Please join me in welcoming Author-Librarian Jen Nails for the Back-to-School giveaway. Jen talks about inspiration and process as well as sharing a little about what she’s working on now. She’s generously donating a copy of her middle grade novel One Hundred Spaghetti Strings (published by HarperCollins spring 2017) for the comment contest. All you have to do for a chance to win an autographed copy is leave a comment for Jen. Let me know in your comment if you share on Twitter, FB, Google+ or follow this blog, and you’ll get more chances to win. Winner will be announced on Friday, August 17th, so hurry!
 |
| Author/Librarian JEN NAILS |
Writing from the Inside Out. . . by Jen Nails
I remember hearing Jacqueline Woodson speak at the New York SCBWI conference a few years ago and someone asked her if she experienced writer’s block and if so, what did she do? She said that she didn’t believe in writer’s block. She said if she ever sat down to write something in particular and wasn’t feeling it, she started writing something else, until she found the thing that she needed to be writing. If she came back to the first thing, great, if not, great. This has helped me over the years to recognize that it’s okay to put something on hold if you really, really, really have to write about something else in that moment.
My novel-in-progress about three 7th graders who try and prevent the implosion of a Las Vegas casino has been through at least nine or ten drafts and I’m totally full steam ahead about it, but over the summer, there was something kind of tugging at me.
I got divorced three years ago, and since then I’ve become addicted to national parks. Somehow, bringing my sons to the parks has become both an addiction and an antidote. I’ve been keeping little diaries that kind of chronicle each of our visits and I am using them to create a guidebook for heartbreak, an “off the beat and path” travel guide to healing and becoming whole again.
The thing is, there are so many threads and themes that I had begun to follow in the novel that are actually more relevant to this nonfiction book. In fact, one of the poems from the novel is now a part of the travel guide. In keeping with Clara’s theme of Writing from the Inside Out, I wanted to share that I think it's so important to honor that thing that is eating at you, that is begging to be put on paper to get it out of your system, even if it isn’t the thing that you are “supposed to be writing right now.”
Here’s Jen’s latest book for middle grade readers! Review below.
Here’s Jen’s latest book for middle grade readers! Review below.
Book Summary from amazon:
This brave and heartwarming middle grade novel will leave your belly rumbling and your heart full. Because when life hands you lemons, it’s time to get cooking! Perfect for fans of Sarah Weeks, Leslie Connor, and Lynda Mullaly Hunt.
Since Steffy was little, she and her older sister, Nina, have lived with their beloved Auntie Gina. But when the girls’ dad comes home to live with them, everything changes. So Steffy does what she does best: She cooks her way through the hardest year of her life.
Sometimes it feels like everything but the kitchen sink is being thrown at her—too many ingredients that don't quite work. And all Steffy wants is for her family to be whole again. Can her recipes help bring them back together?
One Hundred Spaghetti Strings also includes over twenty recipes—which Steffy cooks throughout the book—so aspiring young chefs can try them out when they’re done reading!" AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE
To learn more about Jen and her books or to follow her on social media, check out the links below:
Assorted Leafs Blog review, March 2018
Publisher's Weekly review, February 2017
Thank you, dear readers, for joining us at this busy end-of-summer time. Don’t forget to visit Jen's website or follow her on FB and Twitter.
And thank you, Jen, for sharing insights into your creative process. I loved your line, “Honor the thing that is eating at you.”
I’ll be back in a few days to announce the winner. ~Clara
And thank you, Jen, for sharing insights into your creative process. I loved your line, “Honor the thing that is eating at you.”
I’ll be back in a few days to announce the winner. ~Clara
Clara--I do follow your blog, and I think this is a book my students (middle-graders and middle-schoolers) would enjoy.
ReplyDeleteJen--Good luck with your WIP. I am 3/4 or 3/5 the way through a historical novel for middle-graders. I finished the first draft, hired an editor, and now have deconstructed and am now reconstructing. I'll keep my fingers crossed for both of us.
So wonderful to hear from you, Sioux. Thanks for your sharing about your historical fiction project. Fingers crossed.
DeleteYour name is entered twice for a chance to win One Hundred Spaghetti Strings.
Good luck to you too, Sioux. My fingers are crossed tightly.
DeleteClara, Thank you so, so, so much for asking me to be a guest on your awesome blog. You are amazing. ❤️
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure, Jen! So pleased to feature you here. <3
DeleteTrying to write when life has you by the heart does tend to make the writing feel distanced if you don't let the heartache spill into the writing somehow. How great that Jen allowed her troubles into her creative process. Good advice for all of us. Thanks for the great post.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kathy, for your heartfelt comment. We do need to let our heartaches spill into our writing somehow.
DeleteSounds like a unique book. I wish her lots of luck getting the word out about it. I'll share on Facebook for her.
ReplyDeleteSo pleased that you stopped by, George! Thank you!
DeleteYour name is entered twice for a chance to win the autographed book.
Back from vacation to find so many missed posts! This book sounds terrific, both its premise and its style. And I think that the best books come from a place that's dear to the author's heart, whether it's working through personal troubles or celebrating personal joys.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jilanne, for that thoughtful comment. I agree that both joy and sorrow should spring from the heart of the author.
DeleteYour name is entered for a chance to win Jen’s book.
I am using them to create a guidebook for heartbreak, an “off the beat and path” travel guide to healing and becoming whole again.
ReplyDeleteI love how writing heals. And how nature heals. All best to you, Jen. One Hundred Spaghetti Strings sounds delish!
Thank you, Joyce, for your thoughtful wishes. I, too, love how writing heals and how nature heals.
DeleteYour name is entered for a chance to win Jen’s book.
I always love hearing about authors! But this is extra special because Jenn is a librarian too!! This books sounds good for my 7th grade readers!
ReplyDeleteIt would make a great addition to your school library, Susan! And you’d love it too. Librarians stick together, right?
DeleteThanks for stopping by. Your name is entered for a chance to win Jen’s book.
Jen, your MG book sounds great! I'm revising my first MG, and it features baking :-)
ReplyDeleteHey Jen, I just bet One Hundred Spaghetti Strings would make a great mentor text!
DeleteThanks for stopping by. Your name is entered for a chance to win Jen Nails book.
This looks like a great book, but since I just won from your blog, no need to enter me. Best wishes, Jen!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Carol, for your best wishes to Jen. So grateful for your ongoing work in the Children’s Book world.
Delete