The co-hosts this month are Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Mary Aalgaard,Madeline Mora-Summonte, and Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor!
The optional question this month is "It's been said that the benefits of becoming a writer who does not read is that all your ideas are new and original. Everything you do is an extension of yourself, instead of a mixture of you and another writer. On the other hand, how can you expect other people to want your writing if you don't enjoy reading? What are your thoughts?
Personally, I believe writers should be readers. Being a writer is a constant learning and growing experience. Unless you're only reading one author for all time, it's highly doubtful you're going to write just like them. On the other hand, you can learn a lot from other writers and your responses to their work. You can learn just as much about what not to do as you can learn about what to do. I find that an author doing something wrong can make me see the errors in my own writing.
I'm currently waiting on some submissions to either get accepted or rejected so I can start putting together my next collection. I like to put some new stories in with old ones, and am thinking of doing more new ones this time around, but I want to see what I have available first. So no submission stats this month!
In lieu of my usual posts, I wanted to share S.A. Larsen's recent release!
It’s finally here!
New cover. Completely rebranded.
Same corpse-raising middle grade adventure.
MOTLEY
EDUCATION: The Urd Saga, book I
by S. A.
Larsen
Ages: 8-12
Pages: 354
Ellysian Press,
September 10, 2019; Second Edition
"A deftly crafted ... and entertaining
read!"
Midwest Book Reviews - Children's Watch 2017
Motley Junior High: School for the Psychically
and Celestially Gifted Terms of Enrollment
Signed: Ebony Charmed
Ebony should be
excited about entering sixth grade to further develop her skills. And she would
be. If only her lame abilities let her see more than three ghosts.
Struggling to
live up to her gifted family, Ebony is horrified when she is branded a Seeker:
someone who is neither Sensory nor Luminary. To top it off, her Deadly Creatures
and Relics project – transforming a measly stick – seems destined for failure.
But there are
doors to other worlds where creatures have been watching her. And when the
truth emerges that her project is more than a stick, she knows she must act.
Along with her best friend Fleishman and his pet lizard, Ebony finds herself
wedged between prophecies and quests. Oh, and saving the entire spirit world
from annihilation.
Ebony is not
ready to be a hero. But a dark presence has already stolen more than one local
kid. And this time, her failure is not an option.
*FIRST
PLACE WINNER, CHILDREN'S CATEGORY, 2016 NEW ENGLAND BOOK FESTIVAL!*
*Bronze Award Winner, 2017 Feathered Quill Book Awards for Best Juvenile/YA Fiction*
*Bronze Award Winner, 2017 Feathered Quill Book Awards for Best Juvenile/YA Fiction*
*Winner
- Purple Dragonfly Awards 2017, Honorable Mention; ebook*
*Gold
Medal Award Winner - Literary Classics Book Awards 2017, Grade School Fantasy*
*Gold
Medal Winner - 2017 Readers' Favorite International Book Awards, Children's
Fantasy/Sci-Fi
Order
signed books from The Children’s Book Cellar via message.
About the
Author
S.A. Larsen is
an award-winning author, childhood apraxia of speech advocate, and Maine-iac
ice hockey fan, who has watched more hockey games than she could ever count.
She also has a soft spot for the strange and misunderstood, which might explain
her love for dipping plain chips in ketchup. Her favorite stories push the
boundaries of our world and open harbored emotions to inspire and challenge the
heart. She's the author of Motley Education: The URD Saga Book I (Ellysian
Press, 2019; second edition), a fantasy-adventure for middle grade readers and
Marked Beauty-her debut young adult fantasy-romance (Ellysian Press, 2017).
When she's not chasing her characters around a cemetery or antagonizing them
with the wonders of young love, she lives in the land of lobsters and snowy
winters with her husband and four children. Visit her cyber home at salarsenbooks.com, find her on
Twitter @SA_Larsen and Instagram sa.larsen, or on spookymiddlegrade.com, where she
does most of her spookiness brewing up all sorts of creepy ideas with a group
of #SpookyMG authors. Stop by for a visit . . . if you dare.
What are your insecurities? Do you think writers should also be readers? Isn't S.A. Larsen's new cover great? Have you picked up your copy?
May you find your Muse.
23 comments:
Congrats to S.A. Larsen on the release. Really cool cover! Fingers crossed for your submissions.
Cheers - Ellen
Our own mistakes do become more apparent when we see them in other's work.
I definitely think all the reading I do makes me a better writer.
Good luck on those submissions!
I think it would be like living on a desert island without food if I didn't read.
S.A. Larsen's cover is really outstanding. Best of sales to her. Reading authors I like and admire inspires me to do better in my own books.
Good luck with your submissions. I’m about to follow that route but afraid of failure 🤗
Looks like a great book! Happy IWSG day :-)
Ronel visiting and on co-hosting IWSG day Co-hosting, Flagship Content and Interesting Developments
Congrats to Sherri!
It's been in the 90s here and it's driving me crazy. I am more than ready for fall temps.
Congrats to Sheri!
I agree - reading is one of the best ways to learn to write :)
Another collection would be great. I hope you hear some answers soon on the submissions.
Reading is essential for a writer. It's not only a pleasure but a great school and an endless source of stories. Your don't do 'original' if you don't read. Instead, you limit yourself to the inside of your head, instead of encompassing the world.
I agree. A writer learns so very much from reading!
"Personally, I believe writers should be readers."
I quite agree.
Congrats to Sheri! I also totally agree a writer should be reading. I wish I had more time to read! But we do have to write too. :) Good luck with the submissions.
I love October, too! Fun memes.
I totally agree with your argument about writers reading.
Congrats to Sheri
I love Sheri's book covers... and the books sound delightful!
We've had too much rain and not enough sunshine this fall (so far). Where are those warm days and cool night??? Not getting your submissions back is a bummer.
That is a cool cover. It's been very fall weather here for the last few days. Ready for fall.
I really like the cover. October? Next it will be Christmas. Ugh.
Fingers crossed for your submissions. And, hopefully, you’ll get answers and replies quicker than I’m used to from agents for my memoir project. :-)
I agree with you that writers should read. My problem is - other than not having enough time to read - that I always “look” for the good and bad in someone’s writing style that I sometimes forget to enjoy the book and the story. I should just make reading more of a priority and erase that teacher instinct if mine. :-)
With you on the reading points, Shannon. Reading only Tolkien in my teens led to me attempting to emulate his style = fail - and redirection from my wonderful creative writing teacher Roger Woddis. My reading became broader and I found my own voice.
It's like deciding you can be a professional baseball player without ever practicing.
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