Author Blog Hop for Children’s Authors, MG Authors, and YA Authors...

I was invited by my author cohort, Corelia Dinsmore, to participate in a “blog hop interview.” Cordelia sent me some interview questions, which I answer here on my blog. Following my answers, I tag 3 other writers who will, in turn, answer questions on their blogs next week. It’s been fun checking out the Blog Hops to see what other children’s authors have posted!

Cordelia posted her answers to the questions at her blog, Cordelia Dinsmore - Writer on August 5^th. If you like, you can leave a comment on her blog and tell her that you connected to her through my link here!

Okay, so let’s get this Author Blog Hop rolling with my pithy, deep answers…

1. What are you working on right now?

I’ve just finished the fourth round of edits for the prequel to The Last Timekeepers series entitled, Legend of the Timekeepers which will be out August 30^th, 2013. I also have a completed manuscript of the second book in the series entitled, The Last Timekeepers and the Dark Secret, but there’s the fun job of revising it into Jordan Jensen’s point of view. I’ve also signed on with literary agency, Walden House (Books & Stuff) this past December to take on another young adult series I’ve created about teens with psychic abilities called, Mysterious Tales from Fairy Falls, so I’ll be one busy gal!

2. How does it differ from other works in its genre?

Keyword: Atlantis. I wanted to create a book series for upper middle grade/lower young adults that had a different slant to the time travel genre. I love history. I also love myths and legends. There’s many time travel series out there, but nothing that has roots leading back to Atlantis—at least what I know about and have read. And since there’s no concrete evidence that Atlantis did exist, then that left the door (or arch) wide open to possibilities.

3. Why do you write what you do?

I have a confession. I didn’t start out writing middle grade or young adult. Nope. I lurked in the deep pool of the paranormal romance genre before I ever considered dipping my toes into the welcoming waters of middle-grade/young adult fiction. The idea to write in this genre actually came to me through a dream. In this dream, I saw seven arches, and there were seven people (five kids, two adults) with crystals in their hands, walking up to these arches. It definitely had an Indiana Jones feel to it. Then, boom. The Last Timekeepers and the Arch of Atlantis was born.

At the time, I had just finished reading the first two books of the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon, as well as the first Harry Potter book. The young adult genre was starting to accelerate now that J.K. Rowling had fired up the engines. I really thought about that dream a lot to the point where an idea for a book started to grow, and take root. So, I thought I’d challenge myself and write a novel—a series—that would appeal to my son, who at the time was the target age of my audience. I’ve always loved the time travel genre, so I imagined the arches I saw vividly in my dream as time portals. It was a no-brainer for me.

4. How does your writing process work?

Sometimes I’m a pantser (writing by the seat of my pants), sometimes a plotter (outline entire storyline)—it all depends on the tone of the book and where my imagination directs me. I have many notebooks and pads and sticky notes at my disposal. I also have a file full of ideas. I guess I start with the characters and build the story around them. The characters, my characters, must carry the story to completion, give readers closure. It’s a must. In order to do this, I begin writing out character tracking sheets (stats on characters appearances, clothing, likes and dislikes, etc.) which have served me well throughout the writing process. Then the fun begins. Research, research, and more research. When you’re writing time travel, you’ve got to know your facts to create the fiction. I love this part of the journey too. Only when I have enough facts, and I feel my characters are fleshed out sufficiently, then I begin to start the novel.

Below are the three victims authors I’ve tagged and their posts will be up August 19^th.
 
RitaMonette
 
Kaitlin Bevis
 

Alan Tucker

Cheers for stopping by, and don’t forget to check out the other awesome MG and YA authors!

Who Let the Dogs Out…

If you’re a dog lover like me you probably can’t get enough of books or movies with dogs as one of the central characters. Scooby Doo was a mainstay on Saturday mornings for me. And when I was a girl, I used to take out armfuls of books from my elementary school’s library about dogs. Books like, Lad a Dog, Big Red, The Incredible Journey, and of course the biggest dog star of all: Lassie. A box of tissue would always be by my side when I watched a movie about dogs. There was a guarantee, an unwritten code that movie producers made sure you would cry. Don’t believe me? Watch Marley and Me, and prove me wrong. I dare you. No. I double dog dare you!

In my book, The Last Timekeepers and the Arch of Atlantis, a smelly deerhound named Tuck—Friar Tuck’s namesake—makes a few cameo appearances. So I thought I gather together a group of fine young adult authors who have made it a point to have dogs in their books. Let the barking commence:

Linda Benson: Walking the Dog

Jared feels like he's the only one who looks past Sophie's scars to see her for who she is. But can he be a true friend when she desperately needs one?

Jared is smitten when his teacher seats the new girl, Sophie, right next to him. Even with the scar running up the side of her face, Jared thinks she’s the most beautiful girl in the entire fifth grade. But why did she transfer here so late in the year? Rumors say something bad happened to her.

Jared and Sophie become friends while walking the guidance counselor’s new puppy, but when his parents object to this arrangement, Jared fabricates a series of elaborate lies to meet Sophie on the sly. But little brothers can be pests. First Petey lets the orange cat loose at the animal shelter where Jared and Sophie have been secretly walking the dogs. Then Petey turns up missing.

And Sophie's past finally catches up with her.



Cordelia Dinsmore: Michaela’s Gift
Twelve-year-old Michaela Cochran still believes in enchanted mountains and fairytale castles, but her happily-ever-after will never happen if she can’t convince her mother to accept the magical gift Michaela has inherited.

Michaela Cochran and her family make the trip to her father’s ancestral home every year, but this year is special. Michaela is now twelve, the age when every girl in the family receives a special gift. When Aunt Sharon explains that Michaela’s gift is a magical ability to bring one of her drawings to life, Michaela begins making plans. What she wants most is a castle high on the mountain, where her family can live together. But if she can’t figure out how to resolve the growing hostility between herself and her mother, her gift is meaningless.

Rita Monette: The Legend of Ghost Dog Island

Behind every legend lies the truth.
Moving is nothing new for ten-year-old Nikki Landry. Her fisherman father relocates their raggedy old houseboat several times a year in search of better crabbing spots. However, their latest move has brought her to a mysterious bayou where she feels something is watching her from a nearby island.

Nikki learns of a local legend about something sinister inhabiting those swamps, stealing the souls of dogs…which would explain the strange howling sounds. Papa reassures her there’s nothing on the island but gators and snakes. He would know. He’s spent his whole life trapping and fishing those bayous and swamps. But Nikki and her new friends uncover strange happenings from years ago that may have started the old legend, and town folks aren’t talking. Then her beloved beagle goes missing.

Join Nikki as she seeks to discover the real truth behind the legend of Ghost Dog Island…before it’s too late.

To finish off this post, I thought I’d pull you back in time (a specialty of mine) to enjoy a musical romp with the Baha Men. Enjoy!
 

Looking Good...

Cathy Olliffe Webster, graphic artist and blogger-extraordinaire of Life on the Muskoka River, tagged me with The Look Challenge. Apparently, this game is a relatively painless one: find the word look in your work in progress and post the neighboring paragraphs. Hmmm. Not so painless, it seems.

After clicking a few buttons in word find, I was surprised to find 121 occurrences. Not bad, since I figured look is a pretty popular word. So not to be outdone by Cathy’s Lookie-loo post, I thought I’d pick a paragraph that had to do with excrement too. Great minds do think alike, after all!

Here’s my work-in-progress contribution, which is the prequel to The Last Timekeepers series:

The boy stumbled. Lilith pushed her coiled snake bracelet back up her arm for what seemed the millionth time, smoothed out her plain white robe, and showed him her angry face.

He laughed. “Your face looks like a date about to pop in the heat. Do you need relief?”

Lilith’s jaw dropped. “Relief?”

“Yes, relief. I don’t know what you people from Atcha call it. Pass water? Do a dung drop?”

Lilith scratched her slender nose before realizing what this pest was trying to ask her. Then, she smirked. “No. Do you?”

The boy wrinkled his brow. “No. Why would you ask?”

She pointed to what he was wearing—a white linen loincloth held in place by a simple knot on the side. “Because you’re wearing that baby’s cloth, and by the smell of you, it’s about time you change it.”

And now, let the tagging begin! Okay my choices for The Look Challenge are…drum roll…

Lauren Hunter is a writer of Regency and paranormal romance novels, with plans to write in a variety of other genres, including time travel, angel, ghost, and contemporary romance.

Sloane Taylor is a true romantic and a sensual woman who believes humor and sex are healthy aspects of everyday lives. She loves to cook, garden and read.

Paul Stansfield is an archaeologist, author, and tends to write anything that will scare the pants off of you.

Linda Benson is the middle-grade author of Six Degrees of Lost, The Girl Who Remembered Horses, Finding Chance, and Walking the Dog. She is an animal lover, horsewoman, chocolate addict, and book worm.

Cordelia Dinsmore is the writer of young adult fiction and the occasional rhyming book. When she’s not writing, she trains her dog, volunteers with kids, and plays in the dirt.