This month we are talking contemporary YA author, TE Carter. A native New Englander, she lives with her husband and two cats. She can be found reading classic literature, playing XBOX, organizing her comic collection, or binge-watching baking competitions if she is not writing. She has always been passionate about writing. She thinks it’s more of a drive she can’t shake, and it’s always been there. Admittedly, she does not really have a “writing process” but she is always thinking about a story or ideas. Ms. Carter is always “making observations about the world around her.” She is known to write nothing for months, then buckle down, and then get a first draft done in a record few months. After writing her draft, she will take a few months off before editing it.
Her favorite character is Ellie, the first person POV/main character of her book, I Stop Somewhere. Ellie’s dad, Alex is a very good guy whom Ms. Carter is a fan of because he truly cares about his daughter.
I Stop Somewhere is about Ellie Frias who has just wanted to blend into the crowd and has no desire to be popular. She was tormented all through middle school but now as a freshman, the unthinkable happens and Ellie is trapped after a brutal assault. Knowing she is not the first victim, she has to watch it happen over and over again. This debut YA novel not only “discuss and dismantles rape culture, but it makes you slow down to think about what is to be human.”
Ms. Carter wants her readers to envision the characters for themselves rather than a casting director figuring out the characters. She has no actors in mind if there ever was a film adaption of I Stop Somewhere.
If ever she does get plagued with writer’s block, she knows she has to just write through it. She knows you can’t fix a blank page so it’s better just to get the words down even though you might trash the entire thing later.
Ms. Carter has a very eclectic group of authors she considers her favorites. Some of the authors include: Courtney Summers, Jo Knowles, Gillian Flynn, Rick Remender, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Laurie Halse Anderson, and Paula Hawkins.
Finally, her bucket list is pretty straight forward. She wants to see her book on the shelf somewhere, visit Hungary, and to attend the Independent Spirit Awards.
By Andrea K.