Jen’s Comments (group member since Jul 14, 2014)

Jen’s comments from the Ask Kate Brian, Jen Calonita, and Kieran Scott group.

Hi Lizzy! I miss Kaitlin and the others from that series so much. It was so much fun to write about teen celebrities and that world. I often think about Kaitlin and what I'd write about now that she's in college. The fear would be that I would rehash territory I've already been in, but at the same time, the landscape in Hollywood is constantly changing so there is always more to tell. I think if enough people wanted me to return to Kaitlin, I'd definitely consider it. I still think about putting short stories up about Kaitlin all the time!

Emma wrote: "Hello, my question is for all three: how do you write in the voice of a teenager so well? I would think it to be hard since people are always changing and teens now aren't the same as teens before,..."
It's true! And interests are ever changing. I think I just try to listen to teen conversations whenever I can (Dunkin Donuts is a great place to do this. The teens from my high school hang out there at lunch) and try to stay tuned in to what's going on in the world and what teens are into. Talking to teens at the book club I help run, always helps as well. I'm doing the same thing now with my middle grade series.' My nine-year-old has been very helpful!

Andrea wrote: "I assume that all of you are writing in the young adult genre. And all of you are adults by now. How can you keep yourselves young? How can you think like a teenager when you aren't anymore?" My husband says I'm still 17 in my head! But it's true, I still love the types of TV shows I loved as a teen, that type of music, and so many of the issues I had as a teen are ones that I wish I could help other teens deal with so that they handle them better than I did! I also help run a book club with my local libraries and get to spend a lot of time talking to teens. Whenever I'm working on a new project, I'll ask them, or other teens in my life, what they think of the idea, of the characters, and what they think the characters would be feeling. That helps me a lot.

Colette wrote: "Dear all authors: what projects are you working on now? Should us readers expect sequels to any of your released books? Thank you :)" Hi Colette! I am working on a YA called Side Effects, that will be out in October. It's a cross between Glee and this show called Party of Five, which was about siblings who've lost their parents and are trying to still be a family. It was such fun to write from all the siblings' points of view. I'm also working on two middle grade series' -- Fairy Tale Reform School, which is exactly what the title says--a reform school for delinquent kids in the fairy tale community, and V.I.P, which is about a girl who goes on the road with her favorite boy band when her mom gets a job with them.

Briahna wrote: "This question is for all three, what music do y'all listen to when writing?" To be honest, I can't listen to anything that I'm going to sing along to! I get distracted! It has to be more of background noise so I usually pick a quieter station on Pandora and use that. This week, I have GMA on in the background on low. It really depends on my mood.

Sarah wrote: "Jen! I just wanted to say that I am such a HUGE fan of your books!! Even though I read the series a while ago, "Secrets of My Hollywood Life" was the BEST series ever :) I read them all and I liked..." Thank you, Sarah! I have to say, I love when books have different styles of text in them too (I think that's why I enjoyed "Where'd You Go, Bernadette?" so much!). I try to do different text styles whenever I can. I loved doing it in the Secrets books. I'm actually doing it in my first middle grade series too--Fairy Tale Reform School--and I think it adds so much to the story.

Charlotte wrote: "Dear Jen, my question is would you please give us a little bit more insight into what happened with Sam and cole when they dated between the two summers? I loved them together so much and just wond..."
Hi Charlotte! I was so torn about Sam and Cole and what to do with them and here was the big problem: there's actually FIVE summers between the two books! Sam is fifteen in the first book and twenty in the second. The two of them lived in different states and couldn't see each other much during the year. With all that working against them, I just couldn't see them staying together for five years. If I had written SUMMER the year after SLEEPAWAY, I think I would have done things differently, but since it was five years, I felt like I needed to break them up (don't be mad!). In my mind though, they're awesome friends and I could still see them getting back together after they've worked through all their issues in college!

Christina wrote: "My questions are for all of you - If you had to select one book you wrote to recommend, which one would it be and why? Also, what are some of your favorite YA books other than those we see here?"

I am so proud of the Belles series and am always up for giving it more love. I think the character of Izzie is such an interesting one and I'd love for more people to get to know her. As for other authors' books, I'm a huge fan of Kieran's and the Only Everything series is one I've devoured (I've already read book two and it's AMAZING!). I also love Ally Carter's Gallagher Girls series and can't wait for Embassy Row. This summer, I've been reading a lot. I just finished We Were Liars by E. Lockhart and I can't stop talking about how good it was.

Sarah wrote: "Hi, my question is for Jen. Will we returning to Whispering Pines in more novels? I love Whispering Pines and reading Sleepaway Girls and Summer State of Mind makes me wish I went to a summer camp ..."

I love writing about summer camp and would always consider going back to Whispering Pines for another summer. I think if people enjoy Summer State of Mind and there is a want for a third book, I'd definitely consider it. Thanks for the question!