Interview with Janet Gurtler

There are a few things Grace Anderson knows for sure. One is that nothing will ever come between her and her best friend, Kya Kessler. They have a pact. Buds Before Studs. Sisters Before Misters. But in the summer before senior year, life throws out challenges they never expected. And suddenly the person who's always been there starts to need the favor returned. Grace and Kya are forced to question how much a best friend can forgive. And the answer is not what they expected.

Hello and welcome!

Today I have a great interview with Janet Gurtler!

Why do you write for teens?

I love writing about this time in people’s lives because adolescence is such a time of flux. Teens face so many new things and everything is usually so big and all consuming. You have to figure out a lot when you’re a teen and it’s just FUN to throw more at characters of this age! Because I write contemporary I can tackle so many emotions and feelings and still leave the story with hope, because at this point in life, anything is still possible. I love writing the young adult voice and am drawn to the types of characters and stories I can write about in this genre. I love reading Young Adult and it makes sense for me to write it.  By the way, I think I write ABOUT teens, but I hope the books are accessible to all ages!

Who are some authors that inspire your work?

S.E. Hinton was one of my favorite authors as a teen and I think she inspires my work today. I read Sara Zarr and Sarah Dessen and Sarah Ockler for inspiration as well. All those wonderful Sarah’s!

      Are there any characters in your books that you can relate to?

 I can usually relate to most characters, even the ones I don’t like very much, or don’t really have a lot in common with.  Because I’m making up a world for them I really try to put myself in my characters shoes, so to speak, and try to think how they would think, even if it’s different from the way I think.

Do uses any life experiences in your books?

I absolutely use life experiences in my books. I remember the teen years and tap into things that I went through or my friends went through. I also had a great resource in my sister and her three girls, but they’re growing up now. I do have a son who is twelve and he gets parts of his life fictionalized into my books as well.  I am always listening to people speak and my writer brain is always on and real life things do make it into books. They’re just reworked and are fictionalized for sure!

Thanks for stopping by Ms. Gurtler!

Happy Reading!