A Shift of Focus

In February 2010, Dorothy started We Do Write as a way to highlight writers (including yours truly) on their paths to publication. Over the years, some of those up-and-coming writers have become up-and-done-it authors (me again! Eep!) and We Do Write has morphed to showcase those authors and their new books.

This is good! We love this! 

However, after much discussion, Dorothy and I have decided to slightly shift the focus of the blog.

As I'm sure you are aware, we are both YA writers with novels soon available to the reading masses (Dorothy's MY SISTER'S REAPER is due out in June! My novel, CALL ME GRIM, is set for release Fall 2014). Moving forward, we expect (hope, wish, and pray for) an increase of young adult and middle grade aged readers to our blog. With that in mind, we have decided to limit the authors and books we showcase to YA and MG ONLY.

However, we are huge suckers for writer's success stories. So, if you have already been featured on this blog in the past, and you have achieved some level of success (obtained that illusive agent or publishing contract, or your debut is about to be released), please feel free to contact us and we will see if it's possible to make an exception. 

Happy writing!

Happy Book Birthday, PRAEFATIO and TRANSPARENT!

Do you like YA paranormal as much as I do? Well, grab some popcorn and candy and settle in for an exciting double feature. Today is the release date of two books I, personally, have been itching to get my hands on: PRAEFATIO by Georgia McBride and  TRANSPARENT by Natalie Whipple.

First up, PRAEFATIO by Georgia McBride:

Seventeen-year-old Grace Ann Miller is no ordinary runaway. After having been missing for weeks, Grace is found on the estate of international rock star Gavin Vault, half-dressed and yelling for help. Over the course of twenty-four hours Grace holds an entire police force captive with incredulous tales of angels, demons, and war; intent on saving Gavin from lockup and her family from worry over her safety. Authorities believe that Grace is ill, suffering from Stockholm Syndrome, the victim of assault and a severely fractured mind. Undeterred, Grace reveals the secret existence of dark angels on earth, an ancient prophecy and a wretched curse steeped in Biblical myth. Grace’s claims set into motion an ages-old war, resulting in blood, death and the loss of everything that matters. But are these the delusions of an immensely sick girl, or could Grace’s story actually be true? Praefatio is Grace’s account of weeks on the run, falling in love and losing everything but her faith. When it’s sister against brother, light versus darkness, corrupt police officers, eager doctors and accusing journalists, against one girl with nothing but her word as proof: who do you believe?

As a huge Muse fan, you had me at rock star and Stockholm Syndrome. But I digress... What an awesome premise! I am so excited to read this!

Now onto another unique concept. Pitched as a mash-up of X-men and The Godfather, I am equally excited to read TRANSPARENT by Natalie Whipple. 

Plenty of teenagers feel invisible. Fiona McClean actually is.

An invisible girl is a priceless weapon. Fiona’s own father has been forcing her to do his dirty work for years—everything from spying on people to stealing cars to breaking into bank vaults.

After sixteen years, Fiona’s had enough. She and her mother flee to a small town, and for the first time in her life, Fiona feels like a normal life is within reach. But Fiona’s father isn’t giving up that easily.

Of course, he should know better than anyone: never underestimate an invisible girl.

So cool! I think I'll need a lot more popcorn and candy.

Congratulations on your book releases, Georgia and Natalie! 

Happy Book Birthday: Runes by Ednah Walters

I really love the cover of RUNES by Ednah Walters. Isn't it eye-catching? And it launches today! Happy Book Birthday, Ednah!

Seventeen-year-old Raine Cooper has enough on her plate dealing with her father’s disappearance, her mother’s erratic behavior and the possibility of her boyfriend relocating. The last thing she needs is Torin St. James—a mysterious new neighbor with a wicked smile and uncanny way of reading her.

Raine is drawn to Torin’s dark sexiness against her better judgment, until he saves her life with weird marks and she realizes he is different. But by healing her, Torin changes something inside Raine. Now she can’t stop thinking about him. Half the time, she’s not sure whether to fall into his arms or run.

Scared, she sets out to find out what Torin is. But the closer she gets to the truth the more she uncovers something sinister about Torin. What Torin is goes back to an ancient mythology and Raine is somehow part of it. Not only are she and her friends in danger, she must choose a side, but the wrong choice will cost Raine her life.

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Cover Reveal: Antithesis by Kacey Vanderkarr

We Do Write is happy to join in on the cover reveal for author Kacey Vanderkarr's ANTITHESIS.

Blurb:

My name is Gavyn.

Liam doesn’t care that I only have one arm. He actually likes my red hair and freckles. I might forgive him for kidnapping me.

My name is Gavyn.

I lost my Liam. I’ve lost them all. And now it’s my job to make sure they don’t show up again.

My name is Gavyn.

I had a life with Liam, but he couldn’t give me what I need. Then I killed his father. I don’t expect he’ll forgive me for that.

My name is Gavyn.

About the author:

Kacey Vanderkarr is a young adult author. She dabbles in fantasy, romance, and sci-fi, complete with faeries, alternate realities, and the occasional plasma gun. She’s known to be annoyingly optimistic and listen to music at the highest decibel. When she’s not writing, she coaches winterguard and works as a sonographer. Kacey lives in Michigan, with her husband, son, crazy cats, and two bearded dragons. Visit www.kaceyvanderkarr.com for more information.

Twitter: @kacimari

Blog: www.kaceyvanderkarr.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kacey-Vanderkarr-Young-Adult-Author/128956043852072

Interview with Brooklyn Skye

Here's a rare Saturday post for you! What's the special occasion? We're chatting with author Brooklyn Skye about her novel STRIPPED.

Welcome to We Do Write, Brooklyn! Tell us a bit about yourself.

Hi! Thanks for having me. I’m excited to be here!

About myself? Hmm…do you ask this to watch people squirm? (Can you tell I’m avoiding the awkwardness of talking about myself?) Anyway, I’m just a girl who’s obsessed with words, who writes stories about the messy in-between time in people’s lives—also known as New Adult.    

How long have you been writing?

Seriously, for a few years now. Before that I dabbled in writing fiction, but college sort of got in the way.

Tell us about STRIPPED. What’s the story about?

College freshman Quinn Montgomery will do anything to avoid the mistake her sister made—killing herself over a boy. But when she is forced into nude modeling at a local college to support her family after a bankruptcy, she begins to crack, just enough to let Torrin, the university’s top varsity oarsman, see that the real Quinn is not as feisty and unapproachable as she wants everyone to think. But letting someone in comes at a steep cost and, it turns out, Torrin is connected to Quinn’s family in more ways than she could ever imagine.

SPOILER: Torrin is totally swoon-worthy! He’s my new favorite book boyfriend. (Is that fair to say seeing that I wrote him?)

Of course! How did the idea of the story come to you? 

The story is a mish-mash of ideas I had. I’d had the character Quinn in my head for quite a while, but until STRIPPED I wasn’t quite sure what her story was. One day while writing another manuscript, I logged in to my email and featured on the “news” section was an article about college girls modeling nude for extra money. At the time, New Adult wasn’t a thing—writing college-aged protagonists was sort of a no-no so I wrote it as YA. It didn’t really work so I set it aside until last year one of my critique partners suggested I rewrite it as NA. And here we are!

Do you have a critique group/partner or beta readers, or do you self-edit? 

This manuscript endured the eyes of five beta readers, two critique partners and was edited by Taryn Albright (who is absolutely a dream to work with).

Are you a plotter or a pantser? 

Panster for draft one then plotter (or outliner?) during revisions. Lately I’ve been plotting out scenes before I write them to help stay focused, so there might be a bit of transition coming my way (gasp!).

Perfectly normal, I say. What’s the hardest part of writing for you? 

Finding quality time to work on it. Most days I wake at 4:00AM just to have a good chunk of writing time before life gets in the way.

I hear ya! What do you absolutely have to have nearby when writing? 

Pandora and sticky notes.

If you could have any super power, what would it be? 

Would tuning out distractions count as a super power? That would be awesome!

Right? I agree! What's the weirdest thing you've Googled? 

It wasn’t something I Googled, but a few months ago I entered a hackers’ forum to try to learn their lingo for an author I was working with. I posed as a hacker myself and was so scared authorities were going to be knocking at my door that night!

Yikes, that's scary. Bravo to you for being so brave in your research. Quick writing test! Use the following words in a sentence: syrup, stirrup, and stressed. 

Sticky syrup dripped from the stirrup as the doctor muttered, “Geez, could I be any more stressed?”

Don’t ask why there was syrup in an OB-GYN office, LOL!

LOL! Okay, I won't. Finish this sentence: If I'm not writing, I'm probably ... 

reading manuscripts. (My editorial assistant job has sort of taken over my life. Sigh.)

Here’s the part where you thank the people who are supporting you. Let's hear your shout outs. 

Thanks to everyone who’s supported STRIPPED thus far. And to all of you who plan to read: I hope you all love Quinn and Torrin as much as I do!

And finally, where can people find you and your book online?

Kindle

Barnes & Noble

Kobo

Amazon

iTunes

Interview with Heather L Reid

We're very pleased about having the next author on the blog. Heather L Reid is the author of PRETTY DARK NOTHING, which released April 23rd by Month9Books and is already receiving great reviews. Let's get to know Heather.

Hi, Heather! Welcome to We Do Write. Tell us a bit about yourself. How long have you been writing?

I’ve been writing ever since I can remember. At the age of four I started dictating stories to my mother who would illustrate them for me. By the age of nine, I was writing plays for friends and binding my own picture books with cardboard and string. At eleven I tried my hand at a first novel. (No, you can’t read it. It’s buried in a deep dark hole somewhere in the Tasmanian Outback and guarded by a three-headed dingo.) It was then I told my parents I wanted to be published by the age of sixteen. I also told them I wanted to be Wonder Woman, a Dallas Cowboy cheerleader, a Broadway star, and an archaeologist. Those dreams faded. I never did get that invisible jet, and I would be a lot older than sixteen before I got a publishing deal, but the dream of being a writer stayed with me. After college I decided to stop dreaming and start getting serious. I joined the Society of Children’s book Writers and Illustrators, joined a writer’s group, read books on writing, went to conferences, workshops, and most importantly, I started writing every day. Some of it was crap. Ok, at first, a lot of it was crap, but writing takes work. After over twelve years of studying and writing, my first young adult novel, Pretty Dark Nothing, sold in a two book deal to Month9Books. It’s been an amazing journey and I’m still learning. I write because I have to. It’s a part of what makes me, me.

The cover of PRETTY DARK NOTHING is spectacular! What’s the story about?

Thank you. I LOVE the cover. My publisher and the designer, Mette Breth Klausen, did an amazing job. It’s even better than I pictured it in my head.

Pretty Dark Nothing is full of demons, and I don’t mean the hot fallen angel, bad boy types. These demons are the evil, hairy, sulphurous kind, bent on manipulating and destroying Quinn’s life. Throw in some romantic sparks with a psychic amnesic, an ex-boyfriend she can’t quite get over, and suspension from the cheerleading squad for failing grades, all while the demons are pushing her to the brink of madness, and I hope it’s a recipe for something darkly paranormal and not quite typical.

I can't tell you how much I need to get my hands on this book. How did the idea of the story come to you?

I think the spark of inspiration for Pretty Dark Nothing has been brewing my whole life. As a child, I suffered from night terrors and sleep walking. Although I eventually grew out of the sleep walking, the nightmares never went away. I would dream of faceless entities and demons on a reoccurring basis. I spent my pre-teen years trying to rationalize my fear while I spent my nights huddled under my covers with a book and a flash light afraid to fall asleep for fear of what would greet me in my dreams. I kept this a secret from my friends and afraid of what they would think. The dark torture of my imagination lasted through three years of middle school and finally faded. I still don’t think my mother knows how terrified I was of falling asleep and I have no idea why the nightmares stopped, maybe they were my way of coping with the stress of adolescence. I don’t know. When I reached college, I went through a particularly bad time in my life, suffered from depression, illness and the nightmares returned. I wasn’t frightened like I was when I was young; I recognized them for what they were. We all have inner demons we battle, those voices that tell us we’re not good enough, taunt us, paralyze us with fear. That’s when the idea for a novel started to form. I asked myself what would happen if those negative voices, inner demons weren’t imagined. What would happen if they were real and they started to manifest outside the dream world? What if they influenced things around us and what if you were the only one that could see them? That’s when Quinn and the idea for Pretty Dark Nothing was born. I didn’t start writing Pretty Dark Noting right away. I did some character sketches and jotted down some notes while I spent the next several years writing short stories and articles. But Quinn’s story wouldn’t let me go. When I finally decided to give my full attention to her, she blew me away. Quinn and I battled the demons that tortured her together and in the process, she taught me how to battle my own.

It's so awesome that you were able to turn a difficult situation into something creative. Besides your editor, do you have a critique group/partner or beta readers, or do you self-edit?

I mostly self-edit, but I also have two critique partners that I trust and a few beta readers that I let read once I’ve gotten the manuscript to a point where I feel I can’t go any further without feedback.

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Panster all the way! I wish I was better at plotting, but it’s not my process. I do know where the book is going, but for me, it’s about letting the story grow organically and listening to my characters as they go on their journey. Knowing every detail takes the fun out of writing for me.

What’s the hardest part of writing for you?

The first draft is the hardest. Because I’m a panster, drafting is slow and sometimes frustrating. I love revising.

I'm a plotter, but I love revising too. What do you absolutely have to have nearby when writing?

My ipod and a cup of green tea.

If you could have any super power, what would it be?

I would love to be a shifter, to be able to fly or swim or run with the wolves as I wished. The ability to experience life from so many different perspectives would truly be awesome. Imagine the freedom of it. I could still live a somewhat normal life if I wished, neither ruled by the moon like a werewolf or blood lust like a vampire.

Good choice! What's the weirdest thing you've googled?

The weirdest thing? How to kill an angel.

Quick writing test! Use the following words in a sentence: darkness, suspicious, and gorilla.

A gorilla peered from the darkness of the cave, a suspicious look in her glowing amber eyes as I plucked the last banana from the tree.

Hehehe, dangerous! Finish this sentence: If I'm not writing, I'm probably ...

Playing the xbox.

Here’s the part where you thank the people who are supporting you. Let's hear your shout outs.

I have been truly blessed by the people in my life. There have been so many people who supported me while I chased my dream. First and foremost are my parents. They always encouraged me to work hard and go after what I wanted in life. My sisters, grandparents, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephew have all cheered me on every step of the way. I owe a lot to all my friends, both writer’s and non-writers, who have offered an ear to listen to my struggles and celebrate my victories. My Scottish family, who took me in as one of their own and never once called me crazy, at least not to my face, for spending countless hours in my imaginary world. And to my husband David who believed in me, bought me chocolate, and took care of the house while I worked to deadlines. I also need to thank Month9Books, Georgia McBride, my editor, Courtney Koschel, and the whole team who worked on Pretty Dark Nothing for helping my vision find an audience and for making the publishing experience the best of my life so far.

And finally, where can people find you and your books online?

http://www.amazon.com/Pretty-Dark-Nothing-Heather-Reid/dp/0985327812/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1365447923&sr=8-1&keywords=pretty+dark+nothing
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/pretty-dark-nothing-heather-reid/1109686541?ean=9780985327811
www.heatherlreid.com
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15768498-pretty-dark-nothing

Heather, thanks so much for being on the blog. We wish you all the best for your books!

Happy Book Birthday: Five Summers by Una LaMarche

Yay for YA contemporary! Today marks the launch of FIVE SUMMERS by Una LaMarche, published by Razorbill.

The summer we were nine: Emma was branded “Skylar’s friend Emma” by the infamous Adam Loring...
The summer we were ten: Maddie realized she was too far into her lies to think about telling the truth...
The summer we were eleven: Johanna totally freaked out during her first game of Spin the Bottle...
The summer we were twelve: Skylar’s love letters from her boyfriend back home were exciting to all of us—except Skylar...
Our last summer together: Emma and Adam almost kissed. Jo found out Maddie’s secret. Skylar did something unthinkable... and whether we knew it then or not, five summers of friendship began to fall apart. 

Three years after the fateful last night of camp, the four of us are coming back to camp for reunion weekend—and for a second chance. Bittersweet, funny, and achingly honest, Five Summers is a story of friendship, love, and growing up that is perfect for fans of Anne Brashares and Judy Blume's Summer Sisters.

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