First off, I don’t much like bios--writing them, that is. Don’t get me wrong; I love writing fiction. Writing my story—my own true story? Not so much. But it’s only fair; I stalked all of you on your pages, so you should be able to get to know me a bit, too.
I started writing seriously in 2012, after taking the leap of leaving my job as an eighth-grade English teacher. At the time I thought I’d take a year, concentrate on my writing, and spend some time with my two daughters, ages 3 and 5 at the time.
And then I realized what I’d done. I’d quit my job. To write. Was I insane? My husband, who’s written four nonfiction books, thought I was finally doing what I was meant to do (We’d met at journalism grad school at Columbia, after which I’d spent a few years working in magazines, and once even wrote for the New York Times, but that was all nonfiction, which is a totally different creature). Deep inside I thought he might be right, but I was terrified, so naturally, I didn’t write at all. I did about a million other things instead.
It turns out not working was FUN! Not exactly lucrative, but fun. While I procrastinated and studiously avoided my word processor, I baked cakes (my website for that? www.alexandraballard.com), came up with about a million ideas for web-based businesses, built a dollhouse for my kids, wondered if maybe I should build dollhouses for a living (the answer? A definitive no), redid our living room, decided I was meant to be an interior designer (again, no), tried to paint a Thich Nhat Hanh poem onto a giant canvas (a failure, but the half-finished canvas was a good screen behind which to hide the aforementioned dollhouse), watched all of Downton Abbey, toyed with the idea of getting an MFA and considered a PhD.
My kids wanted to know when I was going to stop fooling around. “Are you going to get a job, Mommy?” my oldest, then six, would ask.
“I have a job,” I’d say, “writing and taking care of you.”
“Yeah, I know,” she’d say, impatient, “but when are you going to get a job that pays you?”
Good question, kid. I realized that I needed to focus. And besides, my dollhouse was finished, so what else was I supposed to do? Finish my poem on canvas? Yeah, right. So I opted for the one thing that would definitely bring in an income. A YA novel.
Just kidding. I mean, of course I fantasize about supporting myself as a writer for the rest of my life. But I know advances, especially for first-time authors, are barely enough to pay for all the paper you’ve printed your drafts on, if you can get one at all.
But the truth of it all is that I love writing, especially YA. I want to write young adult novels that make a difference, but I don’t want to be pedagogical or heavy handed. Kids are too smart; they’d see through me in a second. I want to tell good stories, like the ones you hear or read that stick with you and come back to you when you are making decisions, hearing about friends’ lives, or trying to understand what is going on in your life or somebody else’s. But most of all I want them to hand the book to a friend, saying, “Read this. It’s good. You’ll like it.” But I’m not going to lie. “This didn’t suck, so I guess you should read it,” would be acceptable too.
So there you have it. A bit about me as a writer. Oh, and since this whole contest is sort of like finding the perfect date, here are a few more random facts:
1. I am reading Gayle Forman’s If I Stay and when a bee stung my five year old on her ear today I actually tried to suck out the venom like the MC’s Dad does in the book. I don’t know if it worked or not, but I definitely got funny looks.
2. My favorite YA book of all time is Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. I’ve read it many times and every time I both tear up and am blown away by how Alexie crafts such beautiful moments. In fact, writing about it makes me want to read it now.
3. I just finished watching Orange is the New Black and it is the first book adaptation I’ve watched before reading in a long time. I totally regret it, not because I think it will spoil the book, but because as an English teacher watching before reading goes against everything I used to teach.
4. But I’d do it again in a heartbeat because OITNB was so good.
5. My favorite Disney movie is Frozen (like, well, EVERYBODY ELSE in the world). I wish it weren’t—I feel so cliché—but hey, you gotta tell the truth, right?
6. I am in a Prosecco phase right now. Why didn’t I discover this stuff earlier in life?
7. I loved teaching middle school. I think kids that age are great. They also consider themselves to be critique partners with the entire world, on pretty much everything.
8. I have a very thick skin when it comes to critiques, including my writing, and I think I have them to thank.
9. My goal all summer was to get my manuscript in shape so that someone could critique the hell out of it. This made me excited. I hope it is one of you. ;)
