About the Author: Stephanie Kuehn holds degrees in linguistics and sport psychology, and is currently working toward a doctorate in clinical psychology. She lives in Northern California with her husband, their three children, and a joyful abundance of pets. When she’s not writing, she’s running. Or reading. Or dreaming…
You can visit Stephanie at www.stephaniekuehn.com. She can also be found blogging over at the YA Highway or skulking around the murky depths of Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook.
About Charm & Strange: Andrew Winston Winters is at war with himself. He’s part Win, the lonely teenager exiled to a remote Vermont boarding school in the wake of a family tragedy. The guy who shuts all his classmates out, no matter the cost. But he’s also part Drew, the angry young boy with violent impulses that control him. The boy who spent a fateful summer with his brother and teenage cousins, only to endure a family secret so painful it led three children to do the unthinkable. Over the course of one night, while stuck at a party deep in the New England woods, Andrew battles the pain of his past and the isolation of his present. Before the sun rises, he’ll either surrender his sanity to the wild thoughts inside his mind or learn that surviving means more than not dying.
We’ve got a short Twitterview with Stephanie to share today!
Pitch your book in 140 characters:
Stuck at a remote Vermont boarding school. 16-year-old Andrew Winston Winters struggles to keep the trauma of his past from defining his future.
Who will this book appeal to:
Teens who’ve grappled with darkness and shame, who’ve been made to feel like there’s something fundamentally wrong with them. And who need to know that there isn’t.
Favorite moment or character in your book:
Keith Winters, the narrator’s older brother. Keith has a sort of passion and idealism that I greatly admire. He wears his heart on his sleeve. For better or for worse.
What’s your writing routine:
I’m a definite morning lark. I capitalize on this by getting up early and writing for a few hours before I go to work.
What’s your best piece of writing advice:
In writing, as in everything, be compassionate. Be open. Be vulnerable. Be wrong.
What’s been the most surprising part of the publishing journey:
That anyone’s connected with my wolfish little book at all. I don’t always connect well with other people, so this has been a most wonderful sort of surprise, indeed.
What did you do when you learned your book would be published:
When my agent called to say there was an offer, I think I just froze up and mumbled. Inside, I was very excited, but it didn’t come out that way. It never does.
What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve received:
Write what you don’t think you’re capable of writing.
What are your top three favorite books:
Giles Goat-Boy by John Barth
Flicker by Theodore Roszak
The Butterfly Revolution by William Butler
What’s next for you:
I’m working on another YA novel. It’s more of a psychological thriller and deals with issues very close to my heart. It has me all knotted up at the moment (in a good way!).
You can learn more about Stephanie Kuehn’s Charm & Strange on Goodreads.
