Nick Green asked Tara Ellis:

What was it that prompted you to write in the YA genre (if you can call it a genre)?

Tara Ellis Nick, I apologize for taking so long, I didn't realize I had a pending question.

First, thank you for taking the time to ask!

I've always been an avid reader and have read just about every existing genre, but I was sucked into YA, first-person with the Hunger Games trilogy. There are plenty of good examples out there, but there's something about the writing style of Suzanne Collins that grabbed me.

It's been a life-long dream of mine to be a writer and I started and (nearly completed) several manuscripts. However, I never attempted first-person and I was intrigued by it. It is a challenge, but I absolutely love the connection with the main character you can achieve with this style.

At the time that I started outlining Bloodline, my daughter was thirteen, which was one of the major, compelling reasons for my choice of Young Adult (I do consider it a valid genre) other than adult or contemporary. It was important to me that as she was asking to read it, that it would be appropriate for her. That's hard to do. Bloodline is definitely a Young Adult story, but I consider it a clean read, something that there isn't a whole lot of.

SO...to answer your question, I would say that the biggest reason is because I personally enjoy the fast pace of the genre and also because I wanted something my own kids (and their friends) would find entertaining.

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