself to help him make the decision.

What are three things you want us to know as we read? This story is the third act of a trilogy. The first two books explore Abby’s and Seth’s stories in Swimming Sideways and The Ugly Truth. Gabe’s story The Bones of Who We Are has been challenging to write but not only because of the writing, but because of the content which swirls around bullying, victimization and depression.

Where can we find this story? Where can we find you (IG, Twitter, FB, website). The Bones of Who We Are is slated to be published this coming October (2019). In the meantime, you can catch up with Swimming Sideways and The Ugly Truth which are on Amazon (Kindle and Print). I can be found on IG (@cl.walters) and Twitter (@peeledandcored), my website (www.clwalters.net) and FB (CLWalters).

From… The Bones of Who We Are:

(YA Contemporary - Language Warning…)

I hate walking through the Quad. It’s a necessity twice a day unless I want to take the long way around the outside of the school. The deciding factor is always which one has the potential for more problems. Outside, I run the risk of an actual fight. In the Quad, I run the risk of mocking, maybe shit thrown at me, or something else to make me feel less than human. The first one means physical harm. The second one emotional and mental, but I can usually block it out with my headphones.

When I turn the corner from the stairwell into the opening of the Quad, it’s full. This time of the school day - lunch - it usually is. People are either in the cafeteria or there, especially as the weather turns rainy and cold. They sit on or around a myriad of red and black tables, congregate by the vending machines in red and black metal cages, and flirt with someone they crush on moving like honey bees from table to table. Some industrious students use the space to study, but not very often at lunch. It’s a space with very little adult supervision. This is for several reasons. First, the school office is across the way which adults must assume is a deterrent for teen bullshit (it isn’t) and, second, it’s lunch time. Teachers are either in the cafeteria, eating lunch with their work friends, or in their classrooms making space for those industrious students needing a place to escape the teen bullshit in the Quad.

I hesitate for a moment, consider walking around the outside or cutting through the offices, but then am annoyed for even thinking about it. I have every right to walk through the Quad. I shouldn’t have to feel worried to do it. But then that’s the problem of positivity, of allowing in layers of hope. It crumbles without a proper foundation, and just like I’d told Doc it would happen, the mouth of the escape route collapses burying me inside. It was, after all, only a matter of time.

I’m halfway across the space when I’m yanked backward. I keep my feet, but my hoodie cuts into my throat choking me. I rock backward and then forward.

Laughter.

“What the fuck!” I turn.

Tommy Pilner, his hands raised in mock surrender and smiling like he’s just caught a mouse, says, “Yo. Daniels. You don’t have to go all HAM, dude.”

I’ve known Tommy since coming to Cantos and he’s always been the same; he loves the Freak Challenge. He’s taken full advantage of the fact I don’t throw hands. Seth used to say his dad described Tommy as a younger version of his old man. I think: aren’t we all, which doesn’t bode well for any of us. “Fuck off,” I tell him, and turn away.

He grabs my hood again, but this time pulls with so much force I’m yanked off my feet. I slam against the floor on my back.

Laughter.

“Jesus, Daniels. What the fuck? You really should be more careful. You could get hurt.” Tommy laughs looking at his friends. “You all see him slip?”

They are laughing.

I’m on my feet.

Here’s another thing about hope - besides the risk of losing it - it begins to warm the cold and melt away the perceptions of what you’ve come to think you deserve into something more golden. You look outside the clear window, feel that sunshine, and think: Yeah. I could go out there and play. When the storm comes in, you remember what that sun felt like, and you want the fucking sun.