Jennifer Ziegler

Here is my favorite Jennifer Ziegler story.

Once upon a time she ran into her friend Rob Thomas who had left Austin to write and work in Hollywood. He had just finished writing Dawson’s Creek and was developing another show called Veronica Mars. He told Jennifer that he was having a blast writing shows directed at the young adult audience. Jennifer said, “That’s what I want to do.” And she did. She quit her teaching job and wrote two young adults novels AlphaDog and How Not To Be Popular. Her third book, Sass and Serendipity will come out on July 12.

I love that story because it shows Jennifer’s gumption. She is just that kind of gal who would up and change her life to pursue her heart’s desire. All with a smile on her face and a hearty laugh to keep self doubt at bay.

No wonder that she chose this quote by Richard Bach to bolster that gumption:

“A professional writer is an amateur who didn’t quit.”

It’s motivating, says Jennifer, because “it reminds me that my success is mostly dependent on me, and that sometimes the only difference between the published and the not-published is that the published folk never gave up.  They kept on writing and submitting, in spite of rejection, gloomy market outlook, and despair.”

So true. So apt. So Jennifer Ziegler.

By the way, if you would like to have Jennifer visit your school in the 2011-2012 school year and beyond, you can now book two YA authors for the price one. That’s right, Cynthia Leitich Smith, author of the Tantalize series (inspired by Dracula by Bram Stoker (1897)) and Jennifer Ziegler, author of Sass & Serendipity (inspired by Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen (1811)) are offering a joint presentation called “From Classics to Contemporary.”  The authors will discuss how they were inspired by these classics, why Stoker and Austen’s themes are still relevant to teens/YAs today, the ongoing conversation of books over the generations, and much more. Contact Dayton Bookings for more information and to schedule.