Is it hard to stay close to the truth while navigating a fictional realm? Many of your depictions of places and backpackers are spot on. Q: From my own travels through Central America, I remember the howl of monkeys, the ancient Mayan ruins, and the backpacks like turtle shells. By the time I sent the manuscript to my publisher, I think I’d been to Belize five times. Those often go into my books unadulterated: exactly what I was seeing or thinking at that moment, in that place. However, I take a ridiculous amount of notes, both story and setting. I’ve found I can’t really write when I’m traveling - there’s so much moving around, so much to see and do, I rarely get the chance to just sit for hours and work. Q: With spotty internet access and tempting white sand beaches, did you manage to write your novel while you were traveling? As she has summed it up best in her own bio – “Kirsten Hubbard has hiked ancient ruins in Cambodia, dived with wild dolphins in Belize (one totally looked her in the eye), slept in a Slovenian jail cell, and navigated the Wyoming badlands (without a compass) in search of transcendent backdrops for her novels.” Today, she tells us more about her traveling and writing adventures.

Her firsthand backpacker experiences infuse her writing with incredible settings and all too real people. Believe me, Wanderlove is the ultimate young adult travel hook.

I stumbled across Kirsten’s writing while I was backpacking for three months through Central America and freelance writing for travel websites. “This journey will resonate with anyone who has braved the unknown in search of adventure - and ended up finding themselves in the process.” Buchanan, coauthor of the New York Times bestseller The Daring Book for Girls, said: Wanderlove follows 18-year-old Bria Sandoval’s adventures through the alluring destinations of Belize and Guatemala, and the even more alluring backpacker scene that sweeps her off her feet.Īndrea J. Her debut YA novel, Like Mandarin, was published by Delacorte Press/Random House in March 2011, and her second novel, Wanderlove, was published in March 2012. Kath here. Andrea Ellickson, WU community member and second-place winner of our Sizzling Summer flash fiction contest, has a treat for us today: an interview with travel writer and young adult author, Kirsten Hubbard (left).

Wanderlove by kirsten hubbard