Hey Spinning Pen Readers and Writers! We have a treat for you today! Debut Author, Sarina Louise is going to share her writing journey from The Young Writer’s Workshop to the highly-praised ‘Author Conservatory’ and getting published in the Voices of the Future Anthology.

SP: Hi S! We’re so excited to have you here on the Spinning Pen! Tell us all a little bit about you and your writing journey.

SL: Hey SP! Thank you so much for having me; I’m so excited to get to chat with you guys today. That’s a great question. I am 22, almost 23, and I’ve loved stories for as long as I can remember. In fact, when I was a little kid, I used to force my babysitter to write down the ones my sister and I made up. *laughs* but I actually ended up taking a significant break from writing when I was 15, and never thought that I would go back to it. I’ve never been more glad to be wrong. 

In 2019, I stumbled on The Young Writer’s Workshop, which is an online writing program that showed me it was possible to pursue writing seriously. From there, I attended The Author Conservatory, which is a three-year college alternative program for gifted writers. I graduated in June of 2024 and am now working on beginning my writing career! 

SP: Ok now for the bookish part we’ve been waiting for…tell us about THE POET WHO LIVED ON PICKPOCKET LANE! How did the idea come to you? Favorite parts of writing it? 

SL: I love this question so much! I actually came up with the idea for the story on a Zoom call with one of my best friends. I was on deadline to come up with three short story concepts for a school assignment, so I decided to head over to Pinterest. I found a picture of an apartment listing in a newspaper and it said “NO TEENAGERS, PETS, OR POETS”. I’d had a poet character who had been in my head since probably 2021 and as soon as I saw that picture, he came to life and the story was born! 

One of my favorite parts of writing this project was working with the poems. I actually always used to say that I would never publish any poetry because, for me at least, I write poems when I am in really vulnerable places and emotions. But this was a whole different process, because I was writing poetry from the perspective of my main character, rather than myself, and was writing poetry on deadline instead of just for fun. It was really difficult, but such a fun exercise to stretch me creatively. 

The Poet Who Lived on Pickpocket Lane by Sarina Louise

“Elias Thornbury hasn’t written poetry in a year. Not since his wife, Rosa, passed away. His poems bring memories to life, and he’s not ready for that kind of pain. Then his six-year-old daughter, Nina, asks for a birthday poem. Just like the ones Elias used to write when their family was whole. 

Desperate to find new inspiration so his poem doesn’t hurt Nina, Elias embarks on a journey through London. But as memories of Rosa haunt his every step, he must decide whether to continue suppressing his grief, or face it, and realize it’s been love all along.” 

SP: Since this is your debut publication, we’d love to hear about what else you have in the works. Can you tell us anything about your other projects? 

SL: Oh, that’s such a hard question, because I always want to spill more than I should. *laughs* What I can tell you is that, as a part of The Author Conservatory, I wrote two full length novels (and spawned ideas for many, many more). 

One of those novels, which I like to call Project Reaper, is currently in the final editing stages. I’m working on polishing it up and then am planning on pitching it at conferences and querying it in early 2025. “Darker By Four meets Belladonna in a YA paranormal fantasy novel about a girl with cancer and the Grim Reaper who doesn’t want to kill her.” It’s deliciously angsty and swoon worthy and has been such a fun project to work on!

Other than that, I’m juggling a ton of other projects around and letting them percolate and figure themselves out. My main focus right now is starting the pitching process!

SP: You keep mentioning the Author Conservatory. Tell us a little bit about your experience in the program.

SL: *laughs* uh oh, I’ll have to try and keep this answer concise. The Author Conservatory has both a writing track and a business track and is designed to teach students how to have sustainable careers as authors. The short answer to your question is that it was one of the best, and most difficult, things I’ve ever done. It taught me everything I know about marketing, pitching, querying, and business, which were the areas that I struggled the most in. 

And the relationships I’ve built with the faculty and students are ones that I hope and pray will be in my life for a very long time. The program is focused around mentorship, which means that I received personalized feedback from writing and business professionals for over three years, and that instruction is something I will treasure for my whole life. It has grown and honed my writing skills, business skills, and me as a person so much. 

SP: What are some of the dream goals you’d like to reach? 

SL: I love this question so much! I feel like I have career goals, like getting published by a Gig Five publisher, or hitting the NYT Bestseller. But my main dream goal actually has more to do with the type of life that I want to live. 

Right now, one of my biggest dream goals is to move to Korea and live there for a bit. I’m not sure for how long, or whether I’d stay there long term, but I am just so fascinated by the culture and the country (and of course, the food). I’ve always wanted to live abroad, ever since I was a little girl. Travel is one of my favorite things and getting to experience new cultures and new people makes my heart so happy. 

I know this is probably a different answer than you were expecting, but I feel like I’m a bit more relaxed about my writing career. I’m trusting that I’m where I’m supposed to be and letting the doors open naturally and organically. 

SP: How did you decide to write this short story as an Adult story, when your novel is Young Adult?

SL: I wish I had a super intellectual answer for this, but *laughs* that was sort of an accident. Because of the premise of the story, where Elias has to write a poem for his daughter, I needed Nina to be old enough to understand the poem and also the fact that she’d lost her mother. Therefore, Elias would need to be older, since he and Rosa married before they had Nina. So Elias just wasn’t in the age bracket that would make him a YA protagonist, so the story naturally fell in the Adult category. The themes and the writing style also put it more in the Adult category anyway, so it all ended up working out! 

SP: Time for the lightning round! Early bird or night owl?

SL: Oh, night owl, 100%. I love staying up late and have spent a lot of this month curled up on my Yogibo in my bedroom, writing away. I find that I write my best prose wicked late at night. It’s great for my writing, but not so great for my sleep schedule. 

SP: Most obscure hobby?

SL: I’m not even sure I really have hobbies, let alone an obscure one. But I love to travel, meet new people, and see the world. I do also really enjoy K-pop and K-dramas, but I think those are more full-time jobs than hobbies. 

SP: Word you can never spell? This may be a trick question.

SL: This is such a funny question because I was JUST talking to my mom about a word that I hate spelling, but have to write basically every day for my job. It makes me feel like a failure as a writer. But I just cannot spell the word “entrepreneurship” correctly. I never get it on the first try and it frustrates me so much. 

SP: Alright, time’s up! We’re so sad to see you go! BUT…there’s way more where this came from.To check out SL’s book, go HERE. To connect with her on Instagram, go HERE. To check out her website, go HERE. Thank you so much for your time, SL!

SL: Thank you so much for having me! This was so much fun.