3xA MA: Chandler Baker

I've always felt so grateful to the authors that take the time to connect with me through social media. In my mind, I'd always thought they were on an unattainable level. In this event, I want to get to know the authors; to see them for the people they are and not just as creators of your favorite book.

Note: For each post, links are left to the author's social media. If you know an author whose book has affected you [in my event or just in general,] please use one of those links and leave a nice message to them! Something as simple as "I'm such a huge fan of your work" can go a long way - you'd be surprised.
For a full definition, the author schedule [and a fabulous opening giveaway,] click here.

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Chandler Baker! She's the debut author of a book coming out soon, Alive, and I'm thrilled to have her on my blog today.
With a post that's very relatable to me, here's Chandler talking about what she wanted to become when she was younger.

I remember as a teen being asked what I wanted to be when I grew up.

But first, a little about teen me: Teen-me was very conscientious, obsessed with researching colleges, an avid rule follower, shy in large groups, and, above all else, very practical. So when asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I was quick to push aside my deep passion for books and, with it, what felt like more aspirational, less finite goals of becoming a writer, in favor of more concrete goals of becoming, say, a lawyer, a doctor, or a lobbyist. Those vocations had career paths. There were schools I could go to. They felt more grounded. I could create checklists, for goodness sake!

Moreover, when I heard the question: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” I heard the implied request for a single answer. I would have to choose one thing to be. Growing up to me meant, at least in part, a narrowing of possibilities. Each step I planned to take would close doors and eventually I would wind up at the end of my own ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ novel having become [insert practical career choice here]. Voilà! That was adulthood in a nutshell to me.

And to be honest, that’s exactly what I did. I went to college at the University of Pennsylvania, I applied for law school, I attended the University of Texas, I became a lawyer. But along the way, I found that doors didn’t close. They stayed just slightly ajar. Enough to slip through. I could be not just one thing, but multiple things, if only I were willing to find the time.

Thankfully, my love for books continued to call to me. By senior year of college, I’d written a book and a half. By my first year of law school, I had an agent. By second year of law school, I was ghostwriting books for book packagers and making money writing while attending law school. But as law school graduation approached and I prepared to enter law firm life, I thought surely my writing days were numbered.

Still, by now, I’d learned not to assume that the doors would close automatically, not to assume that I could only be one thing. And so in that spirit, I turned in a ghostwritten book on deadline one week before I took (and passed) the bar exam. I worked for a year at a law firm and two weeks before my wedding, I turned in a book to my agent that would sell later that year to Disney-Hyperion and become my first published novel, Alive.

I’ve gone from student, to law student, to lawyer, to hired writer, to author and I couldn’t be happier that I haven’t yet had to choose that one thing to be when I grow up. Now, as I wait for my first child to arrive one month after the publication of Alive, I’m ready to add another hat to the mix—mother—and now I can’t wait to share both of my debuts with the world this summer!

Wow. I really related to this, and I hope you do/did too. If you've found where you're happy, share your story! If you're like me and still trying to figure out what I want to "be," then high five. We're in this together!

Don't forget to enter the giveaway below! 
Thanks for checking out my blog and remember:  Be kind to one another. - Ellen 
Want more fun? Check out the other authors featured here.

Chandler's Goodreads | Twitter | Website

Oh hey. I’m Chandler Baker (formerly-and-quite-recently known as Chandler Craig). I’m a twenty-something lawyer, author of young adult and middle grade fiction and dedicated nerdfighter. In 2011, I graduated law school from the University of Texas in Austin. Prior to that, I attended the University of Pennsylvania, where I graduated early so that I could take time off to try my hand at this whole writing thing. So far, so good.
I like morbid facts, watching scary movies through my fingers, thai food, Eminem and very high heels.
My debut novel, ALIVE, will be out sometime in 2015 from Disney-Hyperion.

Thanks so much to Chandler for donating sneak preview booklets + swag for two winners! Twice the fun, right? Want more? Click here to enter to win a copy of Alive! You won't regret it. <3

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