DEFY came from a very difficult period in my life, when I lost someone I loved. He was only 24. I was so upset by his death that I couldn’t write anything, but a friend of mine told me to stop trying to write a book and just write what I was feeling.
So that’s exactly what I did. I sat down and wrote a scene, not intending for it to go anywhere. It was a very sad scene (not the first chronological scene in the book, by the way) and it wouldn't leave me alone. I got curious about the characters. How did they end up there? Why were they in the jungle? Who were they--what was their story?
This whole fascinating world unraveled itself and I realized Alexa had a very intriguing, difficult, but ultimately amazing story that needed to be told. I threw myself into that writing and from there the story took on its own life. It became a story of survival and moving forward, a story of what true courage and strength is, a story of self-discovery. A story about the many different kinds of love, a story about hope (even in the most desperate of situations) and risking everything for the chance of a better future.
Stay tuned for my next post--a "trip to the jungles of DEFY." (A sneak peak into my writing process, including my trip to a real jungle!)
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DEFY series: Behind the Scenes
Teen FictionI will be doing a series of posts, giving you insider info on how I wrote DEFY, where the story came from, deleted scenes, and more! In fact, I might even post a scene or two from a different POV. Like maybe...Rylan. Or even Damian. Intrigued? Then...
