The glory of the first novel—for most people—is that it is a piece written without the input of publishers, agents, or any other market-driven forces. During the three years I spent working on Leaving Atlanta, I had an idea to write a triple-voiced coming of age narrative based on my experiences growing up in Atlanta during the child murders. The middle section of the novel is written entirely in the second person using a sort of elevated diction. Not exactly the expected fare in a story with an eleven year old protagonist. But the beauty of the first novel is that I didn’t know that publishers were often afraid to commit to something new and untested. I had no idea that my first agent would kick me to the curb for refusing the try and sell the novel as a YA project. Who knew that twenty-two publishers would be weirded out by the middle section- the one with the big words freaky POV? Not me.
