Why June writes
“The teenage years are a time of great change, conflict, discovery, thrills and angst.”
That’s why June Yu loves young adult books so much. And why the decision to write for teens was a no-brainer when it came to her first novel.
She remembers all the ups and downs of being 15 years old. The importance of friends. The long deep and meaningfuls. The shock of finding out how mean bullies can be. The buzz of connecting with someone who really gets you. Who liked who and how far they went with each other. The academic, sporting and popularity hierarchies. Fighting with parents over whether you could go to a party. Keeping secrets from those same parents. Making decisions about subjects and careers before you even knew who you were or what you wanted out of life.
At that age, escaping into the world of books was normal for June. In fact, a lot of who she is today came from the books she read growing up. Favourite authors from her teen years include Cynthia Voigt, Robin Klein, John Marsden, Isobelle Carmody, SE Hinton, Robert Cormier, Katherine Paterson, Enid Blyton, Ruth Park, David Eddings, CS Lewis and too many more to list. Many of these had strong characters (and a lot of them were FEMALE) who overcame adversity or learned great life lessons.
Even now as an adult, June still holds a special place in her literary heart for young adult fiction.
Novel in progress
June’s goal is to write a science fiction novel for teenagers to makes them think about the challenges that come with today’s emerging technologies. Hence her work in progress is the first in a trilogy about a girl who has to make some tough choices in the genetically engineered world she lives in while going through all the other normal joys and heartaches of growing up.
June is now working with her self-publishing team to release her debut novel. She has also begun preliminary work on the second novel in the series. (Special thanks to the Australian Writers’ Centre and my writing groups – I couldn’t have made it this far this fast without you.)
June’s writing life
June’s life as a professional writer has spanned… well, perhaps not an eon, but over 20 years.
As a journalist, she’s chased Prince Philip as part of the media pack, attended crime scenes, interviewed sporting champions and covered cutting edge science such as the cloning of Dolly the Sheep.
Then she crossed to the Dark Side and wrote PR, marketing and publications copy in the education sector. When she decided she was sick of rude IT support at work, she became a geek herself just as the World Wide Web was taking off. She’s written technical specs, product documentation and technical support docs for a virtual reality software company.
Eventually she ended up working for a major Australian charity, which introduced her to the world of direct marketing.
Random stuff about June
Name
June Yu. Yes, I was born in June. No, that was not why I was called June. I also happen to be friends with an April and know several Mays.
And don’t get me started on the Yu jokes. When I was a teen, there were boys at school who said I should have kids and call them Hey and Oi. Then when my now husband and I were dating, he would sing to me, “It had to be Yu…”
Your age?
Let’s just say the meaning of life has been and gone for me. (Hail Douglas Adams.)
Favourite colour?
Red. I love all shades of red – scarlet, coral, fire engine, burgundy. I got married in a red and gold Oriental-style dress (someone said it was very Queen Amidala from Star Wars). I love it when our red bottlebrushes are in bloom. I wish someone would genetically engineer more Australian flowers to be red – we have lots of yellow natives Down Under.
Personality/ aptitude/ sorting hat test results
ENTJ. Erudite (but it could have been Candor). Ravenclaw (but it could have been Slytherin).
Special powers
Being an ex-journalist, I would love to be invisible and read minds. That would have been handy when trying to cut through political BS. Otherwise, if I was a Misting, I’d be a Soother. There are times when calming people down would be really useful. My Patronus would be a panther (but not a pink one).
I admit I wouldn’t survive the Hunger Games. I’m no archer like Katniss Everdeen and I can’t find food like she does. I’d probably eat poisonous berries and die. I love our amazing Australian bush but am not that great at camping.
What would you like to do when you grow up?
Stay grown up! I don’t look back on my teenage years with wistful longing. The best years of my life are ahead of me!
Favourite place to read in the house
In my bed, my child’s bed or in the random space called the reading nook. Nothing else fits there although I admit I scoffed when the real estate ad gave it that name. But now it actually is a reading nook and sometimes a sewing nook! I wish it had an arch window though.
Addictions
Apart from chocolate? When I start a great book, I can’t stop. I end up reading into the wee hours, which is very bad when I have family to care for and deadlines to meet the next day. That’s why I tend to reread a lot of my favourite novels. If I already know what’s going to happen, then I’m less likely to think, “Just one more chapter…”
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