Meet Author Alyson Noel: Thursday at 3:30pm

Sometimes tragedy is the best catalyst for inspiring change.  When current young adult author, Alyson Noël, worked as a flight attendant, the tragedy of 9-11 encouraged her to seek a new profession in the literary arts.  “I thought, why not go after my dream of being an author.”  “So I took a short story that I had been working on for 15 years and went through a two year process of learning the ropes and being rejected and going back and revising before I got my first deal with St. Martin’s press,” says Alyson. 

With twenty published pieces to her name, Alyson is now working on a new series called The Soul Seekers that is infused with her trademark elements of mystery, romance, and a dash of magic.   On Thursday, May 24, Alyson will bring her knowledge of the writing process to several workshops at the Telluride Middle School and High School.  She will then read from her latest book, Fated, at 3:30 p.m on the terrace at Wilkinson Public Library.

When Alyson first started writing, her novels were ideal for the younger middle-school crowd as she focused on friendships, love triangles, and finding one’s place in the world (Keeping Secrets, Laguna Cove, and Art Geeks & Prom Queens). Then three people close to her passed away within a five-month’s time span, and her husband was diagnosed with a life-threatening illness.   Struck with grief and a deep sense of trying to understand life and death, Alsyon used her writing to help her deal with her loss.  The result is a series of books, The Immortals and Riley Bloom, that cater to a slightly older audience and uses a backdrop of vampires and the undead to explore themes of friendship, family, and loss. 

In her new series, The Soul Seekers, Alyson taps into Native American culture and uses Shamanism and spirit guides as the focal point for her character’s stories.  “I did a lot of research for the Immortals and Riley Bloom books, and during my readings I often came across references to Shamanism that made me want to learn more,” explains Alyson. “The more I learned, the more intrigued I became by these ancient practices.”  To research this idea further, Alsyon traveled to New Mexico and interviewed local teens, adults and Native Americans.  She also took a three-day introductory course on Basic Shamanism where she journeyed to the Lower-world and met her spirit guide.  The result is her newest novel Fated. 

Alyson has had 8 bestsellers in two years, and there are more than 6 million copies of her books in print. Her new series, The Soul Seekers, launches with Fated in May, followed buy Echo, Mystic, and Horizon in the coming seasons.  For those interested in learning more about Alyson and how she has succeeded at writing for a younger audience, come by the library at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 24.   Between the Covers will have copies of her latest book available for signing, and she will be available to answer questions on everything from researching a new novel to publishing for a younger audience.