Interview: Jennifer Hubbard

Hey

Few weeks ago I reviewed a book called: "The Secret Year". The book was awesome and I really like it. So I decided to send Jennifer Hubbard ( the author) some questions for a blog interview and and she was kind enough to answer them. I recommend you read the review before the interview <-- that totally rhymed 

Now I am going to leave you alone to read the interview

Have Fun !!!!

When did you discover that writing should be your career?

I have always written, because I love it. I had short stories published over several years, and a few years ago I got serious about writing novels.

Who is your favorite author? Favorite book?

One of my all-time favorite books is The Dharma Bums, by Jack Kerouac. My favorite recent YA novel is Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You, by Peter Cameron. But I have many, many favorites. Some of them are listed on my website:

 (http://www.jenniferhubbard.com/ and click on “Bio”)

What inspired you to write "The Secret Year"?

I started with the idea of a secret relationship, a sudden death, and a notebook left behind. I wrote it to find out what would happen next.

Is there anything from the book that is based from real life experience? Which part?

At least one of the dreams Colt had about Julia was based on a dream I once had about someone who had died suddenly. And the river in the book is loosely based on rivers and creeks I have lived near. But the book is fiction; the characters and situations are not intended to literally represent real-life experiences.

What is the lesson you want your readers to get after reading "The Secret Year"?

I want readers to decide that for themselves. But if people want specific questions to think about, I do have a reader guide for the book: http://www.classof2k10.com/secret_year_reader_guide.pdf

I sometimes wonder how female authors write from a guy's perspective. How did you get into Colten Morrissey's head (the novel's main character)?

His voice came to me, and I suspect his voice has two sources: 1) Underneath, human beings are more alike than different. Colt is a person first; he just happens to be male. 2) Whatever I know of a “male” voice comes from having lived and worked with men, having them as friends and family members and colleagues and boyfriends, reading their work, listening to them.

How would you describe the relationship between Julia and Colten and their conflict of rich and poor situation?

I’d like readers to think about this relationship, why it had to be secret and what each person got from it. That is probably tricky since Colt and Julia lied (even to themselves) about what the relationship was and what it meant to them. Secrecy was an extremely powerful force, and it deeply affected how they related to each other. And in the end, they got emotionally involved much more than they had planned to.

That was the end for the interview. I would like to thank Jennifer Hubbard for answering my question.

Tata for now :D