![\"It's](\"https:\/\/www.pat-matthews.com\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/ItsMyLife.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/li>![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.pat-matthews.com\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/TheHomecoming.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/li>![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.pat-matthews.com\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/TheSisterPact.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\nOn to the questions!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Question 1<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Anyone who\u2019s read your writing understands that you would be successful in any genre. Why YA? What is it about writing for Young Adults that draws you?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
For me young adulthood is the time when you are becoming who you are supposed to be. You\u2019re breaking away from roles other people have given you and deciding who and how you want to be. Teens are tested in so many ways these days. It\u2019s an exciting yet terrifying time, which means there\u2019s plenty of stuff to draw on in terms of story. So many firsts. First loves. First betrayals. First time they take a stand. Who wouldn\u2019t want to write about that? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Question 2<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
A question I\u2019m often asked is \u201chow do I become a writer?\u201d It\u2019s not about the nuts and bolts of being a professional, but about what a person needs to do to be able to start writing effectively. My answer is to listen. What\u2019s yours?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
I was a reader well before I was a writer. An avid reader. I never went to a doctor\u2019s appointment without a book. Family vacations still find me sitting on the side, reading while life goes on around me. Be a good and faithful reader before becoming a writer. It\u2019ll help inform so many things in your own work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Question 3<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Let\u2019s go dark for a moment. What\u2019s the hardest thing about writing the books you write? What\u2019s the biggest challenge that you\u2019ve faced?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
I do write some pretty dark stories and in order to do those stories justice I have to put myself there, figuratively speaking. Writing about suicidal ideation was pretty hard. Writing about losing someone you love is equally hard. I don\u2019t shy away from the tough topics because we need to talk about these things. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Question 4<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Do you have any great reader stories? Moments when you heard or talked with a reader that have stuck with you?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
I get emails and letters all the time that make me feel so glad that I\u2019ve touched someone\u2019s life, but the coolest thing happened with a little bit of promo for my last book, The Secrets We Bury. I\u2019d brought a tin pail with paper grass in it and a notebook for people to write their secrets and \u2018bury\u2019 them. Later after each event I read those secrets. They are beautiful and honest and deep. I am honored to be their custodian. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Question 5<\/h2>\n\n\n\n