I have news! The University of Texas at Arlington contacted me about developing/teaching a few courses for writers. This spring, I’m teaching Writing Young Adult Books. You do NOT have to be a UTA student. Anyone can enroll.
The class will run for five sessions, Monday Evenings from 7-9 p.m. CST.
Session one: April 30th
Session two: May 7th
Session three: May 14th
Session four: May 21st
Session five: June 4th (No class on May 28th for Memorial Day).
Basically, during the class, I’m sharing every secret I’ve ever learned about writing, querying, revising, landing an agent. And here’s the thing…You won’t just be learning from me and from the other students in the class…You’ll be learning from some amazing industry pros!
Check out these STELLAR SPECIAL GUESTS!
GWEN HAYES lives in the Pacific Northwest with her real life hero, their children, and the pets that own them. She writes stories for teen and adult readers about love, angst, and saving the world. Gwen’s first novel,
Falling Under, was released in March of 2011 by NAL/Penguin and followed up by the sequel,
Dreaming Awake, in January of 2012. She is represented by Jessica Sinsheimer of the Sarah Jane Freymann Literary Agency. You can find her at
http://www.gwenhayes.com/
Gwen will be sharing her expertise in creating chemistry between characters!
Jeff Hirsch is originally from the suburbs just south of Richmond, VA. Growing up, he always knew he wanted to do something artistic but it wasn’t until he started writing poetry and short stories in Junior High that something really stuck. Jeff graduated from the University of California, San Diego, with an MFA in Dramatic Writing and is the author of The Eleventh Plague and Magisterium (Scholastic). He lives in Beacon, New York, with his wife. Visit him online at www.jeff-hirsch.com.
Jeff will wow us with his expert skills in writing taut action with emotional intensity!
Kiera Cass is a graduate of Radford University and currently lives in 
Blacksburg, Virginia with her family. Her fantasy novel
Last month I got a chance to ask Gwen Hayes, author of FALLING UNDER, a few questions. Check out her answers below!
Welcome to YABC, Gwen! Thanks so much for doing this interview for us! First off, tell us a little about your debut,
Falling Under.
Thank you for having me! Falling Under is, at the heart of it, a love story. It's about a girl who meets the boy of her dreams...literally...the boy she dreams about suddenly enrolls at her school but also still visits her dreams. He's got a dark purpose for being there and the closer she gets to the truth, the more danger she falls into.What drew you to writing for teens, and how is it different than writing for adults? Do you prefer one over the other?
I don't have a preference, really. My teen stories are usually about opening up your heart for the first time while my adult stories tend to be about trying to learn how to re-open your heart like you did the first time.You have self-published several e-books in the past. Tell us about your journey from self-publishing to your first print debut with Penguin.
If I'm an advocate for anything, it's keeping an open mind and doing what works for you.
My journey began in epublishing because the length of those stories worked the best in electronic format. I'd always pursued print also--but I don't believe that my smaller publishers are stepping stones to get to New York. Nor do I think I would ever go all self-publishing or all print publishing. I make those decisions based on the story and where I think it will do the best.
There are also so many savvy people in publishing that I want to work with--for instance the story I have coming out from Samhain Publishing in May was a result of wanting to work with editor, Imogen Howsen. She's got an amazing writing voice and I'd always wanted to do a project with her as editor. My short story, an adult rom/com called Let me Call You Sweetheart was fun to write and fun to publish. What did you do when you found out you sold
Falling Under to a major publisher?
Truthfully, it didn't sink in for awhile. I was excited, of course...but it felt a little to close to a daydream to be real, so I was pretty casual about it. Who was your favorite character to write in
Falling Under and why?
I love writing Donny. She's fun and layered and says things I wish I could get away with. Were there any television shows, films, songs, or books that helped fuel your creativity and inspiration while writing on
Falling Under? Do you have a playlist?
So many people ask me if I was inspired by Labyrinth or Alice in Wonderland...and the truth is I haven't seen either. And I won't until after I'm done writing the sequel now that everyone thinks I'm so close to them.
For me, Gwen Hayes’ debut, FALLING UNDER, is a slice of gourmet dark chocolate torte. It’s the scrumptious, forbidden dessert I shouldn’t be allowed to order–the one I can’t resist devouring.
Sound delicious? Take a look at the ingredients:
1 brilliant, incredibly introspective yet tragically repressed heroine with caramel curls.
1 smoldering, completely swoon-worthy yet recklessly smitten bloke in tails and a cravat.
2 fiercely loyal best friends
1 cross-dressing psychic
1 haunting string quartet
A dash of invocation and exorcism
1/2 dozen nights in a kingdom of dark, forbidden dreams.
1,001 moments of hot, sizzling, flush cheeked romantic suspense.
Gwen Hayes combines these elements to concoct an irresistible book. If you’re like me, and have a heartbreaking weakness for dark heroes like Heathcliff and Rochester, you’ll love FALLING UNDER.
Hungry for more? Try this recipe for Deep, Dark Chocolate Cake. It’s not as dangerously sinful as Haden Black, but it’s *almost* as delicious.
Filed under:
Book Reviews Tagged:
dark chocolate cake,
Dark Heroes,
Falling Under,
Gwen Hayes,
Obsessive Love,
Young Adult Romance 
Congratulations on UT getting in touch with you! Sounds like a win to me. Wish I was closer to Arlington–I could definitely use a course or two. Best of luck! ^-^
Thank you so much. In the future, I think they may have me offer some online offerings, too. Wish you join us! Thanks for the good wishes!
This sounds great! Wish i were closer as well, I’d sign up for an online course in a flash!
Thank you! I couldn’t be more pumped about the class. And hopefully, I’ll have some online offerings in the future!