By Kelly O'Brien
On Tuesday, March 2nd, Lisa McMann, author of the best-selling Wake trilogy, paid an exclusive visit to Mr. Bouman’s Ap World Literature class. McMann revealed several of her own experiences as an author and also gave advice to aspiring writers.
McMann was born in Holland, Michigan, but later moved to Arizona in 2004 with her husband and two kids. While she had always wanted to become an author, McMann took on several jobs to get by, such as dog walking, baby sitting, newspaper delivering, and “putting stickers on a roll” at a printing company.
When she was 17, McMann worked in a book store until she was 27, always keeping an interest in books and writing.
“I met a lot of cool authors,” says McMann “I worked in real estate and one day my broker told me that I needed a hobby, so I thought, maybe I should start writing again. I wrote several short stories and won $10,000 in a writing contest!”
Surprisingly, the author found writing novels to be difficult at first.
“I stared at a blank screen for 18 months. I felt all the pressure, so I took a week off and watched tv…I got totally inspired and started writing books!”
Her first book, Wake, debuted in 2009 has won several literary awards such as the American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults, Cybil Award Finalist, and the American Library Association Top 10 Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Readers, to name a few.
Wake is the story of a teen named Janie who is uncontrollably sucked into other people’s dreams, which McMann was inspired to write based off a personal experience.
“I had a dream that I was in my husband’s dream, and it still sounded cool when I woke up.”
However, McMann added more depth and behind the scenes work into Wake, especially through her development of the cast of characters.
“I need to know a little bit about the story,” she explains “I decide what happens, and then I think about my characters. I write a bio - a one page thing from when they were born til when the book starts. Then I start writing the book. It’s good to have something unusual…if they have something different about them. Little flaws make characters pop!”
Wake proved to be more than just a novel: “I didn’t know it would be trilogy, but I decided that there’s just so much more to this story.” This mindset resulted in the second novel of the Wake series, Fade, released in 2009. The novel debuted on the New York Times best-selling list and remained there for 11 weeks. Fade also made the American Library Association Quick Picks for Young Readers List, was a Gateway Readers Award Nominee, and made the YALSA Teens Top Ten List.
After Wake and Fade, McMann concluded the series with Gone, which proved to be a slight challenge.
“Basically, my editor sent me a four page letter telling me it didn’t work. I cried for like four days but realized I had to start over,” she said with a small laugh. “Music seemed to fit the whole mood. I needed to go back to Gone and I only had three weeks to do it”.
While her books compete with the likes of Harry Potter, Twilight, Percy Jackson, and the Magic Tree House series, McMann still feels slightly uncomfortable that other people are reading her work.
“Yes, I’m embarrassed when people read [my books]. My Mother,” she says laughing “We both promised that she wouldn’t read Wake when it came out…She did! When you get published, everyone and their Grandma will read it!”
McMann's success is just beginning with the Wake series, as she already has several novels under contract with Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing. Fans will have to eagerly wait until fall of 2011 for her next string of novels, The Unwanteds. This series which reveal the story of a utopian society complete with the suspenseful twists and turns indigenous to a standard Lisa McMann novel.
Regardless of where she goes or what she accomplishes, McMann will always have the support and admiration of the Mercy community.
Check out Lisa's website here to get the latest news on books, contests, and visits!
Photo courtesy of lisamcmann.com
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