Why Write? And why write for YA?

I've got a really cool YA book on my reading list at the moment, and the author, Ali B., has kindly agreed to visit my blog as well. Since we both love to write, she offered to write about what drives her writing. Over to you Ali, and thank you so much for visiting here.

Oh, and readers, please just click on the picture to find the Sixteen on Amazon:

Why I write… by Ali B.

I am a teacher. I am a constructivist teacher. I facilitate learning through experience. I question.

I question my students every day. Why do you think that happened? What did you observe? How will you solve that problem? Is there another way?  I don’t want to tell. I want to pose a question to my students and then facilitate the learning while they figure out the answer.

I do this with myself too. What do I want my students to learn? What do my students need? How can I accomplish this? Lately I’ve been asking myself about my second career – writer. Why do I spend my free time writing? It’s not making me wealthy. I don’t have a mantel of awards or drivers picking me up for a book signing. Well, not yet - but it doesn’t stop me.

I write because…

·         It feeds my spirit. It allows me to explore my beliefs.

·         My growing team of fans asks me to. I can’t disappoint my readers.

·         My characters are family. I miss them and often wonder what they are doing.

·         It connects me to a larger community of creative minds.

·         Writing teaches me about myself.

So I will continue to write and question my reasons for doing so. I will do it for my spirit, my fans, my characters, my community and for myself.

So… why do YOU write?

Now there's a good question Ali, and my answers aren't that different. Writing allows me to explore my beliefs too, especially when others around me might think those beliefs contradict each other. I love to tie my faith to science and history. I love to encourage questions and dig deeper to find answers. I love to explore. And writing does, indeed, teach me about myself.

As to that growing team of fans... well, maybe, one day...

Anyway, thank you for visiting my blog Ali, and thank you for the book, which I hope to finish and review soon. Meanwhile, for my readers, here's some more about you, and about Sixteen.

 

 

About Ali B.

Born and raised in farm country, Ali B now lives in San Diego with her husband, two kids, and a small herd of wily dachshunds. Books give her peace. Writing gives her life. Teaching gives her joy.

The Sixteen is her second novel and the second book in the Soul Jumpers series.

Find her on her website at http://alibbooks.com/
on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/alibbooks
or on twitter at https://twitter.com/AliBreidenstein

About The Sixteen:

There are people out there who don¹t die with their bodies. Their souls live on in the bodies of others. Some good, some bad‹they are soul jumpers.

Nothing in Iris Brave¹s world makes sense anymore. Her father, Micah, is still alive‹his soul survives in the body of a teenage boy.

It is up to Iris and a rogue group of soul jumpers called the Sixteen to save Micah. To do so Iris must take on the unscrupulous leaders of the Council. Can she save her father? Will she survive? Who can she trust when one mistake could cost her everything?

Scared and running out of hope, Iris doesn¹t know what her next move should be but she knows she must act to save the people she loves. A long way from home and surrounded by people who she knows are not what they seem, Iris jeopardizes her own freedom. Her brave rescue forces her on the run and changes her into someone she could¹ve never imagined.

In the Soul Jumpers Series, Ali B. shares the message that we are more than the body we live in, everyone can be brave and while there is evil in the world, there is also infinite good.