Author Laura Bowers discusses the publication of her debut novel, BEAUTY SHOP FOR RENT, and the winding path she traveled to discover the dream of writing within herself.
Young adult novelist Laura Bowers has packed a lot of living into her life. This wife-mother-equestrian added “writer” to her title after struggling through project after project, hobby after hobby, and job after job in an attempt to uncover the path that would take her to her dream—even before she realized that dream was writing.
Today, as an up-and-coming YA novelist, Bowers is traveling the path she forged, as she discusses with Teen Fiction at Suite101.com.
Mechele R. Dillard: In your quest to discover your dream, you took a winding path, through baton twirling, horses, office work, kids, picture books, and, finally, young adult literature. Do you feel that this path was a “blessing in disguise,” or do you have regrets, as people often do, about “wasted” time?
Laura Bowers: Sure, it’s hard not to sometimes think about the coulda, woulda, shoulda. But really, all those winding paths and wrong turns I’ve taken in life have led me to where I am today and I love where I am today. So no regrets, it’s all good. Besides, I have accumulated a ton of fantastic book material from my waitressing days alone!
I do, however, regret the many hours wasted over the years by playing spider solitaire on my computer instead of writing. I seriously need to uninstall that game!
MRD: You wrote several books before Beauty Shop for Rent (Harcourt, 2007)—before you found your true voice as a writer. Do you have plans to revisit any of those earlier, unpublished projects? Possibly rework any for publication?
LB: I do plan on revisiting the first young adult novel I wrote that’s based on my experiences with horses as a teen. Growing up, I devoured any book with a horse on the cover, so I’d love to publish a few horse stories of my own. I also plan on rewriting a baseball novel that’s more mid-grade, but the second book I wrote? Nah, there’s a very good reason why it’s sitting on a shelf in my basement collecting dust. That one is going to stay there!
MRD: You love riding, but the main character of Beauty Shop, Abbey, is terrified to climb on a horse. Any particular reason you decided to make her fearful of one of your great loves?
LB: In 2003, I was in two auto accidents where the vehicle flipped both times. I wasn’t injured, but the wrecks left me fairly traumatized with a hefty fear of losing control, whether I was in a car, on a bike—or on a horse. So even though I’ve ridden all my life and I’ve been dumped more times than I care to admit, all I could think of whenever I rode is about my horse running away or me being thrown.
But, horses can sense fear and if the rider is nervous—they’re going to be nervous as well and be more prone to spook. So really, the fear is worse than the possible outcome. Like me, Abbey had a fear of losing control—both while riding and in life. I had no choice but to make my girl mount up and get over her fear, just like I had to!
MRD: Abbey believes she can find her true happiness, i.e. security, in money. Was there ever a time in your life when you saw money as the key to life and success?
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To find out Laura Bowers's view of money and success, as well as info on upcoming projects and where to go to contact the author herself, check out PART II of Mechele R. Dillard's interview with YA author Laura Bowers for Teen Fiction at Suite101.com!
