Maureen Ulrich

Truthfully, I wanted to be a jockey—since I was wild about horses. I did eventually own a few horses of my own, and I quickly learned that I didn’t want to ride them all that fast!

I started writing horse stories, which eventually became full-length manuscripts, when I was eleven. I was obsessed with wild horses in Wyoming. My main character had a pet wolf and was a crack shot with a rifle. I read any book related to horses. Walter Farley was my favourite author. I wrote to him several times, and he was kind enough to write back.

I have no recollection of my parents reading me any specific children’s book, but once I was able to read on my own, I worked my way through a complete set of the Childcraft library (here I am dating myself!). As a youngster, I read Classics Illustrated comics voraciously. These exposed me to many great works of literature. My favourites were The Last of the Mohicans and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

I remember being deeply moved by Charlotte’s Web, which my Grade Four teacher Mrs. Coburn read to the class. I came home in tears at the end. My mother couldn’t imagine what was wrong with me!

I come from a family of teachers, so I think I always “knew” this was a career I wanted. While giving a presentation on Erwin Rommel, the Desert Fox, to my Grade Twelve Social Studies class, I knew I was on the right path. I wanted to share my love of literature and history with young people.

As a junior high teacher (and a mother), I saw the effects of bullying on teens. The cruelest bullies were often popular with their peers and teachers. It bothered me that these bullies often flew under the radar of adults, and I wanted to do something about it. My oldest daughter also started playing girls hockey in her teens, and I wanted to write about that topic as well since the game wasn’t nearly as respected at that time. I was once told “this is a boys’ game” by another parent. That was another attitude I wanted to change.

First of all, I don’t believe in shying away from complex issues. Teen substance abuse is a very real problem, and it starts early. Adults who don’t want this subject confronted in young adult books are fooling themselves. Young readers should know the dangerous consequences of substance abuse and should have a skill set for navigating peer pressure in social situations where alcohol and drugs are available.

Using first person narration is the easiest way to make books accessible. The reader slips into the main character’s POV from the opening page. Every complex issue is filtered through the main character’s sense of self and values.

In terms of being relatable, I believe there’s a gap between what young readers like and what adults want them to like. Humour is probably the best way to make the content more relatable. With Shootout, I had young people give me feedback on portions of the manuscript. I had incredibly funny suggestions from a fifteen-year-old male hockey player.

Power Plays got a lot of attention from selection panels and was a finalist in several different awards programs. It was pretty thrilling to win a Moonbeam. I loved affixing those little gold stickers to the covers before dropping them off at bookstores or schools.

It took me eight years to find a publisher who was willing to tackle this manuscript. With each rejection, I went through the novel again and made revisions. Switching to first person/present tense was definitely a game-changer. It helped me find Jessie’s voice, and that in the end convinced Coteau to offer me a contract and publish the next two books in the series.

The title Face Off itself has underlying meaning. In Book Two of this series, Jessie continues to learn that there can often be much going on “under the skin” or “behind the face” of someone she thinks she knows well. This applies to her relationships with Kim, Mark, and Brittni in particular.

First off, poetry is not my genre of choice. I gravitate towards plays and novels. However, when my friend Wanda Harron, a sports photographer, began snapping and sharing black and white photos of the LACK of activity around sports facilities and playgrounds, I thought she had discovered a profound method to record the effects of the pandemic. In May 2020, I posted on social media a picture of two Canada geese peering through the window of our living room, and a friend urged me to write a story about it. I did—a long, bound verse poem called Something’s Different. The experience was cathartic and a worthwhile distraction. I had so many thoughts and reactions to what was happening, and now I knew what to do with them! Some poems are funny, some are angry, and some are thoughtful reflections on nature.

I have belonged to a local writing group for over twenty years. We encourage one another, share our work through quarterly critique sessions, and attend writing retreats in the spring and fall. I belong to several national writing organizations and have made a number of friends this way. Having colleagues whom I respect challenges me to strive to become the best version of myself as a writer.

Read at least one book a week. Read in your genre, but not only in your genre. Write as often as you can. Having a writing routine is better than a sporadic approach (similar to exercise!) Don’t reread what you have written until you are finished the piece. Even then, give it a month before diving into it again. This will give you some distance and help you decide what you like and what needs to go. If something doesn’t seem authentic, get rid of it. You’ll never miss it.

I tried to pair students with authors that I thought could “hook” them. I used healthy doses of positive reinforcement, especially when it came to their own writing. I took an interest in their own interests.

I read what’s out there. I consider my choice of language carefully. I try to walk that thin line between what is acceptable to teachers/librarians and what is relevant/appeals to teens. In a pinch, I lean towards the latter. I want teens to encounter difficult situations in my books long before they encounter them in real life.

I am currently working on a second novel in my Winds of Change series, which I hope to release in November. I also have some completed manuscripts which would fall under the High Interest-Low Vocabulary genre that I plan to publish in the near future.

AllAuthor gives me the opportunity to showcase my books in so many ways—and in ways I’d never imagined. I learned a great deal about marketing strategies from this platform. Thank you!