Interview: Irene S. Roth, Author of ‘Seasons of Empowerment for Adolescent Girls’

Please welcome Irene S. Roth, author of  Seasons of Empowerment for Adolescent Girls. Irene is an academic and freelance writer for teens, tweens and kids. She enjoys researching academically and creatively, teaching, and writing, and she does all four on a regular basis. She has written over 500 book reviews and 1,000 online articles on different topics for teens, tweens, and about the craft of writing. She also teaches workshops on writing and craft at Savvy Authors. In addition, Irene is also a writer here at Blogcritics.

Congratulations on the release of your latest book, Seasons of Empowerment for Adolescent Girls. When did you start writing and what got you into nonfiction? 

I started writing this book about three years ago.  I started reading a lot of books and articles on all the problems that adolescent girls experience in the twenty-first century. And I also spoke to a lot of adolescent girls in person and heard a lot about their issues and problems. I decided to write a book specifically geared to these problems so that they could have a book and a resource that they could refer to for years to come and possibly pass the book onto their kids too. 

Tell us about Seasons. 

This book is all about empowering teen girls to be the best that they can be. A lot of teen girls are stuck in the spring season of empowerment — the season when their peers and the media are central.  The spring is a time when teen girls look outside of themselves for acceptance and empowerment. However, as the seasons progress, I show that for an adolescent girl to be truly empowered, she must accept herself and empower herself by truly becoming who she is and really letting that identity speak in the real world with her peers and at school. This means relying more and more on self-acceptance and self-empowerment instead of other acceptance and other empowerment.

What was your inspiration for it?

My main inspiration has been to encourage adolescent girls to stand up for themselves and be as strong as possible in a world where they are not expected or encouraged to be strong. I wanted to show adolescent girls how to have a voice of their own and to live their own authentic life, not one that is created by the media or their peers. It is hard to feel vulnerable and weak in a world that is so noisy.

Did you have any struggles or difficulties when you started writing it? 

I struggled with getting the voice right.  I wanted the book to be very applicable to adolescent girls. So, I had a few teen girls actually read drafts of the text so that I could get the voice right.

Who is your target audience? 

My target audience is mostly adolescent girls. But I am sure that tween girls can also benefit from the book. I believe that the earlier girls can hear this positive message, the better. 

What do you hope readers will get from your book? 

I hope that my readers will be empowered to be their best authentic self. It is hard for adolescent girls to develop an authentic self. And I believe that my book will help them do that. 

Did your book require a lot of research? 

Yes, a lot of research went into the book. But I love doing research.  So, it all worked out well. 

Do you have a writing schedule? Are you disciplined? 

Yes I am quite a disciplined writer.  I write about 25 to 30 hours a week, every week. So, I tend to get a lot of writing done. On average I write the first draft of a book within 30 to 60 days. Then the rest time goes into polishing and redrafting. 

How do you celebrate the completion of a book? 

I usually go out with a group of writer friends that I have here in my community.  It is a lot of fun and we tend to celebrate our successes as a writer. I believe that writers have to celebrate their accomplishments — and a book is a huge accomplishment!

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