Here are some very helpful tips from Helen Scheuerer– author of the Oremere Chronicles and the founder of Writer’s Edit and Talem Press. Helen also has a Bachelor in Creative Writing, a Masters in Publishing and has always been focused on writing. *We pulled all of her marketing tips from our latest interview. Read the full interview here. Continue reading
Title: Legendary
Author: Stephanie Garber
A heart to protect. A debt to repay. A game to win.
After being swept up in the magical world of Caraval, Donatella Dragna has finally escaped her father and saved her sister Scarlett from a disastrous arranged marriage. The girls should be celebrating, but Tella isn’t yet free. She made a desperate bargain with a mysterious criminal, and what Tella owes him no one has ever been able to deliver: Caraval Master Legend’s true name. Continue reading
Pen Friends ~ As promised here comes another fantastic interview with Australian YA author and Writer’s Edit Guru, Helen Scheuerer! DO NOT MISS her tips for marketing, promotion, social media, editing and more–they’re useful to anyone in the industry that is traditionally or self-published. Check it out!
SP: Welcome Helen! First, can you please tell us a bit of who are you and how long have you have been writing?
HS: Sure! I’m a novelist, editor and publisher who lives by the beach in Sydney. I own and run the popular writers’ platform, Writer’s Edit and I’m the author of bestselling YA fantasy, Heart of Mist. I’ve been writing since I was about seven years old 🙂
SP: Reign of Mist, your upcoming release, is the second book in The Oremere Chronicles. Can you tell us a bit more about book one, Heart of Mist, and now its upcoming sequel?
Continue reading
Title: Caraval
Author: Stephanie Garber
Scarlett has never left the tiny island where she and her beloved sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval, the far-away, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show, are over. Continue reading
Pen Friends ~ Get ready for a long string of author interviews this month! We just love learning from other authors and hearing their stories from dreams to publication. We hope you do too!
Today’s interview is fantasy and fairytale-inspired author, Brittany Fichter! If you love fairytale spin-offs and heart throbbing arcs and characters, you have a list of books to choose from–See below for Brittany’s book pics!
SP: Hi Brittany! Thanks for joining us. First, please tell us a bit of who are you and how long have you have been writing?
It’s Conference Season, Pen Friends! If you’ve ever been to a writer’s conference, you know the wonder and the crazy exhaustion and overwhelm that come as a result of being immersed in a gathering of a couple hundred (or more) writer friends.
I just got back from Realm Makers in St. Louis, and as I myself am feeling the end-of-conference feels, I thought I’d share this #throwback post for you in case anyone else is going to be conferencing soon (or if any of my fellow Realmies need a boost as they readjust to real life).
How to be a Productive Writer – a (somewhat) unhelpful guide from a mom with three kids under 5.
Writers, we are all busy people so I’m going to break this into easy bullet points. But first, my (somewhat) unhelpful tip to be a productive writer and have a balanced family life.
Life will never be perfect – need I say that? When I strive to balance everything I’m stressed, hair falling out and ghosted by writerly angst. No matter how good I am at multitasking, I still have to choose where my energy goes. I don’t know about you, but if I have to choose, it’s family.
So how does this help me be a productive writer? Continue reading
Title: Starfish (standalone)
Author:Akemi Dawn Bowman
Blurb: Kiko Himura has always had a hard time saying exactly what she’s thinking. With a mother who makes her feel unremarkable and a half-Japanese heritage she doesn’t quite understand, Kiko prefers to keep her head down, certain that once she makes it into her dream art school, Prism, her real life will begin. Continue reading
Title: The Knife of Never Letting Go
Author: Patrick Ness
Review by: SP Teen Writer Noah Dingman
Blurb: Todd Hewitt lives in the last surviving colony on New Earth, Prentisstown. Prentisstown isn’t like other towns. Everyone can hear everyone else’s thoughts in a constant, overwhelming Noise. There is no privacy. There are no secrets. Then Todd Hewitt unexpectedly stumbles on a spot of complete silence. Which is impossible.
Moreover, all the women in Prentisstown have been killed off by a virus in a war with the planets natives, and the men have to live with the side effect, called the Noise.
Todd is the last boy in Prentisstown and with his thirteenth birthday fast approaching, the day he becomes a man, he discovers a strange absence of the noise in a nearby swamp. He also discovers a girl. And now he’s going to have to run… Continue reading
Lately, a lot of my friends are doing these “I got an agent” posts. I love hearing their stories. But if you haven’t got there. If your critique partners haven’t got there. It’s OKAY. Where is “there” anyway?
Go climb mountains.
Tear down lies.
Celebrate life NOW.
And yes, I can say that with two kids under five, hay fever stalking my house, and depression howling like the wind. This is a journey. It’s a loooong one and I need lembas bread, not just potatoes. Continue reading
The Spinning Pen 