A Site for Teen Writers

Jacob Parker is the teen author of Kestrel's Midnight Song--a YA fantasy book about a shepherd sent on a journey that will decide the fate of his world. To read my article about Jacob, click here.

1: What was the process behind getting your novel published?

My process was different than most. The publisher found my blog, read the excerpt there, left a comment inviting me to submit, accepted it, and then began the long process of refining it, which still isn't done. I received a couple rejection letters, but those took place between the time I submitted to the publisher and the time the publisher accepted.

2: What was the drive behind writing a novel at such a young age?

I guess I was just a driven kid. When I first set out to write a novel in fourth grade, it was probably for fame and fortune. But I quickly got hooked on the joy of writing itself. When I started, I thought I was the only one trying to get published young. I thought I might be the youngest author ever. But since then such authors as Nancy Yi Fan and Christopher Paolini have been published. And, as it turns out, other youngsters had been published before I even began.

3: How much discipline did it take?

To be honest, I wasn't as disciplined as I should have been. It took me two years to write the first draft. I went through long periods of stagnation, felt like giving up several times. With book two, I will have to be much more disciplined. The deadline looming on the horizon should strike enough fear into me to keep me focused.

4: What genre do you write? Why?

I write anything with at least a twist of the fantastical. If it can happen in real life, I don't usually want to read or write about it. I like taking bizarre stuff that could never be real... and experiencing it.

5: How much does your faith affect your writing?

When I started writing, I thought I was the first person to write Christian fantasy since C.S. Lewis. (Google was a revelation to me in later years) There are definite Christian themes in my writing. I don't like reading books that merely entertain (although novels need to be entertaining.) It feels slightly cheap and superficial. I like books that push me, make me think. And I'd like to use the time and gifts God gives me to accomplish more than entertainment. Fiction is a powerful vehicle for Truth and I intend to use it as such.

6: The aegre bird is such a big part of the book. Did you do much research to make that creature realistic?

The Aegre Bird is simply a combination of a bird and a dragon. The only research I did was for the name. "Aegre" is Latin for "scary." My original vision of the Aegre Bird was much different than what is on the cover today. Then, when the cover was completed, I was so inspired by it that I went back and changed all the descriptions to match.