Why Young Adult?

By: Steph Marie

 

When I decided that I wanted to step out of my comfort zone and pursue writing, I had a wide variety of storylines and characters in my head, ideas scribbled in journals, notes on napkins, and outlines in my phone. However, once it was time to sit at the computer and type, I had to follow my heart. And my heart is for our young people.

 

All I could picture were the bright, intelligent, wonderful teens I’ve had the opportunity to know through the years. But being a teenager is tough, not only do they have social dynamics everywhere they go, they don’t have the escape I had as a kid. Technology is a vital part of their experience now, so it follows them home and they don’t get that critical downtime anymore. With that said, I can say that the conversations at my kitchen table haven’t changed in over twenty years of being surrounded by young people. The end result is always the same—they’re doing their best to figure out who they are and where the fit.

 

Often as adults we forget that teenagers love to talk when they know that someone’s willing to listen. For me, literature is an opportunity to let them know that as adults, we do hear them. We know how excited they get with a first boyfriend, and we hear their heartbreak with the betrayal of a friend. As different as many of their concerns are, many are the same, just from a different perspective. They often don’t realize this, but as an adult, I do.

 

My Mrs. Shaw’s Club series was born so a teenager, no matter what race, sex, or gender could pick it up and find something of themselves. The series is about twelve students with a counselor who is guiding them to speak freely and form connections they might never have made on their own. The students laugh together, cry together, struggle together, and grow together. Romantic relationships are tied into each book because they’re kids, and teenagers spend a lot of time thinking with their emotions. But the heart of the books are friendship and its importance. I want a young person to be able to read these, identify, and know they aren’t alone.

 

The other reason I chose to write Young Adult is because I know a lot of parents who struggle with raising their children in this new day and age. Things are different with the increase in technology. The kids communicate in ways that a lot of their parents still don’t even know how to use. Thinking back to being a teenager, how many of us didn’t think our parents understood anything. We were convinced they were clueless and had never been through anything we were dealing with. In many ways, there is truth to that now. But I know a lot of parents who read YA, and I’ve incorporated their new social norms to encourage a parent or anyone who loves a young person. The one thing that has never changed is teenagers just want to be heard.

 

I love that writing fiction gives me the tools to take the amazing conversations and interactions I have and bring anyone who wants to join to my kitchen table.

Blurb:

High school freshman, Danny Burns, loves life, art, and boys. From the outside, he looks like a happy-go-lucky guy with no concerns. He blows off the bullies and he’s an amazing friend. What people don’t know is that he’s had a boyfriend since the summer, and when Danny decides being a secret isn’t enough for him and tries to end it, it’s not as easy as he expects.

 

High school freshman, Noah Glass, thinks he knows exactly who he is, what he wants, and where he’s going. Unfortunately, when the strict religious rules he’s grown-up with don’t line up with him being able to have friendships with people he cares about, he begins to question his own beliefs.

 

Guidance Counselor, Mrs. Shaw, formed a special club forty years ago. Each year, she handpicks twelve students to participate, but no one knows what they talk about, and former students never tell.

 

Danny and Noah are two of the chosen this year. When Mrs. Shaw partners them up, their lives begin to alter in ways that they couldn’t have imagined. While Danny is confronted with a stalking ex, Noah begins to question his values. As their friendship grows within the nurturing circle of Club Shaw, will that foundation be enough to get them through the troubles ahead? Will Noah be strong enough to set aside his preconceived notions and be there for Danny? Will Danny trust in Noah’s friendship and strength to help him move on from his ex to give the new guy Noah introduces him to a chance?

 

This is book two in the Mrs. Shaw’s Club series. We’ll continue to get glimpses into the lives of the students, and with each book, we’ll see a romance bloom. This is a standalone, but more fun if you watch them all grow together through the year.

Buy Links:

MyBook

Amazon

Noah looks back and forth between the two of us, his face more agitated than ever, before sighing and shaking his head. He looks up and smiles fondly at Josh, an expression that seems to be reserved exclusively for him, but then he turns it on me. On me! O.M.G. He’s smiling at me fondly. His next words almost make me pass out. “Who knew it was gonna be such a pain in the ass to have two best friends? Geesh.”

Pushing past me gently, he grabs the cart himself and says, “Well, come on,” over his shoulder as he walks down the aisle deeper into the store.

“Um, did he seriously call me one of his best friends? Like, did I really hear that? Do you think he was serious? Tell me the truth, Josh, did that just happen?”

Laughing at me—no I don’t think he’s laughing at me exactly, but more like happily with me—he wraps his arm around my neck, pulls me closer to him, and tugs me along next to him to follow Noah down the aisle. He whispers into my ear, “He’s the best friend a guy can have, Danny. If he’s saying it, he means it. And he’s as loyal as they come, which means you now have a friend for life, and there’s nothing he won’t do for you.”

He squeezes his arm a little harder around me for a second before letting me go and winking at me, again. Again. O.M.G. Noah’s calling me his best friend, Josh is winking at me ~ Sigh… and the angels sing ~ and touching me. What next?

Steph Marie is a proud mom of two teenage daughters and her pup. She’s always had a love for words and what they can do, their ability to create and transform life. She’s shared her words and stories with people in her immediate life, but never considered writing and publishing Young Adult until her oldest daughter said she wished all teens had the ability to sit around her kitchen table and talk. That night a series was born, and characters haven’t stopped popping up in her head wanting their story told yet.  Her favorite things in life outside of her family are a huge cup of coffee, a blanket to snuggle under, and a delicious piece of cake—if you’re nice, she’ll even share.