Thursday, December 6, 2018

Writing Tips & Meet MG/YA Author Deirdra Eden

Before meeting our author, Carpinello's Writing Pages brings readers writing tips from authors interviewed early in 2018. As always, please share your writing tips in the comments.

Get your butt in that chair every day, and get used to staring at a blank page, consider time spent with the blank page well worth it; it’s an investment, it tells control central you’re serious about this writing thing. Copy a passage from a writer you admire, one that really rings your bell and reword it, improve upon it. Builds writing muscle—Rossandra White, author of Monkey's Wedding.

Try to read and write each day. Reading inspires me to write, and vice-versa. Not only does it keep me engaged, it keeps me sharp, too—Kevin Hopson, author of Brinewood.

Don’t give up! That’s the main thing and the most important thing. Also, if you’re stuck on your book or a character or anything, try learning something new. Watch a documentary on the History Channel, learn a new skill, anything. I studied a lot about medieval farming when I was writing The Roar Of A Dragon, and I couldn’t believe how much more material it gave me to write about Aidan. It helped me flesh out his character a great deal. And one last thing—when you’re writing your story, be thinking about that story and what you want to do with it as much as humanly possible—Robert Blanchard, author of The Roar of the Dragon.

And now...


Carpinello's Writing Pages welcomes author Deirdra Eden. I met Deirdra when I was doing a blog tour for Guinevere: At the Dawn of Legend. I liked her books and wanted to introduce her to my readers. She writes middle grade and YA. Welcome, Deirdra!

First, a bit about Deirdra:

Deirdra has spent the last decade captivating audiences of all ages with her novels and fairy tales. She is also a Theological Historian and an artist. Her specialty is paranormal theology that delves into documented historical phenomenon and natural disasters of biblical proportions that entices indulgence of a fine line between fact and fantasy.

She is a Staff and Sword Fighter, Writing Coach, Public Speaker, Archer, and Survival Expert. Deirdra enjoys adventures, legends, and mythology. Deirdra loves adventures, all different kinds of people, kitties and unicorns.

Why did you pick to write books for middle grade and YA readers?

I’ve written a wide variety of genres for my own children as they grow up. I also think about my audience and what the purpose of my book is.

What types of books do you like to read?

I love all types of books. I read everything from children’s fairy tales to academics and scholarly books. I mostly enjoy books that I can learn something from.

  
When you are not writing, what do you like to do? 

I enjoy jousting in arenas, sword fighting and archery, planning invasions, and singing Celtic songs. I also like horseback riding, swimming in the ocean, hiking and camping, climbing trees barefoot, and going on adventures with my family. I love napping with my kitties.


Tell us about The Watchers, Knight of Light and how the story came to be.

The Watchers Series has been described as Braveheart meets Supernatural. The mythology for the series is based on many theological texts from dozens of sects with correlating themes. Ancient writings include the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Traditional Apocrypha, the Pearl of Great Price, and the Kabbalah. The Watchers are supernatural beings in human form whose duty it is to protect and guard mankind from the armies of darkness. Unfortunately, as the Book of Enoch mentions, some of these Watchers go bad.

It is written in a traditional fairy tale style with a young girl's discovery of incredible, but dangerous powers within herself, a cast of humorous side-kicks, a quest for greater self-discovery and purpose, and villains of epic proportions.

Here's a peek at Knight of Light, The Watchers:

In England, 1270 A.D., Aura flees her village after being accused of witchcraft and sentenced to death. Pursued by creatures of darkness, she struggles to accept the truth about her humanity and choose what side of an eternal war she will fight. Filled with fairies, dwarves, pixies, dragons, and epic villains, Knight of Light is an enthralling tale that will capture the imaginations of readers young and old.

Have you written other books? If so, tell us a bit about them.

Yes. This is a seven book series and the first three are already out. In addition to Knight of Light, book 2, Hidden Fire and book 3, Flood and Fire. are also available.

What’s next for your writing? Are you working on a new story?

Yes, I am finishing The Watchers series and working on a few surprise projects.

What advice do you have for other authors?
 
Here is some advice I wish someone would have given me MANY years ago when I first started in the publishing industry.
  • Don't publish the first thing you write. Think of your first book as practice or a prototype book. Your writing skills will change and improve as your practice and learn new techniques. Develop your writing, edit and take the time to create something truly professional before you put it out there for the world to see.
  • Learn to be business minded. Whether you go through a publisher or self-publish, learn to be a smart business person. Learn about contracts, learn how and what to invest in and learn to advertise and market.
  • Join a critique group. I can't even tell you how valuable advice is from someone else besides your friends and parents. Not only can they help you hone your skills, but they can offer advice on the literary business.
  • Watch out for people and publishers looking to take advantage of authors who are desperate to get published.

Anything else you want readers to know?

Always have hope. Fight for your dreams, and never give up.

Where can readers find you and your books?

My website

My books on Amazon 



This interview is also listed on Booktastic Link it up Thursday.
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Wednesday, November 7, 2018

Writing Tips & Meet Author Steve Resnic Tem (better known for his horror stories)

Before getting to our author interview, here are some writing tips from 2017. As always, feel free to leave your own tips in the comments.


Write what inspires you, not what others think you should write. Be yourself, have your own voice. It’s a lot of hard work but if you are sincere in your craft you’ll find there are lots of people who are happy to help you reach your goals—B. Roman, author of The Moon Singer Trilogy.

There are several things I could say but one thing that comes to mind immediately is about reviews. If you get some bad reviews, don’t let them stop you from continuing to write. Yes, it’s disappointing, but it’s just possible that some of those bad reviews might turn out to be very helpful. Try to be objective and see what you can learn from them. The reviews for my first novel, The Ezekiel Code, were nearly equally divided by 4 and 5 star reviews on the upside and 1 and 2 star reviews on the downside. It took me a long time to get over the disappointment of the negative reviews but eventually I began to see that what many of those reviewers had to say was true. I made a concerted effort to learn from them so that my future work would show a marked improvement. I’ve made a lot of headway in that respect, and I’m still working at it—Gary Van Tenuta, author of The Lost Dreamstone.

Always remember to have fun with what you’re doing. If you enjoy what you’re writing, then it will show in your words. This goes for promoting your books too. Be excited and have fun with all the interviews, tweets, posts, and whatever else you do to get people to give your books a chance. Positive energy brings people in. It’s also one of the hardest things to maintain because you will get negative reviews and criticism, so make sure you have a solid support system to pick you up if you stumble. This is where social media can really come in handy because the helpful hands don’t always come from family and pre-author friends—Charles E. Yallowitz, author of Legends of Windemere series.
And now...

Carpinello's Writing Pages welcomes Colorado author Steve Rasnic Tem. Best known for his adult horror and fantasy stories, we are please to help him share his new Middle Grade novel.
 
First, a bit about Steve:

A transplanted Southerner from Lee County Virginia, Steve is a long-time resident of Colorado. He has a BA in English Education from VPI and a MA in Creative Writing from Colorado State, where he studied fiction under Warren Fine and poetry under Bill Tremblay. 
 
His 400 plus published stories, twelve collections, and seven novels have garnered him the British Fantasy Award, the World Fantasy Award, two International Horror Guild Awards, and four Bram Stoker Awards. The best of his stories are collected in Figures Unseen: Selected Stories from Valancourt Books.
 
Why did you pick to write books for the middle-grade?
 
Although I primarily write for adults, I’ve always loved children’s and young adult literature. The best YA and children’s stories possess strong, essential narratives and clear, highly imaginative imagery. So over the years I’ve published a couple of dozen short stories for that market. I’ve always wanted to write a novel about Halloween, and since my clearest memories of Halloween come from my childhood, a middle-grade book really seemed the best way to go.
 
What types of books do you like to read?
 
I read a wide range of literature. In my to-be-read pile are the latest Stephen King, several YA novels, a couple of graphic novels, story collections, and a few nonfiction science books on the subject of climate change.
 
When you are not writing, what do you like to do?
 
I love movies and I usually see three a week in the theater, plus several others on TV and DVD. I also dabble in art: drawing, painting, cartooning. I’m not a professional—I just like to do it, and it helps me work out story ideas visually.
 
Tell us about The Mask Shop of Doctor Blaack and how the story came to be.
 
The Mask Shop of Doctor Blaack is a middle-grade novel about Halloween: A Strange Shop, a Stranger Proprietor, & the Wrong Mask. I started this book many years ago and kept returning to it. I wanted to write about the experience of Halloween from a child’s point-of-view, especially from a girl’s. I have two daughters, three nieces, and five grand-daughters, and their perspective is very important to me. 
 
Here's a peek at The Mask Shop of Doctor Blaack:
 
 
 
 
 
Fall is Laura's favorite time of year, but this autumn, things are different. She's a teenager now, and the season brings new changes and challenges. Laura's decided she's too old for trick-or-treating and wants a more grown-up Halloween experience with her friends. Unfortunately for Laura, her parents tell her she has to take her little brother, Trevor, out trick-or-treating first. When they go shopping for Halloween costumes, they stumble upon a very strange shop and its even stranger proprietor. When Trevor tries on the wrong mask, the consequences are both exciting and dangerous.
 
 
 
 
 
Have you written other books? If so, tell us a bit about them.
 
My previous novels have been for adults. My last novel UBO (Solaris, January 2017) is a dark science fictional tale about violence and its origins, featuring such historical viewpoint characters as Jack the Ripper, Stalin, and Heinrich Himmler. My novel Blood Kin (Solaris, March 2014), which won the 2014 Bram Stoker Award, is about Appalachia in the thirties and features witches and snake handling. And Deadfall Hotel (Solaris, 2012) is about a mysterious hotel where monsters go on vacation. The Man On The Ceiling (Wizards of the Coast Discoveries, 2008) written with my late wife Melanie, is rather unique, a fictional treatment of life and writing, a kind of “biography of the imagination.” A handbook on writing, Yours to Tell: Dialogues on the Art & Practice of Writing, also written with Melanie, appeared in 2017 from Apex Books.
 
What’s next for your writing? Are you working on a new story?
 
I’m always working on a new story—I usually finish between 12 and 15 short stories a year. Lately I’ve been working on two new collections of my short stories: Everything Is Fine Now will be a collection of my stories featuring young adults for Omnium Gatherum Press. That will be out in January. And The Night Doctor & Others from Centipede will collect some of my creepiest stories from the past couple of years. You can expect that later in 2019.
 
What advice do you have for other authors?
 
My best advice is to read 1,000 short stories, but read them carefully. How did the author begin the story? How did the story end? What strategies did the author use to get between those two points? Think about that seriously for 1,000 stories and you will build an inventory of possible story strategies, endings, and beginnings. Oftentimes writers get stuck because they aren’t clear enough as to what the possibilities are.
 
Anything else you want readers to know?
 
If you’re interested in my short stories the best place to start is with Figures Unseen: Selected Stories from Valancourt Books. You can get that on Amazon as an ebook, hardback, paperback, or audiobook. Or order direct from the publisher at http://www.valancourtbooks.com/figures-unseen-2018.html.

Where can readers find you and your books?
 
The easiest thing is to go to www.stevetem.com. There you will find descriptions of the books and links to such retailers as Amazon, Crossroads Press (for ebooks), and Audible. 
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Thursday, September 13, 2018

Writing Tips & Say Hello to MG Author Teresa Funke

Before getting to our author interview, I want to share more writing tips from authors I interviewed in 2016. Hope these inspire you! Please feel free to leave your own tip(s) in the comments.

I must have sent out close to 200 queries to agents and publishers regarding The Legend of Koolura. Finally, Solstice Publishing accepted it in 2011 for publication. So my advice to other authors is to NEVER give up—Michael Thal, author of MG/YA Koolura Series.

Keep going, keep learning, keep developing. Manage your expectations. Only do it if you love it and want to do the best you can—Steve Griffin, author of the MG series The Secret of the Tirthas.

Write because you love it. Write even when you don’t love it. And never doubt that you can make a living doing what you love—Marti Dumas, author of the children's book .

Enjoy writing. Accept that it’s something very, very important to you, something you love doing. Don’t write to be successful or famous. You spend a lot of time, on your own, when you are writing, and you should only do it if it makes you really happy. Otherwise you can waste an awful lot of your life, being alone and feeling miserable—G. L. Wilson, author of Champion's Choice. 


And now...


Carpinello's Writing Pages welcomes back Colorado author and friend Teresa R. Funke. We first met through writers' events, and now we run into each other often. She is one of the most prolific authors I know. Her books—centered on World War II—appeal to a wide range of readers, not just middle grade. Teresa is a frequent speaker at conferences and in classrooms.
 
First, a bit about Teresa:

Teresa Funke is the embodiment of the modern artist/entrepreneur. She is the author of seven award-winning works of fiction for adults and children set in World War II, including Dancing in Combat Boots and War on a Sunday Morning. She is the owner of Victory House Press and successfully produces and markets her own books. She is a nationwide speaker and writer's consultant, and the co-creator of Self-Publishing Blueprint, the only tool you will need to cut through the confusion of self-publishing and save yourself from costly mistakes. Visit www.teresafunke.com to learn more about Teresa and access additional resources for writers of all kinds or read her motivational blog Bursts of Brilliance for a Creative Life.

Why did you pick to write books for MG?
 
I didn’t really choose to write books for middle-grade readers. The readers chose me! I’d never imagined I would write for children, but after my first two books for adults came out, I started getting invited to speak at schools, mostly to fifth grade classrooms about writing and World War II. We rarely got to talking about writing because the students were so fascinated by my stories of the war, a war they knew nothing about.

At one school visit, one girl raised her hand and said, “Mrs. Funke, this is so interesting. Why don’t you write books for kids so we can learn more about the war?” I dismissed her suggestion, telling myself, “I’m not a children’s author.” But within a couple of weeks, I had one of those lightning bolt moments. I knew instantly I was going to write a series of books for middle-grade readers, that it would be called The Home-Front Heroes Series, that each story would be inspired by real people I interviewed, and it would be set in America. I even knew exactly which woman and which story I wanted to start with. I’m grateful every day for the students who encourage me on this journey, the teachers who teach from my books, and the parents and grandparents who buy the books and read them with their kids and grandkids and share their own family stories about the war.

What types of books do you like to read?
 
All types of books. I read an equal amount of fiction and nonfiction, children’s books, memoirs, even poetry. I read about health and wellness, history, the brain, the spirit, the soul. My favorite genre, though, is historical fiction. If I were told I could only read one type of book for the rest of my life, I would choose that genre. And I read tons of books about World War II, of course, and never tire of the subject, not after twenty-seven years of studying the war. I love writers and writing, but I’m kind of odd. There are only a handful of writers in which I have read more than one of their books. There’s so little time, and I want to sample as many writers as I can.

When you are not writing, what do you like to do?
 
Travel. If I could, I’d travel every month. It awakens the senses, makes me more observant, takes my thoughts in new directions, introduces me to new stories and new people. I also love attending the theater and live performances. And if I don’t get my daily walk, I get very grumpy. When I need to unwind, I watch movies. Those are the things I love most, outside of spending time with my family, of course.

Tell us about War on a Sunday Morning and how the story came to be.
 
War on a Sunday Morning is the fifth book in my Home-Front Heroes series set during World War II. It’s loosely based on the memories of two people I’ve interviewed. The first, a woman named Peggy, Baccelli, was a thirteen-year-old Navy officer’s daughter who stood on her front lawn and watched the bombs fall on Pearl Harbor. The second is a Chinese American boy raised in Hawaii who is mistaken for Japanese after the attack in a dangerous encounter. These two children find their paths crossing in the first three tumultuous days following the attack. This is the first time in children’s literature we get the perspective of a military girl. Many Pearl Harbor stories feature male main characters. Even some of my writer friends suggested that what happened to the women and girls on the base after the attack lacked the “drama” of what happened to the men and boys. I knew they were wrong. Women’s history can be fascinating too. And to my satisfaction, both boys and girls are embracing this story and finding it suspenseful in a whole new way.

Here's a peek at War on a Sunday Morning:


Thirteen-year-old Rose Williams has trouble fitting in. Every time her family moves to a new navy base, she wishes she could be more like her fearless brother, Les, and not her usual shy and practical self. On the Sunday morning of December 7, 1941, Rose hears the roar of low-flying planes. From her front yard she watches as Japanese aircraft attack the US ships and naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. While her dad rushes into battle, Rose and her mother take cover. Les is nowhere to be found. Later, with the whole island fearing an enemy invasion, Rose is told to stay inside with the doors locked. But when her friend’s Japanese American father is unjustly arrested and a wounded dog shows up on her doorstep, Rose realizes that—scared or not—everyone must be daring in times of war.
 

Tell us about your other World War II books.
 
My first book, Remember Wake, was a novel based on a true story from World War II. My second book, Dancing in Combat Boots, is a collection of short stories about women in the war, also written for adults. My other five books are all part of my Home-Front Heroes collection for children, a multi-cultural series that shows the various ways diverse communities navigated the constant challenges of life in wartime, and the various ways in which war affects the lives of even common citizens. Doing My Part features a young girl working in a war factory in Illinois, The No-No Boys is set in a Japanese internment camp in California, V for Victory features a Mexican American boy in San Antonio, and Wave Me Good-bye centers around a Jewish girl in the Bronx.

What’s next for your writing? Are you working on a new story?
 
I’m working on the next, and probably last, book in the Home-Front Heroes series. It will be set in Windsor, Colorado, and feature a farm boy whose family employs German POWs to work their fields. Like all my other books, it will be loosely based on the memories of people I’m now interviewing. I’m also working on a compilation of blog entries from my inspirational blog Bursts of Brilliance for a Creative Life. I hope that book will help people tap into their creative sides with no fear and with love and abandon.

What advice do you have for other authors?
 
Write what you love. Period. Don’t write for the markets, don’t write what other people tell you to write, don’t write what you think you should write. Write what you love. Because writing is hard enough. We need that passion to carry us through. We need to feel we are doing what we were put here to do in order to keep going when the blocks come and the rejections roll in, and the doubt cripples. If you are telling the story you fully believe you were meant to write, you’ll stay the course no matter the setbacks. And in the end, it won’t matter if anyone else thinks your baby is cute, you’ll love and be proud of her anyway. She’ll be your greatest accomplishment. Nothing else matters.

Anything else you want readers to know?
 
There are amazing stories in your own family. All you have to do is ask. The people I write about initially protest, “Oh, you don’t want to write about me. I just had an ordinary life.” Then they tell me their “ordinary” stories and I find gold. So ask. Ask your elders, ask your parents, ask your siblings, ask even your children. Then ask your friends and neighbors and the pastor at your church. Listen in grocery store lines, in coffee shops, on buses, because stories are everywhere. If we trust that, there will always be things to write about. We are the eyes, ears, and hearts of our generations. We writers make it possible for people in generations to come to understand how it felt to be alive. It’s noble work. Embrace it.

Where can readers find you and your books?
 
You can find me and my books at www.teresafunke.com. You can order my books on Amazon or most online outlets. Any indie bookstore can order my books. You’ll also find them in World War II museums across the country, including the gift shop at Pearl Harbor.


 
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Tuesday, September 4, 2018

Fiona Ingram's WOW! Women on Writing Tour & Review

Welcome today to Fiona Ingram and the WOW Women on Writing Tour of The Temple of the Crystal Timekeeper. The complete tour schedule can be found at The Muffin/WOW.

Carpinello's Writing Pages is excited to be showcasing this latest book in Fiona's series The Chronicles of the Stone. It is a wonderful adventure for all ages and is great as a read aloud for families. 

I've known Fiona for many years now, and we, along with Wendy Leighton-Porter, make up The Quest Authors. Our combined website is Adventure Quest Books. We all write adventure thriller for Middle Grade readers and even manage to hook more mature readers also! We live in different parts of the world: Cheryl (me) in the USA, Fiona in Cyprus (formerly of South Africa, and Wendy in Abu Dhabi.


Today, though, is all about Fiona, so here we go!


First, a bit about Fiona:

Fiona Ingram is a children’s author, but up until a few years ago, she was a journalist and editor. Something rather unexpected sparked her new career as an author—a family trip to Egypt with her mother and two young nephews. They had a great time and she thought she’d write them a short story as a different kind of souvenir…. Well, one book and a planned book series later, she had changed careers. She has now published Book 3 (The Temple of the Crystal Timekeeper) in her middle grade adventure series Chronicles of the Stone, with many awards for the first book, The Secret of the Sacred Scarab, and a also for Book 2, The Search for the Stone of Excalibur, and one already for Book 3!

Fiona also teaches online novel writing for aspiring authors and finds that very satisfying. Relaxation time finds her enjoying something creative or artistic, music, books, theatre or ballet. She loves doing research for her book series. Fiona loves animals and has written two animal rescue stories. She has two adorable (naughty) little dogs called Chloe and Pumpkin, and a beautiful black cat called Bertie.

You can find Fiona at –

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/secretofthesacredscarab/

Website: www.chroniclesofthestone.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/FionaRobyn

Author Site: http://www.FionaIngram.com

Blog: http://fionaingramauthor.blogspot.com

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2868182.Fiona_Ingram

Quest Books: http://www.adventurequestbooks.com


About the Book:

A plane crash! Lost in the jungle! Hunted by their old enemy, will Adam, Justin, and Kim survive long enough to find the Third Stone of Power? With only a young boy, Tukum, as their guide, the kids make their way through the dense and dangerous jungle to find the lost city of stone gods, where the Stone of Power might be located. River rafting on a crocodile-infested river and evading predators are just part of this hazardous task. Of course, their old adversary Dr. Khalid is close behind as the kids press on. But he is not the worst of their problems. This time Adam will clash with a terrible enemy who adopts the persona of an evil Aztec god, Tezcatlipoca, and is keen to revive the ancient tradition of human sacrifice. Adam, Justin, and Tukum must play a dreadful ball game of life and death and maybe survive. Will they emerge alive from the jungle? Will Dr. Khalid find the third Stone of Power before they do?




My Review:




The Chronicles of the Stone series is an adventure-filled ride for middle graders and adults. In Book 1—The Secret of the Sacred Scarab—readers travel through the land of the pharaohs and across the steamy deserts of the mysterious Egypt with Justin and Adam as they search for the first Stone and face a deadly enemy.





In Book 2—The Search for the Stone of Excalibur—readers find themselves dodging not only their enemy Dr. Khalid, but a group called the Eaters of Poison as the boys, joined by young Kim, attempt to capture the second Stone of Power.








Now, in Book 3—The Temple of the Crystal Timekeeper—Fiona once again literally drops readers and her intrepid young seekers of the Stones in the jungles of exotic Mexico where they encounter a familiar enemy and attract the unwanted attention of Smoking Mirror, an enemy who may be even more deadly than Dr. Khalid. Led by one no older than they, the three flee deeper in the jungle as young Tukum vows to led them to the hidden city and possibly the third stone. Be prepared to be thrust into the little known culture of the Aztec, the Mayan, and the uncontacted people in this latest non-stop adventure!


I enjoyed catching up with this group of young adventurers. Non-stop action, danger around every turn, as well as the magic and mystery surrounding the ancient jungles and people of Mexico will be sure to keep readers turning pages. I can't wait to see where we will travel to next!

You can find The Temple of the Crystal Timekeeper and all of Fiona's Chronicles of the Stones books at these and all on-line book sellers:

Amazon US

B&N
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Thursday, August 9, 2018

Writing Tips & Middle Grade Author Jessie Janowitz

Welcome! Before we meet our author, here are some writing tips from authors I interviewed in August and September, 2016. As always, feel free to leave your own tips in the comments.

Don't waste any time. I came late to writing and wish I could have started in my teens—Silke Stein, author of Trina Bell's Humming Summer.

Write what’s close to you—Suzanne de Montigny, author of the Shadow of the Unicorn series.

 Know why you write and be passionate about following your "Why", for you will encounter many times of discouragement when only your "why" will see you through. Always know, if you're not passionate about your "why" no one else will be either—L.R.W. Lee, author of Andy Smithton: Vision of the Griffin's Heart.

 The best advice I can give is write daily, even if it’s only a few paragraphs and read every chance you get—Steve Altier, author of Lizardville - The Ghost Story.

And now

Carpinello's Writing Pages welcomes Jessie Janowitz, a first time middle grade author.

First, a bit about Jessie:

Jessie Janowitz is a graduate of Princeton University’s undergraduate creative writing program and holds a J.D. from University of Pennsylvania Law School. She’s currently enrolled in the Writing for Children MFA program at Vermont College of Fine Arts. This is her debut novel. She lives in New York City with her husband and three children.

Why did you pick to write books for Middle Grade readers?

Two of my kids are in middle school, and I wanted to write the kind of books that they can never get enough of: family stories with a mix of humor and heart.

 What types of books do you like to read?


Almost all books for kids. Mostly realistic fiction. I love good historical fiction, particularly ones with a bit of mystery. I love Gennifer Choldenko’s middle grade books, like Al Capone Does My Shirts and Chasing Secrets.

When you are not writing, what do you do?

I’m hanging out with my kids. I have three. I listen to a LOT of audiobooks. I just listened to The Hazel Wood with my kids, and I highly recommend it. I also love to travel with my family. Our last big trip was to India. It was magical, particularly the Himalayas, where we visited Buddhist monasteries.

Tell us about The Doughnut Fix and how the story came to be.

The Doughnut Fix is the story of a 12-year-old boy’s quest to start his own doughnut business in the tiny upstate NY town to which his family has moved from NYC.

There were two real sparks that set me on the path to writing The Doughnut Fix. Strangely perhaps, neither was a doughnut.

Spark #1: Back in 2008--I incubate stories for a long time before I put pen to paper--I witnessed kids being pulled from my son's school mid-year. It was during the financial crisis, and these families' circumstances had changed so drastically and suddenly that they had to leave their homes and community. It was clear that these kids sensed something had gone terribly wrong, but they were never told the complete story. Moving can be traumatic enough, and I wondered what that experience would be like if the decision was taken suddenly, and you knew you weren't getting all the facts.

Spark #2: This sign is in the window of a small market in a very small town I drive through all the time. It always made me laugh and wonder what the story behind it might be. There was something about the store, one that had seen better days, that made me suspect that it didn’t actually have chocolate cream doughnuts, which made the sign so much better, not as a potential doughnut source, of course, but as story material. A lying sign really got my imagination going.

Here's a peek at The Doughnut Fix:

Tristan isn't Gifted or Talented like his sister Jeanine, and he's always been okay with that because he can make a perfect chocolate chip cookie and he lives in the greatest city in the world. But his life takes a turn for the worse when his parents decide to move to middle-of-nowhere Petersville―a town with one street and no restaurants. It's like suddenly they're supposed to be this other family, one that can survive without bagels and movie theaters.

His suspicions about his new town are confirmed when he's tricked into believing the local general store has life-changing chocolate cream doughnuts, when in fact the owner hasn't made them in years. And so begins the only thing that could make life in Petersville worth living: getting the recipe, making the doughnuts, and bringing them back to the town through his very own doughnut stand. But Tristan will soon discover that when starting a business, it helps to be both Gifted and Talented, and It's possible he's bitten off more than he can chew...

What’s next for your writing? Are you working on a new story?

I’m at work on the sequel to The Doughnut Fix and can’t wait to share it with readers. It will be released in the spring.

What advice do you have for other authors?

Keep going! Revision is a powerful tool, an essential one, but it can also be your enemy. Don’t try to revise until you get to the end. If you keep tinkering on your way to the end of your story, you may never get there. Embrace the flawed first draft!

Anything else you want readers to know?

Yes! I believe (and have observed) kids really responding to the sense of empowerment that my main character Tris attains through his struggle to start his own doughnut business. In fact, it’s inspired me to launch The Doughnut Fix Start-Your-Own-Business Challenge (https://www.jessiejanowitz.com/start-your-own-business-challenge) so they can experience a bit of that for themselves. There’s an activity kit and a chance to win a prize!

Where can readers find you and your books?

Anywhere books are sold--Barnes and Noble, Amazon, IndieBound, Bam!, etc. To find out more about me and my work, you can visit me on jessiejanowitz.com, Twitter, or Facebook.
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Wednesday, June 13, 2018

Writing Tips & Meet the Author Duo of HL Carpenter

Welcome back! As always, I am sharing writing tips from authors I interviewed in 2016. Hope these inspire you! Please feel free to leave your own tip(s) in the comments.
The best advice I was given and can pass along is to read widely from the best books, not only in the genre(s) you want to write, but the classics, too. We all absorb patterns of language while reading, so you ought to read the best. While you're reading, write every single day, even if it's only vague notes or a very rough draft. The only way to learn to write well is to write a LOT of words. I wrote story after story and two complete novels (never published, thank goodness) before I ever sold my first short story (about 500,000 total words in seven years). That was back in the "olden days" (1980's and 1990's) and I collected over 600 rejection letters before that first acceptance. No, that's not a typo!—Katy Huth Jones author of the YA fantasy Mercy's Prince.

Write what you love despite the trends. If your heart is in it, the reader will love it too—Rita Monette author of the MG adventure The Curse at Pirate's Cove.

 Always get your facts straight. And never embellish unless you have to (blush)—N.A. Cauldron author of the children's story Anya and the Secrets of Cupola,

And now for our author interview!

Carpinello's Writing Pages welcomes the writing team of HL Carpenter and their unique Middle Grade stories.

Here's a bit about HL Carpenter:

 Hello, Cheryl! Thanks for sharing your blog space with us! We're happy to be here!

And hello readers! We're delighted you're here! We're HL Carpenter, a mother/daughter author duo. We write family-friendly fiction from our studios in Carpenter Country, a magical place that, like our stories, is unreal but not untrue.


Why did you choose to write books for middle grade and young adult readers?

We're not sure we chose to do that so much as our work simply evolved in that direction. Our books span genres and can be hard to pin down to a particular age group. All our books do have signature similarities: a strong, practical, intelligent female protagonist, a steadfast friend or two with a sense of humor, and a supportive if exasperating family or family substitute. They're all "clean" too. You won't find explicit sex, violence, or foul language in our stories. While we don't whitewash reality—our characters go through real struggles and their worlds are not all helpful chirping bluebirds and good shoes—we strive to create a world where readers of any age are welcome.

What types of books do you like to read?

Probably easier to say which types we don't read—if we could think of any. We're voracious readers. We like books of all genres: Historical, contemporary, mystery, fantasy, self-help, how-to. Sometimes we read two or three different genres at once, in different formats, with one on the e-reader, another in hard copy, and a third in audio version.

When you are not writing, what do you like to do?

Besides reading, we love the outdoors. We garden, bird-watch, walk, and journal the activities of the wildlife in Carpenter Country.

Tell us about The Ghost in The Gardens and how the story came to be.

The Ghost in The Gardens sprouted from an article we read about a small botanical garden and a woman who spent her entire working career cataloguing the plants in that single garden. Her dedication was inspiring, and we were awed by the variety of plant life in such a small area and how difficult finding a particular plant is.

Here's a peek at The Ghost in The Gardens:

I had the future planned out.

The ghost was not in the plan.

After the first visit, I still didn't really believe in ghosts. But when she came back the second time, I had to change my mind. I hadn't been dreaming and I wasn't crazy. The only other alternative was: I had seen a ghost.

I started researching ghost visitations. What made them stick around in this world? How did they choose who to haunt? Why had no one ever caught a legitimate sighting on video or made a recording?

Mostly what I learned was that people argued a lot about whether ghosts existed. People who believed in ghosts liked other people who believed in ghosts. People who didn't believe in ghosts thought people who did were crazy.

I was not crazy.

Finding out the answers to my questions about ghosts should have been easy. I had my own personal ghost to ask. But every time she visited me, I couldn't say a word. My thoughts got all tangled and my breath stuck in my throat and I got dizzy. Having my own personal ghost was not helpful. The visits were...creepy. Like are-you-here-because-I'm-going-to-die creepy. Maybe the creep factor was why no one had ever documented a ghost.

I shivered, though I hadn't seen the ghost in hours and cheerful sunlight warmed the early June morning. The Water Garden, a magical green fairyland of trickling streams and arched bridges, closed in around me. Shadows shifted. Bushes rustled.

I'd never seen a ghost before, not even when my dad died. Why had one decided to haunt me now?

"Just lucky, I guess," I said. "What do you think, Barkley?"

My long-legged Schnauzer scratched his ear with his hind foot. 

Have you written other books? If so, tell us a bit about them.

Yeah, we've written a few others. We're compulsive and we can't stop ourselves from writing new stories. :) Counting The Ghost in The Gardens, we currently have eight published works.





Jack and The Fountain of Youth: a new-adult novella about a girl who helps a young man rediscover the fountain of youth so he can reverse the spell he's been under for 500 years.
 






 The SkyHorse: a fantasy about a girl who finds a mysterious egg that hatches into a flying horse.









 Walled In: the story of Vandy Spencer, a teenager who has everything—and then discovers her father has been involved in a massive fraud.










 Pirate Summer: the story of a teen who has to travel back in time two hundred years to save her brother.








Dream Stealer: a fantasy novelette about a teenager who is expected to carry on the family business of stealing dreams, even though she doesn't want to.










 A Cause for Murder: a cozy mystery novel featuring a septuagenarian sleuth who solves a murder at her retirement community.









The Demise of Fyne Literature: a short story about fighting the demons within.





What's next for your writing? Are you working on a new story?

We're taking a brief break as we begin introducing The Ghost in The Gardens to the world.

In terms of writing work-in-process calling for our attention, we're waiting to hear back from a publisher on a cozy mystery, we're nearly done with the first draft of a themed collection of short stories, and we're in the revision stage of a collection of contemporary satire. We have a futuristic novella ready for re-release, and a couple of completed cozies for adult readers that we're thinking of publishing as a series, along with novellas featuring the same characters.


What advice do you have for other authors?

Write what you enjoy writing. Find your trigger—that is, find a theme or a plot or a character that sparks your imagination and makes you smile. If you try to write what's popular or what sells, your writing will suffer. Ask how we know—go ahead! :)

If you have a story to tell, tell it. Then put it in a drawer and go study authors whose books you love. Ask yourself what draws you to those stories. Write or type out passages that resonate with you. After a couple of months of immersing yourself in your favorite books, take your manuscript out of storage, and read it with fresh eyes. Revise it based on what you've learned. Repeat the process at least once more.


Anything else you want readers to know?

Once upon a time, we shared Carpenter Country with a horse whose sire was a movie star. But that's a story for another day.


Where can readers find you and your books?

The central hub for all Carpenter Country adventures is HLCarpenter.com, where you'll find links to our social media and author pages, free reads, audio excerpts, reader's guides, and photo-essay updates of the latest happenings in our neck of the human experience.


Release date for The Ghost in The Gardens: June 17, 2018

Pre-order links:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Gardens-HL-Carpenter-ebook/dp/B07CV2GJZY/

Mirror World (ebook): https://mirror-world-publishing.myshopify.com/collections/juvenile/products/the-ghost-in-the-gardens-e-book

Mirror World (paperback print): https://mirror-world-publishing.myshopify.com/collections/juvenile/products/the-ghost-in-the-gardens-paperback



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Thursday, May 10, 2018

Writing Tips & YA Author Robert Blanchard

Before meeting our author, I wanted to share with you some tips from other authors I've interviewed in the past two years. Hope these inspire you! Please feel free to leave your own tip in the comments.

Find something that makes you want to write. For me, it was a beautiful, blue hardcover notebook that made me want to write The Enchanted Rose. For Robin: Lady of Legend, it was watching yet another Robin Hood movie that didn’t seem to add anything new to the existing mythology. Find something that gets your blood up, that makes you want to write and write, and then hold it close to your heart until your story is done—R. M. ArceJaeger, YA author of Robin: Lady of Legend, The Enchanted Rose

Keep writing, even if you are discouraged. Even if it feels like no one cares about your words, and even if they did, they suck like a herd of anteaters at an anthill buffet. (By the way—did you know a herd of anteaters is actually called an armory? Well, now you do. You’re welcome!) No one grows as a writer if they quit trying. And, yes, I’ve had to take my own advice. Often—S. J. Henderson, MG author of Daniel Camp-er.


And now for our author interview! 
 
Carpinello's Writing Pages welcomes Robert Blanchard, a YA Fantasy author. Read on to learn about his unusual family.

Here's a bit about Robert Blanchard:

Oh boy, here we go. (ha! ha!)  My name is Robert Blanchard, and I am the youngest of eight children.  I have never met or seen my siblings – my mother moved here from Thailand to marry my father.  I was born and raised in Saratoga Springs, NY.  I dropped out of high school at 17, but got my GED in 2008.  I have two boys (15 and 9) and an 19-year-old autistic stepson whose life I have been in since he was three.  They are my life and I love them dearly.  My career in writing came to the forefront when I became sick with a vestibular condition in 2008.  Too dizzy and lightheaded to do much else, I turned to my hobby of writing.  The rest is history, as they say!

Why did you pick to write books for YA?

I write YA because I feel like I can write something kind of edgy, but educational about life.  I believe if you write something for anyone other than adults, there has to be some kind of moral lesson or something to be learned.  It doesn’t have to be preachy or anything like that, it can be very subtle.  You can learn a life lesson from the smallest things sometimes.


What types of books do you like to read?

I like to read fantasy, autobiographies, mysteries, all types of stuff.  My favorite series is Dragonlance, but I’ve also read the Resident Evil series (I was a big fan of the games), all of The Silence of the Lambs books, the Harry Potter series, and I’ve also read a lot of Sherrilyn Kenyon.  I think she’s just great.



When you are not writing, what do you like to do?

I take care of the four dogs that think they live here or something, I maintain the house and do as many chores as I can.  Sometimes I read, play my Xbox, and I watch a lot of YouTube.  Not much else – my life isn’t very exciting. Up until recently, I was making videos on YouTube as well.


Tell us about The Roar of a Dragon and how the story came to be.

Well, as stated earlier, I started writing much more frequently when I got sick and dizzy all the time.  The Roar Of A Dragon was an on-and-off project for about eight years before that, and after I got sick, I finished the book in about three years. The Roar Of A Dragon follows a young farmer named Aidan as he follows his dream to become a knight of Delmar.

Here's a peek at The Roar of a Dragon:

A mere farmer in a small village, young Aidan has always dreamed of being a knight in the White Army of Delmar, an anti-dragon country.

Despite his poor background, his dream comes true following a chance encounter with a bully knight, and thrilled to now be a soldier, Aidan works hard and pushes towards his dream of becoming a knight.

Yet one day, Aidan pays the ultimate price after he saves a baby dragon as it is tormented by his fellow soldiers. For this, Aidan is exiled, and on his way out of the country, he is killed. But for Aidan, death was only the beginning.

Waking up three thousand years later, watched over by the very dragon he saved, Aidan is disturbed. With an altered appearance and unstable magical powers he didn’t have before, he is horrified to find that the world has been taken over by an ancient evil that started in Delmar not long after his death.

With the help of a time-traveling wizard apprentice and the dragon, Aidan must travel back in time to save the world from this harrowing evil.

But after his bitter exile, does he really want to?

Have you written other books? If so, tell us a bit about them.

Yes, I have! The sequel to The Roar Of A Dragon, The Treachery Of A Weasel, is written and I’m just waiting on the cover, which a good friend of mine is working on. Of course, the story continues after the events of The Roar Of A Dragon as Aidan and his friends continue on their quest to stop Sirak. Unfortunately, a missing companion grinds their plans to a halt and sends Aidan into a downward spiral.

 What’s next for your writing? Are you working on a new story?

I’m about halfway through a story called Hood, which follows a homeless teenager who attempts to fight crime in his city. I’ve also started a zombie apocalypse book where the outbreak is started by chemical warfare between countries. I wrote the bulk of it during NaNoWriMo last year. I love zombie apocalypse stuff, and I’m looking forward to finishing that one. If anyone would like to check out previews of The Roar of a Dragon, The Treachery Of A Weasel, or Hood, they can read the first three chapters of each on Other Worlds.

 What advice do you have for other authors?

Don’t give up! That’s the main thing and the most important thing. Also, if you’re stuck on your book or a character or anything, try learning something new. Watch a documentary on the History Channel, learn a new skill, anything. I studied a lot about medieval farming when I was writing The Roar Of A Dragon, and I couldn’t believe how much more material it gave me to write about Aidan. It helped me flesh out his character a great deal. And one last thing—when you’re writing your story, be thinking about that story and what you want to do with it as much as humanly possible.


Anything else you want readers to know?

Absolutely! I want them to know that I appreciate all the love and support, especially those of my friends and family, who never gave up on me. I appreciate the ratings on Goodreads and Amazon, the reviews (both positive and negative)!

Where can readers find you and your books?
My website is Other Worlds, and you can buy The Roar Of A Dragon there, or you can buy it at Rowanvale Books or on Amazon! It’s available in paperback or ebook, and also now on audiobook at Amazon or ACX!

If you’d like to contact me, you can do so on my author page on Facebook, on my website, or on Twitter. You can also follow The Roar Of A Dragon and The Treachery Of A Weasel on Facebook! Thank you so much for taking the time to read my work!
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