This week YA author Kelly Ann Jacobson took over our Twitter as a part of our weekly Thursday Twitter Takeover. Kelly Ann Jacobson is the author of Tink And Wendy. (See YEM’s interview of Kelly Ann Jacobson here.) See highlights from the takeover below.
Hi everyone! I’m Kelly Ann Jacobson, and I’m the author of the new queer young adult reimagining of Peter Pan called Tink and Wendy, published by @ThreeRoomsPress. I’m really excited to be taking over this account for the next two hours, so please ask me anything! (PG rated 😊) pic.twitter.com/Gjy6WRJlHI
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) November 18, 2021
Here’s a close up of the cover of my lovely book, done by the outstanding designer @toriblackalso. As soon as I saw this design, I was in love. It really captures the feeling of Tink and Wendy, and it reminds me of “Starry Night” by Van Gogh! #YAauthortakeover pic.twitter.com/74QhiSOrLt
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) November 18, 2021
People ask what inspired me, but honestly, I don’t remember! I just remember having the idea one day, and then I was writing the book. I will say that back in high school one of my friends called me Tinker Bell because I had short, blonde hair :). #YAauthortakeover
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) November 18, 2021
Tink and Wendy is a modern day reimagining of the classic story, but with a love triangle between Tink, Wendy, and Peter. I write a lot of queer speculative fiction, and this book definitely fits all of my favorite genres! What's your favorite genre of fiction? #YAauthortakeover pic.twitter.com/jFejgBFEg0
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) November 18, 2021
Tink and Wendy has these cool excerpts from a fake book called Neverland: A History, which is a book written by Tink’s Godmother Anne. Don't you love how @Kat_Georges designed these sections?? #YAAuthorTakeover pic.twitter.com/b2MdaTWqLZ
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) November 18, 2021
Plus, my fellow @ThreeRoomsPress author @JWattsWriter wrote me a great blurb, too!
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) November 18, 2021
I published my first book when I was five years old! My elementary school, @GWSquareElem, had a program where kids could write, illustrate, and then publish their own books in the library so that other kids could take them out. I was hooked! #YAAuthorTakeover pic.twitter.com/ZxRb2HV2KU
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) November 18, 2021
My favorite YA books back in the day were Dealing with Dragons by @PatriciaCWrede, Which Witch? by @EvaIbbotson, and ALL of the Animorphs books by @kaapplegate. I read the whole series! Which books were your first loves? #YAAuthorTakeover (Also, @Wallsofbooks_DC remember this??) pic.twitter.com/zsa0VCpVcS
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) November 18, 2021
Now that I teach at a university myself, I always tell my students that it’s okay to not know exactly what you want to be—just follow your heart! I knew I wanted to do something to change the world for the better, I just didn’t know what that thing was. #YAAuthorTakeover
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) November 18, 2021
I went on to do my MA in Fiction @jhuaap and then my PhD in CW at @FSU_Writers. Wow, did I read a ton of books before I took my exam on “History of the Novel”! If you have any questions about a degree in Creative Writing, ask! Here's me in grad school pregnant! #YAAuthorTakeover pic.twitter.com/Fgl9xC6lBx
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) November 18, 2021
I currently teach as the Visiting Assistant Professor of English at the @UnivWestAlabama and as an Instructor for @SNHUmfa. My favorite class to teach is speculative fiction. Are you interested in becoming a writer? Ask me anything creative writing! #YAAuthorTakeover pic.twitter.com/iIte51DNCK
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) November 18, 2021
At the beginning of every class I teach, we do a prompt. I am big on prompts, not because I think the writing produced will necessarily go on to become an excellent story, but because I want to show students that writing to be fun! Do you have a favorite prompt? #YAAuthorTakeover pic.twitter.com/RVFYsmGL8r
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) November 18, 2021
I think it’s always better to take a risk and fail than play it safe by writing a generic piece. For example, this book calls out issues with the original and is told in a nontraditional format. What books do you love that take big risks?? #YAAuthorTakeover Photo @TheInnerLoopLit pic.twitter.com/SIV05B68Gr
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) November 18, 2021
When I first started writing, there were very few books with queer characters. Now, there are articles like this one by @readsrainbow sharing 90 LGBTQ YA Books!!! https://t.co/3GsnZH27kt I am so glad to have witnessed this change firsthand! @YAAuthorTakeover pic.twitter.com/sJ4RcLlthm
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) November 18, 2021
I have more favorite writers than I can name, but I definitely lean toward any book that combines elements of literary and speculative fiction. @MargaretAtwood @AimeeBender, Ted Chiang, Carmen Maria Machado, Karen Russell, @Mitchell_Books, Ray Bradbury… #YAAuthorTakeover pic.twitter.com/YllYWamskq
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) November 18, 2021
My writing routine is pretty simple. I write in the morning while drinking my second cup of coffee (my first cup is ASAP when I wake up—I mentioned I have two young kids, right?). I am basically useless at writing after 11:00 A.M. #YAAuthorTakeover pic.twitter.com/MAfZKIFnDS
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) November 18, 2021
The publishing world is tough. I'm still sending out queries & getting rejected by agents after 15 years! But you just have to keep going. I’m so lucky that I’ve found independent presses that believe in my work and promoting underrepresented voices! #YAAuthorTakeover pic.twitter.com/EWSIjCyR3g
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) November 18, 2021
Working with @ThreeRoomsPress was incredible. I love Kat and Peter, and I was lucky enough to have Mary Manspeaker as editor. One of the biggest suggestions Mary made was to add a final chapter at the end that shows the reader in scene. She was SO RIGHT!! @YAAuthorTakeover pic.twitter.com/cFT1zlxO1i
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) November 18, 2021
I always remind my students that publishing is so, so, so subjective. When I run workshops, there are always students who love certain pieces and other students who don’t like them, and editors on the other end of the submission inbox are the same way. #YAAuthorTakeover pic.twitter.com/EznJAm3m8Z
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) November 18, 2021
A big part of being an author is all of the stuff that happens after the work of writing. Book club visits. Speaking events. School talks. I actually love going out and talking to readers! What do you wish authors did more at their events/signings?? #YAAuthorTakeover pic.twitter.com/F1QBR3rdxT
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) November 18, 2021
In my free time—hahaha—I love to read, cook, travel, and dance! I was a dancer for over fifteen years (shout out to Jane Lopoten’s dance studio in Lansdale, PA), and I still do Zumba when I can. I even did Zumba while pregnant (with a few modifications). #YAAuthorTakeover pic.twitter.com/WHZ4E2kQug
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) November 18, 2021
I said I enjoy cooking, but I want to distinguish that from baking, which I’m TERRIBLE at. I am very anti-establishment (Sort of like my protagonist…), so when I read recipes, I like to change things. Yeah, that does NOT work in baking. #YAAuthorTakeover pic.twitter.com/hksnK8tMDv
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) November 18, 2021
We’ve just about reached the end of our takeover time, but if you have questions after this, please ask me at @KAnnJacobson! You can find Tink and Wendy here: https://t.co/d7JLbSYbrr. Thank you so much @YoungEntMag for having me! #YAAuthorTakeover
— Young Entertainment Magazine (@YoungEntmag) November 18, 2021
