Cha feel?

I recently watched 21 Jump Street (the movie) and laughed my butt off. Normally I’m not into the crass ones, but for some reason, this movie hit all my funny spots. Anyway, there’s a scene in the movie where a high school kid explains his dating style to an undercover cop, and at the end asks, “Cha feel?” Naturally I had to look it up on Urban Dictionary because I wouldn’t believe that teens are actually saying this. Sure enough, there it was: “Cha Feel?” Translation: “You feel me?”

Wow. Just wow. If I had any doubts about shelving the high school reads for a while, that phrase annihilated them. I love my teen stories. I do. I love the teens I developed. But I can't keep up with this teen talk. So it’s time for my stories to grow up. I need adults. With adult brains. I need to place them in adult situations and force them to make adult decisions. Does this mean my days of writing teens are over? Hell no. Just temporarily suspended.

I also realized that in addition to writing about teenagers, I included some pretty heavy topics in their stories. I came to be known as the controversial writer—the author who goes for the taboo. I don’t mind the label, but I worry about the day I release my first non-taboo story, especially since it’s my next one.

I love taboo. I love stories that push the boundaries. I may even have a never-ending supply of them. The problem is that they’re a bitch to write. They’re emotionally draining. Demanding. And I can’t write stories like that all the time. My heart and mind need a break every once in a while, just as you need a break from reading those angst-filled stories from time to time. So I made a decision to take a break from teen angst. I’d already developed the storyline for my last teen book, but I discovered I was having a problem actually writing it. My mojo wasn’t there. Something felt off about it. And that’s when I finally discovered that it wasn’t the book itself; it was me. I was simply tired. Tired of being in the dark, if you will.

So I’m stepping into the light with my next book. It sounds nothing like the books I’ve previously written. It’s not taboo. It’s not controversial. It doesn’t involve teenagers. It’s, well, opposite. That’s the best way to put it: opposite. And I hope this doesn’t disappoint my hardcore fans who expect taboo from me. You see, I plan to make this one very long, very satisfying writing career, and with it will come a variety of books, genres, themes, tropes. It’s good to diversify, try new things, stretch my skills. But know that my books will always be me. That won't change. I may just have you laughing more in this next one.

Cha feel?