Jenna Greene
Jenna Greene is a teacher and author, whose hobbies include dancing, dragonboating, and napping. Her novel, Reborn, won the 2019 Moonbeam Children’s Book award.
Marina Raydun: So what came first-creative writing or teaching middle school? Does one job inspire the other?
Jenna Greene: I started scribbling down the pages of my first novel when I was seventeen, which meant I was a YA at the time I first penned a YA story. The idea of writing an adult character never occurred to me, nor did it interest me. As my writing career developed, so did my teaching career, and I spent nearly 14 years teaching teens and pre-teens, as well as being immersed in literature aimed at the same age group. My worlds worked together.
MR: What is it about the young adult genre that inspires you? Would you consider trying your hand at other genres?
JG: There are things you can do in YA literature that you cannot get away with in all genres. There is a creativity and acceptance of the ‘possible’ that youth will accept. That being said, I have now moved to teaching younger students and also have a young daughter. Thus, early literacy has begun to fascinate me. I have released my first picture book, titled “Winston, the Well-Dressed Wombat.”
MR: What is your favorite genre to read?
JG: I jump around a lot. For months, I’ll fall in love with historical romance, and then I’ll shift to non-fiction. My first love is YA fantasy, both as a reader and writer, though.
MR: What is the first book that made you cry?
JG: I can’t remember the first book that made me cry, but I can recall a few that made me weep for a length of time. Bridge to Terabithia was a struggle to read, but A Monster Calls hit me in the gut because I read it shortly after my mother passed away from cancer. Of course, I yell at characters a lot – they never listen to my advice!
MR: What’s your favorite childhood book?
JG: My She-Ra: Princess of Power books. I was a remedial reader and found that my passion for She-Ra inspired me to keep trying because I wanted more exposure to the magic of that world. (This may be the reason for my love of fantasy too...)
MR: What literary character is most like you?
JG: Um...oh! Who do I want to be like? (Elizabeth Bennett). Who do I connect with? (Rip Van Winkle – I always need a nap).
MR: Who is your literary crush?
JG: Well, if you read the answer to the above question, it should be no surprise that my response is Mr. Darcy.
MR: Who is your literary hero?
JG: Ha ha. This is getting predictable. Elizabeth Bennett of course. And Charlotte Doyle from Avi’s adventurous tale “The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle.” (Best. Book. Ever.)
MR: Is there a book that people might be surprised to learn you love?
JG: Maybe some of the non-fiction I’ve read (Into Thin Air), or really just how eclectic my tastes are.
MR: Is there an illicit book you had to sneak growing up?
JG: I used to read my mom’s romance novels when we were camping in the middle of nowhere and I ran out of my own reading material to peruse. But she wasn’t one to sanction my reading habits, so I guess it wasn’t truly illicit.
Winston the Wombat loves to share what he knows,
how to clothe all his friends wherever he goes.
Take a fun little journey with Winston to see, all the
dressing suggestions he gives out for free.
To learn more about Jenna, please visit her website: https://www.jennagreene.ca/