Beth Kephart, author of Nothing But Ghosts, speaks about writing

Author Beth Kephart

Throughout the online book reviewing community, Beth Kephart's books are generating buzz, but none so much as her young adult novel Nothing but Ghosts.  The novel follows a teenage girl during her summer vacation following the death of her mother and how she copes with finding life again and moving on.  My Friend Amy says, "As I was reading, I got to the ending and I just felt incredibly satisfied. The ending really touched me in its simplicity and honesty and hope."  The Hiding Spot calls Nothing but Ghosts "compelling and engaging." 

Savvy Verse & Wit says of Kephart's writing, "Kephart is a master of description, making each image vivid, each plot line significant, and she does it all in concise, poetic language."

Beth Kephart took time out of her busy schedule to answer a few interview questions.

Nothing But Ghosts is just one of your young adult novels.  What is it about young adult fiction that entices you to keep writing?  Do you ever feel like your writing is getting stale or repeating everything that has already been said?

What a great question, Serena.  I was originally asked, by Laura Geringer (then at HarperTeen, now at Egmont USA) if I would consider writing for younger readers.  It took me a year to believe that I had such stories within me (though I was teaching young writers at the time, I wasn’t sure I could contribute to their libraries), and I only began to write Undercover, my first book, after Laura and I met in person, at a Philadelphia restaurant.  She asked me questions about my own adolescence that got me thinking in new ways, and the first ten pages of Undercover were written in a hurry, with a huge sense of release and relief—it was fun, it was interesting, it was meaningful.

After Undercover, I found that I could not stop—that there was so much more I wanted to say.  Each book is different from the others.  They all have that grounding in poetic language, for that is my heritage, and they all ask big questions, pursue meaningful answers.  But I would get very bored if I felt I kept writing the same book.  The Heart is Not a Size, due out in March, moves much more quickly in terms of plot than the others do.  Dangerous Neighbors, due out next September, is an historical novel, and very different in language, plot, and execution.

I keep writing these books, because I love the readers.  The teens and the adults who find their way to this genre.  It’s hugely fulfilling.

If you were to meet someone who has never read your books, which book would you recommend they start with and why?

Oh, gosh, I am usually recommending other authors, not myself.  But I loved writing Flow:  The Life and Times of Philadelphia’s Schuylkill River—a strange mash of poetry and history, the river’s story told in her own voice. And Undercover does set the stage for my YA career, my concerns.  I don’t know.  I’ve published nearly a dozen books.  Each one matters to me, matters deeply.

What advice would you give new writers just starting on their craft?

How boring it is, that we writers always say the same thing.  But reading is the most important thing a writer can ever do.  Reading and paying attention to the world beyond yourself.  I pay attention by taking photographs, by gardening, by dancing, by teaching.  I pay attention by typically being the quiet one in the room and trying to take it all in.

What authors have influenced you as a writer?

Poets influence me—Jack Gilbert, Stanley Kunitz, Gerald Stern, CK Williams, Mary Oliver.  Natalie Kusz, the author of Road Song, influenced my approach to genre.  Michael Ondaatje and Colum McCann help me think hard about language.

Stay tuned for the second part of the interview with Beth Kephart on Dec. 17.
For more information about Beth Kephart, please visit her Website and her blog.  Also check out this book trailer for Nothing but Ghosts: