Inspiration
Inspiration
People often ask me how I come up with my stories. What was my inspiration? So, I looked back on my recent projects and tried to remember the original spark that ignited each story. I love learning about history and also the paranormal. In my YA and MG stories I usually try to meld the two together. A Promise Stitched in Time is the story of a girl looking for inspiration for a painting she needs to complete in order to win a scholarship to a prestigious art school. She goes to her local thrift shop and is drawn to a tweed coat. She brings the coat home and strange things begin to happen. Is the coat haunted or is something else at work? I remember walking around a thrift store myself, looking at vintage coats and hats and wondering what were the chances of someone being reincarnated and happening upon an object they'd owned in a previous life. Would the object trigger past memories? Wouldn't it be cool if it did—or would it be too much to handle? What if the object was lost under dire circumstances--perhaps stolen. Then I remembered reading about two girls who were held prisoner in the attic of the Commandant of Auschwitz. The girls were forced to make clothing (using fabric from the clothes stolen from their people) for the Nazi family. The identity of the girls was never discovered. What if my reincarnated girl was one of those girls imprisoned in that attic? Cool idea, yes? That's where I started with this story. Tomorrow I'll tell you about my story inspired by a documentary on coma patients. It's a freaky idea, but not totally out of the realms of possibility. For that story I actually did some very interesting hands on research.
The Next Big Thing
I was asked by my talented friend, Lisa Amowitz, to participate in this blog tag event detailing what we are all currently working on. Hope you find it interesting! What is the working title of your book? A Promise Stitched in Time Where did the idea come from for the book? Inspiration for this story is a bit of Holocaust history I discovered in the book, Nazi Chic. In this work of non-fiction the author reports the story of two women imprisoned in Auschwitz, then enslaved in the attic of the commandant Rudolph Hoess' villa. The girls were forced, under severe conditions, to make luxurious garments for his wife, Hedwig Hoess. The identity of the girls is unknown. I started thinking about the clothing confiscated by the Nazis. Where did it go? And, what might happen (allow imagination to go wild) if you found an item that belonged to one of these girls in a second hand shop. What genre does your book fall under? young adult paranormal Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition? This was hard. I guess my protagonist, Maggie McConnell, would be played by an older version of Emma Kenney (from the show Shameless), and Taj Mabbibi would be played by Dev Patel (circa Slumdog Millionaire). What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? When a young girl is compelled to buy a tweed coat from a thrift shop, hallucinations and odd dreams lead her to believe the coat may be haunted by a ghost who needs to be heard. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? I am represented by my wonderful agent, Terrie Wolf of AKA Literary. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? I've been working on and off on this story for a few years. It's been through quite a few revisions. Who or What inspired you to write this book? I've always been fascinated by the paranormal and wondered what happens to us after we die. What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest? It's sweet, sometimes funny, spooky, and leaves the reader with a sense of hope. I'm tagging: Suzi Ryan http://ataleoftwosuzies.blogspot.com/
Library Lovin’ Challenge
Dear Friends, This is a library-loving blog challenge! For every commenter on this post between now and April 14th (my birthday!) at 12 pm, I will donate $1 to The Cherry Hill Public Library http://www.chplnj.org, up to an amount of $ 50 total. How easy could it be? You comment, I cough up the money, the libraries get a gift! If you don’t know what to say in your comment, “I love libraries” will do. My pledge is “per commenter”—so if a single person leaves 50 comments, that still only counts once! But you can do more by spreading the word ... please link to this post, tweet about it, mention it on Facebook, etc. You can raise money for additional local libraries by visiting the blogs of others participating in this blog challenge: http://writerjenn.livejournal.com/ Thanks for your support! ~Coll
Happy Book Birthday!!!!
Today is the book birthday for Keri Mikulski’s new book,
Head Games!
Keri and I have been critique partners for years and have shared many highs and lows. I'm so happy for her success!
On with the questions.
1. Tell me about your journey. Did you always want to be an author? What
sparked you to start writing?
I’ve always loved to write, but sadly, I never thought I was smart enough to be a ‘real’ author. I spent most of my childhood dreaming of becoming a professional softball player. But, when that didn’t pan out I worked as a lifeguard, a secretary, a nurse, a personal trainer, and a teacher, attempting to find myself. But, there was always one constant throughout it all – writing. I wrote constantly. And during this time, little hints of my future were popping up around me. One of my college papers was placed in the university’s archives, I began creating picture books for my niece, and I landed a job teaching reading and writing at a middle school. But, what ultimately sparked my writing was the birth of my daughter. After Kaci was born I felt like I could do anything. I enrolled in a writing course, sold my first article six months later, and set my sites on writing sports fiction for girls.
2. Your characters seem similiar to what I imagine you were like when
you were younger (sports playing, boy-crazy girls). Yes? Do you base
your characters on real people?
Ha! I love it! You know me so well. :)
Absolutely! Every character I write begins with one characteristic of someone I know and A LOT of imagination. In fact, one of my favorite things to do is place little clues thoughout my books. That way if the person the character is based on reads the book, he or she will know it’s him or her. :)
3. You write for relunctant readers. Are there guidelines you must
follow? Vocab limitations? Sentence structure?
My books are not specifically packaged for ‘reluctant readers’. Therefore, I have no limitations. However, I do receive a ton of emails from reluctant readers.
4. Will Derek Jeter ever appear in one of your books?
Too funny! I’ve actually written Derek Jeter into every single one of my books – either as a reference, a dream, etc.. I always imagined sending Jeter my books with a note attached to it. Then, he would call me, inviting me to lunch. *sigh* But, poor Derek always gets cut. :(
5. What's your publicity schedule?
I’m scheduled to present at a bunch of workshops this Spring. I’ll excited to appear at the Delta Kappa Gamma New Jersey State Conference in March, the New Jersey Librarians Conference in May, NJSCBWI in June, and a bunch others. I plan on attending signings at both basketball and softball tournaments this summer. However, right now, most of my time will be devoted to writing Books 4, 5, and 6.
6. What are you working on now? When will it come out?
I’m finishing the copyedits for STEALING BASES, the next book in the series. STEALING BASES will hit bookstores on July 7th. :)
7. Do you have a message for young girls struggling with life and love?
Hmm.. Go with your gut. :) And stay away from boys with lists. :)
Thanks bunches!
Keri :)
--
Keri Mikulski
http://www.kerimikulski.com
Author of Head Games (Penguin/Razorbill, January 2011)
Author of Stealing Bases (Penguin/Razorbill, July 2011)
The winner is…
LMStull. Thank you everyone who joined me on twitter!
