F.J.R. Titchenell’s newest book, Confessions of the Very First Zombie Slayer (That I Know Of) will be available in Spring 2014. It’s a Young Adult horror/comedy novel structured like a diary that sounds fascinating.
I’m really excited about Eleanor by Johnny Worthen, available Spring 2014. Johnny says, “Eleanor is a modest girl, unremarkable but extraordinary, young but old, malleable but fixed. She is scared and confused. She is a liar and a thief. Eleanor is not what she appears to be.” Eleanor is a young adult paranormal novel published by Jolly Fish Press. Isn’t the cover beautiful?
Mother and daughter writing duo Amie and Bethanie Borst just published their first book in a fractured fairy tale series called Cinderskella. They stopped by the blog to answer a few of my niele questions.
What inspired Cinderskella?
Amie: I would say Bethanie inspired Cinderskella.
Bethanie: Being nearly bored to tears when my school librarian was telling my class about fairy tales and Cinderella retellings.
Amie: Well, that’s probably not the nicest way to put it…. Perhaps it might be best to read the full post about our inspiration at Ann Marie’s blog.
Writing as team can be tough when only one person can type at a time! What are some of the ways you work together to create this amazing series?
Amie: Thankfully we have more than one computer in our house! I use my laptop dedicated to writing while Bethanie is on the family desktop computer. Typically I’ll ask her to write a particular scene, she’ll type it up in an email and then send it to me. I’ll copy and paste that scene it into the manuscript. Other times she’ll sit across from me at the table and I’ll read what we’ve written aloud. She’ll usually stop me mid-sentence, tell me it’s lame and then she fixes it orally while I type the non-lame new stuff into the manuscript.
Bethanie: My mom had me write it up with pen and paper. Then she’d type it up to her liking. Then I’d tell her it’s lame. She should have just done it the way I said.
Amie: When Bethanie was younger – before she could really use a computer or had an email account – she did write it by hand. I’d correct her grammar and punctuation, which sometimes affected the voice. So we’d have to change it to make it sound more authentic. As Bethanie grew, so did our teamwork and writing strategy. Our second book was done mostly via email as I first stated. We also create a story board out of poster board and post it notes – that’s really our sounding board, giving us a starting ground from which to write the story.
Bethanie: Why do they have to be color-coded posted notes?
Amie: So we can see the different parts of our story.
Bethanie: But that’s so boring.
Amie: Would you rather they all be one color? How would you tell the parts of the story apart?
Bethanie: Ah….nah. Nevermind. Can we do it in a collage form so it’ll at least look cool?
Amie: No, we can’t do it in a collage form so it’ll look cool. *shakes head*
If you could change one thing about your writing partner what would it be?
Amie: Nothing. I love her input and suggestions. She really has wild ideas and isn’t afraid to implement them.
Bethanie: I don’t know. I guess I wish she wouldn’t read aloud. I’m not an auditory learner.
Amie: But you’re not learning – we’re reading and writing.
Bethanie: Still, I won’t remember it if you read it aloud.
Amie: (That part is probably true. Bethanie has CAPD and ADD) That’s why I print it off for you to read.
Bethanie: But then I would have to re-read it. For like the fifth time.
Amie: Welcome to the world of being an author.
Bethanie: Ugh. I wish this conversation would stop.
Amie: *Snort* Lehua, look what you’ve gotten us into!
(And nooooo….this NEVER happens when we’re writing! *wink, wink*)
What’s next in the Cinderskella universe?
Bethanie: Little Dead Riding Hood. It’s a book about a vampire. It’s about…*gaze drifts to television*
Amie: Turn off the TV!
Bethanie: No, no, no. It’s not distracting me. I promise.
Amie: *gives ‘I don’t believe you’ evil-eye*
Bethanie: I don’t know what to say. It’s a book. *gaze drifts back to the television*
Amie: Little Dead Riding Hood is Scarlet Small’s story, who just so happens to be a vampire. She enjoys drinking Bloody Tom’s (Tom is short for tomato) and isn’t sure of how to adapt to her new middle-school. You’d think being over one hundred years old, she’d have the “fitting-in” thing boiled down to a science, but Scarlet’s not your average middle-schooler. You see, when you’re the new kid at school it really sucks. But when you’re a new kid and a vampire, well then it just bites!
Thanks for dropping by Amie and Bethanie! Cinderskella is published by Jolly Fish Press and available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Connect with Amie & Bethany Borst
Book 2 is heading to the copy editor where all the commas get put into the right places!
Until then, here’s a little taste of One Shark, No Swim.
I climbed on the toilet tank and stuck my head out the window. The drop was near the front door to Hari’s store. A little below me and to the left was the hand railing for the upstairs lānai that ran along Uncle Kahana’s living room. I was pretty sure I could make it.
Pretty sure.
I was holding onto the window frame hugging the outside wall with the ball of my right foot resting on the railing when I heard a plop. I looked down. A young haole girl with a sunburned nose was looking up at me. A large yellow and orange shave ice was melting at her feet.
“Mom!” she yelled. “There’s a naked boy covered in lipstick climbing out a window!”
I froze. I couldn’t go back and I couldn’t go forward.
“Jeanie!” a woman’s voice scolded from the store.
“Mom! He’s got weeds wrapped around his ankle and wrist!”
Please, let me die and end this, I prayed. But whatever happens, please don’t let anyone show up with a smart phone or camera. If this gets out I’ll never live it down.
“Go away!” I mouthed at her.
“He wants me to go away!”
“What did I say about telling stories?” the woman said.
“But Mom, this time it’s true!”
I sensed more commotion under me, shadows and light flickering like schools of fish on the reef. I peered down.
“Jeanie! Look what you did! Your snow cone’s all over—” the voice trailed off.
Bleach blond hair and mega-sized sunglasses stared up at me. I closed my eyes.
Next to me the sliding door swept open and a strong brown arm wrapped around my body, lifting me over the railing and onto the lānai. Uncle Kahana leaned down.
“Aloha! So sorry about the shave ice! Tell the girl at the counter Kahana said to give you a new one! On the house, of course! Have a nice day!”
As he pushed me through the open door and into living room I heard the woman say, “Hush, Jeanie, hush! I told you it’s another culture! The whole island is like going to Chinatown in San Francisco. Now do you want a free snow cone or not?”
All excerpts and short stories copyright © 2012 by Lehua Parker. Excerpts from the Niuhi Shark Saga by permission of Jolly Fish Press, LLC. All rights reserved. No part of these excerpts may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher. No part of these short stories may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the author.
10-year-old Melody wants to fly, to soar like an eagle far above the troubles in her earth-bound life. She knows if she can just swing high enough her wings will unfurl and she’ll finally be happy. Until then there’s always her patented zombie face guaranteed to frighten away the most tenacious bully or possible friend, keeping Melody safe in her self-imposed cocoon of isolation. When Melody leaps off a swing and into the mystical realm of Chimeroan where dreams come true, she begins a journey to not only earn her wings, but to face her past, conquer her fears, and to discover that the things that hold us back—even the things we want most desperately or fear with all our heart—are not always what they seem.
Up in the Air by Ann Marie Meyers is one of those rare books for children that accurately portrays the reality of being a child without making adults look like stumbling idiots or children seem uber-smart, successful, lucky, or treacle-y sweet versions of grown-ups. On the surface Melody’s story is an adventure quest complete with magical beasts, puzzles, and inscrutable Guides. It’s easy to get caught up in the world of unicorns, elves, dragons, and leprechauns as most middle grade readers will. But Melody’s story is much deeper, a parable for all ages that explores the complicated reasons for self-abusive behavior and a hit-first-before-they-hurt-you view of the world. As Melody progresses in her quest, she has to face and understand how her perceptions of herself and past events are limiting herself and preventing those she loves from true happiness.
Like flying, it’s a view that will leave you breathless.
Up in the Air by Ann Marie Meyers is published by Jolly Fish Press and available in hardback, trade paperback, and eBook from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other fine bookstores. While appropriate for middle grade readers, adults and teens will enjoy it, too.
Connect with Ann Marie Meyers
Blog: http://www.annmarie-meyers.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AnnMarie_Meyers
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/annmariemeyers/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnnMarieMeyersauthor?fref=ts
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17792165-up-in-the-air
On June 21, 2013 I was privileged to meet some very talented young authors at Brigham Young University. Click on Fan Art to see how they answered the question, “What would you draw on the bottom of a surfboard to chase away a shark?”
