I’ve just completed one of the most delightful writing experiences in many years. My new novel, and especially its main character Avery, basically took over my life this summer. It was all I thought about; I couldn’t help it. Especially when it seemed as if Avery was waking me up at four in the morning with: “What about this?” or “Don’t forget to tell about that.”

Along the way, I came to really enjoy her unique personality and first person perspective, even if she did sort of take over the story. I would think the plot was going one way, then the next thing I knew she was making choices that surprised me. Especially when it came to the secondary characters in the book. In fact, the more time that went on, the more the story began to come faster than I could write, which meant I had a truly amazing but also exhausting summer. I even reached my own personal best: 400 pages in two and a half months.

When my agent, Jessica Regel, first suggested I sidestep the glutted paranormal market and focus strictly on edgy YA suspense, I was unsure. At least until plot ideas started to come and Avery began to tell me her story. Now I can see it’s the best advice she could have given, and I can’t wait to finish the proofreading and send her the manuscript. As for the title and plot, I’ll hold off blogging about that until I see what she and the Bloomsbury editors think of it. Hopefully, there will eventually be a new novel added to my “Books” page, along with an introduction to Avery and her story.