WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words and was formerly hosted by A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can participate, even without a blog. The only thing you need to do then is to comment on Sam’s post with your own answers.
It is a fantastic way to share what you’ve been reading! If you’re ready, answer these three questions and share the link to your blog in the comments section of her blog.
Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different Top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is 10 Inspirational Book Quotes.
Happy Sunday! This is a weekly wrap up where I share with you a bit about my reading, a digest of my posts, and any updates when appropriate. I do take pleasure in blogging, so I hope that some of the posts will be helpful to you.
Happy Saturday all! Today is my birthday and for the occasion, I wanted to share the love and fun and host an international giveaway on my Instagram. This is going to be a very short post. Continue reading Birthday post→
Dark Shores, written by Danielle L. Jensen, is a young adult fantasy novel set to be released on May 7, 2019. This book is published by Tor Teen. I received this advanced reading copy from the publisher, Tor Teen, through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.
Dark Shores, the first book in the Dark Shores series. If you enjoy high seas adventures, blackmail, and meddling gods, look no further. This review is spoiler-free.
Today, I’m teaming up with The Parliament House with this wonderful Takeover Tour of The Haves of Us by Sydney Paige Richardson. The Halves of Us is Book 1 of the trilogy.
Not only do I have the pleasure to showcase this beauty, but you also get to share with you all an excerpt of the book and an international giveaway. 🙂
WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words and was formerly hosted by A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can participate, even without a blog. The only thing you need to do then is to comment on Sam’s post with your own answers.
It is a fantastic way to share what you’ve been reading! If you’re ready, answer these three questions and share the link to your blog in the comments section of her blog.
Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different Top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is First Ten Books I reviewed on my Blog. I’m a little late this week, but it has been quite a week so far.
The Tea Dragon Society, written by Katie O’Neill, is a sweet, heartwarming comic. This book is published by Oni Press. I received this copy from one of my book box subscriptions.
WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words and was formerly hosted by A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can participate, even without a blog. The only thing you need to do then is to comment on Sam’s post with your own answers.
It is a fantastic way to share what you’ve been reading! If you’re ready, answer these three questions and share the link to your blog in the comments section of her blog.
Today, I’ve teamed up with The Parliament House and the author, Jadie Jones, for this release day blitz of Wither and Wayward. Wither is the prequel and Wayward is the third and final book.
10 Blind Dates, written by Ashley Elston, is a young adult contemporary novel set to be released on October 1, 2019. This book is published by Disney Hyperion. I received this advanced reading copy from the publisher, Disney Hyperion, through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.
Happy Sunday! This is a weekly wrap up where I share with you a bit about my reading, a digest of my posts, and any updates when appropriate. I do take pleasure in blogging, so I hope that some of the posts will be helpful to you.
WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by Sam atTaking on a World of Wordsand was formerly hosted by A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can participate, even without a blog. The only thing you need to do then is to comment on Sam’s post with your own answers. It is a fantastic way to share what you’ve been reading! If you’re ready, answer these three questions and share the link to your blog in the comments section of her blog.
Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different Top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Outrageous things I’ve done for the love of books.
The cover of Book 2 in the Legacy of Orisha series is finally unveiled. And what a cover! Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi will be released on December 3, 2019.
Happy Sunday! This is a weekly wrap up where I share with you a bit about my reading, a digest of my posts, and any updates when appropriate. I do take pleasure in blogging, so I hope that some of the posts will be helpful to you.
One thing I feel more qualified than most to talk about is time management. But this may not be the type of time management you’re used to hearing about.
I really don’t have amazing tips. What I can tell you is how I do it. I’ve tried so many things over the years. At one point, a plain old agenda, like what you get for free in high school, was all I needed. Then, I went to university and had a job, exams, friends, etc. Life, as they say, happened.
A while back, Twitter had asked writers to weigh in about what non-writers say to them. There were the usual things writers hear, “Are you famous?” and “Is your book on Oprah’s Book List?” to “Oh, genre fiction, huh? I prefer literary novels,” and its sibling, “Oh, literary novels? I only read genre stories.”
The one that caught my eye was the tweets from children and teen authors that shared a similar theme, “Oh, you’re a children’s writer. When will you write a real book?”
Leaving aside the not-so-veiled insult to kids, the writer, or the oversight that adults are adult readers because some book or author ignited their love of stories when they were children, I wonder if perhaps the comment comes from a misunderstanding of the intricacies of writing for a younger audience.
Writing for adults assumes the reader has a certain level of reading comprehension and vocabulary. Not so with the under-eighteens. Writing for kids divides into many subsets—the ones learning to read, early readers, middle-grade, tween, teen, older teen. But even with these categories, authors have to be aware of other factors.
Just because you’re writing for a thirteen-year-old doesn’t mean you’re writing for every thirteen-year-old who enjoys the particular genre of your story. If you’re writing for kids and teens, you need to know if your story’s reader is reading at grade level, above, or below it.
When it comes to writing for the children and teens, there are a few things to consider.
Respect your reader: Just because they’re younger doesn’t mean they’re emotionally unsophisticated or incapable of embracing big ideas.
The age of your reader: Generally speaking, the younger your audience, the less gory/graphic the violence. Ditto with romance.
Speaking of violence…be aware of the use of guns. It’s not taboo or forbidden, but be aware of it.
The plotline: If you’re writing for a teen who is learning English or who is considered a reluctant reader, then ease up on the subplots and try to stay (as much as you can) with a linear plot line.
Simple Doesn’t Mean Boring: Just because the story is simply told, with a linear format and a cozy cast of characters, doesn’t mean it has to be boring. After all, a roller-coaster is a “simple” ride of up and down, and around and around, but it’s still a wild ride. 🙂
Reading Up. As kids, we “read up,” meaning a nine-year-old will be more inclined to read about a twelve-year-old and less inclined to read about a six-year-old. It’s why most YA feature characters who are between sixteen and eighteen-years-old.
Perfectly Imperfect. It’s okay to make your character slightly off-kilter and kind-of-unlikeable. None of us is perfect, right?
A rose by any other name…When it comes to naming your characters, bear in mind that complex or hard to pronounce names can be wildly frustrating. Also, consider the sounds of letters. In Thicker than Water, I originally had my main character’s name spelled Z-A-C-H, because that’s how I’d always seen it spelled. Thank goodness for my editor, who suggested Z-A-C-K, because “ch” could be a hard “k” sound but it could also be the “ch” sound in choo-choo. Could I have stuck with the original spelling? Sure, but do I want my reader’s experience with my books to be as smooth and fun as possible? Definitely.
Let them solve the problem: Something else to keep in mind is that the main character has to solve the problems themselves. Don’t have adults swooping in to make everything better.
Speaking of adults… it’s tempting to use the book platform to “teach” or “caution.” Please don’t. Just as we could smell a thinly-veiled lecture when we were young, so can today’s teen.
Embrace the fantasy of autonomy. In real life, kids and teens have adults constantly watching over them. As “unrealistic” as it can seem in YA to have the adults playing a minimal role, it’s freeing for your readers.
Respect your reader. Yes, I know I said it already, but it bears repeating. Respect your audience.
Having said all of this, these suggestions are general guidelines and subjective. At the end of the day, it’s important for writers to do what is best for their work. Writers know themselves, their voice, and their story, and it’s important to stay true to those things.
About Natasha Deen:
Award-winning author NATASHA DEEN writes for kids, teens, and adults, and she believes the world is changed one story at a time. When she’s not writing, Natasha enjoys visiting schools, libraries, and other organizations to help people to find and tell the stories that live inside of them.
She also spends an inordinate amount of time trying to convince her pets that she’s the boss of the house. Her latest novel, In the Key of Nira Ghani, is a Junior Library Guild selection, and a Barnes and Noble Top 25 Most Anticipated Own Voices novel, and an Indigo Teens Most Anticipated Teen Book.
On October 23rd, 2018, Sarah J. Maas released Kingdom of Ash, the eighth and final book in the Throne of Glass series. She had indicated then that she was working on a new series that will no longer be for Young Adults, but this time, her series will be an adult fiction.
As you may know, her two series, Throne of Glass and A Court of Thorns and Roses, have always been more on the adult side than YA due to her legendary sex scenes. The plot may be YA, but these specific scenes tended to push her books in the adult realm. So it’ll be interesting to see what she will do with this new series.
WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by Sam atTaking on a World of Wordsand was formerly hosted by A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can participate, even without a blog. The only thing you need to do then is to comment on Sam’s post with your own answers. It is a fantastic way to share what you’ve been reading! If you’re ready, answer these three questions and share the link to your blog in the comments section of her blog.
Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different Top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Things that make me pick up a book.
After Wonderwoman and Batman, Catswoman – Soulstealer is the third book in the D.C. Icons series. This book, written by Sarah J. Maas, narrates the story of Selina Kyle and how/why she became Catswoman. A wonderful tale filled with laughter, badass characters, and a morally gray protagonist. This is a spoiler free review.
Happy Sunday! This is a weekly wrap up where I share with you a bit about my reading, a digest of my posts, and any updates when appropriate. I do take pleasure in blogging, so I hope that some of the posts will be helpful to you.
Happy Saturday All! This is Top 5 Saturday, a post where I share five posts that stood out for me this week. These posts are primarily helpful, funny, or inspiring in nature. Blogging is time-consuming, and stumbling upon this little gems is golden. So, without further ado, let’s see what caught my eyes.
When it comes to social media platforms, Instagram is an entirely different animal. The platform is all about aesthetics. The quality of your pictures will matter, not the text. So ultimately, you can’t use Instagram the same way as Twitter or Facebook.
Today, I’m teaming up with The Parliament Press to share with you the stunning cover of Two Thousand Years by M. Dalto. About a month ago, I shared with you information on both Treyan’s Promise and Reylor’s Lament. Two Thousand Years is a special edition, also part of The Empire Saga Series, is set to be released on April, 11th 2019.
WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by Sam atTaking on a World of Wordsand was formerly hosted by A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can participate, even without a blog. The only thing you need to do then is to comment on Sam’s post with your own answers. It is a fantastic way to share what you’ve been reading! If you’re ready, answer these three questions and share the link to your blog in the comments section of her blog.
Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different Top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is standalone novels that deserve a sequel. This topic required some thinking since I tend to read series more than standalone books.
When Summer Ends is a young adult contemporary romance novel written by Jessica Pennington, set to be released on April 9, 2019. I received a digital ARC through NetGalley and the publisher, Tor Forge – McMillan, in exchange for an honest review.
Hot deals alert! There are quite a few deals on amazing YA books online. I stumbled upon them and had to share them with you. I’m not sure how long the sale will last, so don’t wait too long and head over to your favorite retailer.
Happy Sunday! This is a weekly wrap up where I share with you a bit about my reading, a digest of my posts, and any updates when appropriate. I do take pleasure in blogging, so I hope that some of the posts will be helpful to you.
Happy Saturday All! This is Top 5 Saturday, a post where I share five posts that stood out for me this week. These posts are primarily helpful, funny, or inspiring in nature. Blogging is time-consuming, and stumbling upon this little gems is golden. So, without further ado, let’s see what caught my eyes.
Sky Without Stars is the first installment of the System Divine series written by Jessica Brody and Joanne Rendell. This debut novel is a Young Adult (YA) sci-fi retelling of Les Misérablesby Victor Hugo. This book is set to be released on March 26.
I received this Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) from the publisher, Simon Pulse, through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I’m also part of the Book Tour through Fantastic Flying Book Club. This is a spoiler-free review.
WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by Sam atTaking on a World of Wordsand was formerly hosted by A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can participate, even without a blog. The only thing you need to do then is to comment on Sam’s post with your own answers. It is a fantastic way to share what you’ve been reading! If you’re ready, answer these three questions and share the link to your blog in the comments section of her blog.
Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different Top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is standalone novels that deserve a sequel. This topic required some thinking since I tend to read series more than standalone books.
In 2018, quite of few amazing YA fantasy novels were published. Some of them were standalone novels, but most of them were series. This post features my 10 most anticipated YA fantasy sequels expected to be released in 2019.
Happy Sunday! This is a weekly wrap up where I share with you a bit about my reading, a digest of my posts, and any updates when appropriate. I do take pleasure in blogging, so I hope that some of the posts will be helpful to you.
End of January 2019, I decided to start book blogging. I had been toying with this idea for a while, but I’ve always wondered if it was for me. Blogging takes a lot of time, and consistency is very important. To be honest, I wasn’t sure I would enjoy it after a first failed attempt last year, but I do. It’s easier for me to book blog than to discuss topics I felt ill-equiped to discuss. I love book blogging so much, and today, a month and a half later, I’m celebrating a milestone with you.
Last week, I shared with you all the books I purchased, but this is is my February 2019 Book Haul post for the arcs I was approved to read last month. Too many great deals and arcs… So this post is part two – Arcs approved through NetGalley.
WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by Sam atTaking on a World of Wordsand was formerly hosted by A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can participate, even without a blog. The only thing you need to do then is to comment on Sam’s post with your own answers. It is a fantastic way to share what you’ve been reading! If you’re ready, answer these three questions and share the link to your blog in the comments section of her blog.
Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different Top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is standalone novels that deserve a sequel. This topic required some thinking since I tend to read series more than standalone books.
Last week, I discussed what you needed to get started with Bookstagram. This week, I wanted to give you some advice or I should say, 5 things you should keep in mind to grow your Bookstagram. Again, a Bookstagram is an Instagram account dedicated to books. So let me explain what you should keep in mind when you’re starting a Bookstagram.
Happy Sunday! This is a weekly wrap up where I share with you a bit about my reading, a digest of my posts, and any updates when appropriate. I do take pleasure in blogging, so I hope that some of the posts will be helpful to you.
Another month went by way too fast. I was a little sick, but it was better than last month for sure. So, this is my February 2019 Book Haul post. This month took me by surprise. Too many great deals and arcs… So I decided to break this post in two – Books purchased and Arcs. This post is about the books I purchased.
Happy Saturday All! This is Top 5 Saturday, a post where I share five posts that stood out for me this week. These posts are primarily helpful, funny, or inspiring in nature. Blogging is time-consuming, and stumbling upon this little gems is golden. So, without further ado, let’s see what caught my eyes.
Today marks the beginning of the Lanterns in the Sky Tour! P.S. Malcolm’s new book has been released this week and is published by The Parliament House. For the occasion, the author and publisher are running a tour wide giveaway. More on this in the post.
WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by Sam atTaking on a World of Wordsand was formerly hosted by A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can participate, even without a blog. The only thing you need to do then is to comment on Sam’s post with your own answers. It is a fantastic way to share what you’ve been reading! If you’re ready, answer these three questions and share the link to your blog in the comments section of her blog.
Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different Top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Places Mentioned in Books that I’d Like to Visit. This topic was quite easy for me. I’ve always wanted to visit most of these places.