ASK THE AUTHOR - Questions for the July Edition

   It's time for the second edition of Ask The Author! I've got three all-stars who've kindly agreed to answer your writing questions (these ladies are some of the most amazing writers out there <3). I'm very excited about this round of Ask The Author - I have a feeling it's going to be epic ...

   If you guys need a catch up on how Ask The Author runs over here on Inspiring Writes, it's pretty simple: submit your questions down in the comments (the deadline for question submission is June 30th!), then I'll pick out about ten-fifteen of the questions submitted, and these lovely authors will be back to answer them in early July.

   And now you're probably wondering who is here to answer your questions, yes? Well, I'm very happy to introduce you to ...

Gillian Bronte Adams is a sword-wielding, horse-riding, wander-loving fantasy author, rarely found without a coffee in hand and rumored to pack books before clothes when she hits the road. Working in youth ministry left her with a passion for journeying alongside children and teens. (It also enhanced her love of coffee.) Now, she writes novels that follow outcast characters down broken roads, through epic battles, and onward to adventure. And at the end of a long day of typing, she can be found saddling her wild thing and riding off into the sunset, seeking adventures of her own (and more coffee). She loves to connect with fellow readers and wanderers online on her blog, Facebook page, and Instagram.

Tessa Emily Hall is an award-winning author who writes inspirational yet authentic YA fiction to show teens they’re not alone. Her passion for shedding light on clean entertainment and media for teens led her to a career as an Associate Agent at Hartline Literary Agency, YA Acquisitions Editor for Illuminate YA (LPC Imprint), and Founder/Editor of PursueMagazine.net. Tessa's first teen devotional, COFFEE SHOP DEVOS, will release with Bethany House in 2018. She's guilty of making way too many lattes and never finishing her to-read list. When her fingers aren’t flying 116 WPM across the keyboard, she can be found speaking to teens, decorating art journals, and acting in Christian films. Her favorite way to procrastinate is by connecting with readers on her blog, mailing list, social media (@tessaemilyhall), and website: www.tessaemilyhall.com.

Catherine Jones Payne is a Seattle native who loves the written word, international travel, crashing waves, and good coffee. Her earliest memory involves pulling up a rolling chair to her parents’ old DOS computer—while wearing a tiara, naturally—and tapping out a story of kidnapped princesses. By day she’s the managing editor of Quill Pen Editorial. She lives in Greenville, SC with her historian husband and their cats, Mildred and Minerva.

   Good gracious, I have to admit - even I'm itching to ask these lovely ladies some questions! But that job is for you guys - so what are you waiting for? Go! Comment! You have until June 30th to get your questions in ;).

~ Savannah Grace

have at it y'all

i can't wait to see the questions you come up with <3

A Call For Betas - The Genie Bone

   Well, I'm breaking my own rule about not posting two days in a row to post something special. Because I told you it'd be soon.

   I just didn't tell you how soon ;D.

   You guys probably want to know what you're getting yourself into, huh? Well, let's see if I can put a short list together ...


   - it's very short (about 12k long - and it needs to be cut by 2k words, ha.)

   - it's fantasy, and set on/in/by the ocean (I had way too much fun with this setting, my word)

   - it's a submission for the SpringSong's Oath and Iron anthology

   - I'll send out the story on the 15th, and the deadline for finishing it is the 23rd

   - I probably won't be able to accept all the betas who fill out the form. I'm working with some super-tight deadlines right now, for multiple stories, so I'm trying not to overwhelm myself with too many betas. So sorry! But I'm always super appreciative to everyone who fills out the form - just the fact that you want to help makes me so happy, you have no idea <3 <3 <3.


   ... hmm, I think that's about all. If you have any other questions, leave them in the comments! Fill out the form below if you're interested in beta reading - it closes on the 15th!





   Thank you all SO MUCH for your interest in this story - and in my writing in general! I don't think I'd ever have the motivation to finish anything without you guys ;D. You're the absolute best <3.

~ Savannah Grace 

so ... did you sign up? ;)

are you working on any submissions right now?

Highlights Of May 2018

   Well. May was here, and then it wasn't! (which is why this post is over a week late *cough*)

   May literally FLEW by, and now I've got all sorts of deadlines sneaking up on me - but I suppose I can take a smol break to get up a post about my month for you guys, no? ;D

Huh. Seeing as I was so busy in May, it's a little weird that I don't have that many interesting things to say in this section? Strange xD. Let's see what I can scrounge up...

We went to a graduation party for one of my very good friends, which was a ton of fun! I loved being able to catch up with people and congratulate her (also, ice cream. There was ice cream <3).

And I've been practicing my driving like CRAZY all month (I know, I know - I'm VERY late to the game!), which has been a ton of fun. And the place where my mom takes me to practice is right by a bookstore, so ... you know where we end up when the driving is done xD.

OH ALSO - my sweet friend and critique partner Soleil surprised me with a box of bookish goodies, including a GORGEOUS copy of Legendary (before it came out, which had me floored! xD), and legit made my month (thank you, Sol!). Also, I am now obsessed with book-inspired candles ;D.  

isn't it a gorgeous book?

Whoo. So here's where I promptly keel over and die because THERE'S TOO MUCH HERE. *takes deep breath* But let's give this a shot, shall we? xD

I'm working on the expansion of Forgotten - my Snow White novella for the Rooglewood writing contest last year - into a full novel, and I'm about a quarter of the way through (its taking so much longer than I thought it would!) I guess good things take a lot of time? xD I'm trying not to rush too much, but the deadline for that project is mid-July, so ... there's not much time to waste O.O

And then there's been a lot of flash fiction. I'm still working on my piece for the Penprints Flash Fiction dash (I ... kinda forgot I hadn't done that yet *gulps*), and multiple pieces to submit to different places. Its been so much fun, I love writing short, fast things ;D.

I've also been working on a couple entries to submit to the Oath and Iron anthology - one that's set by the ocean (which I sent off to my alphas, and their feedback is always epic <3), one that's set in the 1920s (which ... I still need to type up. That's one drawback of me always writing my first drafts by hand!), and one that I'm co-writing with my wonderful friend Soleil (though we'll see if we get it done in time! xD). This is my first shot at co-writing anything, and its been a TON of fun!

... I think that's about it, but knowing me, I've totally skipped something that I'll be kicking myself for later xD. Basically I'VE BEEN BUSY and MY PLATE IS FULL and I CAN'T WAIT until I can let you guys beta some of the stuff I've been working on! Hopefully very, very soon ;).  

And I failed to realize until right now that I actually did a lot of reading this month? I found a new absolute-favorite series, tried a couple books that I never would have thought to read without prompting, and got my paws on some fresh-off-the-press books! It was a VERY good month for reading, when all's said and done <3.

- The Jackaby series by William Ritter. OH MY GRACIOUS, you guys. My love for this series knows no bounds. I read the first book a little while back, but managed to somehow not finish the series? BUT NOW I HAVE. And I shall forever regret waiting so long! I'll have to do a full review on the whole series sometime soon, because it just isn't fair to try and contain my screaming into this single paragraph! ;D All you guys need to know is that I LOVE IT VERY MUCH <3 <3 <3

- Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. And here's one of the books I definitely wouldn't have read without prompting. I guess I'm just not very interested in older classics? But my younger sister (Skylar) read it and convinced me that I ABSOLUTELY HAD TO, and I couldn't say no! And I'm super glad that I didn't, because (shock of all shocks xD), I actually really enjoyed this book! The characters were AH-MAY-ZING, which is half the reason I loved it so much. 4.5 to this beautiful book!  

There's a bunch of other books in that collage that I wish I could ramble about, BUT I read a lot of them to judge for the Inspy Awards (did I mention that I'm one of this year's judges?), and I'm not allowed to talk about what I think of them until that's all over. But I'm having a ton of fun - and that's about all I can say! ;D

BUT if you want a little more of my book ramblings, I did review The Story Peddler and Legendary on my blog this month, and my review of Entwined (by Heather Dixon) went up over on PURSUE magazine's website.

- Aimee Meester is still killing it with her serial story - here's a link to the most recent part posted! (though if you haven't read it yet, start with part one! You need to read all the epicness)

- Ivie of Ivie Writes revealed the STUNNING cover of the book she's going to be releasing! Do excuse me as I melt into a smol puddle of I NEED THIS NOW xD

- Nadine Brandes STARTED HER OWN BOOKTUBE CHANNEL, which I am BEYOND excited about!! So make sure to go check her out her lovely booktube!

- CAIT IS GOING TO BE RELEASING A SECOND BOOK.EXCUSE ME AS I DIE AGAIN. I've been wanting to read The Boy Who Steals Houses ever since ... well, forever! And now we'll get to! I IS EXCITE

- Victoria did a post on writing lessons from The Hiding Place, which was really cool. Now I'm all inspired to write a story with a deaf main character! (NO MORE PLOT BUNNIES PLEASE xD)

- Tons of book releases! Legendary by Stephanie Garber, Porch Swing Girl by Taylor Bennett, and Unbreakable by Sara Ella, and The Three by Christa Kinde - and that's just to name a few! If you haven't read them yet, YOU NEED TO. (*coughs and fails to mention the fact that I've only been able to get to two of these so far*)

   First of all - I did NOT finish up my fairytale retellings blog series in May (pfft, who am I kidding - I didn't really expect to! I just have too many things to say!), so that will be continuing in June. This is going to be a super-busy month for me, so WE'LL SEE how often I can slap up a post xD. And I may or may not have a call for betas for a short story in a week or so... but you didn't here that from me ;).

   ANYways. I hope that y'all had an epic May, and that your June is just as wonderful! Keep rocking your writing, frens <3.

~ Savannah Grace 

how was your May? what was the best book you read? 

chat with me, y'all! <3