About the Book

Book: Offsides

Author: Lori Z. Scott

Genre: Contemporary YA fiction

Release Date: October 19, 2023

Danielle Stephens expected her senior year to be challenging, with her final season of soccer, a strained friendship, and a new crush. But she didn’t expect to uncover a human trafficking ring in her town. When an older man seems to be grooming her young neighbor, Dani is determined to keep the girl safe. Little does she know, but there is more at stake than one life. And if Dani doesn’t watch her back, she could be the next victim.

Offsides is like a Christian version of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder but set on the soccer field.

Click here to get your copy!

Author Interview

Do you set a plot or prefer going wherever an idea takes you?

I prefer a little bit of both. I write a simple outline– usually a short paragraph for every chapter through the end. This gives me a starting place to grow the book one chapter at a time. That’s the plotter side of me. However, as I write, the characters take on lives of their own, and they hijack the plot. That happens often with me, but I don’t believe I am alone in this phenomenon. That’s the pantser part of me. If the plot does change, I rework the outline starting with the current chapter and working my way to the end. Then I continue to work until another plot surprise surfaces.

What, according to you, is the hardest thing about writing?

For me, marketing is the hardest part about writing. I can sit for hours writing stories and poems and articles, but recording videos, developing promotional material, and building my platform is difficult. Because when I do those things, I don’t feel like I’m “writing” even though I understand the integrated relationship between what we create and how we share our creation.

What would you say is the easiest aspect of writing?

None of it is easy, but that’s kind of what makes it fun. I enjoy challenges. Like, I really enjoy editing. I know that sounds weird, but I believe that’s where the magic of the story happens. But the easiest aspect of writing? Hmmm. Got it. Don’t laugh. Creating a pitch. Because those are super short, and I usually start with a seed of an idea. So i can just take the seed and tweak it.

Do you pen down revelations and ideas as you get them, right then and there?
Do you need to be in a specific place or room to write, or you can just sit in the middle of a café full of people and write?
When did it dawn upon you that you wanted to be a writer?

Doesn’t everyone secretly want to be a writer from birth?

Just kidding. I have actually always enjoyed writing, especially poetry. And I wrote quirky articles for my high school newspaper. But I typically tell people I’m an accidental writer because my path to publication strays from the norm.

My passion started when I took a hiatus from teaching elementary school to raise my kids. One day while at the library, I stumbled onto a flyer for a science fiction writing contest. Since writing a story beats changing diapers any day, I cranked out 5000 words. Mailed my story in.

And won second place.

Don’t be too impressed—there were probably only two entries.

The day I learned about my win, I also received a notice from my MOPS international magazine (called MomSense) advertising an International Story Writing Contest. So I entered. And I won.

That contest had hundreds of entries.

After that, a friend encouraged me to attend a writing conference. But conferences were expensive, and we didn’t have the money for it. Never very good at asking for things, I said, “God, if you want me to go, you’re going to have to provide the funds I need through what I publish.” At that time, the money I made from writing came from devotionals and short stories that paid $10-$25 a pop.

Do you know I earned the conference fee almost to the exact penny?

From that conference, I got my first book contract. And now… here we are.

So, as a roundabout way to answer your question, I decided to be a writer at the age of 34 when I entered a tiny little science fiction contest and something burst into life in my mind.

How long does it usually take you to write a book?

That depends on the book. My shorter, early chapter books took around 6 months from draft to edit. The first YA book, Inside the Ten-Foot Line took around a year to write and a few months to edit. The second book, Offsides took 6 weeks to write, mostly because I was on deadline for that one. I wrote for six hours a day at the minimum. And I’ve been toying with a speculative fiction book for several years. I work on it when my other projects are done. I’d love to shop that book around to the right publisher. It’s This Present Darkness meets Stranger Things.

Where do you get your ideas for your books?
What is your work schedule/routine when you write?

I teach full time and I help run our after school daycare program. That means writing time must be organized. I make a list of goals and prioritize them by deadline. When I can carve out time either before work or late in the evening, I dive headfirst into whichever project tops the list. I usually begin re-reading and editing what I finished the night before, which allows me to flow into whatever I’m writing next. I also create a week’s worth of social media content in a two hour block of time on the weekend so I don’t have to think about it during the week.

Do bits of yourself/friends show up in your characters?

Yes, a little bit of myself and my family and friends show up in the personalities of my characters. I mean, writers are people watchers. We notice actions and reactions, quirks and personality types. And I’m a teacher, so I interact with hundreds of students a day. Multiply that by 25 years, and I’ve probably experienced hundreds of levels of emotions. Keep in mind, I never actually take someone I know and put them in a book. I make up the characters. But yes, they may have traits based on real people—sometimes a mashup of several people. I often borrow real names though, especially when I come across one I really like. In this book, Offsides, I have a good friend with a daughter named Dani who played soccer. Dani has little in common with my fictional protagonist, but that first name was just too perfect not to use!

Anything else you'd like to share?

Yes, you can find out more about me and my books:

Instagram @Stories.by.Lori

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Lori.Z.Scott

Website https://www.lori-z-scott.com

Order the book on Amazon https://tinyurl.com/ba75jjs8

or at End Game Press https://www.endgamepress.com/store/p/offsides or other book outlets.

About the Author

Wheaton College graduate Lori Z. Scott accidentally wrote the 10-book bestselling Meghan Rose series. On purpose, she wrote more than 200 short stories, articles, essays, poems, and devotions for magazines like Brio and Focus on the Family. She has also contributed to 15 books, including Writing and Selling Children’s Books in the Christian Market.

As has been her practice for over 25 years, Lori is fully invested in teaching elementary students during the day. However, most nights you can find her typing away behind the keyboard. She figures that makes writing her superpower… especially since she knows how to use a delete key.

In 2022, Lori introduced an award-winning novel, Inside the Ten-Foot Line, the first installment in her new young adult series. In addition, she has led writing workshops for local ACFW and SCBWI chapters, conducted school visits, served as a guest speaker for Story Embers podcasts, and presented at virtual writing conferences. She’s never really sure if the crowd is impressed by her interactive presentations or by the fact that she can write and draw forwards and backwards with both hands at the same time.

More from Lori

Let’s start with the why behind the series in general. In the early 2000s, I published a bestselling chapter book series—sort of like the Christian version of Junie B. Jones. Then, because of some unexpected life circumstances, I stopped writing for about 7 years. After encouragement from my mom and my daughter and a phone call with an editor from Pockets Magazine, I decided to return to writing. But I wanted to try something new.

I thought about the things I love that I could write about. Sports came to the top of the list since I competed in volleyball, track, swimming, softball, and basketball and my children played soccer. I went to the library to see what was out there and found some great sports novels, many by Mike Lupica. He tackled interesting themes—characters dealing with real-life issues that readers could relate to whether or not they were part of a team.

However, the book offerings for women athletes? Very slim pickings. I mean… there were a few. But they didn’t have the depth I craved in a book. And, as my daughter always says, “Mom, you’re a writer. If you can’t find the book you want, write it yourself.”

So that’s how the series in general was born. I envisioned a story for each sport that reached beyond the court to encompass a broader audience. Stories that grappled with universal emotions, dreams, and challenges. The first book in the series, Inside the Ten-Foot Line, did well with critics. It won the Golden Scroll Award for youth fiction book of the year, an Illumination Book Award, was a semi-finalist for the Carol Awards, and a finalist for the Director’s Choice Award. I figure that’s a promising start!

Now, more specifically—the inspiration behind the story Offsides

Okay, big breath for me here, because I felt God’s nudging to write it, and I told Him no. Just outright no. But… who tells God no? I mean, based on my writing journey, I trusted that He knew best the paths I should take. Always. So why did I say no?

Let me give you a little history. In 2022, End Game Press invited me to write Offsides, the second book in my series. However, when I submitted my detailed plot, they came back and said it was too similar to another book they planned on publishing and asked me to develop something different. I took the problem to my critique group, and one of the girls who works with her church to recover victims of human trafficking suggested that I write a story where the characters must confront this issue.

I got sick to my stomach just thinking about it. And I dismissed the idea. Like, immediately.

And I had good excuses to say no. No, I didn’t know enough about the problem. No, human trafficking was too horrifying to research. No, what teenager wants to read about this sick topic? And my biggest objection–No! I wrote humor.

But God kept pressing me on this idea. And pressing me. And pressing me. News reports. Conversations at work. Ads on T.V. Social media posts. The idea would bubble up in my prayers and haunt me when I went to bed.

So, I finally said yes and wrote the book. Not surprisingly, in the process, I discovered a yes for every no I’d voiced.

I didn’t know enough about the problem, but, yes, I learned. The research was horrifying, but yes, I also found hope, especially within Christian organizations who help recover victims

Yes… teens should read about human trafficking to make themselves aware of the danger and to take steps to protect themselves and their friends. And yes, talking about human trafficking could be done in an age-appropriate way. Best of all, as heavy as the topic was, the story still contained humor. Because high school is like that—serious, but also fun and entertaining.

I really like the relationships between the characters too. There’s something powerful about their interactions. The protagonist, Dani, is a huge introvert, and her social anxiety plays into how the plot unfolds. Her character resonated with a lot of my beta readers who also experienced struggles with feelings that they don’t quite fit in.

One teary-eyed reader asked me how I was able to tap into Dani’s emotions so deeply and accurately. I was like—hey, I’m a teacher. I see insecurities in people all the time. And at some point, we’ve all been there—even me. In the lonely. In the awkward. In the search for belonging. In the hurt. We need each other. And we need faith.

Anyway, that’s how Offsides was born. With a nudge that turned into a pressing need to tell a story. About a difficult topic, true. But even more valuable because of that. The book ended up being a little bit like A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder but set on the soccer field.

If any readers want to use Offsides for a book club, I have a study guide I can email them for free. I also have a free collection of ten devotions for athletes for interested readers. To get either one or both, DM me on my Instagram account at @Stories.by.Lori