bouncing genres as a writer

As a writer, you hear a lot of things in the rumor mill/professional tips/ writing tips, that often you want to question. For example, one of the first things someone told me was I needed to settle on a genre in order to make it as a writer.

At the time, I was dipping my toes into the publishing world by querying my first project (which eventually got shelved and is now under revision with my agent). I told someone that my Young Adult Contemporary was going out into the world, but I had this Young Adult Historical Fiction I just had to start getting down or I was going to go crazy. I might have mentioned some Picture Book ideas I had as well, and that I always wanted to do a cookbook.

This is what you get when someone asks you what you are writing/ want to write/ etc.

After a nice pause, this person said, “I think, as an author, you should probably stick one thing you’re good with and keep writing that. Like, Contemporary, right? That’s what John Green does?”

I bit my lip, nodded my head, and responded: “Well, they’re just ideas right now, after all. I guess we’ll see.”

I was nervous.

I started second-guessing my writing goals, and stayed away from the computer for a little bit– worried I was doing myself an injustice by writing a Historical Fiction rather than trying my hand at another Contemporary.

Thankfully, I have an amazing bestie/CP/beta reader who told me something very important:

Write what you feel called to write. Write what you want. Write. If you’re writing, you’re doing it right.

Or, it was something like that.

So, here are a couple things to think about if you can’t shake that Middle Grade idea when you typically write Romance, or however the skipping around goes for you.

Write it. Get it out of your system.

Get that MG down on paper. You might find that MG is more of your calling than Romance! Or, you know what I mean. OR you might find out that it isn’t. Or you might find out you love both! Whatever the case, you’ll never know unless you try. And that’s one of the biggest things about writing, isn’t it?

Do some research.

There are plenty of published authors who have written in more than one genre (like, I don’t know- J.K. Rowling?). Don’t just google authors and what they write, talk to some fellow writers who are writing in the genre you want to try. Or who write more than one type of book. This is going to help you grow! You can never get too much help. Well, maybe that’s not entirely true, but you definitely can never ask too many questions!

Never listen to naysayers.

People are going to put you down all the time in life. This, I find, especially happens when you are in the creative sphere trying to spread your wings. Don’t listen to people- particularly people who have NO IDEA what they’re talking about. Talk to more than one person about your idea, and always make sure you include a fellow writer or two.

By the way, if I had never written that YA Historical Fiction- I never would have snagged my agent. Letting fear and doubt dictate what you do is never good.

Remember:

Write what you feel called to write. Write what you want. Write. If you’re writing, you’re doing it right.

Also, Congratulations to @darkchiibsb for winning the Amazon $10 gift card! Please contact me @ emily.herring.dunn@gmail.com to connect and receive your prize! Thanks so much for following, everyone!

happy blogiversary to me: one year later

It has been precisely a year (… in two days) since I published my first post on this site. I’m not sure why I decided posting about scrubbing toilets was a good way to start out, but we’ll just go with it.

I’ve had blogs/sites before that I was committed to. I’ve been in the mommy blog world and the my-perspectives-on-the-world, world– but never before have I felt so connected with the blogosphere as I do with this space. Being part of the writing community is definitely a special place, and I’m so thankful for all of you who have shared, liked, commented, and followed along as I learn-as-I-go with you.

I continue to have big plans, including posts from published authors to come, as well as unpublished authors, and giveaways and more tips I hope you find helpful– and plenty of book reviews, as my TBR is continuously growing. But I would love to hear from YOU if there’s something you want to see more of, or something I didn’t touch well enough on. After all, this isn’t just somewhere for me to spew my guts– it’s somewhere to reach out and touch others (I hope), and a place where I can grow as an author and person.

Suppose I can stop being sappy now and tell you that I’m hosting a GIVEAWAY.

It is VALENTINE’S DAY after all, and I want to show y’all just how much I LOVE you.

SO.

Leave me a comment to enter to win a $10 Amazon or B&N gift card! Giveaway is open through Monday, February 20th, and the winner will be announced on the 21st.

I will also be opening this to my Instagram followers– so if you want an extra entry, follow the instructions on that post as well and make sure to let me know that you’ve liked/followed both places!

… that’s a wrap. I look forward to another year, or five, or ten– or however many this can be kept up– with y’all.

trackback thursday: the boy scouts of america is founded

unknown In February 1910, William Boyce founded The Boy Scouts of America (BSA), modeling it after the Boy-Scout Association in Britain.

Boyce founded BSA in Washington, D.C. There is a “legend” that Boyce, who was an American newspaper man, was lost on a foggy street in London one day when an unknown Scout came to his aid, guiding him to his destination. When Boys offered a tip, the Scout refused- explaining he was just doing his duty as a Boy Scout. Boyce immediately sought the head of the Scouts in Britain, then returned to America and, four months later, founded the Boy Scouts of America.

Of course, this is legend. The truth of it is that a Scout did actually help Boyce, and he asked for the address of the Boy-Scout Association headquarters, but he never met with the head of the scouts in Britain, and it took much longer for the BSA to officially take flight.

BSA isn’t new to controversies. There have been protests for the inclusion of African Americans, and it took a few years before the Catholics and LDS would accept the organization since it had firm ties with a Protestant organization (YMCA).

BSA has survived a century of growth and change, and although there is recent controversy over the laws and acceptance of the association, it is one that was founded in tradition and good intentions and will always have that at it’s roots.

release day: Guardian of Secrets (with excerpt!)

Are y’all in for a treat or WHAT? We’re celebrating the release of Brenda Drake’s GUARDIAN OF SECRETS (Library Jumpers #2), today! Check out the teaser excerpt, and be sure to enter the giveaway via Rafflecopter below!

If you didn’t know, Brenda Drake is not only an amazing writer- she’s also the host of Pitch Madness (coming in March!) and Pitch Wars! I have worked with her through #Writerslifeapparel with Pitch Wars and she is positively amazing.

GUARDIAN OF SECRETS (Library Jumpers #2) by Brenda Drake Publisher: Entangled Teen Publication Date: February 7, 2017

Being a Sentinel isn’t all fairytales and secret gardens. Sure, jumping through books into the world’s most beautiful libraries to protect humans from mystical creatures is awesome. No one knows that better than Gia Kearns, but she could do without the part where people are always trying to kill her. Oh, and the fact that Pop and her had to move away from her friends and life as she knew it. And if that isn’t enough, her boyfriend, Arik, is acting strangely. Like, maybe she should be calling him Dzex,dz since he’s so into another girl. But she doesn’t have time to be mad or even jealous, because someone has to save the world from the upcoming apocalypse, and it looks like that’s going to be Gia. Maybe. If she survives.

Thief of Lies (Library Jumpers #1):

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Guardian of Secrets (Library Jumpers #2):

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iTunes

Excerpt from GUARDIAN OF SECRETS

She did a U-turn and drove off. I sprinted to the area where I spotted the lightning. A shadowed figure sat on a white bench near the water. Another flash of light kissed the sky and illuminated Nick.

Since discovering he was a wizard, Nick struggled with his new magic. And he was careless. Anyone could spot him out here. How would he explain it to someone who was human and not from the Mystik realm? I couldn’t imagine how it felt to have that much power. Unlike him, I was a Sentinel. I had little magic and relied on my battle training to best wizards and other-world creatures. He only needed to shock or electrocute his adversaries.

“What exactly are you doing?” I asked, approaching.

He almost fell off the bench. “Shit, Gia. Don’t sneak up on a person like that.”

“Seriously, Nick? What are you doing? Someone might see you, and then we’d be discovered.”

“Just leave me alone.”

“I’m not going to just leave you alone.” I sat down on the bench beside him. A light breeze swept loose strands of my hair across my face. The briny smell of the ocean filled my nose. “Talk to me. You’re my best friend, Nick. I’m here for you.”

He formed an electric charge on his palm. I created my pink globe and tossed it on his hand, snuffing out the charge.

He made another electric ball and I cast another globe at it.

“Quit doing that.”

“You stop it.”

“I get it. Your globe is badass. It can counter magic and shield people, but it makes you weak. I can do this all night and wear you out.”

“You’re not nice.”

He buried his face in his hands. The knuckles on his right one were torn, with blood coagulating around the wounds. “I don’t know what’s happening to me. I can’t stop myself. I know I’m being mean to Deidre, to my parents…to everyone.”

“You haven’t been that mean to me, yet. That has to say something. I’m the most annoying one of the bunch.”

He snorted. “Did you just snort?”

“No.” He looked startled. “It was a sneeze.”

“I think you snorted.”

His face brightened. “I know what you’re trying to do. And it’s working.”

“I’m not trying to do anything. That was a full-on snort.” I wrapped my arm over his back and watched the water lap against the retaining wall in front of us. “I know you can’t see a therapist for this, ’cause what would you say? That you just found out you’re the son of the most evil wizard of the Mystik world and the curers recently released your magic?”

He gave me a half smile. “Yeah, that might not go over too well.”

“Or maybe you could. They’d think you were delusional, and you’d score some drugs.”

“Drugs make me nauseous.”

He stared at his hands, and I stared at the water, searching for the right words to say. “This has to be tough for you. I get it. I’ve been there. It’ll take time to adjust. How about I be your counselor? Anytime you feel anxious or angry, you call me and we’ll punch some bags or whatever. It always helps me to relax. Plus, my services are cheap.”

“Violence would make you relax.” He was pleased with his retort and laughed, which was followed by another snort.

Be sure to add GUARDIAN OF SECRETS to your Goodreads to-read list, and grab your copy today!

About Brenda Drake

Brenda Drake is a New York Times bestselling author of Thief of Lies (Library Jumpers #1), Guardian of Secrets (Library Jumpers #2), Touching Fate (Fated Series #1), and Cursing Fate (FatedSeries #2). She grew up the youngest of three children, an Air Force brat, and the continual new kid at school. She hosts workshops and contests for writers such as Pitch Wars and Pitch Madness on her blog, and holds Twitter pitch parties on the hashtag, #PitMad. When she’s not writing or hanging out with her family, she haunts libraries, bookstores, and coffee shops, or reads someplace quiet and not at all exotic (much to her disappointment). Look for her upcoming novels, Thunderstruck, Seeking Fate (Fated Series #3), and Assassin of Truths (Library Jumpers #3) coming soon from Entangled Teen.

Enter the GIVEAWAY for $25 Amazon Gift Card OR Book Depository Gift Card HERE

iron cast book review

Iron Cast was one of the last books I read of 2016, and as soon as I started it I had a hard time putting it down. It’s a beautiful historical fantasy set in 1919 that is full of twists a reader would be hard to catch until that very moment in the story.

Historical fantasy really seems to be growing on me. Being a lover of historical fiction, I’ve been branching out more and more and I’m not sorry for it. Although I’m pretty sure historical fantasy will never be something I, myself, could write– I thoroughly enjoy the authors who do.

And Destiny Soria’s work is no exception. Here’s the description from Goodreads:

In 1919, Ada Navarra—the intrepid daughter of immigrants—and Corinne Wells—a spunky, devil-may-care heiress—make an unlikely pair. But at the Cast Iron nightclub in Boston, anything and everything is possible. At night, on stage together, the two best friends, whose “afflicted” blood gives them the ability to create illusions through art, weave magic under the employ of Johnny Dervish, the club’s owner and a notorious gangster. By day, Ada and Corinne use these same skills to con the city’s elite in an attempt to keep the club afloat.

When a “job” goes awry and Ada is imprisoned, she realizes they’re on the precipice of danger. Only Corinne—her partner in crime—can break her out of Haversham Asylum. But once Ada is out, they face betrayal at every turn.

This description, to me, does not adequately portray the book. While it obviously grabbed my attention, a little more insight to the details might make one want to read it even more.

The dual point of view in this book really helps the reader get to know the two main characters, Ada and Corinne. Their friendship is what drives the book, which is one of the reasons I loved it so much. While there are romances brought into the chapters, they are not the focus, or even big highlights, that run the plot.

The magic in this book is beautiful, and it brings up some good questions with it. The characters toe the line with their gifts between what is right and what is wrong, but the justification that is brought to light in all of it is because they have been forced into a position where they cannot use their gifts solely for good.

This point and thought, as off as it might seem, made me think of X-Men and how the mutants are forced between what is right and what is wrong because of how the world sees them. It’s the same type of concept, and one that can be applied to many issues constantly arising in our world today.

I would not have heard of this book had I not just been perusing Amazon one day for more historical fiction/fantasy, and I worry that it’s the same for others. If you haven’t heard of it, and are a lover of historical fantasy, you’ll want to pick this up.

Now.

This instant.

Go.

trackback thursday: all-American bombing raid on Germany

Consolidated B-24 "Liberator" — Photo courtesy from the 8th Air Force History Office, found *here*.

On January 27, 1943, the United States 8th Air Force conduced the first all-American bombing raid on Germany.

As 55 bombers targeted Wilhelmshaven, Germany, they dropped 137 tons of bombs on warehouses and industrial plants, losing three aircraft and shooting down 22 German fighters.

The 8th Air Force was activated in February 1942 as a heavy bomber force based in England. Commanded at the time by Brig. Gen. Newton Longfellow, the 8th Air Force was amazingly effective and accurate in bombing warehouses and factories in this first air attack against the Axis power.

The success of this first raid encouraged U.S. military planners to begin regular daylight bombing raids. However, these raids resulted in high casualty rates for the American soldiers involved.

Dream Eater cover reveal

I am so excited to be participating in the cover reveal for World Weaver Press’s Dream Eater by K. Bird Lincoln- the first novel in a new urban fantasy series!

Koi Pierce dreams other peoples’ dreams.

Her whole life she’s avoided other people. Any skin-to-skin contact—a hug from her sister, the hand of a barista at Stumptown coffee—transfers flashes of that person’s most intense dreams. It’s enough to make anyone a hermit.

But Koi’s getting her act together. No matter what, this time she’s going to finish her degree at Portland Community College and get a real life. Of course it’s not going to be that easy. Her father, increasingly disturbed from Alzheimer’s disease, a dream fragment of a dead girl from the casual brush of a creepy PCC professor’s hand, and a mysterious stranger who speaks the same rare Northern Japanese dialect as Koi’s father will force Koi to learn to trust in the help of others, as well as face the truth about herself.

Does that not pull you in?? OH. And look at this awesome cover!

dream-eater-front

Dream Eater will be available April 4th in paperback and ebook via Amazon, B&N, Kobo, iTunes, and WorldWeaverPress.com. You can also find Dream Eater on Goodreads!

Keep checking back if you’re following this book! We may be blessed with a little something-something from the author.

Happy reading!

how do you make your writing goals stick?

Making writing goals and plans can sometimes be a challenge, but it’s even a bigger challenge to follow through with them.

As writers, we are challenged with having two parts of our lives– the writing part, and the other part. The balance can be a nightmare sometimes, and other times we wonder why others complain about not having the time to do what they love.

It’s understandable. That’s life, after all.

But what happens during those times that feel like we’ve stepped into a horror film? Those times that the plans you wrote down for the day (or the week, or the month) slip away and we find ourselves wordless and feeling lousy?

MAKE SACRIFICES

Oftentimes we don’t write because we feel like something else is more important, or it’s just distracting us. If that pile of laundry in the corner is laughing at you as you try to hash out a scene, tell it to shut-up and keep going.

It’s OK to let the laundry sit for a day so you can write, or the dishes, or the dusting– or whatever it is.

If it’s not house work, and you think your distraction is far more important– it’s up to you to decide what to sacrifice so you can get your writing time in.

PLAN AHEAD

Not good at making sacrifices? Plan ahead. Get that project done before the due date so you have time to enjoy your own writing. Make some freezer meals (or even order a pizza) to have the troops fed so you can snuggle in without interruptions (maybe). Know when you’re writing time is and make sure to prep for it.

You might never have all your bases covered, but you can come as close as possible with a little planning.

TAKE IT ONE WORD AT A TIME

Goals can be scary. And if they’re not scary, that usually means they’re not “big enough”… or so I’ve been told. The thing is, you don’t want to make your goals so outrageous that you feel overwhelmed just thinking about them.

Take your goals one word at a time. If your goal is to write 5k words in one week and you only make 3k, that’s OK! Pick up the slack the next week, or by the end of the month. The great thing about it all is you are your worst critic.

Don’t want to miss out on those 2k words? Enlist a Critique Partner or Writing Buddy that will keep you accountable. Just remember that sometimes the words come slower at times of stress and busy-ness than they do when the other part of your world is all rainbows and unicorns.

It’s so important to make our writing a priority and meeting those goals. Not only for ourselves, but for our future readers as well. But it’s never going to be easy (unless you’re a full time writer, and even then that’s debatable), and it’s always going to take work. What makes you different is you’re already halfway there– because you’ve started, you’re making the time!

You’re not just saying, I want to write a book…

you’re actually doing it.

wayfarer book review

After a VERY LONG YEAR of waiting, the sequel to Alexandra Bracken‘s Passenger was finally released earlier this month, and I had to wait two whole days after it came out to receive my copy in the mail.

I could have gone to the bookstore, but seeing as how I ordered it the day before it came out, I was responsible. And I waited.

Once I got the book, I was semi-thankful that I was under the weather, because I finished it in approximately 32 hours– and that was only because I fell asleep and dropped the book on my face. Otherwise it would have been shorter.

While I thoroughly enjoyed the book, I will admit it didn’t wrap me up in the world of time travel and history as much as the first one did. Perhaps it’s because the two characters we came to love together so much, Etta and Nicholas, weren’t together for almost the entire book… or perhaps it was something else I can’t put my finger on. But before I go into more (without spoilers, I promise), here’s what Goodreads has to say:

All Etta Spencer wanted was to make her violin debut when she was thrust into a treacherous world where the struggle for power could alter history. After losing the one thing that would have allowed her to protect the Timeline, and the one person worth fighting for, Etta awakens alone in an unknown place and time, exposed to the threat of the two groups who would rather see her dead than succeed. When help arrives, it comes from the last person Etta ever expected—Julian Ironwood, the Grand Master’s heir who has long been presumed dead, and whose dangerous alliance with a man from Etta’s past could put them both at risk.

Meanwhile, Nicholas and Sophia are racing through time in order to locate Etta and the missing astrolabe with Ironwood travelers hot on their trail. They cross paths with a mercenary-for-hire, a cheeky girl named Li Min who quickly develops a flirtation with Sophia. But as the three of them attempt to evade their pursuers, Nicholas soon realizes that one of his companions may have ulterior motives.

As Etta and Nicholas fight to make their way back to one another, from Imperial Russia to the Vatican catacombs, time is rapidly shifting and changing into something unrecognizable… and might just run out on both of them.

I did absolutely love the secondary characters in the book. I loved getting to know Etta’s father, Julian, Li Min, and more layers of Sophia, Nicholas, and Etta. But, like I said earlier, the fact that the fight for Nicholas and Etta to be together took almost the ENTIRE book… I found myself desperately wanting to skip ahead to the part when they FINALLY REUNITED. This, I’m sure, is the romantic in me.

Since the first book took us on a crazy adventure that brought these two lovebirds together, I hoped the second would bring them together at least halfway through so we could experience more of their balance in the midst of the craziness. This wasn’t the case. However, in a few months I’m hoping to reread both the books in succession and perhaps I won’t feel as torn about my feelings for Wayfarer then.

Overall, this book was beautiful. The places we got to go and the emotions I felt through all of the characters wrapped it up in a wonderful end as a sequel. I especially loved all the toying with history and the potential repercussions of what that could mean.

If you loved Passenger, I would still highly recommend picking up the sequel. I’d love to hear your thoughts on it!

trackback thursday:Hattie Caraway- first female senator

hattie-caraway In January of 1932, Hattie Caraway, a Democrat from Arkansas, was appointed to the U.S. senate to fill the term of her deceased husband, Thaddeus Caraway. Before Caraway, Rebecca Felton had been the only woman who had served as a senator in 1922– for a single day only.

In May 1932 Caraway surprised Arkansas politicians by announcing that she would run for a full term in the upcoming election, when the prominent candidates assumed she would step aside.

She told reporters, “The time has passed when a woman should be placed in a position and kept there only while someone else is being groomed for the job.”

Caraway was the first woman elected as a U.S. Senator.

In 1938 Caraway entered a fight for reelection, challenged by Representative John Little McClellan, who argued that a man could work for and represent the state’s interests better. With support from government employees, women’s groups, and unions, Caraway won a narrow victory in the primary, but then took the general election with 89.4 percent of the vote!

During her time in the Senate, three other women, Rose McConnell Long, Dixie Bibb Graves, and Gladys Pyle, held brief tenures of two years or less in the Senate. None of them overlapped, however, so there were never more than two women in the body.

The 115th Congress (2015-2016) had 21 women out of 100 senators. While we have made strides since 1938, it is still not ratio that is close enough (if you ask me).