Writing mom Kristen Simmons brings us the next installment in the Article 5 series with Breaking Point, a fast-paced read full of intrigue, government plots and a fair share of young adult romance. The dynamo of a writer shares her thoughts on her development as a writer and the triumphs and challenges of getting published.
YOUNG ADULT: What made you decide to start writing?
Kristen Simmons: My parents read to me a lot as a child. There were countless trips to the library, bribes that I could get a new book if I finished my chores. My oldest stories were about my pet hamster (participating in the Olympics and whatnot). I don’t think I actually considered getting published until college, but I’ve always loved stories.
YA: Tell us a little bit about your latest work. What is different about Breaking Point (Article 5)?
KS: Breaking Point follows Chase and Ember, the heroes of ARTICLE5, as they join the resistance and begin their fight against the Federal Bureau of Reformation. I think the biggest thing that makes this book different is the position of the characters: in ARTICLE5 they were on the run, but in Breaking Point they’re digging in and fighting back. They’re also figuring out how their relationship will work – if it can.
YA: Do you welcome or shun comparisons to THE HUNGER GAMES?
KS: Ha! If they’re favorable comparisons, bring ’em on! I love The Hunger Games!
YA: Take us through a typical writing day for you.
KS: Oh gosh. I have an infant. There is no more “typical writing day.” Most of the time I’m trying to finish a scene before my baby finishes his nap!
YA: Can you describe the path to getting this work published? What were the challenges? What was easy about it?
KS: The biggest challenge was finding an agent – it took me many years to connect with mine. I spent a lot of time writing query letters – waiting by the mailbox, checking my email constantly. That was a really hard time. Once I connected to my agent, we found my editor, and things got remarkably easier. I mean, there were revisions of course – those weren’t easy – but there wasn’t the anxiety about worrying whether the project would go forward.
YA: What were your specific influences for this book? Films, literature, other stories?
KS: I have always been drawn to dark survival stories. Cormac McCarthy’s The Road really inspired me. The television show Man versus Wild really intrigued me. Also, I love a good romance. I wanted to combine a grim, possible future, with a little love story.
YA: If you could cast the Dream Film Adaptation of your work, who would you cast?
KS: Ember is always difficult for me to picture – I think someone like Nina Dobrev would be excellent. I would love Channing Tatum to play Chase…but I think Chase actually looks closer to Mark Salling from Glee!
YA: What advice would you give to young hopeful authors today?
KS: Write a lot, and read a lot, and never give up. It took me a long time to get published, but it was all worth it.
The second installment in Kristen Simmons’s fast-paced, gripping YA dystopian series.
After faking their deaths to escape from prison, Ember Miller and Chase Jennings have only one goal: to lay low until the Federal Bureau of Reformation forgets they ever existed.
Near-celebrities now for the increasingly sensationalized tales of their struggles with the government, Ember and Chase are recognized and taken in by the Resistance—an underground organization working to systematically take down the government. At headquarters, all eyes are on the sniper, an anonymous assassin taking out FBR soldiers one by one. Rumors are flying about the sniper’s true identity, and Ember and Chase welcome the diversion….
Until the government posts its most-wanted list, and their number one suspect is Ember herself.
Orders are shoot to kill, and soldiers are cleared to fire on suspicion alone. Suddenly Ember can’t even step onto the street without fear of being recognized, and “laying low” is a joke. Even members of the Resistance are starting to look at her sideways.
With Chase urging her to run, Ember must decide: Go into hiding…or fight back?
Learn more about the author at www.kristensimmonsbooks.com