Happy Book Birthday, CHANTRESS!

Well, I'm back! As some of you might know, I've been on vacation in Disney World (yes, you should be jealous) for the last two weeks. We just got back early this morning, hence the late post, and I am rested and ready to jump back in to blogging with the launch of Amy Butler Greenfield's new novel, CHANTRESS.

Lucy’s Chantress magic will make her the most powerful — and most hunted — girl in England.

“Sing, and the darkness will find you.” This warning has haunted fifteen-year-old Lucy ever since she was eight and shipwrecked on a lonely island. Lucy’s guardian, Norrie, has lots of rules, but the most important is that Lucy must never sing. Not ever. Now it is 1667, Lucy is fifteen, and on All Hallows’ Eve, Lucy hears a tantalizing melody on the wind. She can’t help but sing — and she is swept into darkness.

When she awakes in England, Lucy hears powerful men discussing Chantresses — women who can sing magic into the world. They are hunting her, but she escapes and finds sanctuary with the Invisible College, an organization plotting to overthrow the nefarious Lord Protector. The only person powerful enough to bring about his downfall is a Chantress. And Lucy is the last one in England.

Lucy struggles to master the song-spells and harness her power, but the Lord Protector is moving quickly. And her feelings for Nat, an Invisible College apprentice and scientist who deeply distrusts her magic, only add to her confusion…

Time is running out, and the fate of England hangs in the balance in this entrancing novel that is atmospheric and lyrical, dangerous and romantic.

Sounds awesome! Happy Book Birthday, CHANTRESS!

Interview with Jill Van Den Eng

Welcome to a rare Sunday post, everyone. How are you all doing with NaNoWriMo? May your inspiration be high and your word count plentiful!

Today we're chatting with author Jill Van Den Eng about her novel, DIVIDED MOON.

Hi, Jill! Tell us a bit about yourself. 

I lived in the Midwest most of my life. I am married with three sons. Some people think it would be hard to be the only female in the house, but I like it. I never have to kill a spider and all the cute shoes belong to me.
How long have you been writing?

I wrote angsty poetry as a teen, and attempted to write my first novel on a Brother word processor. I don’t even know how far I made it with that book. It is trapped on a disk from ancient technology. I went into journalism and learned that as much as I love research and facts, my favorite stories were about people.

Tell us about DIVIDED MOON. What’s the story about?

DIVIDED MOON is the story of Moon Vang, age 14, who is told by her immigrant father that she must marry a much older man...like now. Moon feels trapped between the sometimes isolating Hmong traditions from a land she never lived and teen life in small town Wisconsin during the 1990s.

How did the idea of the story come to you?

I learned a lot from my Hmong classmates, who were just like everyone else at school but their lives at home seemed so different from my experience. Pang was a friend of a friend who was going through a particularly hard time and was generous enough to share her story with me. She was the daughter of Hmong immigrants and got married while still attending high school for cultural reasons. Her story haunted me, and made me think about the challenges first generation Americans face, living a culture within a culture. The lunch scene between Xiong and Moon came from something Pang told me, only her story turned out far different than Moon’s.

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

I have a fabulous critique group. I could not do it without them. They are not afraid to tell me what is not working and offer suggestions for improvement. Having someone tell me the faults in a piece is rare, and I have a whole group of people like that. They don’t just focus on the negative, but work to improve all our writing. We learn a lot together with group discussions on plot, character development, tension and other elements in story telling.

Are you a planner or a pantser?

I am constantly evolving as a writer, but probably more of a planner. I like to know where I am going with a story, although sometimes the characters have other ideas.

What’s the hardest part of writing for you?

Getting down a first draft is the biggest hurdle for me, and it is only the beginning. Figuring out what is wrong with a first draft I labored over so much is the most heartbreaking, but not quiet as grueling.

What do you absolutely have to have nearby when writing?

Pen and paper. Although I write on my computer, I like to take notes or work out story problems the old fashioned way.

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

I would like to read minds. Is that a superpower?

Definitely! What's the weirdest thing you've googled?

Sometimes I Google celebrities to see if they are still alive.

LOL. Yeah, you never know. Quick writing test! Use the following words in a sentence: division,
evasion, and symbol.

Division focuses on the differences between us, and evasion leaves us disconnected, while hands clasped with your enemy’s is a symbol of the eroding notion that we are one human race in a polarizing election cycle.

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

sleeping.

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

Shout outs to my husband Dean who supported me as a starving artist and to my kids for being good about bedtime when Mommy has to get to her computer before she falls asleep too. A big shout out to my critique group partners, both past and present, for helping me shape this book into something I am proud for people to read. I want to thank Solstice Publishing for taking a chance on a first time novelist; a very patient cover artist, Kelly Abell; and my gracious editor, Jane Finch.

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

“Divided Moon” is available in all e-reader formats on Smashwords, on Amazon for Kindle, on Barnes and Noble for Nook and as a PDF on www.solsticepublishing.com. For those without e-reader devices, a paperback will be available on Amazon by the end of November.

Thanks so much for chatting with us today, Jill. Your book sounds great, and I wish you lots of success!

Interview with DL King

Almost Wednesday, folks. Which means almost half-way through the week. Woohoo! Let's celebrate by partaking in an interview with a very interesting and fascinating writer, DL King.

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

I'm going to have to quote Alfred Lord Tennyson: "The words 'far, far away' had always a strange charm." Sometimes I wonder if I was born in the wrong era. I think if I had one wish, it would be to have a time machine. Nothing sounds more fabulous than visiting writers like Wilde, Poe, Austen, the Brontes, Stoker, Dickens...I could go on forever.


I'm also fascinated by the origin, meanings, and importance of fairy tales and mythology. I remember writing a paper in college on the significance of the Prometheus myth and how it’s been recycled throughout popular culture (Frankenstein, Jurassic Park, etc.) That was one of my favorite assignments. I think if I wasn't a writer I would be a mythologist or archeologist.


But for now, I am a proud YA and picture book writer currently querying literary agencies for representation.

How long have you been writing?

Since I was about five. I remember writing short stories in elementary school, and one of our homework assignments was to write a story, make a book, and read it to the kindergarteners during storytime. I was enthralled. I also kept a journal all throughout junior high and high school. However, I really started considering a writing career in college, but debated if that was what I really "should" do. When I finally got over that psychological hump, I took the plunge and got involved in SCBWI and a critique group and have been writing seriously for five years.

That's great. What is the name and genre of your manuscript?

The name of my novel is SCARLETTE HOOD and it's a dark, historical YA.

Love the title! Here’s the part where you pitch it. What’s your story about?

It is a retelling of LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD set in 18th century France against the historical Beast of Gévaudan "werewolf" attacks (1764-1767). Laced with horror, romance, and gothic undertones this novel explores the dark side of the fairy tale, yet it's grounded in historical reality. It answers the question: "What if Little Red Riding Hood had been a real person?"

I love it already! How did the idea of the story come to you?

Back in January of this year, I was very ill and knew I was going to be spending some hard time in bed and on the couch. I needed some type of artistic distraction besides writing to keep me sane, so I looked into finding cross-stitch patterns. After doing some research, I found some really hip designs and finally decided on the Japanese designer Gera's scene from Little Red Riding Hood.


As I was stitching away, some questions pulsed through my brain: What if LRRH was a real person? Where would she have lived? And if she was real, wouldn't that make an awesome YA premise? My fingers walked their way over to the keyboard, and before I knew it, I came up with a rough outline and notes for a story.


After reading Charles Perrault's version of LRRH, I was shocked to find that his original tale was much darker than the common story we've all grown up with. Told as a cautionary tale warning young women of men's wolfish sexual appetites, this early telling was very moralistic and resulted in a tragic ending for the heroine: The wolf "devoured" her.


I knew I wanted to make my story dark like Perrault's version and also thought the novel would be more interesting if the wolf in the fairy tale was a werewolf. Lo and behold, as I was reading all the different versions of the tale, I found another French version entitled The Grandmother were the wolf was in fact a bzou (werewolf).


So I had my werewolf, knew I wanted to use a dark angle, and set the story in France, but I still wanted to pin down a real setting to use as a backdrop. After a little more digging, I got lucky. After researching werewolf history and mythology, I found out that nearly 60 years after Perrault penned his version of LRRH, (1697) one of the most famous alleged werewolf attacks happened in the south of France.


An unidentified animal known as La Bete, The Beast of Gévaudan, killed almost one hundred people between from 1764-1767 in the Gévaudan province (now the department of Lozère and part of the Haute-Loire department). I knew this would be the perfect setting! So I made the wolf in the original fairy tale The Beast of Gévaudan and wrote the story as if Little Red Riding Hood might have really happened in history.

Holy researching, Batman! I'm blown away. So, do you have a critique group/partner or beta readers, or do you self-edit?

Just as it takes an army of stylists to glamorize a celebrity, so it takes a legion of literary artists to beautify a book.

I'm a firm believer in critique groups/partners and beta readers. Writing a novel is like tightrope walking blind folded. You can't trust yourself to see your project clearly and need help getting across and keeping on track.

That's an excellent analogy. What’s the hardest part of writing for you?

The hardest part of writing is preparing to write. I think most forms of writers block happen because we haven't prepared to come to the keyboard yet. Doing your outlining, plotting, daydreaming, and brainstorming before coming to the computer is key. Everytime I sit down I want to be lost in the process of raw creation of words, emotions, and images and not have to think about the "prep work."

Let’s get to know you on a deeper level. What do you absolutely have to have nearby when writing?

Music. And it's usually blasting. It is not uncommon that I will think of the scene I'm about to write, pick out a song to match its tone, and play it over and over until I've fleshed it out perfectly. And when I have my earbuds in, everyone knows that they are not to disturb me or they will suffer my werewolf bite. ;)

Quick writing test! Use the following words in a sentence: cartwheel, snoring, and electricity.

Melvin got zapped by a lightening bolt, and the shock of electricity made him do 500 back flips and a cartwheel, but now he's sound asleep and snoring after his trip to the hospital.

Excellent sentence! Here’s the part where you thank the people who are supporting you. Who would you like to give a shout out to?

Dennis Foley my writing instructor and mentor, my on-call-all-purpose historical advisor John Bladek, Kathy Dunnehoff my screenwriting instructor, my mom, and my beta readers: Logan, Wendy, Tessa. And Coley for your undying support! You all rock!

And finally, where can people find you online?

Feel free to stalk me and add me here:


Twitter: http://twitter.com/dlkingwriter
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/people/DL-King/100001612312924
Blogger: http://dlkingwriter.blogspot.com/
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/4349663-d-l-king

Thank you so much for chatting with us. I look forward to seeing your book on the book store shelves someday soon.