Homelessness | Debra R. Borys

My guest post for OmniMystery News posted today. I talk about writing the Street Stories suspense series and how it relates to my experiences with volunteering with the homeless. I hope you enjoy.

Click through to read the whole article.

I chose to write suspense novels about events that happen to street kids because their homelessness adds an unexpected, little used, and huge obstacle for my protagonist to overcome. That’s just good storytelling. And if, while riding the twists and turns of the plot my reader begins to develop an awareness that street kids are people, are human beings not that different from themselves, am I going to complain?

Not a bit. Because influencing the minds and opinions of readers is something all good fiction should do, as long as it’s not at the expense of entertainment. Tell me you’ve never been enlightened by a book you picked up just because the plot sounded like fun? I bet you can’t.

via Omnimystery News: Please Welcome Back Author Debra R. Borys.

Diane Rehm interviews author Kevin Ryan about youth homelessness at the NPR station WAMU 88.5. Kevin is the author of Almost Home, a book about six homeless youth and their struggle to recover from hopelessness.

They talk about his experiences with Covenant House, youth homelessness across the United States, and why growing numbers of teens end up alone on the streets. In addition, Diane talks to one of the youth Kevin writes about. You can listen to the show HERE.

Almost Home: Helping Kids Move from Homelessness to Hope by Kevin Ryan and Tina Kelley can be purchased HERE.