In the Author’s Tent: Lauren Baratz-Logsted

Having just returned from a trip to the East Coast last night, I’m still a bit addled jet-lagged this morning.  But never fear: I’ve asked the fabulous Lauren Baratz-Logsted to help carry the conversation. On July 12, her newest YA novel, THE EDUCATION OF BET hits the shelves, followed closely by THE TWIN’S DAUGHTER, which is scheduled for an August 31 release. So as you might expect, she’s got lots to talk about. And rightly so.

 

I first met Lauren at the Backspace Writers’ Forum, where I was immediately impressed by her genuine—and generous—contributions to other members, as well as the writing community at large. An accomplished author in her own right (19 published books and counting!), she’s gained a lot of wisdom through experience. This is perhaps my favorite interview with Lauren, mainly for the way she approaches her own struggles and triumphs. If you’re short on courage or confidence, I’m willing to bet it’ll inspire you!

       

Since Lauren’s visit to the Authors’ Tent is near the end of a lengthy blog tour, I decided to ask her one question. Yeah, so maybe it’s not all that creative, but enquiring minds wanted to know: What’s one question no one has asked that you wish they had?

 

Here’s Lauren’s response:

 

Hmm…let’s see… I know! "Lauren, in addition to your many published books, I understand you’ve written several other books. Which one, if any, would you most like to have see the light of day?"

 

Wow, me, what a terrific question! I hear writers often say that they hope their earlier efforts would never be published, but I would want mine to be – I’m nutty that way. And the one I’d most like to see make it to bookstores everywhere is a quirky adult novel called Z. It’s a contemporary re-visioning of The Great Gatsby featuring a writer who returns home to Danbury after 15 years out in L.A. only to meet and fall in love with a window washer who may or may not be Zorro. Z has everything: comedy, romance, drama, swordplay, and no one dies in a swimming pool. All of that said, I’ve been thinking as I’m writing this that Z might work better if I revised it as a young adult novel. I’ve done that three times before – written a book for one age group only to realize later that it would work much better for a different market. Sometimes I have to break lots of eggs before making an omelet.

Thanks, Lauren, for joining us in the Authors’ Tent! I know I’m not alone in expressing my appreciation for your many contributions–to writers and readers alike.

To catch more of Lauren’s blog tour, just follow these links:

July 1: http://www.clatteringkeys.blogspot.com/  and July 5^th: http://books-movies-chinesefood.blogspot.com/  And to read more author interviews, please visit the Authors’ Tent archives.