Q & A with Megg Jensen
Q: Why did you decide
to write a contemporary YA after spending the last three years writing
high fantasy with the Song of Eloh Saga?
A: Shucked has been
floating around my brain for close to seven years, but I always wanted
to be known as a fantasy author, so I kept pushing Tabitha to the side.
In January, she decided to grab a hold of me and not let go.
Q: Why did you set the
novel on a farm?
A: I grew up on a farm
and have always wanted to write about life there. Shucked gave me a
chance to do that. It was a lot of fun writing about some of the thing
that were normal to me as a kid that aren’t normal to everyone else.
I adore my farming community and loved incorporating that small town
spirit into the book.
Q: Where did you come
up with the idea for the cover? I love it!
A: It wasn’t easy.
I have a fantastic cover designer, Steven Novak (www.novakillustration.com). Usually he designs a cover, I say yes, and we’re done. This time
I felt like the concept was a lot harder to nail down. He worked through
four or five different version with me. I couldn’t be happier with
the cover that you’re seeing now.
Q: Tell me about the
title, Shucked.
A: Haha, that was another
toughie. From the beginning, the file on my computer for this book was
Adventure. It wasn’t until I became serious about publishing it that
I realized I needed a unique title. I went through close to a hundred
different ideas, but none of them felt right. Eventually I settled on
Digging In. I figured it was the best I would come up with. About two
weeks before publication, I finally had that stroke of brilliance with
Shucked. Not only does it scream farm (shucking corn), it also is representative
of what happens to Tabitha during the book (having her emotional layers
peeled away), and there’s always the street meaning, which you can
look up on Urban Dictionary if you want. Lol
Q: Will you write more
contemporary novels?
A: I hope so! Right
now I’m working on my next high fantasy, but Tabitha’s still in
the back of my mind, begging for a continuation of her story. While
Shucked easily works as a stand-alone novel, I think we all know that
no one’s story really ever ends. There’s always tomorrow.
About the Book
Shucked by Megg JensenPublication date: April 14th 2013
Genre: YA Contemporary
Synopsis
Suburgatory meets Indiana Jones...on a farm
Fifteen-year-old Tabitha has had the kind of life that would impress even the greatest adventurers. She's escaped a croc attack in the Amazon, walked the length of the Great Wall of China, and earned a black belt in taekwondo in Korea. She owes her worldly experience to her mother's career in archaeology, but when her mother takes on a dangerous new assignment, Tabitha is devastated to learn she can't tag along.
Instead, she's forced to live on a midwestern farm with her grandparents where she'll have to attend a full year of public school. It's Tabitha's
Her math teacher is her mom's old high school boyfriend, she can't tell the friendly girls from the mean ones, and she develops a major crush on a boy she knows she can't trust. And just when she thinks she'll never get the hang of this normal teenager thing, an attack brings the danger of her previous life right up to her midwestern porch. Who could have ever guessed getting totally shucked would bring her face-to-face with her most exciting adventure yet?
Fifteen-year-old Tabitha has had the kind of life that would impress even the greatest adventurers. She's escaped a croc attack in the Amazon, walked the length of the Great Wall of China, and earned a black belt in taekwondo in Korea. She owes her worldly experience to her mother's career in archaeology, but when her mother takes on a dangerous new assignment, Tabitha is devastated to learn she can't tag along.
Instead, she's forced to live on a midwestern farm with her grandparents where she'll have to attend a full year of public school. It's Tabitha's
Her math teacher is her mom's old high school boyfriend, she can't tell the friendly girls from the mean ones, and she develops a major crush on a boy she knows she can't trust. And just when she thinks she'll never get the hang of this normal teenager thing, an attack brings the danger of her previous life right up to her midwestern porch. Who could have ever guessed getting totally shucked would bring her face-to-face with her most exciting adventure yet?
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About the Author
I've been a freelance parenting journalist since 2003 and began
writing YA novels in 2009. I co-run DarkSide Publishing, am a member of
SCBWI, and I blog about writing while juggling freelancing,
volunteering, and family life. I live in the Chicago suburbs with
my husband, two kids, and our miniature schnauzer, Ace.
Find the Author
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