appy to introduce you to her. Lauren is the author of 15, soon to be 16 books in a variety of genres. She writes the SISTERS EIGHT series with her husband (and new TFCer, Greg Logsted) and daughter. SI
STERS EIGHT is a super fun middle grade series that's "Part Snickett, Part Dahl, The Logsteds have just celebrated the release of the latest SISTERS EIGHT installment, MARCIA'S MADNESS.Coming soon is Lauren's next Young Adult novel, THE EDUCATION OF BET, set in Victorian England wherein the 16-year-old heroine pretends to be a boy in order to get a proper education.
To promote the books, Lauren had a genius idea. Instead of the same interviews popping up all over the web, she decided to do a one-question blog tour. I'm happy to welcome the tour to my blog today and to ask my one burning question:You write a wide range of genres, some at the same time. How do you switch gears when you're writing?
You know, I get asked so frequently about my genre-switching ways that I'm beginning to feel like the oddest woman in the world. Well, maybe not the oddest, but close. Early on in my career, my editor at RDI and I were trying to decide on what my second book for them would be, and I sent her three books to choose from. She called me up and said that if she hadn't seen the same name under the titles of each book, she'd never believe that they were all written by the same person. OK, so maybe some people would think that odd. But it all makes perfect sense to me. I don't eat the same food all day long every day. I'm capable of watching serious political shows, "General Hospital," "American Idol" and "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" all within the same 24-hour time period, even though they're vastly different in tone and content. And I can read a comedic adult novel, followed by a teen vampire novel, followed by a classic, followed by a nonfiction account of mountain climbing; I love mountain-climbing books. So why wouldn't it make sense that I could genre-switch? To me, I don't think of myself as an adult writer or a YA writer, a contemporary or historical writer, or even as a commercial or a literary writer. I think of myself as a writer, full stop. As such, I get an idea and I simply follow where the idea takes me.
On August 31, I have another YA novel coming out that some would call a huge departure from my previous YA work. It's called The Twin's Daughter and it's about a teenage girl in Victorian England who discovers that her gorgeous high-society mother has an identical twin who was raised in the workhouse. How is it a departure? Well, size for one. It's twice as long as any of my previous YAs, all of which have been more minimalist by design. It's almost much darker. Yes, there is a romance within the book, but there's also mystery, intrigue and an incredibly violent act. Did I mention that it's a suspense novel? It is. So, once again, if you now took any three of my YA novels and lined them up, you'd probably scratch your head saying, "Really? The same person wrote this contemporary comedy and this re-visioned fairy tale and this Victorian suspense novel?"
OK, you've got me. I've finally convinced even me: I am odd. But at least I'm having a good time and I hope readers are too.
You can follow Lauren's tour by checking out these links:
Yesterday, Carrie asked, "When you, Jackie and Greg first imagined the Sisters 8 Series, did you plan out each sister's talent and gift?" Find the answer here.
Tomorrow, Shon Bacon asks, "How do your roles as woman, wife, and mother affect what and how you write?" Check out the answer tomorrow here.
