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Welcome Back Abigail O’Bryan!

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Pen Friends ~ Celebrate with us. Abigail is once again our Spinning Pen Staff Contributor, and this makes the world well again 🙂 During her absence, she got MARRIED! Congrats and *swoon*, she married Sci-fi Writer & artist, Wesley O’Bryan)

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Her return got us thinking. We never officially introduced our staff as we launched this blog, so we will, starting with Abigail.

So attention all of you YA readers, writers, agents, and Beauty and the Beast fans — you will quickly want to acquaint yourselves with her name.

First, her captivating retelling of Beauty and Beast, IRON ROSE, will do three things to your heart: still it with its gorgeous literary prose, seize it with it’s mystery, action and conflict, and steal it with its depth of love. She’s  currently seeking representation. Check out a blurb and excerpt here. Continue reading →

What’s a Pitch?

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In honor of the Pitch Wars Agent Showcase opening — (November 3-9th, and yes, you should go check it out!) I wanted to take a moment to talk about writing the Pitch, Query, and synopsis.

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PitchWars-Logo When you are finished with your MS (manuscript) and start your search for an agent, your next steps will include, in some way, writing and employing these : The pitch, the synopsis, the query.

Continue reading →

Things You Need to Know for Your First Novel- From Someone Writing Theirs

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pexels-photo-largeI am currently 70,000+ words, about two-thirds of the way, into my first novel, and I’ve already learned so much. While it sounds a little unprofound and self-explanatory, I’ll only get to write my first novel once. I want to document what I’ve learned while it’s still fresh so that you guys can read it, and so I can look back on it. That being said, let’s jump right in! Continue reading →

Feature Friday: Rachel Griffin

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Pen Friends ~ Meet Rachel Griffin, YA Writer and 2016 Pitch Wars Winner & Mentee, as she shares her writing journey and dreams. And don’t miss her blurb of the novel that won Pitch Wars! 

DSC07251.jpgSP: Hi Rachel! Will you tell us a little about yourself and how you started on your writing journey?

Thank you for having me! I’ve been writing ever since I was a little girl. By the time I graduated high school, I had binders stuffed full of poetry, songs, and short stories. I even had a poem published in a collection of poetry when I was thirteen. When I got to college, it was hard for me to find time to write, and before I knew it, years had gone by without creating anything new.

Several years after graduating college, I found myself dissatisfied in my work. I asked myself if I could do anything in the world, what it would be. Writing popped into my head instantly, and from that day forward I’ve taken my writing seriously. Continue reading →

Author Interview: Rebecca Sky

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Pen Friends ~ Come meet author and wattpad sensation Rebecca Sky as she shares about her writing and some of her own life stories, (which are just as gripping as her fiction!)

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SP: Welcome Rebecca! Can you tell us a bit about yourself and when you started writing?

I’m the oldest of 5 kids, a wifey to a hot Canadian rock star, dog lover (I know writers are supposed to like cats, *whispers* cats scare me), I’m a red head (sadly this does define me), and I live on an island just off the coast of Seattle, Washington—because of this I tell people I’m a Pacific Islander.

My journey to writing is a long one, so I’ll give you the quickest version I can. When I was little I was fascinated with stories, my family was poor and we didn’t have TV or money to buy books so I’d hunt around the neighborhood and in parks and collect pop and beer cans to return to the grocery store for the $0.05 reward. I used that treasure at garage sales, buying every book I could find. My collection varied from manuals, to historical recounts of China, to Nancy Drew mysteries. When I wasn’t flipping through their pages, I was adorned in wild costumes and acting out scenes from plays I’d make up for my siblings. It was all a very “Little Women” lifestyle.

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Book Review: Sunset Rising

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Title: Sunset Rising Series

Author(s): S.M McEachern

Publisher: Clownfish Publishing

Genre: Dystopian, Fantasy

Rating: 4 out of 5

 

There are four main words I use for the Sunset Rising series by S.M. McEachern: I love these books.

These books will have your heart pounding on two levels. The obvious is the rich, action-packed scenes that flow seamlessly one to the other. The other is how Sunny and Jack demonstrate a heart-deep courage to be vulnerable and to change. Continue reading →

How to Develop Personas for Your Marketing Strategy

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Unless you plan on selling your book to your writing group and college buddies alone, figuring out who to market to and how is a must.

In the last post, we talked a little about determining who your audience is. Now, it’s time to take a more critical look at that. How do you actually go about finding potential readers/followers/customers? Let’s start simple.

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Meet Dana, Our New Staff Contributor

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Pen Friends,

Meet Dana Black! She’s our newest Staff Contributor and will be our Book Review Guru! If you’ve got a YA book you want to share with the world, send your review to Dana through our contact page!

WE give you….

Hey! I’m Dana, and I’m in love with Story.
Why does that sound like a confession? It’s not—it’s a proud declaration.
This love story began as a child of around four, when I first set foot in Narnia alongside my dad and older brother. I haven’t looked back since.

Continue reading →