Interview with Jennifer Hubbard

Jennifer Hubbard, author of The Secret Year (which is part of my fun giveaway!), has agreed to stop by the blog for an interview. Jennifer lives and writes near Philadelphia, and can be found on the web at her website and her blog. The Secret Year is her first novel.

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You mention on your blog that you have not always written YA. What made you try your hand at YA?

I loved YA as I was growing up, and I still have most of my collection.  I reread some of my favorites from time to time.  It finally occurred to me that if I liked this genre so much, I should try to write it.

What is your favorite thing about writing for young adults?

There’s an intensity to that time of life, and an intensity in the way young adults read.  The books I read when I was younger would fill my head; they really felt life-changing.

THE SECRET YEAR is a very emotional book. How did you keep yourself upbeat when you were writing it? (Or, did you have to be bummed out the whole time you were working on it?  )

Even though the main character deals with a fair amount of longing and loss, those are actually cathartic subjects to write about, and they can be cathartic to read about.  To me, there’s something comforting in reading books where the characters cope with tough situations.  Also, the central relationship in the book was so important to the characters involved, and it was so full of their testing and challenging one another, that it was highly interesting to write about.

The hardest part of THE SECRET YEAR for me is knowing that poor Colt has to suffer alone. What was the hardest part for you to write?

His suffering alone is a consequence of certain choices he made, but yes, the penalty is sadly severe.  The ending was by far the hardest part to write, because that is when he faces certain truths he’s been avoiding throughout the book.

All of your characters, down to the pretty minor supporting ones, are so vivid and real. Do you draw from people you know when you write?

No.  But I try to distill everything I see and hear in the world, and let it influence my characters in a general way.

I love the use of journals and letters in THE SECRET YEAR. What is your favorite part about writing multiple points of view in one book?

I think many of us would like to know what other people think of us, would like to know what certain situations look like from the other side of the table.  Colt gets this chance, although he doesn’t always like what he reads.

Julia’s journal entries were a way for me to show how stories change when point of view changes; there is not just one true account of an incident or a relationship.

What is your favorite line from THE SECRET YEAR?

“He’d taken pictures of potatoes for his freshman art project.”

That was one of my favorite lines, too! It seems so random, but the more you get to know the character, it just seems to fit. Moving on to some more general questions now:

We all know how important it is to have others read our work and give us honest feedback. Who are your first readers and how did you find them?

I’ve discussed this at length on my blog, but they are all writers I met through SCBWI or through writer friends.

(note from Rachel: Jennifer’s blog posts about finding her crit partners can be found here, here, and here.

When you are struggling with your writing, how do you motivate yourself to keep going?

The struggle is never about whether I want to be writing, because I always want to write.  It’s about whether I can do the story justice, whether I can reach the level I’m trying to reach.  And so there’s a very strong motivation to keep going.  Mostly, in those situations I need reassurance that I can only do so much in a day, and I don’t have to try for immediate perfection.

When you know you should be writing, but just aren’t, what is your favorite procrastinatory outlet?

There are so many other things I have to do, chores and obligations, that it’s more a question of my getting through them so I can get to the writing.  Writing is more often a reward than something I put off.

What is the best bit of advice you have for aspiring authors?

Read a lot.  Write a lot.

Aside from your own, what are a couple books you love and would recommend we all read?

Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You, by Peter Cameron, has been my top pick for a while. Some others I like, off the top of my head:

Geography Club, by Brent Hartinger.

Shift, by Jennifer Bradbury.

Unwind, by Neal Shusterman.

Struts and Frets, by Jon Skovron.

I just realized every one of those has a male main character. So here are a couple with female main characters:

Watersmeet, by Ellen Jensen Abbott.

Sweethearts, by Sara Zarr.

Wow. That’s quite a list; I will definitely have to check those out. Finally, it’s time for the Fast Five! What are five random things we might not know about Jennifer Hubbard?

1) I haven’t read the big Russian novels (Crime and Punishment, War and Peace, etc.).

(For Shame! Crime and Punishment is my favorite book!)

2) I vote every year, and I’ve twice served on juries.

3) I’ve lived in five different states.

4) I like Brussels sprouts (and you thought nobody did!).

(True story: Bubba and I both love Brussels sprouts.)

5) I try to watch the Academy Awards every year, even though I see very few movies.

(Confession time: I work in movies, but still see very few and never watch the awards.)

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Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing with us, Jennifer.

If you haven’t read The Secret Year, I suggest you find it and do so. You won’t regret it. Promise.

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A couple housekeeping things about the giveaway:

1. The contest is open internationally. I haven’t been asked yet, but I am noticing a few of you are popping up from all across the globe, so I thought I would just clarify. Anyone can win!

2. In order to keep shipping costs down, As You Wish and The Forest of Hands and Teeth will be signed via bookplate (this way I didn’t have to send the books cross-county and back and then pay to send them to the winner). Keeping these costs down is what allows me to keep the giveaway international.

3. Since I am using a bookplate, you (the winner…that’s you) can substitute The Dead-Tossed Waves if you already have The Forest of Hands and Teeth.

4. There will be a winner for every 50 followers, not just one winner for all three books. That’s right: three winners (assuming, of course, there are that many followers).