Tell me about yourself.
Hi! I’m Laura Rueckert. I’m an American who moved to Germany for love, and I’ve now lived here longer than in the US! I’m passionate about LGBTQ+ rights, and I adore traveling, my family, and my fuzzy black rescue dog. Oh, and chocolate. So much chocolate.
I love sci-fi and fantasy and usually write YA books in those genres. My YA fantasy/murder mystery A Dragonbird in the Fernreleased last year and stars a dyslexic princess who marries a young foreign king to search his country for her sister’s assassin. Oh, and she and the king don’t have a common language.
What was your YA publishing journey?
It was long! I wrote many manuscripts, queried some of them, received hundreds of rejections, got an agent, parted ways with that agent, and submitted my manuscript to my publisher myself. I was so thrilled when Flux wanted to publish it! Take it from me, persistence pays off when it comes to trying to break into publishing! But it doesn’t save you from getting more rejections. I’m still getting them now. It’s a part of the industry
Any books that stand out to you that helped you as a writer
In general, the more fiction you read the better when you want to write a novel. But I also found the following craft books very helpful: Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody and Story Genius by Lisa Cron. Whenever I start a new novel, it feels like I’ve forgotten how to write, so I’ve often found myself pulling them out to get going again.
What’s your name, books, and best ways to reach you?
A Dragonbird in the Fern
Website: www.laurarueckert.com
Twitter: @LauraRueckert
Instagram: @laura_rueckert_writes
TikTok: @laurarueckert
Linktree: linktr.ee/LauraRueckert