Interview with Debut Author Shari Maurer

Shari Maurer is the star for Day Three of the Debut Author Interview Extravaganza.  Be sure to visit the blogs at the end of the post for more new interviews with up and coming authors.

Tell us about your book.
Change of Heart will be published by WestSide Books in April 2010. Emmi, a 16-year old champion soccer player, struggles to maintain a normal life, while she waits for a heart transplant, and learns the truth about love, loss and the meaning of true friendship in the process.

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Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publication?
Change of Heart went through several revisions before it finally find a wonderful advocate in my agent, Marlene Stringer. Marlene sent it out and we got a lot of “Like it, but don’t love it” type rejections. We had heard about WestSide Books, a new imprint focusing on realistic teen fiction and we thought it would be a great fit. Marlene subbed it in September of 2008, but we didn’t hear back from WestSide until May 2009. As you can imagine, there was a lot of fingernail chewing and worrying going on at my house.

Was there ever a time you felt like giving up? Why didn't you?
Yes. Many times. This morning, in fact, as I struggle to move forward in my Work In Progress. Why didn’t I give up? Not sure. But I do know that perseverance is probably the second most important thing in a writer’s career (the ability to write probably being the first, though sometimes I think perseverance might be even more important).

What’s the one thing that’s surprised you most on the journey from starting your novel to publication?
How much I’m enjoying being a part of the writing community. I have an incredible base of support from the Class of 2k10, a group of 23 young adult and middle grade writers who are also debuting this year. We often check in via e-mail and it’s good to have a place to go when I have a question about the publishing industry/bookmarks/blogs/ARCs—you name it and we’ve been talking about it.  I’ve also met some fabulous writers via The Tenners site on Live Journal, Twitter, Facebook and most importantly, Verla Kay’s Blueboards.

Where can we find out more about your book and about you? 
Please visit my website at www.sharimaurer.com. You can learn more about me, Change of Heart and read my blog to get the updates on my path to publication. I’m also on Twitter and Facebook. Come on over and say hi!

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On another note, since writing about Emmi’s journey to transplant, I have become involved with the New York Organ Donor Network. We are working together to spread the word on how important organ donation registration is and I am trying to encourage everyone I meet to officially register.
You can do it here: http://donatelife.net/. You must be 18 or older, but if you are not, you can recruit your family members to sign up.

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Thanks Shari!  I'm proud to say that I've got the little "organ donor" sticker on my driver's license.   :)

After you've checked out Shari's links, follow the links below to find more interviews...
Elana Johnson
Lisa & Laura Roecker
Kirsten Hubbard
Beth Revis
Leah Clifford
Carrie Harris
Kim Harrington
Tiffany Schmidt
Susan Adrian
Dawn Metcalf
Suzette Saxton & Bethany Wiggins
Victoria Schwab
Gretchen McNeil
Amy Holder