Tennessee Voices, Episode 328: Jennifer Lynn Alvarez, young adult book author
Jennifer Lynn Alvarez always wanted to be published author. She persisted through rejection and developed a discipline for writing that allowed her to become prolific.
Her first book published when she was 42 and now she has 10 published tomes to her name including her most recent young adult novel, "Friends Like These," a thriller about a prank gone wrong among high school students.
On this episode of the Tennessee Voices video podcast, Alvarez talked about her new book, her passion for writing and how when in 2013 she developed the discipline to write every single day, she licked writer's block -- an enemy of many authors.
Alvarez, a Nashville resident, participated in a panel in the 2022 Southern Festival of Books held in October in Music City near the Tennessee State Capitol.
She shared how getting published can cause an author to feel a sense of anxiety. But at that the time, writing so much has also led her to gain greater confidence.
Alvarez told me she thinks with her fingers and while writing comes naturally to her, the editing is the hardest part. I can relate to that.
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About Tennessee Voices
The Tennessee Voices videocast is a 20-minute program, which started in March 2020 and invites leaders, thinkers and innovators who have written guest columns for a USA TODAY Network Tennessee publication to share their insights and wisdom with me and our viewers.
Watch past episodes: Tennessee Voices videocast
Please email your ideas for future guests to me at dplazas@tennessean.com. Thank you for watching.
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David Plazas is the director of opinion and engagement for the USA TODAY Network Tennessee and an editorial board member of The Tennessean. Tweet to him at @davidplazas.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Voices: Jennifer Lynn Alvarez, young adult book author
