Amber the Blonde Writer: July 2016

Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Waiting on Wednesday: Daughter of the Pirate King

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme that focuses on the yet-to-be released books we're waiting for. It's hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

This week I'm talking about a pirate book because pirates are my kryptonite!

Title: Daughter of the Pirate King

Author: Tricia Levenseller

Genre: YA Fantasy

Publication Date: February 21, 2017

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Goodreads summary:

A 17-year-old pirate captain intentionally allows herself to get captured by enemy pirates in this thrilling

Amber the Blonde Writer - Waiting on Wednesday - Daughter of the Pirate King

YA adventure.

If you want something done right . . .

When the ruthless pirate king learns of a legendary treasure map hidden on an enemy ship, his daughter, Alosa, knows there's only one pirate for the job—herself. Leaving behind her beloved ship and crew, Alosa deliberately facilitates her own kidnapping to ensure her passage on the ship, confident in her ability to overcome any obstacle. After all, who's going to suspect a seventeen-year-old girl locked in a cell? Then she meets the (surprisingly perceptive and unfairly attractive) first mate, Riden, who is charged with finding out all her secrets. Now it's down to a battle of wits and will . . . . Can Alosa find the map and escape before Riden figures out her plan?

Debut author Tricia Levenseller blends action, adventure, romance, and a little bit of magic into a thrilling YA pirate tale.

Why I'm Waiting:

I'm a sucker for pirate books and always have been. The fact that pirates will be taking over YA in 2017 has me all sorts of excited! I know this cover isn't final, but I really just wanted to share the book. Female lead with sword-buckling escapades? Yes please!

What books are you waiting on?

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Friday, July 8, 2016

#WritersLife: New WIP and Book Recs

#WritersLife, where I talk writing in real life.

Hello, lovelies! It's been awhile, but a lot of good things have happened since my last posts so let's get to it.

Firstly, my personal life is going very well. I had a phone interview yesterday and an in person one this coming Monday. I've been temping at a warehouse, but a job related to my field would be spectacular! Both involve schools: one is to be a teacher's aide in a elementary or high school, and the other is for an instructional writing aide at the local college. Clearly I'm not done with school yet.

Secondly, Pokemon GO released two nights ago and my brother and I are becoming Pokemon masters! My Squirtle is in the top percentage at CP 55, and Broski just evolved his Pidgey. We're practically experts, just saying. You can find more up-to-date info on my Pokemon training journey on Instagram. We plan on going out with his friends to the park this weekend to catch more!

With those important updates out of the way, let's jump into the words!

New WIP and DIY MFA

I downloaded the DIY MFA starter kit back in June, and while I've read it through, I took it one step further today and wrote down my writing goals and some of my reading requirements.

Reading during my undergraduate years helped me learn about craft, and reading YA novels after graduation helped me understand what's out there now and how these writers are making things work.

I read a ton of fantasy and science fiction novels, but I write an even mix of fantasy and contemporary stories. I decided to take a break from my YA SF rewrites for personal reasons and get back into a writing routine with a new piece. Er, an old but new now piece.

In college, I wrote a short story called Blonde Hairs told from the perspective of a guy in a relationship. While the girlfriend is never present in the story, he finds blonde hairs throughout his day that remind him of her. I spoke with a friend about it, and he suggested showing more of the bad memories too. After thinking it over, I believe this story would benefit more with a novel or novella structure than a short story structure.

I'm working on the outline first to gauge how long it may end up being, but I want to read more contemporary stories. Unfortunately, as I said above, I don't read a whole lot of them. I know Rainbow Rowell is huge and I heard those stories are fantastic, but that's really the extent of my knowledge.

This story centers on a relationship, but not necessarily the steamy romance if you know what I mean. I'm thinking of a story like One Day where individual growth is as important as the relationship growth. There's also a non-linear plot, so perhaps The Time Traveler's Wife could also help me in writing this story.

I think it'll best match the New Adult genre, so I am welcome to book suggestions that are from YA, NA, or Adult. Any and all things will help. I want to capture the fun and youthfulness of love while also highlighting the mature and adult side of it.

If you know of any books or authors that may fit in with a contemporary, romance, or non-linear plot structure, please let me know! No Harlequin please; I don't need sex stories. Of any kind. Ever. Erotica is not my cup of tea. I giggle too much.

New story. New goals. New Pokemon. Er, old ones that I can now catch. Seriously though, I think my reward will be every 1,250 words written, I get one hour with Pokemon GO.

Gotta write 'em all!

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