I’ve been diving into middle grade fantasy recently, and one of my projects was to re-read one of Young Me’s favorites: Susan Cooper’s DARK IS RISING series. Which makes this a good time to do another post in our semi-regular series: Blast from the Past. The gist: We will occasionally read (or listen) to a book we had loved as children but have not re-visited … Continue reading Blast From the Past!
You asked for our favorite middle grade reads of 2021 so here they are! Now that summer is here, Rebecca, Richelle, and I are thrilled to recommend these middle grade books for your vacation. They are perfect for the beach, car, airplane, even when waiting in line at your favorite amusement park. The Truths We Hold (Young Readers Edition) by Kamala Harris Before she was … Continue reading Great Middle Grade Books for Summer 2021
I’m pretty cheerful in my regular life, but my writing has veered toward the dark. But 2020 was more than dark enough for all of us. So as I sat down to work on a big revision to my WIP, I decided to try something new: humor. As I started working, though, I found it harder than I’d thought it would be to inject a … Continue reading What’s so funny? Injecting Humor into Your Story
One of the hardest things for debut authors, even for established authors, is finding new ways to reach out and address your audience. Your readers. Whilst we have social media, interviews, podcasts and such all at our fingertips, nothing really beats seeing your book out in the wild with excited readers. Before I was a writer, I was (and still am) part of a worldwide … Continue reading Do You Believe in Book Fairies?
All of us at The Winged Pen are looking forward to seeing the end of 2020 and have high hopes for 2021…especially all the new Pennie books coming out, including Halli Gomez’s LIST OF TEN, Jessica Vitalis’s THE WOLF’S CURSE, Gabrielle K. Byrne’s THE EDGE OF STRANGE HOLLOW, and Gita Trelease’s EVERYTHING THAT BURNS. To prepare for the excitement, we’re going to take a few weeks off. But never … Continue reading Goodbye 2020 Road Trip
Writers need self-care, too! Check out our Winged Pen tips. Continue reading Self-Care for Writers
I prioritize reading diversely, but I’ve had issues with finding a consistent way to track my reading. I’ve tried using a bullet journal, but my handwriting is not pretty. After a couple of entries in my journal, I’m discouraged. My best approach so far has been to make shelves for the different types of diverse books on my Goodreads account and try to keep track … Continue reading Using a Booklog to Improve Your Reading Diversity!
Ahhhh, the dog days of summer. Heat like syrup. Thunder rolls. Falling into the soft, ink-scented comforts of a good story, told well. If you’re anything like me though, summer rolls through your life with the speed of a locomotive, and your only chance to slow it down is to throw a beach towel across the tracks and derail that sucker. Still. Every year, I … Continue reading How We Read & What’s On My Nightstand
