‘Butter’ author Erin Jade Lang inspired by her work as a journalist

Young adult books aren’t just for teens but for anyone who remembers what it was like to be a teen, says Erin Jade Lange. “It’s such a short but critical time in our lives that shapes who we are forever. To me, there is no more interesting age to write about.”

Erin, who works in TV news by day and writes fiction at night, is the author of “Butter,” a new YA novel about an obese teen who decides to eat himself to death, live on the Internet.

Erin’s writing is inspired by her work as a journalist. “So many of the big issues we see in the news impact the entire family, but we rarely get to explore specifically how they affect the lives of teens, so that’s something I try to do in my writing,” Erin told Cracking the Cover.

In the case of “Butter,” it was almost daily stories of childhood obesity, teen suicide and Internet bullying. “Those stories collected in the back of my mind until one day, they poured out in a flash of an idea about this boy, Butter,” Erin said. “His story grew from there.”

The themes that run through “Butter” are familiar but are still at times hard to read. Despite that, Erin says the first draft was surprisingly easy to write. “This was one of those stories that came out fast, demanding to get onto the page,” she explained. “But revising it was a bit more emotional. I love that Butter is a funny and sarcastic character, but I had to work to make sure I was true to his struggle and his pain as well — and that meant going to a slightly darker place sometimes in the rewrites.”

“Butter” has a universal quality to it, Erin says. Readers can substitute “too fat” with “too short” or “too poor” or “too much acne” or anything else that makes a teen a target for bullies. “We’ve all felt imperfect or picked on for some reason or another, and I hope that means Butter will appeal to everyone,” she said.

Based on responses to far, “Butter” appears to be creating a stir. “Even the few negative comments I’ve seen on the Internet here and there seem to spark discussion and debate, which is a thrill for me,” Erin said. “But the most incredible and humbling part has been the direct and personal feedback from readers who reach out to me privately. People have shared stories about their struggles with weight or bullying, and I am so honored to have them confide in me and so impressed by their journeys.”

“Butter” is Erin’s first published novel, but it’s not the first one she wrote. In fact, she admits to having many false starts on books she eventually gave up on, and she calls her first completed novel “a big mess.”

One would think that process would be discouraging, but Erin looks at it another way. “I think the best way to learn and evolve as a writer is to try and fail,” she said. “In many ways, that first terrible novel is the best thing I’ve ever written, because of everything I learned from it. It taught me a lot about voice and finding my own personal style. Revisions on ‘Butter’ taught me about story structure — keeping the plot tight and making every scene relevant. I learn something new with every book, so my writing is still evolving.”

Erin is currently working on revisions for her next book, “Billy D and the Bully,” which is set to be published in 2013. The story is about the unlikely relationship between a bully on the brink of getting kicked out of school and a younger teen with Down syndrome.

While Erin loves fantastical, dystopian YA, she says the voice in her head tend to be modern teens — relatable and flawed. “When I think of the books that left a lasting impact on me and even shaped who I am today, they are always contemporary stories, and those are the kind of stories I want to tell,” she said.

*Read a complete transcript of Erin’s interview with Cracking the Cover. Read Cracking the Cover’s review of “Butter.”