Hi everyone and welcome to my interview series Saturday Night Author Fever, where I interview authors with a bit of a 70s music and diversity theme. I personally love 70s music, especially disco music, and sometimes on Friday nights when no one is looking you can find me dancing to classic 70s songs such as September, Bennie and the Jets and We Are Family. However, books are my true passion and because of this, I thought it would be a great idea to mix my two loves and start this interview series. The questions will be similar every week, but with a new author every time, and I hope you’ll enjoy the answers as much as I have. Now let’s get this party started!

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This Saturday Night we welcome Sharon Roat. Thank you so much for sitting down with me today in my galaxy of books.

Sharon, can you tell us a bit about yourself and your books? What do you think about 70s music?

About Me: I grew up in Lancaster County, Pa., and now live in northern Delaware with my husband and two kids. I started writing young adult novels after spending 20+ years working in public relations, and I feel so fortunate to be constantly learning (about the world, the lives of others, myself) from the writing process and the YA community. I grow vegetables. I take naps. I read a lot. I also co-chair the Delaware Festival of Words which is an annual event for teens, teachers, and librarians that features diverse authors and ideas.

About My Books: My contemporary YA novels feature characters who are faced with difficult changes in their lives:

• In Between the Notes, Ivy’s family loses their home and her beloved piano (due in part to medical costs for her disabled little brother). She tries to keep it a secret from her friends and a new boy she likes, so they won’t treat her differently. But a bad-boy-next-door threatens to ruin everything, and Ivy’s lies start to unravel.
• In How to Disappear, Vicky’s best friend moves away, leaving her isolated due to severe social anxiety. Her mother pressures her to make new friends, but even the prospect of saying “hi” to people in the hall at school is terrifying. So, she creates a new identity on Instagram, and lives vicariously by Photoshopping herself into other people’s pictures.

How I feel about 70s music: I was alive in the 70s, and my first album was the Bee Gees’ Stayin Alive and OMG I just watched the music video and it is epic. (I still believe my crush on Barry Gibb was warranted, because he was pretty freaking cute, even with those tight, high-waisted, white pants!)

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