Magic of the Muses: YA literature

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Destiny Road

YA Writer Wednesdays is happy to welcome Melissa Wray! Melissa's book, Destiny Road, has been described as "intense" by Amazon reviewers. Welcome, Melissa!

What's your book about?

Destiny Road is my first published novel and I am very proud of it. The story is about Jessica who is 16 when she meets her father for the first time. She then makes the heartbreaking decision to leave her mum to live with her dad and get to know him better.

Jessica is an average teenage girl. She has lived her entire life with her mother and never worried about the fact her father wasn’t around. It’s not until she meets him that she starts to question her life, rather than just accept what is.

I like that Jessica goes on this journey of discovery about herself. But what I really like is through Jessica, you get to go on different journeys with the other characters in the story. It’s not just about Jessica. I want the reader to identify with her though and the decision she made and stuck with. No matter how hard it was to leave her mum she knew it was the right choice for her. In life we have to make tough choices sometimes.

What inspired you to write it?
The idea for the story came from when I was 16 because I made the same decision, to live with my father for the first time. Unlike Jessica I had known him all my life but my parents divorced when I was young. I was never able to say thank you to him for saying yes when I asked to live with him. He passed away several years ago and it has always bothered me that I could not get those words out before he died. Now, with Destiny Road, I feel like I have said them, so hopefully he knows.

Melissa Wray, Author

Who's your publisher? Tell us your story-- how'd you come to be a published author?

I have been extremely lucky with my road to publication. I saw a competition to win a publishing contract with MorrisPublishing Australia. It was just good timing that the competition came up when I had finished polishing the story. Also my maiden name is Morris so I thought the coincidence too much too ignore! I could not believe it when it was accepted. For the record, I have submitted other stories elsewhere without luck and received the dreaded rejection notes

You can read the first chapter for free.

http://www.morrispublishingaustralia.com/destiny-road.html

Are you a full-time writer or do you have a "day job"? What do you do in your "day job"?

I am the proud mum of two children. Master 7 and Miss 5, who keep me busy and entertained. I have been a primary school teacher for over 14 years and work around the kids schedules when I can. I love teaching and I am so lucky to have it for my career.

Writing started off as hobby for me. It was a way to remove myself from parental responsibilities and creep into my own creative world. Now it is part of my daily life and I can’t imagine not writing stories.

Why YA as opposed to some other genre?

It was around six years ago that I decided to complete a Professional Writing course. I had thought about it for a while but the timing was not right up until then. I started a Certificate of Children’s Writing, six months after I had my first child. I naively thought I would have a lot of time on my hands! Originally my intended audience was for a middle-aged reader but funnily enough I seemed to have found my voice in the Young Adult genre. Probably because I love YA books.

Visit Melissa at her blog. Dream Big … Read Often.

Destiny Road book trailer

Goodreads. Add Melissa as a friend.

Facebook. Like the Destiny Road page.

Thanks for joining us for YA Writer Wednesdays, Melissa! Best of luck with Destiny Road!

This YA Writer Wednesday interview was brought to you by

THE TRAZ

School Edition

Get hooked on a series for only 99₵ £0.77 during the August Summer Sizzles Event!

Friday, November 30, 2012

F(!(@*#!

No, nothing terrible has happened that might tempt me to utter the dreaded f-word. I was just perusing old files and found an article I'd written about the use of cussing in literature, especially in novels for youth. I wrote it back when I first published THE TRAZ and at the time I deemed the issue quite controversial.

Since then, having fielded no complaints from anyone about the use of f**** in THE TRAZ and FATAL ERROR, I'm wondering if I was all worried and tense about something with which the rest of the world is quite fine.

In any event, here's an excerpt from that article, written about a year ago.

Some say swearing in dialogue makes the story realistic—that that’s how people talk in real life, it’s what kids hear on the playground, on TV, and in song lyrics'.

Others say that just because people in real life swear—it doesn’t mean it makes good literature. After all, there are lots of things people do in real life (such as bathroom duties) that we don’t especially care to read about.

_____________

NEW RELEASE!

FATAL ERROR
Sequel to The Traz

Crime Fiction/Psychological Thriller

FATAL ERROR on Amazon.com

FATAL ERROR eBook in the UK

_____________

I think both points of view are valid—unless the cussing is doing something to move the story forward or enrich the drama, the f-word is not something that looks good on paper. For some reason, cussing is more stark and dramatic when written than when spoken. I’d scarcely notice the ‘f-word’ in conversation with someone prone to use it—but I wouldn’t miss it if written.

One of the discussion questions in the Teaching Guide in the School Edition of THE TRAZ concerns the use of swearing in the story. Although I admit I did use the f-word to ensure realism in the dialogue (this novel is about bikers and drug dealers, who generally don’t say ‘darn it’ or ‘Oh, dear”) I also used it to define my characters. As pointed out in the Guide, people swear for several reasons—the most obvious being because that’s the language they are used to. It’s their culture. Many people aren’t even aware they are using course language. However, others swear in an attempt to conceal fear, or to elicit fear, or (especially in the case of younger people) in an attempt to fit in with a rough group.

When I’ve done readings for youngsters, they giggle and look down when I read aloud the f-word. I’ve used that as a teaching tool—pointing out the power of language and the effect it has on one’s listeners and readers as well as exploring the motives behind my characters’ swearing.

It is my hope that if my young readers become aware of all these issues surrounding course language, they’ll be better equipped to both deal with others’ swearing and to monitor their own.

_________________________________________

THE TRAZ is available in paperback and ebook formats and in a special School Edition that includes a Teaching Guide.

Click on the following links to purchase or sample THE TRAZ

My gift to you (coupon codes valid until 16 December 2012)

$1.00 off regular edition paperback from CreateSpace use coupon code: NB5SUY8H

$1.00 off School Edition paperback from CreateSpace. Use coupon code until 16th Dec

Also available:

Amazon eBook

Amazon Paperback

School Edition Paperback

School Edition eBook

And from other fine online bookstores.

If THE TRAZ is not on your local bookstore or library shelves, ask for it to be ordered in for you.