The castle that inspired THE PRINCESS & THE PAGE is Chateau Chenonceau, located in the Loire Valley of France. It’s my favorite castle in the region, and I love the stories of the woman who once lived in there.
I was so excited to return to this castle with my family a few weeks ago with the book in hand. I got to walk the grounds and reminiscence over the locations that events took place in the story like the forest, the well, the dark tower, the kitchen, ballroom, and fireplaces.
I created two videos, one that explains the setting of the story, and another one that just talks about the book. Below I’ve posted pictures for you to look at as well.
It’s fall! Which means it’s only in the 80’s here in Florida and my hair might curl rather than frizz. But I must say I love the heat so there is no complaining on my part. Bring on the frizz!
Do you know what else happens in the fall? The biggest worldwide writing month- NaNoWri Month! I love November (okay so mostly because it’s my birthday month), but I also love the idea that I’m writing madly, passionately, and crazily with thousands of other writes out there.
I definitely plan on starting a new project for NaNo. All three of my Gilded series books were NaNo books. I usually kick off my books in November and write like a maniac until I collapse on the floor on Christmas day. (Then I take like the next year to revise them.)
Are you doing NaNoWri Month? If so, definitely check out:
1. This video link on my NaNo prep
2. This blog post to inspire you in how to stay motivated
Remember, writing doesn’t necessarily always when inspiration hits. It’s just sitting down and hacking out those words- the good, bad, and ugly.
Hello friends!!!! I hope you all had an incredible summer. I sure did! Lots of beach time and fun with family and friends.
International Literacy Association
I wanted to share with you my video clip from my signing at ILA. If I met you there, it was so great meeting you! Remember, if you are a teacher or librarian, I offer free 20 min Skype visits. Plus fill out the form on my teacher page here and I’ll send you bookmarks to your class.
I’ve been keeping busy with writing and I even participated in Camp NaNoWriMonth, which was a great way to keep me on track during the fun summer months. Here’s (or below) a fun video I made about finding inspiration when I’m writing. What about you? What crazy stuff do you do to get inspired?
Podcast with Kristen Flowers
I was thrilled to participate in the Podcast with Kristen Flowers on 96.5 KOIT San Francisco about how every writing project has it’s own time and journey, how I got my agent plus school visits!
This September, I’ll be leading an SCBWI Boot Camp with the fabulous Vivi Barnes. Here’s the information and click HERE to register:
Building Blocks of a Successful Novel
Windermere Community Room
118 W. 5th Avenue
Windermere, FL 34786
Vivi and Christina will help you reach new heights in building a novel that will stand out in the crowded market. From concept through final draft, they’ll take you through each step of the process, exploring effective plotting techniques, developing multi-dimensional characters, and creating your ideal world. You’ll discover how to write stories that tug at the heart and make readers fly through your pages. Bring a laptop or notebook and your work in progress/novel ideas.
It’s summer! The perfect time to be reading and writing!
For the month of July, I’m participating in Camp NanoWriMonth. I may not write 50k by the end of the month, but I’m having a blast writing with friends and getting some progress on my novel to boot!
I’m super pumped about attending ILA this weekend! I’ll be signing at the Scholastic Booth from 11am-12pm so if you are a teacher and are attending, come by and say hi!
I’ll also be signing at The Summer Book Bash at Barnes and Noble at Waterford Lakes this Saturday from 2pm-3pm with Tara Dairman and Ammi- Joan Paquette. Go here for all of the details. There will be games and prizes along with plenty of fun. The best part? A portion of the sales will be used to help support our local library!
Writing can be tough and
sometimes we get distracted or feel inhibited by things like:
1. Past failures
2. Success of others
3. Our own inabilities
4. Time constraints
5. Lack of inspiration
These are all real issues that
writers face. If you’re like me, you’ve dealt with at least one or all of these at
some point. I’ve been reading a book called GRIT by Angela Duckworth. She didn’t write this book specifically for writers, but she very well could
have with how many of her points rang true for me.
Show Up
I don’t know about you, but I can think
about 10 reasons in 3 seconds of why I shouldn’t be writing or what else I
could do rather than write. There’s always an excuse, and trust me, they’re
good!
But in Chapter 1 of GRIT,
Angela discusses how we need to show up in order to be successful. I can be the
best writer on the planet, but if I’m not sitting at my computer, typing up the
words, I can’t find any success. I have to write, and if that means that it’s
not perfect, that’s okay.
“Potential is one
thing,” Angela reminds us. “What we do with it is quite another.”
Ultimately, those with high
GRIT, find greater success.
What’s GRIT, you ask? Do you
have it? Go here to test your GRIT
scale. Where did you come out as?
That sounds all good, right? But
where can we start to overcome that inability to find time or energy or
motivation to write.
Here are some things that work for me:
1. Create a plan
I
set for myself a reasonable and achievable deadline for each of my drafts. I
love using Pacemaker to
keep me on track. If I get behind, I brew the coffee and set my alarm. No
excuses.
2. I check in with my accountability group
I’m a part of a group of fantastic writers on Slack, which
was organized by my critique partner, Debbie Ridpath Ohi. Every day I post my
writing goal and do everything I can to make that goal. Within the Slack
channel, we have individual places to post struggles, daily life, and share
virtual food. We even have a cat named Tess!
3. Belief in what I’m doing is valuable
Sometimes as writers we feel like we’re just writing into
the void—at least I do. This couldn’t be further from the truth! When I’m
discouraged, I go to my bookshelf where the books that inspired me are shelved
and I focus on those memories and impressions.
I also have received so many
beautiful and kind letters from kids all around the world, and when I pull them
out, I’m reminded that I’m writing stories for them, too, not just for me. I’m
sure those kids will never know the power that their words have on a daily
basis!
What works for you? I’d love
to know! Share your ideas and thoughts in the comments.
Wow. What an amazing book launch we had for THE PRINCESS & THE PAGE. Thanks a million times over to everyone who came and attended the book launch party. Here are some pictures that were sent my way:
Or one of my other events that I had in Miami, Vero Beach, Tampa, Atlanta and even in Kentucky at the Southern Kentucky Book Festival. I’m overwhelmed by the incredible support and kindness everyone has shown for THE PRINCESS & THE PAGE. Words can’t express how much fun I had over the past few weeks.
I love seeing pictures of THE PRINCESS & THE PAGE in the wild so please keep posting them. You guys are awesome! Here are a few of the photos over the past few weeks:
I had an INCREDIBLE time in India teaching writing workshops on Building a Fantasy World at the American School of Bombay. The students that attended this week long workshop were not only talented writers, but had amazing imaginations. It was incredible watching them start from scratch and build whole worlds of their own imaginations. What a group!
Plus I dragged my husband along (okay, so he may have been incredibly eager) to be my ‘assistant’. We traveled around Mumbai and then the weekend after the workshop, we fly up to New Delhi to see the sights and visit the Taj Mahal. It was an experience of a lifetime and I loved every moment. Here are a few photos of our trip.
Both my book, THE PRINCESS AND THE PAGE, and I will be
traveling around the world! If you live in one of the cities below, it would be
amazing to meet you in person and talk. If you can’t come, you can visit the
blogs below and enter to win a $25 gift card!
Welcome to a world where magic spills from the
tip of a pen! Follow this blog tour of THE PRINCESS AND THE PAGE and enter the $25 gift card giveaway
at each of these stops!
I’m absolutely thrilled to share with you the book trailer
for the THE PRINCESS AND THE PAGE! I’d love to hear what you think!
I also want to invite you to the book launch party for THE PRINCESS AND THE PAGE! It’s going to be amazing. We have performances lined up, games, prizes, and I’ll be sharing about the journey this book has taken me on.
Plus everyone who attends will receive a gift pack and the first 50 people to purchase a book will get a tote as well! Dress up as your favorite fairy tale character. Can you guess what character I’ll be dressed up as?
I hope you can come, but if you can’t, don’t worry. You can get signed copies from Bookmark Itor order it from any of these vendors:
Can you believe that in only 8 weeks, THE PRINCESS AND THE PAGE releases on March 28th?
I’m so excited guys! And to share my excitement, I’m giving away a super cool Word Weaver pack to everyone who pre-orders the hardcover/ebook PLUS you will automatically be entered to win a gift basket of my favorite French and fairy tale things as a THANK YOU for being so awesome!
It’s super easy to do! Here are some links for you to start:
