Guys. YA author Taylor Bennet's novel Porch Swing Girl is finally here! =D I've been staring at it longingly on my Goodreads shelf for too long, and now and I finally have it! AND OH MY WORD IT IS SO GOOD. Seriously, if you don't have a copy of Porch Swing Girl, go grab one. Now. I mean, it's Hawaii. And shave ice. Who could say no?! And LOOK AT THAT COVER. Just look at it.
Luckily, I got to interview the author of this amazing story. Taylor is not only a great writer, but she's also a super great person. I hope you enjoy getting to know more about her and her writing through this interview. =)
When and why did you start writing?
I honestly don’t have a good answer
for this, because I’ve literally been writing since before I could write (if
that makes any sense at all!) My earliest memory of “writing” would be from
when I was around four years old. I got the grand idea to write my mom a book
for her birthday but, because I didn’t know how to spell, let alone type, I
asked my dad to help out. In the end, I dictated a rambling narrative while Dad
sat at the computer and typed it up, word-for-word. Another early writerly
memory is of sitting at my mom’s old electric typewriter and pecking out pages
full of gibberish for hours at a time. So basically, I’ve been in love with
words for my entire life. But I never got serious about publication until I was
in middle school.
What is your upcoming novel,
Porch Swing Girl, about?
Porch
Swing Girl is about a sassy, stubborn teenager named Olive Galloway (yes,
she’s the Porch Swing Girl) who gets dumped at her grandmother’s house in
Hawaii after the tragic death of her mother. Olive is desperate to chase her
dad back home to keep him from doing anything drastic, but an empty pocketbook
keeps her stranded. She starts working at the Shave Ice Shack with one of the local
guys to raise the money needed for a ticket home, but she discovers that one of
his friends is harboring a painful secret. And suddenly, Olive begins to
question every decision she’s made since coming to Hawaii…
What is the hardest part about
writing? The best part?
The best part about writing is
definitely having the freedom to “visit” new places and make new friends. I
happen to have a chronically overactive imagination, and I was always the kid
that wanted to play pretend and act out scenes from storybooks. Truth be told,
I’d still do that if I could get away with it 😉
But then I discovered that I could—by
writing! I can create characters, settings, and hop onto the pages to play the what if game as long as I want.
What message do you want readers
to take away from your writing?
I want readers to see God’s grace
and goodness in everything. I want to show them that, even in the darkest
night, God is still good. His love and grace cover over everything in our life.
And we, as Christians, can be the light of the world. We can brighten the
darkness and make life beautiful because of Him and what He’s done for us.
What is one piece of advice that
you’d like to give to aspiring teen writers?
Wait. Don’t feel like you need to
get a publishing contract before you turn eighteen. That was my goal, actually,
and it was a good one to have, but that doesn’t mean that everyone should
strive for the same thing. The teen years are so full of change—of decision-making
and pressure and just…life—that there’s no reason to rush your writing career.
Take it slow. Write because you love it
and see where that takes you.
About The Author
Homeschooled since kindergarten, Taylor Bennett is the
seventeen-year-old author of Porch Swing
Girl, which will be released by Mountain Brook Ink on May 1st.
When she’s not reading or writing, Taylor can be found playing her violin or
taking walks in the beautiful Oregon countryside. She loves to connect with
readers via her author website, as well as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram (her
favorite!), Pinterest, and Goodreads. Buy her novel Porch Swing Girl here.
Isn't Taylor the greatest? =) Have you read Porch Swing Girl yet? Have you ever been to Hawaii or eaten shave ice? Be sure to leave Taylor a comment! =)
