Interview with Roshani Chokshi, Author of “The Star-Touched Queen”

September 20, 2016September 19, 2016 / saraletourneau / 13 Comments

I love it when authors write a story that veers away from trends yet works in every way. Roshani Chokshi’s debut YA fantasy The Star-Touched Queen is exactly that. With gorgeously vivid writing and unbridled imagination, this Hindu-inspired tale brings readers to a world of mythical creatures, surreal settings, and love intertwined with destiny. (Check out my review of The Star-Touched Queen here if you haven’t yet.) The book has been an instant hit with readers, too, debuting in the New York Times’ YA Hardcover Bestsellers List in its first week of sales. That’s pretty good, if you ask me.

Today I’m thrilled to have Roshani stop by and chat about The Star-Touched Queen. If you’re curious about her world-building approach, writing influences, her journey to becoming a published author, and flesh-eating demon horses (yes, you read that correctly), then this interview is for you. Enjoy!

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Field Trip: Writer’s Digest Conference 2016

September 15, 2016September 14, 2016 / saraletourneau / 35 Comments

Now that all of the late-summer busyness has passed, I finally have some time to tell you about this year’s Writer’s Digest Conference! And what an amazing four days it was. In fact, I think it topped the 2015 edition!

With this post, I’ll give a general overview of WDC 2016, including which sessions I enjoyed most and what I learned. Last year I did a trio of posts for DIY MFA; and while I would have liked to have covered the conference for the site again this year, it wasn’t possible with my friend’s wedding 2 weeks later. The good thing is, waiting to do this post has given me time to digest (no pun intended) everything I absorbed that weekend and feel grateful for continuing to invest in my writing career.
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Beautiful People, Vol. 18: What Does Nomaro (Future Novella Protagonist) Look Like?

August 18, 2016August 16, 2016 / saraletourneau / 18 Comments

Beautiful People is a monthly blog meme hosted by Cait @ Paper Fury and Sky @ Further Up and Further In. Every month they pose 10 questions for writers to answer about their writing and give readers the opportunity to learn more about the writer’s characters.

This month’s Beautiful People topic (describing a character’s appearance) threw me off a little. I was hoping to cover another supporting character from my WIP The Keeper’s Curse, but when Cait and Sky revealed their questions, I couldn’t think of anyone right away. But there’s always a certain protagonist from the novella I’m planning to write when TKC’s with beta-readers…

So, if you liked learning about Nomaro during last year’s Beautiful Books post or his first BP post back in March, you’ll be pleased with this month’s subject again. 😉 Ready?

(Visit the Beautiful People category page to catch up on past BP posts.)

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Why Creativity is Essential For All Genres (A Guest Post by Leanne Sowul)

August 9, 2016August 8, 2016 / saraletourneau / 15 Comments

Today I’m thrilled to have one of my DIY MFA colleagues here for a guest post! Leanne Sowul is a historical fiction writer, music teacher, and the insightful mind behind DIY MFA’s “Be Well, Write Well,” which offers tips and wisdom for writers on maintaining a healthy well-being. She’s also an advocate for cultivating creativity in our lives and recently launched her new project, The Creativity Perspective, to explore this further. I invited Leanne to write about the importance of creativity in writing, and this is what she had to say.

When I first decided to write a novel, I wasn’t sure what genre I wanted to specialize in. I read widely, so I had interest in writing many different things, but I was intimidated by working in the sci-fi, fantasy, or mystery genres because I thought they required a higher level of creativity. Building a world from scratch, or crafting a suspenseful crime, felt beyond me. I wanted to choose a genre that had some rules I could follow; a creativity “support,” if you will.

I have a longtime love for history, so I decided to write historical fiction. I figured I could use historical facts to hang my story on, and felt comforted by the element of nonfiction in my fiction to keep me on track with my story. I thought it was the perfect solution. Oh, how little I knew back then! I didn’t understand I was making the enormous decision of my novel’s genre based partly on fear and partly on an incorrect assumption.

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Beautiful People, Vol. 17: Drasten Kolsteg from “The Keeper’s Curse”

July 14, 2016July 13, 2016 / saraletourneau / 26 Comments

Drasten’s name might sound familiar if you’ve been following my Beautiful People posts for a while. He was featured in last year’s Siblings Edition with his brother Aurek, and was mentioned quite a bit in Aurek’s character interview this past March. But he hasn’t had a solo post yet; and now that I’m focusing on the supporting characters for my WIP The Keeper’s Curse for this series, this month seems like a good time to give him one.

Some quick facts about Drasten: He’s a 19-year-old Mountain Man, with dark brown eyes, long dirty blond hair, and a short beard. He also shares the title of Lord of the Mountain Folk’s Sumanhi Clan with Aurek, and has joined his brother in a mission to retrieve lost relics that once belonged to their people. (The mission serves as TKC’s external plot.) So, let’s see what kind of dirt we can dig up on Drasten.

(Visit the Beautiful People category page to catch up on past BP posts.)

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Beautiful People, Vol. 16: Uncle Lusan from “The Keeper’s Curse”

June 16, 2016June 16, 2016 / saraletourneau / 32 Comments

Lately I’ve been expanding my character profiles for some of the supporting characters in my WIP, The Keeper’s Curse. One of those profiles is for Uncle Lusan, a minor character in TKC and the uncle of my protagonist Eva (and the husband of last month’s BP focus Aunt Maji). For some reason, I never felt like I knew him as well as I should, so I was hoping this month’s questions would help. (And also because June is the month for Father’s Day, and Lusan’s a father figure to Eva. *wink* ) Luckily, this month’s questionnaire was perfect for him – although it’s the Childhood Edition, so all of the questions are geared toward his childhood. (*lol*)

Regardless, here are some quick facts about Uncle Lusan: He’s a 45-year-old winged Feiri, with pale blue eyes and long, black hair with blonde streaks that are going gray. But, again, this post will focus on Lusan when he was a boy. Ready?

(Visit the Beautiful People category page to catch up on past BP posts.)

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Beautiful People, Vol. 15: Aunt Maji from “The Keeper’s Curse”

May 14, 2016May 31, 2016 / saraletourneau / 22 Comments

Since Mother’s Day was this past Sunday, I decided to focus on a character in my WIP whom the protagonist Eva considers the closest thing she has to a mother. Aunt Maji has raised Eva ever since Eva’s parents were killed when she was 5 years old. (Eva’s mother was Maji’s younger sister.) I had done last year’s Parental Edition BP post on Aunt Maji and her husband Lusan, but after reading this month’s questions it seemed like the perfect time to dedicate a solo post to Eva’s tila (Fei for “aunt”).

Some quick details about Aunt Maji: She’s a 41-year-old winged Feiri, with green eyes and wavy-curly red hair with natural blonde highlights. She also has a very distinct Fei occupation that you’ll learn about in one of the upcoming questions. So, shall be begin?

(Visit the Beautiful People category page to catch up on past BP posts.)

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What Is a “Kagende”? (A #TheKeepersCurse World-Building Post)

May 12, 2016May 18, 2016 / saraletourneau / 34 Comments

When writing a fantasy novel, the story’s world-building is just as important as the characters you’re creating. I’ve shared bits of the world for my WIP The Keeper’s Curse before; and one detail that’s piqued readers’ interests is the kagende (plural: kagenden), the dwelling that TKC’s Fei race lives in. In fact, two readers in particular (and they know who they are *winks*) asked if I’d write a post about it.

Today, I’m excited (and stomach-turned-upside-down terrified) to share with you what a kagende is! I’ll discuss how I came up with the idea, how this dwelling is structured, and what kinds of rooms you’ll find. I’ve also created a couple collages to help you imagine what a kagende looks like. Ready?

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What Do Your Favorite Stories Have In Common?

April 21, 2016April 20, 2016 / saraletourneau / 26 Comments

“What do your favorite stories have in common?”

This was the question that fellow writer Elizabeth Rawls posed at her blog last year. I loved the topic so much that I wanted to respond right away, but I couldn’t. Figuring out what your favorite stories have in common is like playing a writer’s or reader’s version of a strategy game. But once you put some conscious thought into it, the answers can be rather enlightening.

Today, I’d like to share Elizabeth’s activity along with my own thoughts on developing a stronger grasp on the shared elements in our favorite stories. As you’ll find out, those commonalities may have a greater influence on our work that we might think.

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Plontser: The Happy Medium Writer (A Guest Post by Victoria Grace Howell)

February 10, 2016February 8, 2016 / saraletourneau / 12 Comments

Please give a warm welcome to our first guest blogger, Victoria Grace Howell! Tori is a fellow speculative fiction writer whom I met last year through the monthly Beautiful People link-up. I was thrilled when she suggested today’s topic, since it immediately resonated with me – because like Tori, I’m not a plotter or a pantser, but a “plontser.” Never heard of a plontser before? I’ll let Tori explain…. 😉

When I first started writing, I discovered pretty soon into the game that there are two types of writers: plotters and pansters. Plotters like J.K. Rowling plan out each event meticulously and know everything that happens in their stories before they write them. Pantsers like Stephen King know hardly anything about the story when beginning to write and discover as they go. My first choice was a panster. I liked seeing where the story took me, but as I soon came to realize, in my spontaneous writing my story lacked structure and a secure plot.

At this point, I was torn. I had to choose one, right? Wrong. Continue reading →