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Friday Five: Brea Behn and Wolves in the Woods

2/27/2015

Today's Friday Five is a guest post from author Brea Behn about her YA book cover. Thank you, Brea!

Wolves in the Woods: Five Facts About the Cover by Brea Behn

1) Wolves in the Woods is based on a reoccurring dream I had that started with me running through a field and the woods. I knew what I wanted the cover to be long before I ever pursued publishing it.

2) I asked everyone who had read Wolves in the Woods before it was published what their idea of a cover would be. Almost all of them suggested Braelin running into the woods. I didn't tell them until the cover came out that I had the same idea.

3) The only thing I told my cover artist, Dave King, was that I wanted a young girl with long blonde hair running into the woods. He added the light off in the distance. Ironically this fits very symbolically with the story in that the "Big Woods of Wisconsin" end up being Braelin's safe haven. Her light in her dark tale of a dystopian future where a virus kills her entire family.

4) The title Wolves in the Woods comes from a symbol of safe versus not safe. The Wolves is the name of a gang. The woods is where she feels safe. When the gang invades both her woods and her safety Braelin will have to fight for her freedom.

Wolves graffiti that Brea created

5) The font was not something I picked out. At first I thought it looked a bit childish. Then I realized, it sort of looks like graffiti. Which fit the story perfectly. The Wolves gang leave paw prints as their calling card. My brother and I actually created our own Wolves graffiti (with permission) on an abandoned farm.

Wolves in the Woods is a series. The second book, Wolves in the City will be coming out this summer. You can guess what that cover will be...

Brea Behn is very passionate about reading and writing in all genres. She started writing at the age of fifteen, when she wrote a memoir for her twin brother. Currently, she writes fiction of several genres, nonfiction, and is building her career as an author and public speaker.

When Brea is not writing, she is reading, usually several books at the same time. She also volunteers at her local humane society, gardens, and homeschools her children. Brea lives in Wisconsin with her husband and their two children.

Learn more about Brea and her books here:
http://youtu.be/962KV_vw1_g
www.Amazon.com/author/breabehn
www.Facebook.com/authorbreabehn
www.Facebook.com/wolvesinthewoodsbook
www.Breasbooks.com
www.Twitter.com/Breasbooks
www.Goodreads.com/Breasbooks

Teen Tuesday: Writing Roundup

2/24/2015

By Yvonne Ventresca

Here's a roundup of interesting links and blog posts I came across this week.

Olivia Rivers has an excellent blog post, "Learning From Other Writers," at Teens Can Write, Too. Her ideas about learning from the novels you read can benefit writers of all ages.

Teen Arts Festival to be held in Summit, NJ

The Teen Arts Festival is a free 2-day event held at Summit High School (125 Kent Place Boulevard in Summit, NJ) on April 17 and April 18. Students in grades 6-12 from the participating schools in Berkeley Heights, Mountainside, New Providence, and Summit, NJ are eligible to enter. March 13th is the deadline for Creative Writing and Videos. March 27 is the deadline for Visual and Performing Arts. Check the website for more information and entry guidelines. (Thanks to Kathy Temean for bringing this to my attention.)

For nonfiction writers, Lisa Rowan has compiled nuggets of wisdom from the #AdviceForYoungJournalists hashtag in her recent article, Writing Advice: What You Can Learn From #AdviceForYoungJournalists.

To help plan your writing, try this Pacemaker program. It allows you to enter goal-related information like start and end days, your approach (steady, more intense at beginning or end, etc.) and customized workloads on specific dates. It can be used for a variety of writing projects.

Happy Writing!

A to Z Blogging Challenge: Helping Out and a Technology Tip

2/20/2015

By Yvonne Ventresca

www.Matusic.com

I enjoyed the A to Z Blogging Challenge last year, and in the spirit of giving back, I'm part of C. Lee McKenzie's team to help with the challenge. "The Muffin Commando Squad" includes Lee, Tara Tyler, Donna McDine, Tammy Theriault, Carrie Butler, Patricia Lynne, Elizabeth Seckman, Tyrean Martinson, and me. Each member of the squad is answering a few introductory questions. Mine are below.

But first, I wanted to share one of the best technical tricks I learned from the A to Z Challenge last year. If you want to leave a link to your own blog in a comment on someone else's blog, there is a special format. I've used my blog as an example.

<a href="http://www.yvonneventresca.com/blog.html">Yvonne</a>

The info between the quotation marks is my blog URL (replace with your own) and Yvonne is how I want my name to appear (all non-Yvonnes should replace that, too!). Putting this below your comment creates a link.

And now for the questions:

Some of my genealogy photos

You have to evacuate your home in three minutes. What would you take?

After worrying about family and pets, the next thing I would grab is my genealogy binders. I've done a lot of research over the years that has yet to be scanned into computerized form. *Scrawls "scanning" on to-do list.*

My debut novel

What’s your latest book, short story, publication?

My debut young adult novel, Pandemic, was published in 2014 by Sky Pony Press. I have an interview with my editor here (for writers who might be interested in Sky Pony) and reviews here.

Say cheese!

What’s your favorite food?

It would be very convenient if my favorite food was muffin-related, but alas, it's not. I have to go with cheese!

Writing Inspiration: 2014 theme

What was your theme last year. Why did you choose it?

My theme was writing inspiration. I wanted a theme specific enough to interest me, but broad enough to help other writers. I have links to last year's posts here and on Pinterest.

You can join the A to Z Challenge, too, at this link.
On March 23rd I'll be announcing my theme in the
A to Z Blogging Theme Reveal!

Teen Tuesday: Letter to Parents Contest

2/17/2015

By Yvonne Ventresca

Teen writers: If you ever wanted to write a letter to your parents telling them something you wished that they realized about your life, then this nonfiction essay contest from YCteen is for you!

When: By March 27, 2015
Who: 14 - 19 year olds
What: Nonfiction essays up to 800 words
Win: 1st prize $150, 2nd $75, 3rd $50
Rules: Complete guidelines are available at the YCteen website.

Good luck!

Friday Five: 5 Timesaving Tips

2/13/2015

By Yvonne Ventresca

Time. It's a pretty universal complaint that we don't have enough of it. Here are five questions that can spark an increase in productivity.

Photo by Kenneth Hein

How are you spending your time today? In 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think, Laura Vanderkam suggests tracking how you spend your time for a week. The idea is that only by knowing how you use your time now can you make changes to become more productive.

In a related question, how much time do you spend on social media? A few minutes here and a few more there can certainly add up during the day. Some social media experts believe the best way to conquer this is to set a timer and only check Facebook, Twitter, etc. certain times a day. Frances Caballo has more thoughts about this in her article, How To Save Time On Social Media.

In this world of technology and apps, do you have a system that works for reading and saving online content? I recently lost hundreds of links and "favorite places" that I'd been accumulating for years. Starting from scratch made me rethink how I track articles and blog posts I want to keep. I've been experimenting with the free version of Evernote to help save links in folders by topic. If anyone has a good system, please let me know!

Do you have routines and rituals that help train your brain that it's time to do a certain task? For example, if a writer always proofreads in a certain room (or chair), then the space alone becomes a trigger: it's time to proofread! Gregory Ciotti uses different electronic devices--one for reading, one for writing, one for correspondence/social media--to signal what he'll be doing. For more information, check out his article, The Best Way to Change Your Habits? Control Your Environment.

Can you complete a task in less than two minutes? If so, then according to the Two Minute Rule, you should do it NOW instead of procrastinating or adding it to an already long to-do list. To further your long-term goals, break them into pieces that can be done in--you guessed it--less than two minutes. James Clear has more information about this on his blog.

Researching this post has inspired me to track how I spend my time for a week. I know how many hours I work on creative projects, but where does the rest of the time go? I'll share more in a future post.

Teen Tuesday: Ray Bradbury Creative Contest

2/10/2015

By Yvonne Ventresca

The Waukegan Public Library is currently holding the 31st Annual Ray Bradbury Creative Contest. The genre is science fiction and fantasy. Age groups are divided into elementary, middle school, high school, and adult. Short stories, poetry, and visual art entries are accepted through May 15, 2015. Winners receive a certificate and publication on the library's website. Rules and an entry form are available at the library's website. Good luck!

Friday Five: 5 Creative Decisions from Selene Castrovilla, Author of Melt

2/6/2015

By Yvonne Ventresca

Today's Friday Five is a guest post from Selene Castrovilla about her latest YA novel, Melt. I'm definitely adding this story to my to-read list!

Five Choices I Made While Writing Melt
By Selene Castrovilla

Writing fiction is cool because you can make stuff up to fit with your plot. But it’s also scary, because you have to make stuff up to fit with your plot. It’s hard to be sure you’ve done the right thing.

Melt is unique because it’s partly true. Joe, my boxing coach, told me stories about the violent upbringing he experienced. He looked me in the eye one night and said, “You’re gonna write my story. I know it.”

And when I got home that night, I began. I knew the true things I needed to put in. All the violent scenes in the book really happened. But, I had to frame a love story around them!

Here are five choices I made while writing Melt:

Using The Wonderful Wizard of Oz as a backdrop: This was not an actual choice, at least consciously. A voice in my head told me to buy that book a few weeks prior, and I did. The night I started to write MELT, the voice told me to look at the book, and the passage I opened to fit perfectly with the theme of my story. The witch melting inspired the title, and there are so many ways to melt: good and bad. The book covers a wide range. I also found that the themes in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz matched themes I would be addressing in MELT, number one being: “There’s no place like home.”

I decided to make Joey’s father a cop, even though in real life he was a criminal. I felt it would be too complicated to address a life of crime in addition to the atrocities he committed on his family. I also thought there would be a great irony in someone committed to serving and protecting his community then coming home and being abusive. Finally, I liked the idea of his gun being readily available on his belt. This served a practical purpose for my story. On a side note, the real-life Joey hated that I made his dad a cop. But, as I told him, this was not a biography.

Joey meets Dorothy in Dunkin’ Donuts. I did this because teens often converge in whatever local coffee shops are conveniently located, and because it’s something the reader would likely be familiar with and immediately conjure. I also liked all the crazy, vivid colors and the loud sounds I could play with. Of course I loved the idea that Dunkin’ Donuts is indeed “Munchkin Land.” And, I based the town on my town--where there really isn’t much going on besides Dunkin’ Donuts. (Saved me the headache of creating a whole new universe for my characters.)

Dorothy’s parents are psychologists. I made this choice because it’s been my observation that psychologists (or any sort of therapists) are largely clueless when it comes to real-life situations. Don’t judge me: this has been my experience. So I thought it would be funny (in a black humor way) if Dorothy’s shrink parents failed to see the signs of a boy being abused, and simply judged him as “bad” as everyone else in the town did.

I chose to write the book in dual first person because it would be too painfully relentless to only show Joey’s point of view. He was the one who started talking when I sat down, so there was no choice about him. His words are scattered to reflect his broken state--and this was something that happened instinctively as well. The conscious choice was to add Dorothy’s view as the voice of reason--and hope.

Plot description of Melt: Based on true events, Melt is both a chilling tale of abuse, and a timeless romance.

Melt will hit you like a punch in the face, and also seep through the cracks in your soul. Melt, though not a retelling, is a brutal love story set against the backdrop of The Wizard of Oz. When sixteen year old Dorothy moves to the small town of Highland Park, she meets, and falls for Joey - a "bad boy" who tells no one about the catastrophic domestic violence he witnesses at home. Can these two lovers survive peer pressure, Joey's reputation, and his alcoholism? Joey's words are scattered on the page - reflecting his broken state. Dorothy is the voice of reason - until something so shattering happens that she, too, may lose her grip. Can their love endure, or will it melt away?

Selene Castrovilla is the award-winning author of six books: three young adult novels and three nonfiction picture books about The American Revolution. Her book Revolutionary Rogues, about Benedict Arnold’s treason, is currently under production. Signs of Life, the sequel to Melt, will be released next fall.

For updates, previews and general musings, read her blog.
For daily inspirations and quotes, “like” her Facebook page.
To witness her struggle to write cohesive haiku-like posts, follow her on Twitter: @SCastrovilla.
To purchase Melt, visit major retailers, including Amazon.

Teen Tuesday: 2015 NFPW High School Communications Contest

2/3/2015

By Yvonne Ventresca

The National Federation of Press Women sponsors an annual communications contest for high school students. Categories include:
Editorial, Opinion, News Story, Feature Story, Sports Story, Columns or Blogs, Feature Photo, Sports Photo, Cartooning, Review, Graphics/Photo Illustration, Single-Page Layout, Double-Truck Layout, Environment, Radio Prepared Report, Radio or Television Interview or Talk Show, Video News Story, Video Feature Story, Video Sports Story, Yearbook Layout, Yearbook Photo, and Yearbook Copywriting.

The contest rules are too long to post here, so please visit the NFPW contest website for more information. The entry fee is $10 and the national first place winners receive $100. The deadline for entry is February 28, 2015. Good luck!

Next Tuesday: another contest for teen writers

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