A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending an evening author event featuring Denise Vega, author of books for children, tweens, and teens, at the Northern Colorado Writers Studio. One of the things that I found most interesting is that several young people attended to hear her speak and to ask perceptive questions about her writing experience, but also about writing in general. I had the distinct feeling I was in the company of several future authors.
According to Denise, she was interested in writing from a very early age. Her first story, The Laziness of Peter Rabbit, was written when she was about twelve. You can actually see this story, with its artwork, on her website.
Denise’s most recent books for each age group are:
Children: Grandmother, Have the Angels Come? This book deals with aging in a question and answer format between a young girl and her grandmother.
Tweens: Access Denied (and Other Eighth-Grade Error Messages). The continuation of Click Here (To Find Out How I Survived the Seventh Grade), computer whiz Erin Swift deals with her first boyfriend, first break-up, and a multitude of other life problems.
Teens: Facts of Life #31. The trials and tribulations of teenager Katima Flynn who works for her midwife mom.
Facts of Life #31 tied for the win of Colorado Authors’ League Top Hand Award in YA Fiction. This is notable enough in itself, but Denise mentions on her website that the author who shared that win was Wick Downing (The Trials of Kate Hope), who is a member of Denise’s critique group. Facts of Life #31 also won the CAL Award for Young Adult Literature.
Although she does not have a blog at this time, Denise posts to a journal on her website about once a month, where she documents her progress on her newest book.
So sorry for not dropping back to thank everyone for comments today, but I had a (hopefully) temporary glitch during which Google didn’t like me, or my computer. I shut everything own and ran a deep virus scan, removed a bunch of cookies, and then tried again. So far, everything seems to be working. Marvin will understand why I suffered hours of anxiety this afternoon…
Most definitely heading over to check out the links – I have heard good things about Access Denied but haven’t had the opportunity to read it yet…but it’s on the list!
Nancy, from Realms of Thought…
Thanks for the information on Denise, Patricia. The YA demographic can be tough to write for, and it sounds like Denise is doing a great job.
Elizabeth
Mystery Writing is Murder
Where were these books when I was a youngster??? I guess something like them was probably there, but I was to out of control to be induced to read them or anything. To into sports, girls, cars, music, time wasting. etc. etc. Say, come to think of it, not much has changed.
Best Regards, Galen…The 60 year old adolescent.
Imagineering Fiction Blog
Thanks for bringing Denise to my attention. I have a 12 year old daughter who might enjoy these books. I admire your dedication to bringing other authors to our attention.
Remembering back to my own teen and tween years seems to be getting easier as I get older. Of course I can’t remember where I left my glasses, coffee cup, or why I’m finding my car keys in the refrigerator. Interesting that Denise has no blog and is doing well. Blogs can be real time suckers.
Thanks for the info on Denise. It takes a certain special talent to be able to write and relate to the tween/teen demographic.
The Old Silly
Thanks for blogging about Denise, I’ll have to check out some of her work.