Wendelin Van Draanen & Mark Huntley Parsons

They will discuss and take questions on…

Their writing process… and yours. Including…

• Original inspiration for a book. (Is it a marriage, or just a hot date?)
• How to unstick a stuck scribe. (Techniques for getting your story back in gear.) Plotting vs. pantsing – when to do which.
• The re-write process – how to learn to love it.

Dealing with AGENTS and EDITORS and PUBLISHERS…

• Tips for locating suitable agents &/or editors.
• Is an editor your employer? Your employee? Or something altogether different? How does the whole Advance & Royalty process really work?
• Self-pub and trad-pub: advantages of each.

We’ll be featuring Wendelin’s brand new book

Hope in the Mail: Reflections on Writing and Life

Part writing guide and part memoir, this inspiring book from the author of Flipped and The Running Dream is like Bird by Bird for YA readers and writers.

Wendelin Van Draanen didn’t grow up wanting to be a writer, but thirty books later, she’s convinced that writing saved her life. Or, at least, saved her from a life of bitterness and despair. Writing helped her sort out what she thought and felt and wanted. And digging deep into fictional characters helped her understand the real people in her life better as well.

Wendelin shares what she’s learned–about writing, life, and what it takes to live the writing life. This book is packed with practical advice on the craft: about how to create characters and plot a story that’s exciting to read. But maybe even more helpful is the insight she provides into the persistence, and perseverance, it takes to live a productive, creative life. And she answers the age-old question Where do you get your ideas? by revealing how events in her own life became the seeds of her best-loved novels.

Hope in the Mail is a wildly inspirational read for anyone with a story to share. “Will inspire writers of all ages.” –- School Library Journal

Road Rash

A teenage drummer finds out what life is really like on tour with a rock band in this funny and bittersweet YA novel. For anyone who loved Almost Famous or This Is Spinal Tap.

After being dropped from one band, sixteen-year-old drummer Zach gets a chance to go on tour with a much better band. It feels like sweet redemption, but this is one rocky road trip—filled with jealousy, rivalries, and on-stage meltdowns.

Mark Parsons has written a fast-paced, feel-good novel about a boy finding his place in the world, in a band, and in the music. Zach is a character teens will stand up and cheer for as he lands the perfect gig, and the perfect girl.

About the Author:

Wendelin Van Draanen is the bestselling author of more than thirty traditionally published books, including the long-running Edgar-winning Sammy Keyes mystery series. Her novel Flipped, named a Top 100 Children’s Novel for the 21^st Century by SLJ, became a Warner Brothers feature film, and Shredderman became a Nickelodeon made-for-TV movie. Her first non-fiction book, Hope in the Mail, Reflections on Writing and Life, is part memoir, part craft guide, and part publishing insight, suitable for teen and adult audiences, especially those who want to write.

Mark Parsons has authored over two hundred articles for national publications as well as a pair of non-fiction books. His first YA novel, ROAD RASH (Knopf/Random House) is a band-on-the-road novel which explores coming into adulthood.  It was named to the ALA’s Best Fiction for Young Adults list, as well as Bank Street College’s Best Children’s Books of the Year list. He has other works currently making their way through the machinery of the publishing industry.