Pages From My Journal

The Blurb: In 2160, a teenager becomes the bait to capture her missing revolutionary parents she thinks are long dead. Grey Alexander has one goal—to keep herself and her younger sister Orinda alive. Not an easy feat living unconnected in the North American Wildlife Preserve, where they survive by smuggling contraband into the Mazdaar government's city zones. If the invisible electric border fence doesn't kill them, a human-like patrol drone could. When her worst fear comes true, Grey questions everything she thought she knew about life, her missing parents, and God. Could another planet, whose sky swirls with orange vapors and where extinct-on-Earth creatures roam free, hold the key to reuniting her family? About the Author: C. J. is the award-winning author of the contemporary novels Thicker than Blood, Bound by Guilt, and Ties that Bind. Her new novel Jupiter Winds is a YA/space adventure/dystopian. She is a regular contributor to various websites. In 20...

     WARNING: Only writers will understand the importance of this post : )      Mary Poppins had everything in that bag of hers. She was always prepared and ready for any situation. Believe it or not, I need to feel like I'm ready for anything when I'm writing.       A few months ago, I put together this bag of writing supplies. I take it everywhere, even if I know I won't need ninety percent of it. Making this "writing bag" has shown to be just as useful as I thought it would be.       I started with a small Thirty One bag. It had lots of compartments on the sides to put stuff in, and it was small enough to fit into my computer backpack.        Here's what I put in it:     INSIDE       My fact manual for my work in progress.      The Go Teen Writer's book for easy reference.      A book of C. S. Lew...

It has been awesome sitting on this side of the computer seeing all the votes coming in for the Biggest, Bestest, Book Awards. Here are the winners: Best Male Protagonist Four from ALLEGIANT by Veronica Roth Best Female Protagonist Colette from UNTIL THAT DISTANT DAY by Jill Stengl Best Male Antagonist Pascoe from UNTIL THAT DISTANT DAY by Jill Stengl Best Male Secondary Character Peeta from MOCKINGJAY by Suzanne Collins Best Female Secondary Character Christina from ALLEGIANT by Veronica Roth Best Character Development (Individual Character) Foxbrush from SHADOW HAND by Anne Elisabeth Stengl Best Character Development (As a Cast) *Tie OUTCASTS by Jill Williamson THE LUNAR CHRONICLES (Cinder, Cress, Scarlet) by Marissa Meyer Best Beginning/ First Chapter *Tie HALF BAD by Sally Green ALL GOD’S CHILDREN by Anna Schmidt STEELHEART by Brandon Sanderson ...

            For the past couple weeks, I’ve been sharing some advice for teens planning on attending a writer’s conference. You can read about the preparation here and the professionalism here. Today, I’m talking about presenting your story. I anticipated talking about my story to editors and agents, but I was surprised to find how many non–published authors wanted to know about my story. Presenting   my story well to them was also important. This is the picture I used for my pitch sheet, t-shirt, party decorations, and braces included.             I’m the kind of person who might prepare for months, agonize over my dress, practice my pitch to death, and still say something stupid. Everyone says something stupid. Everyone messes up the pitch. But, everyone can present their story in a way that interests. You don’t have to change who you are to make yourself m...