Currently reading: Sunday’s New York Times Magazine (for some reason, I’m between books)

This week’s featured author also celebrated her birthday yesterday. So I’ll start with a big “Happy Birthday” to my wonderful imprint-mate, Beth Fehlbaum. I’m so excited to have her as a guest on the blog today. Her book, Hope in Patience, has been honored by YALSA as a Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers and Beth has been very busy reaching out to readers, both in Texas, where she lives, and in cyberspace.

About Beth:

I write fiction for young adults, although the fiction I write is rooted in truth. Even though I’m no longer a teenager, I still see the world through the lens of a teen, and that enables me to shine light on parts of life that some adults would prefer to keep hidden. I am a teacher and a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. I drew on both experiences to write my debut novel, Courage in Patience, a story of hope for those who have endured abuse. My newest book, Hope in Patience, released late October, 2010, from WestSide Books! I’m currently at work on Truth in Patience.

About Hope in Patience:

Ashley Asher is fifteen years old, and is sent to live with her father and his family, after being sexually abused by her stepfather for four years. She seems to be making progress, with the help of her therapist and her new family, but she still struggles with trying to forget the abuse she’d endured for years. With her guard built up, she starts school in her new hometown of Patience, Texas, where she meets all of these new people including her soon to best friend, ZZ. She joins the cross country team with her new friends, when a special boy catches her eye. Josh is cute, funny, and attractive, but Ashley has no confidence in things working out with him. Will she soon learn that forgetting about her past isn’t an option anymore? Will Ashley see that there is still hope for her in Patience? Or will she end up losing herself, the progress she’s made, and Josh to something that never should’ve happened to begin with?

On to the interview…

1. Hope in Patience had a prequel, Courage in Patience, that was published by a different publisher.  Can you tell us about how you found WestSide Books for “Hope?”

Courage in Patience was first published in September, 2008  by Kunati, Inc., a small independent Canadian publisher.  Kunati folded in mid-2009, and all rights to Courage in Patience were reverted to me.  My agent, Gina Panettieri of Talcott Notch Literary Services,  began shopping it around, and one of the publishers she submitted to was WestSide.  I was very interested in WestSide because I read a few of its titles, including Running for My Life, One Wish, and The Ring, and I knew without a doubt that Courage in Patience would fit in well.  I completed work on Hope in Patience,  but neither my agent or I thought about shopping it separately from Courage in Patience, even though it was written so that it could be a stand-alone or a sequel.  By January, 2010, we still had not heard back from WestSide,  and I sent an e-mail to the submissions e-mail address, complimenting WestSide on the titles I’d read  and telling the person on the receiving end of the e-mail –who turned out to be Evelyn Fazio– that my age