Q & A with Amy Ryan

This week at Books on the House for Kids and Teens we’re featuring YA author Amy Ryan. Her books, Vibes and Zen and Xander Undone are fantastic and authentic reads.

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BotH:

Welcome to Books on the House, Amy!  Let’s jump right into our Q&A by having you tell us what inspires you to write for kids.

Amy:

That is a mystery to me. For some reason, the characters that come to me are always teenagers. I think that’s because I still feel like a teenager myself. I’m more mature and sure of myself than I was in high school, and I feel good about my place in the world, but that old teen angst still raises its ugly head every now and then. I guess I’m just really in touch with that part of myself.

Also, as a writer, I’m fascinated with how teens have to deal with adult problems, some inherited from their parents and some due to their own mistakes. There’s something infinitely compelling to me about a character who is dealing with life changing issues, but with no real experience to draw on as they make their decisions. They’re navigating the big questions for the first time. The stakes are never higher in life. This keeps my writing fresh for me, and lots of fun.

BotH:

YA books have a definite trend toward the edgy.  Where do yours fall in that spectrum?

Amy:

My protagonists usually have something about their personalities that is a little “off.” In VIBES, Kristi has a caustic wit, and she’s very hard on the people around her to the point of meanness. But she’s also innocent. She doesn’t do drugs, decides she hates smoking cigarettes, and at the beginning of the book she hasn’t even had her first kiss.

In ZEN AND XANDER UNDONE Zen is also innocent, but she has a violent streak, and that gets her into all kinds of trouble. Xander is far from innocent. She’s sexually precocious, which comes with its own set of dangers.

I don’t shy away from the realities of being a teenager in my writing. I don’t think keeping books “safe” makes for very interesting writing, or reading! And I think that if kids are too shielded from knowing about the dangers in the real world, that actually makes them sitting ducks when they have to confront the darker side of life for the first time. Books are a safe way for them to know what’s out there, and in their reading they’re given a chance to think about what they would do in a bad situation. Books empower kids.

BotH:

Do you have themes that tend to run through your books?

Amy:

I think I write about loss in all my stories. In VIBES, Kristi has lost her father and her best friend, and her angry attitude is a front that covers up an endless well of pain. In ZEN AND XANDER UNDONE, the two sisters are learning how to move on after the loss of their mother to cancer. But it’s not a book about death. This is a book about sisterhood, and how two people can need each other very much, even if they don’t always get along.

BotH:

Do you think any of your books will be made into movies or tv?!

Amy:

That would be nice, I suppose, from a monetary standpoint. But I’ve seen so many bad movies that are based on excellent books, it would break my heart if this happened to one of my books. So if someone does make one of my books into a movie, I hope it will stay true to the characters. In truth, though, most novelists really have no control over how a movie gets made. If we sell the rights, we just have to hope for the best.

BotH:

What’s next for you?

Amy:

I am finishing up a science fiction novel about two ships in deep space. The first ship is called the New Hope, where my protagonists Kieran and Waverly live, and the other ship is called the New Horizon. The ships are allies on their way to colonize a distant planet, but something goes wrong on the New Horizon, and they attack the New Hope, which results in the separation of Kieran and Waverly. The novel tells the story of how they fight their way back each other again. The working title is Children of the New Hope, but that will likely change. This book is a bit of a departure for me, but I’m excited about it. I think it might be the best plot I’ve ever crafted. My agent thinks that kids who like THE HUNGER GAMES will be interested in it. I hope so!

BotH:

Thank you for spending some time with us on BotH, Amy!  Good luck with Zen and Xander!

Amy:

Thank you Misa! It has been a pleasure!