Barbara Dee, Chappaqua
Author of Trauma Queen
What is the biggest misconception about the YA genre? That it’s all dark and dystopian, nothing but brain-chomping zombies and vampires. Plenty of YA novels are hilarious, and set in the real, recognizable world.
What has surprised you the most about being a writer? How you can’t hide inside your writer’s cave. So much of your time is spent on your feet, interacting with people—speaking at schools and libraries, performing in front of the camera. Lately, I’ve become very involved with putting together the first Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival, a huge under-taking for our town. You become a writer because what you love is sitting at your computer, obsessing about characters. But if you want to make a career of it, you have to catapult yourself away from your desk.
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