I was either going to let people into that part of my life during that time, or not. With the memoir, when I sat down with my editor to work on it, I realized it was all or nothing. In fiction, I need to find the core honesty of the character, but this time the character was me. It was a challenge trying to find the honesty that’s necessary when telling a story in the first person. I experimented with time jumps or linear order and picking events that best told the story. Having an outline and supporting materials, such as journals and emails, is not something I normally have. I had to create an outline of events and decide how I wanted to tell my story. With memoir, I already knew what happened. I have a vague idea and a character voice, and then I’ll jump in and explore. Usually, I’m a “write by the seat of your pants” kind of person when it comes to fiction. The story of two opposing presidential candidates’ sons who fall in love will be out next year. Next up is his first non-speculative novel, The State of Us.

Hopeful and courageous, Brave Face is every bit as poignant and gripping as Hutchinson’s fiction. He recounts his tumultuous life during his teenage years as he struggled to understand his sexuality, his depression, and the suicide attempt that led to a search for self-acceptance. Now he tackles nonfiction for the first time with his memoir, Brave Face. Novelist Shaun David Hutchinson’s compelling (and award-winning) YA novels combine speculative elements with LGBT characters and themes.

Shaun david hutchinson the state of us