Writing has always been instinctual for author Lissa Price. She loves telling stories and is excited that with the release of her first novel, “Starters,” she now “has a wider audience beyond my circle of friends.” “Starters” is set in a future where a genocide spore wiped out everyone except those who were vaccinated first,…

“Beyonders starts like Narnia, then finishes like Lord of the Rings.” That bold statement comes from Beyonders author Brandon Mull, whose second book in the series, “Seeds of Rebellion,” came out Tuesday. “In the beginning, we have characters from our world crossing into a fantasy reality that needs help, which sounds Narnia-esque,” Brandon continued. “But once…

There’s something really universal about teenage experiences says author Megan Miranda. Those experiences may not be external, she says, but internally. It’s one of the reasons YA resonates with her emotionally. “It’s such a pivotal time, when we discover who we will become,” she told Cracking the Cover. “I’m really drawn to it. Also, I…

“You can only think of your audience so much,” says author Brodi Ashton. “That’s the fun part of being the author. All you can do is write the story you have to write, then you get to sit back and hear all the different ways it’s interpreted.” Hearing and reading about what readers take away…

Author Nick Lake is fascinated with every aspect of books — the type, the printing, the binding. Nick grew up in a home full of books, and his mom (or mum as he calls her) taught him to read before he went to school. It meant he was always reading. “I think from quite early…

When Andrea Cremer began writing what became her first published series, she didn’t have a particular audience in mind. She wanted to write a coming of age story, which she says is particularly well suited to teenagers but still resonates with readers of all ages. “I don’t think of my books as being written for…

“Fairy tales are fairly outlandish, unbelievable tales, and yet they’re intriguing and fun,” says Melanie Dickerson. That’s why she writes them — with a twist. “I just thought it would be fun to take the basic story and make it realistic, to ask the question, ‘What if this really happened? What would the story be…

“The books you read when you’re young get into your head in a way that doesn’t usually happen later in life,” says Jaclyn Dolamore. As a young reader, the author felt like she became a part of her favorite stories, and they became a part of her. “My love for them was so strong, and…

“Words of the past often inform the future,” says Ally Condie. “For example, we as a culture discover ourselves in plays by Shakespeare over and over again.” “I think the idea of finding words that have had historical meaning and then giving them your own meaning is something that is intrinsic to our experience as…

“(Writing) is the kind of thing you do because you can’t stand not to,” says Sara Zarr. The author of “Once Was Lost,” “Sweethearts” and the National Book Award finalist “Story of a Girl” has always been a reader and has always been making up stories, but it wasn’t until after college that she considered…