Senior Standoff

Foreword

Man, it's really been four years since I began working on the first draft of Senior Standoff.  I was so much younger, in such a different place in my life, and a completely different person than I am now.  I was still transitioning into adulthood.  And yet, despite all the massive changes that have happened, this story has stuck with me.  I rewrote it once about three years ago, entered it into ProjectBadBoys' Annual Bad Boy Awards, and won "Best Story Concept" that year.  And yet, going back and reading my second draft, I can see all the ways that it can be so much better.  I've always had big dreams for this story.  One thing I've learned, as many authors will tell you, is how good it can do to set a draft down for awhile, work on something else, and come back to it later with fresh eyes and a fresh mind.

When I came up with Senior Standoff, I was really interested in the idea of some sort of reality show (I have my sister to blame for that one.  After we ironically watched Paris Hilton is my New BFF, she got really into elimination reality game shows.  I'd say based on the time period, my interest came from her love for Big Brother).  It coupled with my other desire to write a story about a girl who is corrupted, loses her innocence, goes "bad" in a sense.  But I didn't want it to be portrayed as a bad thing.  We're all constantly learning, growing, and making mistakes, which is something that matters to me when writing.  Of course these characters are going to make stupid decisions.  They're teenagers.  Even past high school, we all are going to make messy choices that help us to grow as people.

This book is going to portray some morally questionably choices, like drug use, sex, and drinking.  My stance, which will become clear in my writing, is that these things aren't inherently bad.  They're human.  And, the most important takeaway for me is that making responsible decisions around these choices that we make is the difference between whether or not they're a problem.  

I've grown to love Asher and Aspen over the past few years, similar to how I love the characters from the first book I ever wrote.  Through the rereads and rewrites, the conversations with my best friend and revelations while driving, I've watched these characters slowly come alive.  This story gets closer and closer to what I want it to be.  

As you're reading through another rendition of this story, I hope you can fall in love with it as much as I have.  It takes me back to high school for a short moment of time.  Maybe for a little while, you can escape, too.