This month we’re chatting with author, Sandra Byrd. We’ve reviewed her Friends for a Season series and highly recommend it. If you go to Sandra’s website and sign up for her newsletter, put my name (Jill Williamson) in the referral box for a chance to win a set of books from Sandra. Only for Novel Teen readers. Thanks, Sandra! That’s so generous of you.
How long have you been writing? I always said that I knew I wanted to be an author at age 6, and that’s true. As for actually writing books? I started about 15 years ago.
Tell us about your Friends for a Season series. Friendships are so important to girls—and women—and they play a major theme in most of my books and series. I saw so many girls, though, only looking for that one “BFF” and then feeling awful, betrayed, and undone when that kind of friendship moved on. I wanted them to see that God often gives us “Friends for a Season,” that is, friends who mean a lot to us for a time, and always have a special place in our hearts, but who may not be a lifelong BFF. Ultimately, I think it’s healthier for girls to have a group of close friends, and friends who move in and out of life, rather than one BFF.
How did you come up with the idea for the series? The books all take place in the Pacific Northwest, in places I consider to be wonderful, but out of the way, like Lewiston and Clarkston, or Sauvie’s Island. Each book takes place in a season—Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall. I then placed characters I liked with problems I know girls wrestle with in each of those places.
Do you have a favorite book in the series? Oh, no, that’d be like having a favorite child. Red Velvet is probably most special to me, though, because one of my closest friends and writing partner died of cancer the year after it published. So it was poignant in a way the others weren’t.
What inspired you to become a writer? Reading! I loved reading so much that I wanted to give that same kind of pleasure to others. Reading and writing are really two sides of the same coin, as the saying goes. So if you love to read, you might love to write!
What’s your favorite thing about writing? Creating and loving new characters. Feeling God working together with me, enabling me to do what He’s called me to do. Being surprised by story twists.
What is the hardest part about writing? Leaving characters I love once the stories are over. Waiting for contracts! When people say hurtful things about the books.
Do you write any other genres? I do! I write nonfiction for teens, too, and I write fiction and nonfiction for adults. I just love to write.
What do you do in your free time when you aren’t writing? I hang out with friends, do stuff with my family, cook and bake, work out at the gym.
Where can fans find you online? Please stop by my website at www.sandrabyrd.com and look at the books, register for my newsletter, and then sign up to win a prize!
What are you working on next? A new series called, London Confidential, about an American girl who moves to London. It’s going to be a very fun read!
Thanks, Sandra!
