Nearly everything I write is intended for a young audience. My novels are all written for readers aged eight or nine and up. It is the “and up” that has surprised me. Leander in LIKE A RIVER is fifteen, so I thought “and up to fifteen”—maybe. Adabel in EMPTY PLACES is thirteen, so “and up to thirteen,” right?
My friends who are also writers, who are in my critique groups, have enjoyed my novels even though they are above the age range considered my target audience. But they also write for young readers. This was not unexpected.
Relatives and friends have raved about my novels and asked for more, even though they are also above my target readership age. But they are relatives and friends. Again, not entirely unexpected.
Teachers who have read my novels have told me they loved them. But they teach the young people I write for.
But I have also heard from parents who read my book with their children or who read the book because their children recommended it to them. These were a surprise. I didn’t expect my novels to get the response they have from adult readers.
Last December, I was contacted by an 86-year-old man whose daughter gave him LIKE A RIVER for Christmas. “I couldn’t put it down,” this Civil War buff told me. His two grandfathers fought in the Union Army. Still, he was not the audience I had expected.
In April, I did an interview for a radio show on books of all kinds. The host of the show read both LIKE A RIVER and EMPTY PLACES before the interview, yet he didn’t realize the books were intended for young readers until I mentioned that during the interview. And he had enjoyed them!
Young readers are still my primary target audience, but the way my books have crossed over to adult readers has amazed and thrilled me. I hope all readers who like a story about America’s younger years will continue to give my novels a try. Thank you to all my readers!
