Teen Author Creates a New World
An Interview with Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
Amy Alessio
Most
authors begin writing about pets or friends during childhood. Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
is no exception. She’s been writing stories and creating a montage
of characters since she was ten, including some stories about her cat,
Meow Stripe. As she pursued her interest in writing, her plots became
more complex, and her stories grew into books.
While touring high school as a prospective freshman, one of Atwater-Rhodes’ friends told an English teacher about her books. The teacher, Tom Hart, was a part-time literary agent. He was impressed enough by the manuscript of In the Forests of the Night that he attempted to sell it, and succeeded with Delacorte Press. On her fourteenth birthday, Atwater-Rhodes found out she was about to become a published author. At the age of seventeen, she now has two books published and more than forty others started.
Atwater-Rhodes has since appeared on the Rosie O’Donnell Show, CNN Newsstand, and on a Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) panel at an American Library Association conference. She has been interviewed for People, New Yorker, Entertainment Weekly, Seventeen, and USA Today. Named by Teen People as one of “20 Teens Who Will Change the World,” her books have been well reviewed, and both were nominated for the YALSA Best Books for Young Adults list.
While this would be an impressive résumé for any writer after a long career, it is especially unusual for one so young. Atwater-Rhodes continues to write and has another book due out in 2001. She also makes time for pursuing her interests in fencing, Wicca, animals, ecology, and playing the piano. And sometimes, she simply relaxes in front of the television. Considering the subject matter of her books, it is not surprising that her favorite TV shows includeCharmed and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And of course, she also has to do homework, since she is still in high school.
What is it about this young author’s books that draws teens and many adults to read them? Perhaps it is the fascinating world she creates—a world shared by both supernatural and human characters. Her vampire town of New Mayhem, located on the outskirts of Concord, Massachusetts, is home to several hundred characters. Amelia has a detailed history for her world and its inhabitants. That history is the basis for her books. Perhaps the appeal lies not only in the popular supernatural and vampire theme, but also in the fact that they were written by a teen and, as novels go, they are short. Not unlike adults, when teens like something, they want more of it, and more is exactly what Atwater-Rhodes has in mind. She has plenty of sequels planned for her fans, and, if they are like her first two books, they will have well-crafted, suspenseful plots.
What’s next for the young author? College. Eighty percent of what she earns from her books is put into an account toward her college education. The remaining twenty percent is donated to charities promoting animal causes.
S. E. Hinton wrote The Outsiders at age sixteen. That title helped create the genre of young adult fiction. What will be the effect of Amelia Atwater-Rhodes’ writing? One promising trend is that other young people are encouraged to write and publish. Using Atwater-Rhodes’ books is a golden opportunity for librarians to attract potential teen readers and writers.
PL: Where did you develop your interest in vampires? Did any books influence you?
AAR: I developed my interest in vampires by trying all sorts of genres. . . . I worked on fantasy, mystery, everything for a while. But finally I met some characters who really stuck, and those were my vamps.
PL: Do other aspects of your life provide you with new ideas for your books?
AAR: My friends, my writer’s group online, everything I see and hear, even just in the halls of school. In other words, I don’t really know. I will be struck by a great idea during passing time, for no particular reason.
PL: What advice would you give other young writers?
AAR: You are a writer from the moment you get your first idea. If you love to write, then do it, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. You are your own worst critic—nothing you create is as bad as you think it is. On the other hand, nothing you create will be perfect at the first go. Don’t write to get published, for fame, or for money. Write because you love it. A book without passion is nothing.
PL: Did you try to sell any manuscripts before you met your agent?
AAR: I tried, but did not do a very good job. I am not particularly good at summing up plots, or at describing myself, which is key if you want to promote yourself enough to get published.
PL: What can libraries do to encourage young writers like yourself?
AAR: Let them read. A lot of librarians chase away teens—sad, but true. Libraries can be scary places, especially when the people in charge give you nasty looks when you ask for a book. Suggest books, get kids together. I learned to love reading early, but a lot of people learned to hate it just as early.
PL: In both of your published works, New Mayhem is a tightly developed world with families, history, and lots of adventure. Will your next book feature someone from this world? If so, who?
AAR: All my vampires are of the same world, though they are not necessarily in contact with each other. The only carry-over character from Forests of the Night and Demon in My View is Dominique Vida, witch, vampire-hunter. Her daughter, Sarah, is the main character of my next book.
PL: Can you tell us anything else about your future projects?
AAR: Sarah Vida is a born-witch (not a human witch) who is descended of a very powerful line, and raised to see vampires as evil. Personally, I do not believe there is such a thing as evil-by-nature, and that idea comes across in the book.
PL: In Demon in My View, the character Jessica has a particular routine for writing. She has several manuscripts written, and she likes to write an entire manuscript before going back to read it over. How is this like or unlike your own writing routine?
AAR: Jessica’s style is similar to mine. I always listen to music when I write, and I never edit while I write—even if that means twice the work later, as I cut out superfluous characters or scenes. I write because I love to write. The characters are alive to me, and like Jessica, when I write I rarely have conscious intent of where the story is going. They tell me their stories and I put it down on paper (or on a microchip!).
PL: Will you study writing in college or are you planning for another career?
AAR: I’m thinking of a psych-history double major. I love to learn—though I sometimes detest classes. You learn to write the best by doing it—and by working with wonderful editors, like I have. Studying writing might be interesting, but learning something fascinating to write about is what I prefer.