Hi! I'm the author
of Under the Willow and Silent One.
I live in northern
Vermont, which, especially this time of year, is about the most beautiful place
in the world. We're famous for our fall foliage, and I live right in the heart
of foliage country. My commute to town is other people's idea of a vacation
destination. This is the view outside my window.
My novels are set in
Vermont, with a dash of science fiction and fantasy thrown in. I've lived here all my life, and so have my ancestors for at least
five generations. The state's beauty and strength have inspired me, and yet
here, as everywhere, is trouble and sadness, and that has all seeped into my
writing as well. I work with high school students every day, so, in a sense, I
live in a YA world. I see the stress many kids are under. But my characters
cling to brightness and hope the way Vermont farms cling to rugged hillsides, and the way tough cedar trees grow out of narrow cracks in rocky cliffs.
Publishing YA fiction
has been one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had. I've been invited
to speak to high school classes, I've signed books at our local independent bookstore,
and people from around the world have read my stories. I've corresponded with a
gay teenager in Turkey who fears for his safety if his secret gets out. He told
me that he rereads Under the Willow when things get tough.
In keeping with the tradition
started by other authors who've posted on this blog, I've been thinking about books that are on my shelves. I grew up (and this is probably going to date me) reading
Walter Farley's The Black Stallion novels, Alexander Key's Escape
to Witch Mountain, Lucy Maud Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables,
Chaim Potok's My Name is Asher Lev, Richard Adam's Watership
Down, Mary Stewart's Merlin Series, Katherine Kurtz's The
Chronicles of the Deryni, and of course C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. More
recently, I've read and loved Harry Potter. I can feel the
influence of all these authors in my work, too.
Here is a link to the
book trailer I made for the release of my second novel, Silent One. To watch it, click HERE
Thanks for reading!
Kari Jo Spear
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