Writer's Tip and Meet YA Author Jess Frankel

Welcome to Carpinello's Writing Pages. This week brings more writing tips from our authors in addition to introducing a new author this week. You be amazed at where this author has spent the last 30+ years! But first, our writing tips. As always, be sure to leave your favorite tip in the comments for our readers/writers.

Writing isn't easy! It takes time and dedication, sometimes pushing you to the very edge. Keep working and find something that helps keep your mind in the writing zone so you don't get off track.  For me, it's different types of music or just speaking to my sister so I can bounce my ideas off of her...Alica Rivoli, author of the MG fantasy Mere Enchantment.

I think the most important thing is to make writing fun. You must enjoy what you’re doing to do it well. So take a subject you adore and write about it. Every day. Until you know it’s right. On days I don’t feel like writing, I read over the last few chapters and immediate I start to edit and rewrite; since I’m a bit of a perfectionist, that always gets me in the proper mood...J.C. Whyte, author of Karmac.

It helps to have a very thick skin and learn not to take rejection personally.

Also, write for the correct reasons. You need to write because it is your passion, not because you think it is a path to riches.

Make sure that your book is ready before jumping into the publishing process. Self-published books need to be professionally edited and of very high quality if you wish to compete with the mainstream books on the market. The book market has been flooded with masses of books in recent years and you really need to deliver a good quality product if you hope to achieve commercial success...Louise Lintvelt, author of Diary of a Dancing Drama Queen.

And Now,

Please welcome YA author Jess Frankel

to Carpinello's Writing Pages

Here's a bit about Jess Frankel:

I was born in Toronto, Canada, a long time ago, and after graduating university with a BA (double major) in political science and English literature, I worked for a bus company for three years and then somehow ended up in Japan where I’ve lived for the past thirty-something years! I married a lovely lady from Osaka, we have two children, and I make my living by teaching ESL and writing at night. Some of my best known novels are the Catnip series, The Titans of Ardana, The Auctioneer, and Apocalyptia.


Why did you pick to write books for Young Adults?

I write both MG as well as YA, but stick to YA for the most part. I find that the genre itself is a very fast-moving one, something fresh and immediate, and it’s exciting. I can let my mind go free and travel anywhere. That kind of genre is practically limitless in what you can write about.


What types of books do you like to read, and what do you do when you are not writing?

When I’m not writing, I watch movies—big superhero fan—and listen to various kinds of music to relax. That’s about it.

Tell us about Apocalyptia and how the story came to be.

Apocalyptia is a YA thriller about the discovery of a computer code that could trigger Armageddon. I wrote it because these days, everything is done by computer, and while they don’t control our lives, they play an integral part in them. Cyber warfare is nothing new, and taken to extremes, it can spell disaster. That’s what I wanted to explore.

Here's a peek at Apocalyptia:

An unreadable code. A secret too big to keep. An idea people will kill for.

Ed Sawyer, seventeen, is one of those ignored types at his school. A nerd hopelessly obsessed with all things cinematic, he lives for his next flick. He’s matched by Linda Usher, a classmate who is also into movies, as well as computer coding and hacking.

On the last day of school before summer vacation, Ed is given a flash drive by a dying man. He sees a code on it, and Linda, for all her genius, can’t decipher it, either. They are soon pursued by not only domestic terrorists—ex-members of the Department of Defense—but also by Russian agents who are after the same thing.

It seems that the creator of the program, Harry Haskins, devised it as the ultimate smart bomb, the ultimate tool for controlling the internet and every single computer program around, including those of defense.

It’s a secret that the wrong people will kill for, and Ed and Linda have to go on the run from those who would capture and kill them—and that includes citizens as well!

Only Linda has the knowledge to prevent such a catastrophe from happening. The only question is whether the duo can remain alive long enough to deliver the goods to the right people.

How do you go about researching for your stories?

I read a lot of different articles on the Internet, and then, if I don’t know, I ask those who do. For fantasy, I rely on my own imagination, but for real-world things such as computer programs, medicine, certain diseases and their symptoms, research is integral. I’ve found that readers will forgive you for certain lapses in narrative or inconsistencies in plot, but if you make a mistake on something technical, they’ll definitely call you on it!


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

I’ve written about thirty-five other novels. Many of them deal with aliens, alien worlds, have lots of action and some romance. I don’t see why a writer can’t combine action and romance in a story and do both aspects well.

Some of novels, as mentioned above, are Catnip, which deals with transgenics, monsters, mad scientists, and so on.
 Master Fantastic is all about elemental magic. The Associate, its sequels, The Sindicate, and Stand-In, are all about superheroes, but not written in a conventional way. A little twist here and there makes them special! Check ‘em out, please!


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

Right now, I’m working on a story about a young man going blind who develops psychometric powers—the ability to ‘read’ impressions from objects he touches. I finished it the other day, and since it’s just the first draft, it’s all very rough, but I’m having fun with it.

What advice do you have for other authors?

As trite as it sounds, I’d say write with your heart, edit without one, and be as objective as possible. Also, don’t let rejection get you down. I was rejected over a hundred times before someone took a chance on me. I’m not famous or wealthy—darn—but I am productive, and I have hopes that my books will increase in their popularity.


Anything else you want readers to know?

Just that I’d like to thank you, Cheryl, for allowing me this interview. Also, I hope that readers will take a chance on someone who’s not a big name but who writes a good story that is entertaining as well as informative.

Where can readers find you and your books?

Facebook
Goodreads
Twitter


Amazon Author Page

Meet MG Author J. C. Whyte

Carpinello's Writing Pages welcomes Middle Grade author J. C. Whyte. J. C. is a fellow MuseItUp author celebrating her first book Karmack.

J. C. tell us how you started writing.

When I was eleven, my 6th grade teacher gave the class an assignment to write a poem dealing with an American sport. I knew my classmates would probably choose a popular sport like baseball or football, so I decided to compose a poem about golf. To my surprise, the teacher found it comical and encouraged me to keep writing. So I did.

Then over summer break, students were told to choose 26 books from a reading list and write a book report on each. BLAH! I wanted to enjoy my summer, not spend it reading! Back then, I was a very slow reader and didn’t much enjoy the experience. Plus, kids didn’t have the fun books which are on the market today. But that wise teacher told my mother I could write 26 stories instead of reading them. That was absolute genius. Although I didn’t actually write 26 stories (perhaps six?), I submitted one which made my teacher laugh out loud in class. And that teacher gave me an “A” on my summer reading assignment. I’ll never forgot that wise and wonderful teacher who let me play to my strengths.

So I knew from age eleven that I wanted to be a professional writer. Yet when I reached college, I also understood that writing stories seldom paid the bills. So I got degrees in Journalism and Communications Management. Then for many years I channeled my creative energies into the field of Public Relations.    

Marriage, kids, and several more degrees and occupations later (including stints as a travel agent and paralegal), I entered law school – mostly for the challenge of writing creative arguments for the court. But while in law school, I became a columnist for the student newsletter, writing humorous pieces on the strange and quirky life of a law student. I was thrilled when one of these articles was chosen for publication in The National Jurist, a magazine distributed to law students throughout the US.

But after graduating and passing the Bar, I realized within a few years that creative writing was still what made my heart sing. So now, as a grandma, I’ve returned to writing for children. And with the publication of Karmack, I’ve come full circle, back to where my writing journey truly began.

Why did you pick to write books for Middle Grade?

Actually, I tried writing in the Young Adult genre first because that’s so popular these days; plus, I thought I had an interesting slant on teen suicide. But no one wanted that story. So while waiting for agent and publisher rejections to pour in, I wrote Karmack. That was pure joy from beginning to end. And when I sent the manuscript to Muse It Up Publishing, the editors accepted it right away. So here I am!

What types of books do you like to read?

Just as I’m a picky eater, I’m also a picky reader. I like getting a “taste” of a book by reading the first few pages; if I connect with the writing style, I’ll continue reading.

That said, I like a lot of today’s popular books like The Help and Water for Elephants, but also classics like East of Eden and The Once and Future King. And I’m always up for a griping true story, especially based in the last century like Laura Hillenbrand’s Seabiscuit and Unbroken. I also adore anything written by Ken Follett or John Steinbeck. I like some thrillers too, ala Michael Crichton.

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

That’s easy: travel! (Remember, I used to be a travel agent.) My husband and I are now on our bucket list. Last May, we traveled to the Canadian Rockies on the Rocky Mountaineer, a luxury train experience from Vancouver to Calgary. It was a dream come true! Since the start of our marriage 40 years ago, we’ve visited most of the National Parks throughout North America yet still needed to check off Banff and Jasper in Canada.

Next on our list: South America’s Machu Picchu and the Galapagos Islands!

Tell us about Karmack and how the story came to be.

I got the idea for Karmack while I was not sleeping one night (getting old will do that to you – not sleeping, I mean). And the next day I just began writing. I had a hero in mind, someone I actually knew in elementary school. He was always getting into trouble although he had a good heart. My character Sully is based on him.

Here's a peek at Karmack:

Everyone knows Curtis "Sully" Sullenburg is the toughest kid at Higgins Elementary. For years, he and his gang have tormented students and teachers alike with their pranks. And for the most part, they’ve gotten away with it. But all that changes when a strange little creature appears on the scene. From that point on, pranks start coming back like boomerangs, smacking Sully's gang right in their fifth grade butts!

Sully is the only one who can see this creature, which he names Karmack. The little guy claims to be a nature spirit whose job is to balance all the bad karma the boys have amassed over the years. If Karmack fails, these boys will undoubtedly suffer "dreadful, awful doom." Just like that kid who shot at crows with his BB gun – one day he crashed his bike into a pigeon coop and emerged as the Abominable Snowman of bird poop! That kind of doom.

Sully soon realizes he must save not only himself, but also his gang from Karmack's doom, even though his friends have no idea why they keep getting boomeranged. Of course, calamity and hilarity follow. But in the end, Sully and the guys learn a valuable lesson about the consequences of being a bully, and what it takes to be a true leader.

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

Sorry, don’t wanna do that. The books I wrote before Karmack will stay in my computer where they belong because they stink.

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

I recently finished a novel which was inspired by my husband. As a scientist, he’s pondered for years over dark matter, the invisible glue which astrophysicists say holds the universe together. Well, I drop a couple of characters into dark matter. Uh-huh. While they’re on a trans-Pacific cruise, two octogenarians become trapped in dark matter and they don’t know how to reconnect their spirits with their lifeless bodies. Talk about being in the twilight zone!

What advice do you have for other authors?

I think the most important thing is to make writing fun. You must enjoy what you’re doing to do it well. So take a subject you adore and write about it. Every day. Until you know it’s right. On days I don’t feel like writing, I read over the last few chapters and immediate I start to edit and rewrite; since I’m a bit of a perfectionist, that always gets me in the proper mood.

Anything else you want readers to know?

Yeah. Karmack may be a fictional story for kids, but the concept is based in reality. Anyone who’s been on planet Earth for any appreciable amount of time knows that what goes around, comes around. So watch out, everybody! (That includes you, Anthony Weiner and Paula Deen.)

Where can readers find you and your books?

The only social website I’m on is Goodreads.

My website which also has free teaching supplements for Karmack.

Readers can find Karmack at these online stores: 

Muse It Up Publishing

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Omnilit

Bookstrand