YA Bookaholics discussion

Here is the first YA Bookaholics interview! You can also find this on my blog, Reading is My Treasure

About S.B. Roozenboom:



I was born to the great northwest, where I grew up submerged in fairytales and make-believe. As a teen, when some serious drama went down and I felt like the world had turned on me, I turned to writing to create my own worlds. At seventeen, I completed my first young adult paranormal novel, and by twenty-one I've completed five. You can write me at Diane.boom@yahoo.com.

Check out her website: http://theofficialsbboom.yolasite.com/

Check out her books:



Here's the interview (a simple series of questions and answers):

Q: First of all, why do you love to write?

I have always loved to write! When I was a little girl I often got stuck at my parents’ business, so I had to learn how to entertain myself for hours at a time. I played videogames, I did arts and crafts, but most of all I wrote little stories and drew pictures for them.

Writing became an absolute must for me when I was in high school. My first relationship came when I was sixteen and when you’re a youngster with all these romantic dreams of what a relationship is supposed to be and you realize—surprise!—it is just not like that at sixteen, it can be sort of traumatizing. Especially when the guy you choose is far, FAR from Prince Charming. Writing became my way of dealing with all the aftermath—my feelings, my thoughts, and my deepest dreams were weaved into my writing. At seventeen, I had sat down and wrote my first book.

Q: Which is you favorite genre to write in and why?

Certainly young adult, because I think teenhood is where we all come to our first massive crossroad. We are no longer children, but we are not adults yet either, and we must choose what kind of path we want to venture on. I love to write about these crossroads plus add in a hair of magic and mystery to give it some extra pizazz!

Q: I've read that the first book you'd written (but not published) was Markings. What initially inspired you to start writing it?

I’m trying to remember exactly what sparked it, but it’s been so long I can only remember pieces. I know that reading the Twilight and Hush Hush saga definitely inspired me to a write a good paranormal romance, but I know I was also inspired by the movies Catwoman and Blood and Chocolate. Shape-shifters have always been a passion of mine to write about and study (that’s probably thanks to my Native American blood). Originally Markings was going to be a werewolf novel, but after seeing them flock the market I was like ‘Nope. Gotta take this up a notch if I’m going to make it.’ And Markings became about a clan of Shifters called the Miews instead, though there is going to be more about the Iew Demos in the second novel.

Q: Out of all the books you've published, is there one in particular that you like the best or are the most proud of?

Certainly Markings. It might not be as well-written as Predator Girl, but it was the one that I poured my soul into, my first baby. This book taught me that in our darkest, most painful moments there is a light to be found at the end of every tunnel. I had never been in a situation where I said “I can make this happen against all odds”. I didn't have that kind of confidence—I figured life would walk me down a basic, quiet road where I’d meet a basic, quiet man and hold a basic, quiet job… Instead life walked me down a fairly bump road. My current man is not basic or quiet—he’s weird as hell (like me) and as good looking as Edward Cullen in my book. And while I hold a basic job, my soul’s passion became books, which started with Markings. This book made me realize we are ALL capable of incredible things, and that we should not expect such simpleness out of life. We can always be more and do more and make more if we so choose.

Q: Which author has been your biggest inspiration?

I know people are going to roll their eyes at this one, but certainly Stephenie Meyer. While I've always loved to write, getting me to sit down and actually read a whole book or series was nearly impossible before Twilight. I think I have school to thank for that because, good Lord, the stuff they gave us to read was SO boring! Half the time I cheated and just looked up the summaries on the internet before book test day because I just could not stomach the boring, big-worded books they gave us… I was seventeen when I read Twilight, and it was brilliant to me. I totally related with Bella. The story was easy to read and I understood what was happening beginning to end. The suspense was AWESOME and of course everybody was glued to any scene that had Edward Cullen in it.

Now, for a totally non-writing question:

Q: You and I are from the same state! What is your favorite thing about living in Oregon?

OMG! No way! That is awesome! Hmmm, let’s see… I think I just love the terrain. I love the deep, green forests and the rivers. I most of all love the ocean and I journey to see it as often as possible. I also love eastern Oregon, because we go from lush, damp woodlands to the dry pine deserts. I hate the cities and traffic and I’m not fond of some of the people, but the place itself is my most-beloved home.

Thank you for answering my questions and thank you for showing interest for an interview on the group!

Here are my responses (wasn't part of interview, but I just wanted to say a few things):

-I've never been to the eastern part of Oregon. I live in the southern part, and I've got to agree with the author because the terrain is beautiful. I often times forget that since I've lived here my whole life, but I am happy that I get to live in such a pretty area.

-As much as most people hate to admit it, Twilight had a huge impact. Not only did it inspire this author, but it also got me interested in YA books. It did that for a lot of people.

-I'm so glad that S.B. decided to not make Markings about werewolves. It looks like the shifters in that book are mostly big cats--which is awesome because I love them! One of the characters is actually a cheetah, and I don't believe I've read a book with one of those kinds of shifters in it.

-I can clearly tell that this author is passionate about writing, and I just love hearing why someone is so passionate about what they do.
I just love those book covers.

Authors, interested in an interview similar to this one? I would be glad to send a few questions your way and feature the interview on my blog and on this group!