YA Fresh

Graffiti Girl: My Character, Angel

I've written my first post on Amazon Connect, where authors can post messages to interested readers. I hope to post a blog every couple of months until the release date of Graffiti Girl. This entry shares a little about my character, Angel...

The idea for Graffiti Girl came about while I wrote my first novel. In high school, art was a major part of my life and I thought a story about a girl struggling with acceptance in this vast creative society, combined with the underground art of graffiti, would result in an interesting story. Enter two boys into the mix with different artistic strengths and things could really spice up. Luckily, MTV Books felt the same.

In six months, Graffiti Girl will be released. I can't tell you how pleased and excited I am to have this story come alive.

Angel Rodriguez, my main character, is a headstrong sixteen-year-old girl, tough on the outside with a more vulnerable side she tries hard to conceal. She lives with her single mother and Nana, on a side of town she feels has been ignored by the city, and hopes to win a competition in order to be part of a community mural project. Unfortunately, her plan backfires and that's when a boy offers her a pass inside an artistic world she knows nothing about. A world where she might find recognition and freedom.

The deeper Angel finds herself in the graffiti lifestyle of tagging, piecing, and battles, the more she learns she is paying too high of a price for the acceptance she craves.

In May of 2007, please check out Graffiti Girl and meet Angel. She's one character I hope will stay with you long after you've read the last page.

Thanks for reading,
Kelly Parra