INTRODUCING New Wednesday Muse- Kristen Held

I am thrilled to share Wednesdays with Kristen Held, a wonderful writer who never fails to make me laugh.  Kristen and I first met at the big SCBWI Los Angeles conference in 2011, where we shared a meal, a cab, an airplane ride, and a drink while wearing pajamas (I think Kristen might've been wearing a bunny suit, but in fairness, it was a costume party).  

Bunny suit aside, I feel like we really got know each other a few months later, when Kristen invited me to spend a weekend with her and Beth at her family's cabin in the Sierras.  The cabin was remote enough that there was no cell phone service and no internet, with roads that are only open six months out of the year because they're impassable in snow.  Why yes, it did occur to us that this was how all horror movies began.  We managed to avoid snow, bears,and zombie attacks, and after 48 hours of talking books, writing books and general writerly bonding,  I was happy to have Kristen as a friend.  

Some things you might not know about Kristen:  

She not only does great costume, she does great zombie make-up.  

When she reads out loud, she does voices for all the characters. (My personal favorite is a little boy named Hammy).

She can bake gluten-free cookies (lots and lots and lots of them).

She married her high school sweetheart. 

She writes fun, funny, fun-filled YA.

I know that you will love getting to know Kristen and sharing her writing journey.  So with out further ado, I give you Kristen.

-- Talia

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Photo of Bret and Kristen Courtesy of Naomi Canale

It’s all Bret Ballou’s fault.

I met Bret in October of 2010 in a haunted former hospital in Virginia City, Nevada where we’d gathered as mentees in the famed Nevada SCBWI Mentor Program. Through him I met Veronica, Katherine, Talia and Donna, who are all as awesome as Bret claimed they'd be.

I’ve long admired the love and support the original five YA Muses lavish on each other and feel inordinately lucky to have been invited to hang out with them, and all of you, in this little corner of the interwebs.

To give you an idea of who I am and where I am on my journey through the land of kid lit, here’s a current snapshot of what I’m up to…

Writing:
I’m deep in Revisionland on a contemporary YA mystery. Working title = BLURT. Current First Line = “I’m sitting behind the counter of my mom’s antique shop, thinking about Grayson Chandler’s abs, when the bell over the door jingles and in walks Henry VIII.”

Reading:
ETIQUETTE & ESPIONAGE by Gail Carriger. “There is steampunk etiquette! There is well-dressed espionage! There is Victorian fake food. There are flying mechanical sausage dogs named Bumbersnoot.” What’s not to love?

Listening: 
My MC’s theme song = Brave by Sara Bareilles “Show me how big your brave is.”

Watching:
American Ninja Warrior. I just want to be able to do a one-pinkie pull-up. Is that so much to ask?

Obsessed with:
The seven minute workout. Only I do it for FOURTEEN MINUTES! How else am I going to become the next American Ninja Warrior?

Learning:
To walk and type at the same time on my new treadmill desk. I’m determined to write at least six miles a day.

Making:
My daughter’s first-day-of-school outfit. Because I’m a wicked seamstress with itchy fingers. And I can whip up anything she wants. Anything! The sky (and the school’s dress code) is the limit! She wants a t-shirt and shorts.

Looking forward to:
The Writer’s Police Academy with its awesome tagline “Sweat now, so your manuscript won’t bleed red ink later.”

Thinking about: 
All of you!

Now that you know a little bit about me, what brings YOU here?