Hi, there! I'm Sharon Huss Roat, author of young adult novels BETWEEN THE NOTES (June 2015, HarperTeen) and HOW TO DISAPPEAR (August 2017).
Short bio:
Long bio:
It was around 2008, while doing publicity for the Delaware
Book Festival, that I met YA author Laurie Halse Anderson. To promote the
festival, a newspaper editor and I had arranged for students at six schools
across the state to provide questions for six different authors. They ALL
wanted Laurie! Her novels had made such an impact on them. I look back to that
experience as a turning point for me, as it was then that I first gave serious thought
to writing a novel. When I shared that seemingly crazy idea with another author
at the festival, she said, “go for it!” So I did.
I'd love to hear from you! Email me here.Short bio:
I grew up in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and now divide my time between my home in Delaware and a small Cotswolds cottage in the village of Minchinhampton, UK. I worked in the public relations/communications
field for twenty years before pursuing my dream of being a novelist. When not
writing, I can usually be found reading, gardening, or cooking. Also napping.
(Naps are key.) I loves to hear from readers, so visit me online at www.sharonroat.com or Instagram @sharonhussroat.
Long bio:
I am a mother of two, grower of veggies, taker of naps, and writer of books. Growing up in Lancaster County, Pa., I attended a small
high school where students who were involved in anything were involved in everything.
I was both a jock (field hockey, basketball, track) and a band geek
(clarinet!). I sang (badly) in the choir and performed in musicals. Last time I
checked, I still held the record for high jump at my high school.
I wasn’t recognized as much of a writer back then, and didn’t
even get accepted onto the school newspaper staff until my two best friends
were named co-editors and took pity on me. During my sophomore year at the
University of Delaware, a Communication professor finally took me aside and
said, “You can write!” No one had ever acknowledged it before, and his vote of
confidence made all the difference. I went on to work in the
communications/public relations field for more than 20 years, writing and
editing for magazines and employee publications, and running my own PR
business.
It was around 2008, while doing publicity for the Delaware
Book Festival, that I met YA author Laurie Halse Anderson. To promote the
festival, a newspaper editor and I had arranged for students at six schools
across the state to provide questions for six different authors. They ALL
wanted Laurie! Her novels had made such an impact on them. I look back to that
experience as a turning point for me, as it was then that I first gave serious thought
to writing a novel. When I shared that seemingly crazy idea with another author
at the festival, she said, “go for it!” So I did.
With my husband’s enthusiastic thumbs up, I handed most of my
PR clients over to a colleague, trimmed the household budget so our family
could survive on half the income, and dug into a huge pile of YA novels and writing
books.
Two years, six drafts, a trail of traumatized Beta readers, and
countless rejection letters later, I secured a literary agent. After another
two years and several drafts of a second novel, we found a wonderful publishing
home for me at HarperCollins.
Today, I divide my time between my home in Delaware and a small Cotswolds cottage in the village of Minchinhampton, UK. BETWEEN THE NOTES was
my first published novel. HOW TO DISAPPEAR is my second. I hope there will be
many more to come.
