Why do you write for teens?

I touched on this subject in my last post expressing my love for writing for teens. I started writing my first novel when I was a senior in high school and didn’t even know it then, but it was the start of my first young adult novel. That book may be deep in the recesses of my filing cabinet, but it was the beginning of my love for all things teen.
A couple of years later while earning my BFA in Creative Writing at Emerson College, I took a children’s writing class. There I started a novel about a fifteen year-old girl which helped me find my voice. Over the years, I went on to finish that novel, which may be resurrected at some point, but also remains tucked away.
It wasn’t until I started teaching middle school that I decided to get more serious about my writing and even several more years until I joined a children’s critique group. To tell you the truth, I never thought why teens because that’s what I wrote, plain and simple. It’s the spot on the page where my pen magically fell. Whenever I mulled around book ideas, they always featured teen characters.
I still carry around my teen years with me because those years hold so many emotions, good and bad. I’m filled with stories from those years, many things that can’t wait to hit the page—the funny and the not-so funny. In addition, I’m definitely still a teen at heart. I read mostly young adult books, love teen movies and music too. I still feel very connected with those years and hope that readers are able to identify with my characters and know that they’re not alone, that there are others who might be going through the same things as them. Books provided great solace for me growing up and as an author of teen fiction, I hope to do the same.

Note: The picture above is me at 16 "working" on my etiquette skills:)!