Summer is here and it’s time to write! Maybe your schedule has opened up or maybe you’ve just decided that it’s time to buckle down and pound a novel out– either way, we’re here with some fantastic resources to help you reach your goals.
Book Review: Carve the Mark
Title: Carve the Mark
Author: Veronica Roth
On a planet where violence and vengeance rule, in a galaxy where some are favored by fate, everyone develops a currentgift, a unique power meant to shape the future. While most benefit from their currentgifts, Akos and Cyra do not—their gifts make them vulnerable to others’ control. Can they reclaim their gifts, their fates, and their lives, and reset the balance of power in this world? Continue reading
Book Review: Rebel Sands
Title: Rebel Sands
Author: Alwyn Hamiltion
She’s more gunpowder than girl—and the fate of the desert lies in her hands.
Mortals rule the desert nation of Miraji, but mystical beasts still roam the wild and barren wastes, and rumor has it that somewhere, djinni still practice their magic. But there’s nothing mystical or magical about Dustwalk, the dead-end town that Amani can’t wait to escape from.
Destined to wind up “wed or dead,” Amani’s counting on her sharpshooting skills to get her out of Dustwalk. When she meets Jin, a mysterious and devastatingly handsome foreigner, in a shooting contest, she figures he’s the perfect escape route. But in all her years spent dreaming of leaving home, she never imagined she’d gallop away on a mythical horse, fleeing the murderous Sultan’s army, with a fugitive who’s wanted for treason. And she’d never have predicted she’d fall in love with him… or that he’d help her unlock the powerful truth of who she really is. Continue reading
Author Interview: Sarena and Sasha Nanua
Pen Friends ~ We couldn’t be more excited to introduce to you two young twin authors, Sarena and Sasha Nanua, who have been wildly successful in their pursuit of writing, book blogging, publishing, and much more. (See below!)
SP: Hi Sarena and Sasha! Thanks for being with us. Can you start out by telling us a bit of who you are and when you started writing?
Sure! First off—thanks for having us! We’re super excited to be here! To start, we’re Sarena and Sasha Nanua, twin authors, book bloggers, and, of course, voracious readers. We began writing when we were nine years old, when we were super bored on an airplane and thought, Hey, why don’t we write a book? We finished the first book the following year and began writing in lots of journals, but never really finished another book until we were fourteen. We decided to self-publish our book, The Gemstone, when we were fifteen, and the subsequent novels in the series came out when we were sixteen and seventeen. Since then, we’ve written and revised two novels and are very excited to see where they head in the future! Continue reading
How To Win At Writing After A Conference
The writer’s conference: There’s little more exciting than the thought of surrounding yourself with a hundred or more people who love words and books as much as you do, and getting to spend anywhere from an afternoon to an entire week learning about the business and how to become better at your craft.
For me, anyway, there’s little more exciting than a good conference. What’s never so good is the re-entry afterward. The introverted side of my personality starts kicking back in, my brain is happy but also exhausted from all of the information I’ve squished into it, and I usually just want to sleep for a few days.
From what I’ve heard from many other writers, this isn’t uncommon. And while it’s enticing to curl up in a cave and hide, the time right after a conference is golden, and we should do what we can to use it well. So here are my best tips for re-entry. Continue reading
Tea, Stories and Writing
I recently gave a short presentation on tea.
That’s pretty much a joke, if you know tea at all. From one plant comes hundreds, if not thousands, of variations of flavors and aromas. Even when you’re just dealing with the pure leaf – no added flavors or other plants or herbs – there are many, MANY ways to create tea.
Which isn’t so different from creating stories. We all start from the same place. You have a protagonist. Whether girl, boy, animal, robot or alien, there has to be a “hero” for there to be a story. But once you have your hero figure, there’s no end to the directions you could take them. Continue reading
Everything You Need to Know about Getting into the Publishing World
Curious about the publishing world? Wondering if there’s a place for you in it and how on earth you’ll find it? Good news! Here’s the promised follow-up (aka all the meaty good stuff) to my article introducing publishing programs. So prop your feet up, drink something cold, and enjoy all the research that you don’t have to do.
Author Interview: Caroline George
Pen Friends ~ We are pleased to welcome Young Adult author, Caroline George to talk about her upcoming book, her writing journey, and her writing advice with SP readers and writers!
SP: Welcome Caroline! Can you start out by telling us a bit of who you are and when you started writing?
Overview: I’m the author of “The Prime Way Trilogy” and “The Vestige.” I write for “Pursue Magazine,” lead startup company Local Publishing and work as a part-time publicist for recording artist Autrey. When I’m not attached to my laptop, I’m attending college classes at Belmont University, meeting with friends at Nashville coffeehouses or serving with ministry My Local. All that said, I’m a productivity junkie who believes in making the most of time and living life to the fullest.
Stories have been my passion since I was a toddler. Before I could hold a pencil, I told my mom stories, she’d write them down and let me illustrate the pages. In middle school, I started writing with fervor and made it a goal to be published by my sixteenth birthday.
Writing began as a therapeutic escape from my preteen troubles but morphed into a vision fueled by calling, determination and stubbornness.
SP: Essential info next. Tea or Coffee? And one fact about yourself that we wouldn’t know by looking at you?
Coffee. Always. I’m convinced it’s a food group. Whenever I go out to eat, I usually end up at a coffeehouse.
Fun Fact: Unlike most authors, I’m a total extrovert. I love public speaking, meeting new people and stepping out of my comfort zone.
SP: So, let’s talk about your new book, THE VESTIGE. How did this idea come about? 
I was sitting in Starbucks when I realized my life was pretty. The people around me sipping their lattes were pretty. The shopping mall across the highway was filled with pretty things. But when I checked my news feed and saw disturbing headlines, I concluded that my life is nothing more than an illusion: The world isn’t a pretty place, yet it is unbelievably easy for people to go throughout their day without noticing the dirt.
“The Vestige” was born from the questions: What if the end of the world has already occurred? What if our final demise happened slowly, secretly . . . and we’ve been oblivious to it all?
If we live in a pretty bubble of shopping malls and Starbucks, could we miss the truth because we’re too comfortable to see it?
“The Vestige” is a book close to my heart. It began as a mashup of several story ideas but transformed into a call to action, a call to awareness.
SP: Evernight Teen Publishing – How has your experience been with them?
The Evernight Teen staff have been professional, fast and kind. They’ve supported my over-the-top marketing plan and worked to provide the materials needed for a successful release.
SP: Awesome to hear. We are very impressed that you started writing and publishing at such a young age! Can you share your secrets on writing habits, editing and publishing with our teen and adults writers?
Successful writing, in my opinion, is the product of a tenacious attitude and purpose-driven mindset. Habits can help provide the atmosphere needed to write, but they can’t keep someone writing.
My advice:
1. Write with purpose. If you don’t believe in your work’s message, you won’t be an effective writer and will most likely give up when the process gets tough. However, if you’re certain your words will make a difference, you’ll write with urgency and will remain steadfast in the trials.
2. Write with an audience in mind. Answer the questions: Why am I writing? For who am I writing? What do I want readers to gain from my work?
3. Write to write, not to publish. If your main goal is to get your words on paper, you’ll be satisfied whether or not your work is published.
My habits include a certain layout—coffee mug on the right-hand side of my computer, notebook on the left-hand side, mood-setting music and public environment. I do my best work in coffeehouses or at my dining room table.
Author Isaac Marion said it best: “No, writers don’t write in coffee shops so people will see us writing. What kind of loser would do that? It’s because we’re incredibly lonely.”
Editing and publishing tips:
1. Know the publishing industry. Do your research.
2. Hire an editor or recruit someone with knowledge of current market trends to review your work. Don’t exclusively rely on friends and family to edit your writing.
3. Make sure everything you publish is high quality.
4. Treat your writing as a business.
5. Look for innovative ways to market yourself.
6. Get on social media and build your platform!
SP: Great advice. So, how was your road to finding an agent? Any advice on querying?
There are many ways to find and land an agent. I first went to New York City and pitched to agents at a writing conference. I queried hundreds of literary agencies but ended up signing with the agent of an author friend. She recommended my work to him, he read my proposal and signed me a few days later.
My advice: Do research, write a professional query and send it to agents who represent your genre. But also make connections. Relationships with professionals in the publishing industry will help you more than career opportunities. If you value people and their time, they will value you and your work.
SP: Ok, you are into surfing. Give us the story. How did you learn and what is your favorite surfing story?
A few years ago, my friend invited me to Florida to celebrate her birthday. Surfing was on her bucket list. We went to Daytona Beach as a hurricane swirled in the Atlantic, rented pink soft-tops and surf shirts, and followed our teenage instructor to the beach.
Waves pelted the shore in roaring surges. They towered over my head and smacked me down the moment I stepped foot in the water.
“This seems like a bad idea,” I said as the surfing instructor led my friend and me into the foamy deathtrap.
What most people would consider a dumb decision ended up being one of my favorite memories. I learned to surf before the storm hit. I wiped out, bruised myself on the ocean floor and got slapped several times by my own board. It hurt, but I loved every moment of it.
Surfing is an experience that can’t be effectively described. I often tell people when I first stand on the beach and gaze out at the sea, I’m foreign—I don’t belong in the water. However, when a wave catches me, I melt into it, become a part of the ocean’s heartbeat. It accepts me.
Granted, I’m not the best surfer. I do it whenever I have the chance. Two months ago, I surfed in California for the first time and discovered how much I appreciate wetsuits.
I can’t wait to get out on the waves when I go to Australia in a few weeks.
SP: Ooh, enjoy Oz! And, Vestige is not the only book you have written. Where can we learn more about you and your books?
“The Prime Way Trilogy” is available to purchase from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
If you’d like to learn more about my work, visit my website authorcarolinegeorge.com. I’m also active on all social media platforms.
Twitter: @CarolineGeorge_
Instagram: @authorcarolinegeorge
SnapChat: @authorcarolineg
Facebook/AuthorCarolineGeorge
SP: Thanks Caroline!
Nova, Signing off.
Book Review: Doon Series By Lorie Langdon and Carey Corp
BOOK REVIEW
Title: Doon Series, (4 books.) Doon; Destined for Doon; Shades of Doon; and Forever Doon.
Authors: Lorie Langdon & Carey Corp
Goodreads Blurb:
Veronica doesn’t think she’s going crazy. But why can’t anyone else see the mysterious blond boy who keeps popping up wherever she goes? When her best friend, Mackenna, invites her to spend the summer in Scotland, Veronica jumps at the opportunity to leave her complicated life behind for a few months.
But the Scottish countryside holds other plans.
Not only has the imaginary kilted boy followed her to Alloway, she and Mackenna uncover a strange set of rings and a very unnerving letter from Mackenna’s great aunt—and when the girls test the instructions Aunt Gracie left behind, they find themselves transported to a land that defies explanation. Doon seems like a real-life fairy tale, complete with one prince who has eyes for Mackenna and another who looks suspiciously like the boy from Veronica’s daydreams. But Doon has a dark underbelly as well. The two girls could have everything they’ve longed for…or they could end up breaking an enchantment and find themselves trapped in a world that has become a nightmare.
DOON is loosely based on the premise of the musical Brigadoon, with permission from the ALan Jay Lerner Estate and the Frederick Loewe Foundation.
Review:
I’ve got to be honest. I was hopelessly addicted to this series. So much love for these characters, and their story. It pulled on every string in my heart. The series brims with hope, innocence, adventure, faith, love, power, risk, dreams, truth, and power.
One of the coolest things in the book was the friendship between Veronica and Mackenna, the two protagonists. These best friends surprised me and quickly become my friends too. Lorie and Carey talk about these characters here in an interview I did with them.
Lorie and Carey co-authored the series, which gave them a unique advantage with their characters’ voice. Each MC was so different, so likable, so full of quirks and personality. I loved that the moment one of them spoke, I knew who was speaking. Best of all, Mackenna and Veronica were relatable in every way.
Through the book, and the series, I enjoyed the hilariousness. The musical obsessions. The Shakespeare. The references. The sense that we are made for more. The fantasy. The power of the love calling. And the desire to enter into other realms. I was drawn to Doon just as much as the girls!
And what of the two swoony, Scottish princes, you ask? Jaime and Duncan put on such a good show! They continued to impress or drive you crazy or melt your heart the entire series! **Kudos, ladies.
On world building. For someone who has lived in the UK, spent time in Scotland, and Italy, and around the world, I was smitten with the use of language and culture and setting, and even how in DOON it took on so many other cultures. Guys, it seriously made me want to hop on a plane…and I mean, searching internet prices. 🙂
Now here’s an confession.. the book cover gave me a different idea of what the story might be like. I almost didn’t read it! How silly is that? But we do judge books by their covers…Thank God I kept flipping!!! When I read the first chapter, I was enthralled with the voice of the book.
The plot was fast paced and not predictable. It held my interest the entire series.
In book one, I was drawn more to Veronica and Jaime’s story. When I started book two I didn’t think the plot or their love story could be as good or better…but wow. I was wrong!
Highly recommend this series 🙂
Book 2: Destined for Doon
Mini Review: LOVED this book.
The love story between Mackenna and Duncan was so different to Jaime and Veronica’s and the plot so vastly new, again, I was so impressed and sucked in. I finished so quickly, it was one of those moments you were happy that you didn’t know about this series until all of them were out so you didn’t have to wait!
Book 3: Shades of Doon.
Mini Review: Again, by this time, you are so invested in the characters that you love doing things with them. This book adventured, and dreamed, and did again, new things! It was one of those books you didn’t want to be over, and Lorie and Carey gave me that in this book.
Book 4: Forever Doon
Mini review: Finally, I knew this was the end. The last book. It had better go out with a bang.
Then of course, what we don’t want to happen, happens. But the book does something new yet again and it does not disappoint.
Final word? Read it!
Nova, signing off.
The Spinning Pen Girl & Boy’s Writing Tip of the Week
This lovely depiction of the Spinning Pen Girl is done by Artist and Writer Sarah Kovin Synder. Check that talented girl out here.
As you know, the Spinning Pen Girl always searches for amazing writing resources and loves sharing them with you. Today she wants you to click here for Co-Creator of Author Mentor Match and Author Alexa Donne‘s long list of amazing articles on writing for writers.
Happy Writing!
SP writer, Nova signing off.
