Interview with Multi-Award Winning National Author, Janette Rallison

Janette, thank you so much for giving us some of your valuable time. Readers, for those of you who are unaware of Janette’s fame, she has written “20 1/2″ YA novels and has received the following awards:

“My Fair Godmother” Grand Canyon Reader Award Nominee 2011

“How to Take the Ex out of Ex Boyfriend” IRA Young Adults’ Choices List 2009

“It’s a Mall World After All” IRA Young Adults’ Choices List 2008

“Fame, Glory, and Other Things on My To Do List” IRA Young Adults’ Choices List 2007

1. Can you tell us about your latest book?

Slayers (under my pen name, CJ Hill) is a book about kids who are descendants of the medieval knights who fought dragons. The kids were born with latent super powers to fight dragons—which is nice since dragons are about to appear in the world again. Dragon lords have hidden and protected the dragons on the remote island of St. Helena. (St. Helena is a real place, by the way, and I’m sure the residents there appreciate that I’ve turned their home into a dragon sanctuary.) The latest dragon lord wants to use his dragons to take over the country.

Tori, a socialite senator’s daughter, goes to dragon camp thinking it might give her some answers about her obsession with dragons. It does. But they’re not the answers she was expecting. (GG: I think you’ve just converted me to YA)

The book has been really well received so far. Booklist said it was, “More than a worthy equal of the works of Rick Riordan or Christopher Paolini.” (G.G.: Congratulations, Janette! Awesome)

I think I will have those words etched on my tombstone.

2. How long have you been writing?

I’ve been writing since before I knew how to read. I used to dictate stories to my older brother and sisters and make them write down the words for me. Because I couldn’t read, my older brother used to write “Janette is an idiot” instead of the story I was telling him. Brothers are just like that.

3. Why did you start writing?

Partially it was a creative outlet, partially it was an avoidance of housework. If I have the choice between cleaning the fridge and writing something, I’m always going to choose writing.

4. What is your emotional connection to your work?

There have been books that have been more my editor’s idea than my own. I’ve found that no matter the book (I’ve published 18 and thus far have written 20 ½) I have to make an emotional connection to the main character and his or her story. Otherwise writing would feel like drudgery. I’ve got to love the story if I’m going to spend half a year writing and revising it.

5. Why did you choose YA?

I wrote YA because I wanted my kids to have good books to read. A lot of YA books are dark, depressing, or inappropriate for teens to read. My youngest daughter is still in elementary school so I’ll be writing YA for years more to come.

6. You are amazingly prolific. How do you get it all done? In odd moments, or do you have a schedule?

Writing, I’ve found, is a tortoise and the hare sort of thing. I’m not one of those people who can sit down and write a novel in two weeks (or a month—sorry NaNoWriMo). When my kids were little I wrote during naptime and only got a page or two written every day. But those pages add up and I could put out a book a year. Now that my kids are all in school, I aim for two books a year, and my books are twice as long.

7. What is the most important advice you can give to new writers?

Learn the craft, practice, and read a lot. Also, once you’re done with your first book, write your second. A lot of times it’s not your first book that will sell, it’s your second or your fourth. Don’t give up after one.