Each one had been scary to send into the world.
I reminded myself that I had written eight other books (eleven if you counted those first three that now live in a dusty drawer). In my mind, Jason, who starts the story known as a Nobody and pushes himself to become a leader by the end, raised an eyebrow. Tiptoeing out of my writing comfort zone was one thing. I remember sitting at my kitchen table, where I had been plotting ideas for The Reckless Club, leaning back in the chair, and letting out a big breath. But that would require yet another huge step out of my comfort zone. Present tense would be the best way to conjure that anything-could-happen-any-moment mentality. The Reckless Club is a middle grade homage to “The Breakfast Club,” particularly that realization of how a person’s whole perspective can shift in just the course of a few hours. While I had always written first person, this book needed to be third person for a multitude of reasons, including the fact that each character was carefully guarding a secret.
Could I pull off having not just two but five viewpoints? The Reckless Club was spread amongst five characters. This had always been first person, one perspective, past tense.
To not only write what I know and what scares me, but also to step out of my comfort zone in how I write. When I began this project, I wanted to delve even deeper. And you know what? They come out okay, giving me and, I hope, readers an understanding that they would, too. I put my characters through difficult, heartbreaking, awkward experiences. Those fears include feeling unworthy, shouldering loss, hurting loved ones, losing friendship, and being judged. And, just as with every other book I’ve written, its themes are an exploration in what scares me. The Reckless Club has fun characters, a lot of humor, and experiences inspired by my own life. During the course of this one day, a Flirt, an Athlete, a Drama Queen, a Nobody and a Rebel reveal what they’ve done to earn detention, who they are when their labels are yanked away, and what they’re going to do now. In The Reckless Club, five kids spend the last summer day before beginning high school serving detention at a nursing home. We’ve all heard the tenet: Write what you know.
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