Guest Feature

Today’s guest post on about why she writes YA books is by lovely author Ron C. Nieto. We featured a cover reveal for Shattered Silence earlier in 2013, which is Book 2 in the Ghostly Rhapsody series.

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Ron C. Nieto is a fantasy and romance author who has been writing in her secluded fortress for the longest time. Recently, she had a talk with her cat and decided that she should share her creations, because it was selfish to hoard them all for herself.

Why do I write YA?

Because it’s my very own version of Dorian Grey’s portrait: allows me to live vicariously through my characters and be forever seventeen. Mwahahahaha!

Or perhaps not.

You know, the first time I thought about writing YA I wasn’t entirely sure what that meant, genre wise. It looks like a ridiculous question now but I spent my teen years reading Homer, Walter Scott and Dostoevsky, so… forgive my ignorance?

The truth is that time passed, I began to read what most normal teenagers do (albeit in my twenties) and, suddenly, YA happened. Only after I had completed my first draft and had gone a first round of revisions and edits I began to consider the “Why” of it:

I realized I wanted to say something.

Which might sound obvious, but cheekiness aside, it isn’t. Up until I began writing YA, I thought I only wanted to tell a story, to meet new characters and have a fun time. Then, all of a sudden, I had this bunch of ideas about love and about dreams and about fighting chances, and my characters wanted to do something more than taking a stroll: they wanted to be passionate, and a little bit crazy, and they weren’t scared of crashing down every time they took a leap.

And when you think about it… isn’t that what being young is all about?

If I remember correctly, ten years ago I saw the world painted in extremes of happiness and sorrow, love was the greatest thing of all, trust was something earned and given over a shared laugh and a can of coke, and if a cause was good enough to believe in it, then it was good enough to fight for it. These days I’m much calmer. I think about crisis and about making it to the end of the month. Worst of all, I usually double-check when confronted with an act of kindness, looking for the catch.

I think I’m not the only one who changed like that overtime. I think it’s happened to all of us—it’s this dreadful thing called “growing up”. And I can’t help but believe that those golden, teen years were much purer, more… genuine.

I write YA because I want to remember what it was to be “me”, to care for the truly important things like friends and crushes and annoying family members. Because I want my older readers (yes, I know a lot of you are there!) to remember, to go back a little and rescue those feelings.

And because looking back, in my memories everything was simpler and easier… but when I was living those memories, some silly things were huge, so I want my younger readers to see themselves in perspective, to find themselves in my stories, to hopefully entertain them and maybe, just maybe, change them a little too, so they stay true without all the extra grief involved.

It took me a lot of time and effort to realize it, but I think I write YA, quite simply, because I need it.

Silent Song

   The princess of the school, Alice, is keeping a secret that could strip her of her high school fame. She is obsessed with the school’s outcast, Keith, but not just him – his music. 

   Since the inspiration for the song hit, Keith can’t get it out of his mind. The song must be played; it demands to be played. He knows the music is changing him, but he is unable to stop it. 

   Music has the ability to move you, enlighten you, and take you to places you have never dreamed of. And this particular piece? It has a life of its own and makes you forget who you really are. 

   As Keith and Alice learn of one another to the notes of that one perfect tune, they can overlook their roles and discover who they could be together. But they also discover someone else is listening and intends on keeping Keith to herself, possibly for an eternity.

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Want to know more? Check out the links!

Author website
Twitter account
GoodReads profile