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The Champion, Thursday, May 21 - 27, 2015
LOCAL
Page 3A
Local author releases first book for preteens
TERRA ELAN McVOY
McVoy’s latest novel tells of two preteen girls on a road trip.
by Kathy Mitchell
After six successful
young adult novels, Decatur
author Terra Elan McVoy
has released Drive Me Crazy,
for readers 8 to 12 years
old. She said having a book
come out is “a blessing every
single time. This one was
particularly exciting, since
it’s my debut in the middle
grade arena, but it’s always a
special occasion.
“I’ve wanted to write for
middle grade readers for a
long time, in part because
books were especially vital
to me during that phase of
my life,” she said. “I also
work closely with kids this
age in my job as a bookseller
at Little Shop of Stories, and
have deeply enjoyed the
smart, thoughtful conversa
tions I have with them. I
thought switching over to a
slightly younger perspective
would help me continue to
grow as a writer, and also
have fun at the same time.”
Like McVoy’s other
books, Drive Me Crazy is
written in the first person.
She said of mentally shifting
to another persons perspec
tive, “There’s a lot of char
acter work that goes behind
each [narrator] to get the
voice exactly right. In writ
ing middle grade, the biggest
difference is there’s definite
ly far less self-analysis going
on. When Lana is scared,
she’s just sacred—she doesn’t
have a big monologue with
herself about why. If Cassie’s
angry, she’s angry, and she
doesn’t try to rationalize or
justify it.”
Keeping the language
appropriate for a pre-teen
girl means “not being vul
gar but also keeping the
language sophisticated and
savvy enough that modern
tweens could relate to it,” she
said. “There’s much more
popular culture crossover
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Terra Elan McVoy says she always
wanted to write for middle grade
readers.
among adults and children
these days, so the key is
to make the prose age-
appropriate, without dumb
ing things down. Listening
closely to the kids around
me definitely helped.”
Some content, McVoy
acknowledged, may be too
intense for pre-teen read
ers. “I save all the sex, drugs,
and rock n’ roll for my
young adults,” she said with
a smile, “but I will say that
many kids today are still
going through difficult and
challenging things, so not
everything has to be sweet
ness and roses when you
write for younger readers,
either.”
McVoy, who was born
in 1974, said she recalls her
preteen years vividly but
reminds herself that much
has changed. “One thing
that was very different when
writing Drive Me Crazy was
remembering that the girls
would still be in touch with
their parents or friends on a
regular basis, instead of off
on their own without cell
phones. In some ways that
felt constricting, but in other
ways it really aided my plot.”
She said that as a teen
she liked the kinds of books
she now writes: books about
real girls going through
real-life situations. “I loved
Ramona Quimby, Starring
Sally J. Friedman as Her
self by Judy Blume, and the
Little House Books. Beverly
Cleary also wrote some
young adult books; Jean and
Johnny was my favorite in
middle school. Of course
there was also was my love
affair with Sweet Valley
High.”
McVoy said her writing
is for entertainment though
readers may find life lessons
in her books. “I’m never
interested in pounding any
messages into my pages, but
because of the kind of read
er I was at that age—and still
am—I’m always interested
in writing about the deeper
challenges of discovering
who you are. Friendship,
family and being someone
of character are issues close
to my heart, so I can’t help
but make those the center
point of my work, too.
“I’ve loved writing since
I was very young. Parts of
it are thrilling, and parts of
it are frustrating. There’s a
deep pleasure I still derive
from it that’s hard to de
scribe,” she said. “Writing
does, however, take a lot of
time and a lot of energy; I
don’t simply sit down and
pour out pages. Sometimes
you work for several hours
to only get 500 good words
out—or not even that much.
Other times you have to re
work your entire plot, even
after agonizing over the
outline for months. It isn’t
straightforward work, but it
is intensely gratifying, and I
feel privileged every day that
I get to do this for my job.”
While Drive Me Crazy
is McVoy’s first novel for
preteens, it won’t be her
last. “Currently I’m work
ing on the companion book
to Drive Me Crazy, which
will come out in 2016,”
she said. “ This is All Your
Fault, Cassie Parker is about
Cassie’s ex-best friend,
Fiona, and what happens to
her over the course of the
summer in which Drive Me
Crazy takes place. I’m really
enjoying writing for this age
group, and hope there are
many more to come.
“One thing I enjoyed a
lot about Drive Me Crazy
was involving the grandpar
ents in the adventure. While
Tess and Howie aren’t the
main characters, they both
play very large roles, and
writing about the special
relationships you have with
your grandparents was a big
pleasure. This is also about a
fun, summer cross-country
road trip, with both real and
made-up locations along the
way,” McVoy said.
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a bachelor’s degree in politics from Wash
ington and Lee University and a law degree
from the University of Georgia School of
Law.
Boulee said he brings a “diversity of ex
perience” to the bench.
“I plan to work hard to become known
as a judge that does his homework and tries
his best to get to the right answer and to be
respectful and fair to everyone who walks
into the courtroom,” he said. “I like to think
that one of the reasons I was selected was
because my candidacy was supported by
many of DeKalb’s different communities. I
hope to earn the trust and support of all of
the citizens of DeKalb County as I transition
to this new role.”
Jacobs has been representing the 80th
district for 10 years. He operates a law prac
tice in Sandy Springs.
On the day Deal announced the ap
pointments, Brookhaven resident Catherine
Bernard announced her candidacy for Ja
cob’s vacant sent.
“I am asking for the privilege to serve
you as your next state representative,” Ber
nard said in a released statement. “House
District 80 is one of the most vibrant parts
of metro Atlanta, and needs representation
focused on building strong communities
through free enterprise and accountable,
transparent government. I am committed to
reading every bill, providing a public reason
for every vote, and always listening to the
people of our district-not outside interests
attempting to drive the legislative process.
Bernard served as chair of the Brookhaven
Redevelopment Referendum Committee,
which defeated the November 2014 Re
development Powers Law referendum in
Brookhaven.