Voices In My Head (Brent's Blog) - May 2nd, 2008

Q: Which king or queen of Narnia would you say you're most like?

A: What an interesting question. I would say I'm like Lucy or Peter-- sensitive and kind or noble and brave. But the truth is I'm probably more like Edmond-- flawed, but ultimately decent.

Q: Why did you decide to write for teens?

A: A complete fluke. My book was about a teen character, so my agent said, "This is young adult." I was, of course, completely offended. Then I started reading the books, and I realized how unbelievably strong the genre is. The average teen book is far better than the average adult book, I'd say. Because we're supposedly writing for media-addled "reluctant readers," we're supposed to pay more attention to plot and economy of language. But I happen to think that's just plain good writing!

In retrospect, I can see it's the perfect fit. I always say about teen lit, almost everyone alive today either is teenager, or was one once. So they're truly universal stories! Everyone can relate.

Q: The Chronicles of Narnia were initially written for Lewis's niece Lucy. Do you ever have so specific an audience for your books?

A: I try not to think too much about my audience. Though I think, like all authors, I wrote mostly for myself-- the book I would like to read. As a general rule, though, it's essential to assume your audience is really, really smart-much smarter than you. That's been the case with my readers anyway. (See how I flatter them shamelessly?)

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