Dear Teen Me from author Danny Marks (VELVETEEN, KISS ME DEADLY)

Dear Teen Me,

I’m writing to you from a not-so-far away future. Okay, that may be stretching the truth a bit. I’m a little further away than that. Fine. I’m 43. You’ve made it!  Those premature gray hairs you’ve noticed? The ones you keep plucking? I’m afraid we’ve lost the battle so you have a full head of gray to look forward to (the “full” part might be a slight exaggeration).

I think it’s time we talk about the parents.

You see, where I am, Mom and Dad are starting to hit those years, a lazy descent that wouldn’t be so bad if the aches and pains didn’t have them. I’ve taken to meeting up with them once a week to have breakfast and “check in”. Mom, who was always so robust and brash has lost all the weight she can. She’s half of what you see there and so meek I just want to hug her all the time. You should hug her now.

Go ahead. I’ll wait.

Dad can’t stop working. He never could and his back is nearly broken because of it. He’s still smoking and I know you are too. Mom and Dad know, too. You’re not so smart. You’re not fooling anyone, Danny. I’m not sure how to handle his aging. It seems we were never as close as with Mom. You should work on changing that, while you can. It hasn’t gotten any better and the shame settles in a little more every day.

You’ve got it pretty good, no matter what you think. You’re learning tons of great stuff just from being around them and you don’t even know it.

Dad’s stories, the ones that bug you so much? Do you see how everyone listens and laughs and seem genuinely interested? Yeah. That’s because the man knows how to weave a tale. He’s known for it. And even though writing is the furthest thing from your mind, right now. You’re going to need that innate, effortless style and enthusiasm Dad wields. You just will.

I’ll tell you why in a minute.

You really owe a debt of gratitude to your Mom’s love of reading, horror films, and dark humor. Without that influence–and it’s ingrained in you already, admit it–you’d never be able to pull off the hat trick that happens in your late 30s.

Oh yeah, did I mention your career plans have a really limited shelf life? Your dreams of being a psychotherapist come true but dammit if the helping profession doesn’t burn you right out after twelve years. Luckily—degree aside—you have something to fall back on.
They don’t even know it, now. But all those years of stories, of long hours in bookstores and theaters, reading with Mom on rainy days and listening to Dad’s stories in restaurants and at parties.

They taught you to be a writer. A storyteller.

You need to thank them for that because you’re going to love it. Every minute.

I’m going to go thank them, now.

Signed,
Future you

---

Bio: DANIEL MARKS writes young adult horror and fantasy, spends way too much time glued to the internets and collects books obsessively (occasionally reading them). He’s been a psychotherapist for children and adolescents, a Halloween store manager, a cafeteria janitor (gag) and has survived earthquakes, volcanoes and typhoons to get where he is today, which is to say, in his messy office surrounded by half empty coffee cups. He lives in the Pacific Northwest with his wife, Caroline, and three furry monsters with no regard for quality carpeting.

Tags: Daniel Marks, Delacorte, Dystel and Goderich Literary Management, Random House, YA Rebels