Writers Like Us - A.S. King

A.S. King is here! A.S. King is here! A.S. King is heeeeeeeere!

I recently read REALITY BOY, which is at the top of my list of my "Read This ASAP or I Will Threaten to Hurt You" List. You may have heard of some of A.S. King's other books: ASK THE PASSENGERS, PLEASE IGNORE VERA DIETZ, and EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS, among others.

Very seriously, A.S. King is one of my favorite contemporary YA authors right now, and after meeting her at a recent signing, I can vouch that she is one of the most supportive, knowledgable authors out there.

Her Writers Like Us answers are below in bold.

A.S. KING on Writing

• I've written 20 books/collections, and 8 have (or will have) seen the light of day.

• My favorite type of scene to write is on the edge of its own seat, usually present tense, and completely by accident. 

• No matter how long I've been writing, I still have issues with endings and it takes me a while to get them right.

A.S. KING on Getting Published

• When I was querying, I felt all the normal feelings: despair, doubt, fear, frustration. Consider this fact: It took me 12 years and 8 novels to get an agent. But I also felt that if I was getting rejected, then I was working. I still think this way. 

• The craziest thought I've ever had while being published is that I actually understood any part of the publishing business. There is nothing to understand. It is crazy and everyone entering it should read Joseph Heller's Catch-22 to prep themselves.

A.S. KING on Life Outside Writing

• If I weren't a writer, I'd probably be a psychologist or an abstract painter. 

• Secretly, I'm terrified of dying.

• Sometimes, when no one is around, I wear a scientist's lab coat all day long.