Winner of ON THE BRIGHT SIDE!

The winner for ON THE BRIGHT SIDE by Shelli Johannes is CookieMonster! Please email me at farley dot christinal at gmail dot com to get the copy of your book!

Related to Jane Austen

As you all know, I'm a crazy fan of Jane Austen. I've read all her books, do the annual Jane Austen movie marathon, I even have her figurine standing right above where I write (okay, that sounds a little creepy).

So when my uncle and I were chatting on the phone the other day about my dream to become an author, he said, "Well it makes sense considering who your relative is."

This is where I sit and rack my memory to recall which relative he's talking about. (Note: my uncle is a historian and knows everything about our family tree).

"You know," he prompts, "Jane Austen."

I laugh. (Because that is funny)

"No," he says. "I'm serious. She's your 14th cousin."

And then it all makes sense. Now my dad's side is Jewish. But my mom's side is English. And her family name was Austen.

Sure, 14th cousin is FAR off and I definitely don't live in England, but still. It's pretty cool.

And maybe he's right. Maybe there is a little bit of her writing spirit passed down to me over the years.

I sense a book idea here... 

Over at The MiGs- Voice-The Song of a Writer

Check out my post on the writer's voice over at the MiGs!


And at Rach Writes there's still time to sign up for the Fourth Writer's Building Campaign.

World Building with Shelli Johannes-Wells

Please welcome Shelli Johannes-Wells today as she celebrates the launch of her tween novel ON THE BRIGHT SIDE!

ON THE BRIGHT SIDE is a humorous story about a tween angel who is forced to protect her nemesis and what can happen when you hate someone to death.

·     Add it to your Goodreads list

·     Buy it on Amazon or at Barnes and Noble

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I love Shelli’s tween voice in ON THE BRIGHT SIDE. She captures the essence of 14-year old Gabby with fun, witty humor and tells a compelling story that you won’t want to put down. And today, Shelli is here to chat about world building with us.

1.   What were the biggest issues you faced in buildings Gabby’s world in the Afterlife?

Building a new heaven from scratch was difficult. I wanted to build a new world that was NOT connected to religion. So I had to think of a way to get past all the notions of Heaven. This meant changing the name to Cirrus (city among the clouds), having a woman ruler (Nephele), and an Evil man (named Malum). That way, kids of all religions could read the story and separate it from their religious beliefs. Even though everyone doesn't believe in angels.

2.  I love how you think outside the box when it comes to the Afterlife. Concepts like SKYagents, Brights, and SKYfones are just brilliant! And I love the food there. Who wouldn’t want to eat angel food cake dripping with chocolate or angel hair pasta? So Shelli, how were you able to spark that creativity into ON THE BRIGHT SIDE?

I’m kinda corny I guess? I wanted to create a technologically advanced afterlife with cities that were eco-friendly. I wanted kids to think it was fun and whimsy yet hip and modern.

3.  World building sure doesn’t build itself. Where do you start when you are worldbuildling? (i.e. the setting, language, rules, dress, architecture)  

I am very visual when I write so I usually start with the setting first. What does it look like? How does it need to function? What is the ruling system (government etc)? What are the rules? That usually lends itself to making up rules for everything else. If I don’t know what a place looks like or how it functions, the other pieces don’t fall into place easily.

4.  Your world building is full of humor that sparks life into ON THE BRIGHT SIDE. Phrases such as BBF (Bright Friends Forever), Miracle Nails, Sacred Chow and SKYolations literally made me laugh out loud. Where do you think this stuff up?

Girl, I have no clue where all that stuff comes from. It just pops in my head. I was looking to do play on words and to touch on different aspects of heaven and Earth that kids could relate to. I started by listing all the things kids love: fashion, shopping, food, clothes, and technology. I started making lists and went from there. I must say, I even surprised myself sometimes. I mean Sacred Chow? How funny is that (if I do say so myself.) Something’s are part of my life. I get my nails done at Angel Nails – I’m not kidding so that is where I got Miracle Nails. I eat at a place called Chow Baby so Sacred Chow popped into my head. And of course, don’t forget Dolce and Nirvana (ha!)

5.   How do you keep all the details in Etern City and Cirrus in order without it becoming celestial chaos?

I keep a file of everything in the city of Etern. The positions. The government. The buildings. So I always reference that. Anything that comes up as I’m writing goes in that file for reference.

Thank you for joining us Shelli and sharing your SKYpertise!

Comment below to enter and win a copy of ON THE BRIGHT SIDE!

“Peace, love, and recycle!”

Article 5 Book Launch

Last night, my writing buddies here in Orlando, Jess Souders, Larissa Hardesty, and Tara Gallina took a road trip to Tampa for Kristen Simmon's ARTICLE 5 book launch. What a great time!

The launch took place at Inkwood Books, an adorable indie bookstore. If you're ever in Tampa, I'd recommend checking out what they have to offer.

We ate yummy #5 cookies while we listened to Kristen share about her writing journey, which was touching and really an inspiration to us all. Tara even won swag!

Kristen then read us an excerpt of her book and already I'm anxious to start reading my new autographed copy.

Kristen's agent, Joanna was there for the occasion, having flown all the way from Chicago! It was such a touching moment to listen to Kristen share how her dreams have become a reality.

We also met book blogger, Sarah, from The Book Life too!

Here's the blurb on Kristen's book:

ARTICLE 5, the first installment of a dystopian trilogy for teens. Major cities have been abandoned, the Bill of Rights has been revoked and replaced with the Moral Statutes, there are no more police – instead, only soldiers. Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller is old enough to remember that life in the United States used to be different. Living with her rebellious single mother, it’s hard to forget that people weren’t always arrested for reading the wrong books or staying out after dark. She has learned to keep a low profile, but then her mother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the Moral Statutes. And what’s worse, one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings…the only boy Ember has ever loved.

Happy Chinese New Year!

Happy New Year! It's another new year in the Chinese calendar. I'm so used to celebrating it while we were in Asia for the last 10 years that it feels weird to know I have school this week! Bummer, right?

I'm super excited about this year because it's the YEAR OF THE DRAGON! Oh yeah. And I think it's going to be a good one.

Chinese legends tell the tale of how during the eve of the new year a mythical beast named Nian would feast and plunder on the village's livestock, crops and even villagers.

So the villagers started putting food outside their doors to keep the monster at bay. Then one year, a villager noticed that Nian was afraid of a child wearing red. So they strung red lanterns across their villages and hung red scrolls in their windows. They even lit fireworks to scare him off, too.

Today, the Chinese prepare feasts, shoot of fireworks, have parades and hand out gifts. It's a beautiful, festive holiday.

In Korea, the day is called Seollal. Koreans call this day the Lunar New Year and it's celebrated in a three day holiday. Visiting family during this holiday is very important.

This why when we lived in Seoul, we'd NEVER travel. The traffic to leave the city was horrendous. If you were to travel, you'd need to leave before dawn.

Here's a video I took of a dragon parade in downtown Seoul:

I always loved visiting the museums and shops during Lunar because everyone else was gone and we wouldn't have to fight the traffic or the lines. We'd practically have the place to ourselves.

And ohhhh the rice cakes they make at this time of the year. So soft and savory. Yum.

Happy New Year!

Thanks to Real Image for the lovely pictures.

Break Free and Dream

We all have dreams, secretly stowed away, waiting to be fulfilled.

When I was little, I dreamed of being a singer, dancer, or even a writer.


Yep. That was me twirling around the house in tutus, singing at the top of my lungs. Or hidden in some cramped corner writing silly poems about dolls and mapping out imaginary worlds.

Then one day I realized a couple of things:
1. I didn't want to leave my family and go to ballet boarding school in New York (yes, I very nearly did).
2. I could sing (for my family).
3. And I could write (crap that is).

So I gave it all up. All of it, and I did different stuff. Like piano and rock climbing. But deep in my heart of hearts, I still loved to dance, secretly sang in the shower and daydreamed up imaginary worlds.

One of those dreams came true for me a while back when I took the plunge and auditioned for characters at Disney World. I ended up dancing in their castle show for a number of years before moving overseas. It was an amazing experience, but I would never have done it if I'd allowed myself to believe I wasn't good enough.

And then after that was over, I started thinking about that other dream I had. Writing. I sucked at it. Big time. But the love and passion were still there, deep inside me, aching to come out.

So I took the plunge and started writing again. It was hard and it still is. But I'm ready to learn. I'm ready to take on new challenges.

There's something to remember about dreams:
1. You must be willing to do what it takes.
2. If you want MORE, you have to get up and MOVE.
3. Don't stay stuck in your old patterns.
4. Write those dreams down, stick them on the walls, remind yourself why.

What must you change to make those dreams reality? Make your list. I've made mine. And I'm chasing them.

Tonight, wish upon your star.