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14 Ontario School Library Association evelynne Bernstein Meet the Author michael Betcherman TingL: You have had a varied background - from entertainment lawyer, to scriptwriter, to young-adult novel writer. What led to you focus Breakaway on a young-adult audience? It wasn't a conscious decision. In fact I'd never thought about writing for a young adult audience until I woke up one day with the basic story idea for Breakaway -- a story about a boy whose father has been wrongly convicted of murder -- and started writing. Within an hour I'd written fifteen pages, so I knew I was on to something. I discovered that I love writing for this age group. It's not about flowery language or description which I've never been keen on; it's about telling a good story about characters people will care about. When I was a teenager, there wasn't much Ya literature, and what existed was completely sanitized. Now it has to be real or nobody is going to want to read it. and the issues that are real for teenagers are issues that we all can relate to, which is why I think so many adults enjoy Ya. Why did you choose a male protagonist? It wasn't a conscious choice. It was part of the original idea that I woke up with. Nick seems to be a pretty good all-round student. Dylan Thomas's "Do Not Go Gentle" affects him. He gets up early so he can have extra time to study for his Physics exam. Why was it important to have Nick be a committed student? Nick led a charmed life before his father was convicted of murder. He was a star hockey player, a good student, and he had a girlfriend he really cared about. I set it up this way michael Betcherman is an award-winning screen writer and author, with numerous credits in both documentary and dramatic television. Breakaway is his first young adult novel. Photo: Courtesy of Michael Betcherman Michael Betcherman in Arizona. TingL_21.1.indd 14 13-08-08 2:50 PM