My son jokes with me that he thinks I Google the word 'sad' to come up with book ideas.
I think young adults get a bad rap for being self-absorbed and self-centered. My experience going around the United States and speaking in schools is that teenagers here are very interested in the fate of their peers around the world.
The power of storytelling is to free us from isolation, shame, and whatever the situation.
I don't want to go slumming in somebody else's pain just to write a book. I want to go into those darker places to shine a light on that experience and come out with a story that validates the human spirit.
