Joining us today is...

Abigail J. Hartman!!

Thank you for joining me on Homeschool Authors.  Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Thanks for having me, Sarah!  First and foremost I am a Christian.  As believers are called upon to be salt and light in the world, I hope that everything I do and everything I write reflects my beliefs in some way, even when my novels do not carry a blatant “message.”  I am also a book-lover from a book-loving family.  My sister began writing before me and I, being a typical younger sibling, wanted to follow in her footsteps.  So I suppose I must credit my writing to her and to my own jealousy.

What was your favorite subject in homeschool?

I’ve enjoyed many if not most subjects, but I would have to say that history has always been my favorite.  Fact is truly stranger than fiction, and there is so much in the annals of history to both thrill and amaze.  Oddly enough I was never fond of literature, merely because I dislike having to analyze the life out of classic works; and as for English, although I love the language itself, it was hardly an exciting subject!

What inspired you to write The Soldier’s Cross?

People frequently ask this question, but unfortunately I find it a difficult one to answer.  The idea came not so much from a subject or a theme as it did from one initial image: a girl with a cross pendant.  The only things I knew at that point were that she was in France and was herself English, and that the time period was the Hundred Years’ War.  After that, the story grew by degrees until it was ready to be written.

What was your journey to getting it published?

I wrote most of The Soldier’s Cross for National Novel Writing Month in 2009; my total at the end of that November was 62,000 words, and in the following six months I completed the story and edited it.  After that I began the business of querying.  Thankfully the mind blocks out pain and I don’t remember much of how difficult it was.  But the result was that in 2010 I was accepted by Ambassador-Emerald Intl., a Belfast-based publisher of Christian works.  Interestingly enough, my sister, Jennifer Freitag, was also accepted by them without the publishers knowing that we are related, so we were able to be published at the same time.

What has been the most rewarding moment as a writer?

Being a writer brings with it so many rewarding moments, it would be difficult to pick a single one and call it the best.  It is rewarding to be accepted by a publisher.  But it is also rewarding to finish a novel; to fall in love with a character; to work out a difficult scene so that it finally feels right.  Writing certainly has its trials, but I for one wouldn’t trade it for any other career.

Where can people get your book?

The Soldier’s Cross is available just about wherever books are sold: Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com, Christian booksellers like Christianbook.com, and your local bookstore.

When will your next book come out?

My second novel, Wordcrafter, is currently in the querying stage.  I hope for it to be my next published work, but you will have to stay tuned!

Do have any final thoughts? 

Simply that I would encourage aspiring authors not to worry overmuch about getting published.  Often times I feel that writers are driving themselves toward that goal with the thought that if they can only get accepted by a publisher, their writing will have worth.  This is by no means the case.  While it is good to reach a stage where you are ready to pursue publication, it should never be the justification for your writing itself.

Again, thanks for the interview, Sarah!  I enjoyed answering these questions.

Put Your Hands Together for....

Shannon McDermott!

Tell the readers a little bit about yourself.

Well, I'm thirdborn in a family of thirteen children and was homeschooled through high school, so my life has been somewhat outside the cultural norm. My first novel was published when I was twenty (about two and a half years ago). Since then, I have been working to establish myself as a writer, while helping in my family and working for my parents' magazine as a writer/editor/researcher.

What is your earliest memory of homeschooling?

Watching my older brother learn how to read. Our father was teaching him, and I remember asking when I would learn to read. The answer was three years. My earliest memory of my own homeschooling is learning how to read. As I recall, it was a frustrating experience.

What inspired you to start writing?

My mother used to give my siblings and I creative writing assignments. This is how she discovered what grammar and spelling errors we were prone to, and marked out a better way for us with red ink. It started me writing, and I have never stopped.

What was the inspiration for "The Last Heir"?

I don't know. I was looking for something to write and, as they say, it seemed like a good idea at the time.

Once I began work on it, a guiding idea did emerge – that of slow corruption. In so much fiction, the turn to evil is very sudden, the fall of a character very abrupt. A fairly decent person experiences some sort of horrible tragedy, flips, and becomes criminally psychopathic. I never thought this was a very interesting or accurate idea of corruption. I wanted a path to evil that was more complex, more gradual – a path that began with good, as evil always does. I wanted it to recall the truth that we are more likely to be led into evil by our desires than by our suffering. I attempted to portray this slow descent in one of my characters.

People talk about character arcs, usually meaning the journey of the man who became a hero. I wrote a downward arc, the journey of the man who became the villain.

Where can people buy "The Last Heir"?

At my site, or at saltmagazine.com.

Are you planning on writing any more books?

I have another manuscript completed – The Valley of Decision, a fantasy novel with Trow and Fay and hobgoblins (oh, my). I hope to see it published this year. In the meantime, I'm working on a novel based on the idea of time dimensions. The basic concept is that time has dimensions, just as space does, and so its own geography. This works out to time-travel, with the discrepancy that time is not here a straight line.

As the theory goes, the dimensions of time are these: Time (the first dimension, on which we live); Eternity; and Hyparxis (Totality or Ableness-to-be or the “summit of summits” – and no, I don't really know what, exactly, that's supposed to mean).

What has been the most rewarding moment in your writing career?

Hard to say, though the moment I first held a published copy of The Last Heir would be a good pick.

Do you have any final thoughts?When I first looked at this site I was surprised by how many authors and books were already listed. It's encouraging and I hope to see the numbers grow steadily. Congratulations, Sarah—you've got a good thing going.

Give a Warm Welcome to...

Hannnah Mills!!

Thank you for coming to Homeschool Authors today Hannah, tell me a little bit about yourself.

Well, my name is Hannah Mills and I am a senior in highschool. I live with my family of seven, and have four brothers, all of whom are younger than myself. I recently started my own website/blog, Sword of Ink. The most important thing about me is that I am a Follower of Christ. My ultimate end-goal in writing is to honor Him and spread Truth.

In 2009, I started writing seriously when my mom suggested that I try out the One Year Adventure Novel curriculum. At first I didn't like that idea--I didn't want anybody telling me how to write! But I looked at a sample lesson and fell head over heels in love with it. OYAN has completely changed my life and revolutionized my writing. I would very highly recommend it to anybody who enjoys writing fiction. Before OYAN, I'd dabbled in writing, especially in poetry.

Since 2009, I've self-published one novel, am almost ready to publish a second, have two more waiting to be editing, another being currently written, and quite a number of other ideas waiting in the wings, along with various short-stories and a lot of poetry.

As of early 2011, I also started writing for the new, free e-magazine for Christian teen authors, Kingdom Pen. A friend of mine (whom I met via OYAN) started the magazine and I've been on board from its initial start-up.

 I am definitely right-brain dominate, because math is sometimes my worst enemy. If I have the time, I'll read a 300-400pg book in one day. My bookcase is crammed, and while I don't have an all-time favorite genre, some of my most-loved genres are Historical Fiction, Mystery, and Thriller/Legal Thriller. I also like old books, and one of my absolute favorite books was written in the 1800's. One of my favorite authors is Tim Downs, author of The Bug Man novels.  

When I'm not writing, you'll find me working on school, reading, riding horseback, doing some form of photography or art, spending time with friends and family, listening to music, bargain shopping, and drinking good coffee.

What is your favorite part of being homeschooled? 

I would have to say that my favorite part of homeschooling is the flexibility. Up until last year when I (not my mother) began having a panic attack over my looming graduation, I had been given a lot of time to pursue and develop the interests and talents God has given me instead of being forced to study X, Y, and Z excessively at the expense of other subjects that I have more inclination for.

                                                           What caused you to start writing?

It's either 1, because I've always loved writing, 2, a God-Thing, or 3, both. I remember reading my first chapter book by myself when I was around six years old, and I've been a hopeless book-addict ever since. Books are my friends. I've been writing little bits of poetry and short stories for as long as I can remember, and three, almost four, years ago is when my writing really exploded. When you have something to say, what better way to say it than through the written word?

Tell us a little bit about your books. 

Okay, sure. Called and Plague of Darkness are the first two books in The Arindraen Series. Called should be read first, even though Plague of Darkness is its prequel.

Called follows the story of young Victoria "Tori", a peasant girl growing up under the heavy-handed ruling of Mirus, king of Dakron. Tori had always thought she and her twin brother were nothing more than peasants, but her life is turned upside-down upon the arrival of the knight Cedric de Kaspia and his squire.

 

Plague of Darkness is about Teague Sparhaouc, a tall redhead with a burning desire for freedom, justice, and family. He wants nothing more than to escape from the illegal slavery that holds him captive, and to find and rescue his siblings who are held in the same dark chains. One thing leads to another until his dreams are shattered into pieces, and the one possibility for fixing them might demand more trust in a stranger than he is willing to give.
    

Where can people buy your books?

At the moment I am looking into a way I might be able to make them available on Amazon. Right now they can be found on Lulu.com, but because of the Amazon possibility, the best place to get links to my books is from my website.

Do you have any advice for someone who wants to write a book?

Read, read, read. You can't be a good author unless you read a lot.

Know your plot line. Yes, some of us can write by the seat of our pants, but I really wouldn't recommend that for a first-time novelist. I would suggest brainstorming and writing down your brainstorms as they come, then piece together an outline. It doesn't have to be detailed; it can be nothing more than "Chapters 1-6: Hero's sister is accused of murder and Hero sets out to prove her innocence. When Hero goes to investigate, his car blows up, his house is broken into, and his laptop stolen--the laptop with all his evidence notes. et cetera.

Theme is important. The theme can be anything from Trust God with your life to Being a stuntman without training will get you killed, but whatever it is, make sure it's good, solid, and works for your book.

Research! You can't be afraid of research.

If you are serious about writing, I'd say, get the One Year Adventure Novel curriculum.

Find one or two other writers and/or critical, honest readers that will give you honest feedback on your work, then take their suggestions seriously.

Practice! Your first draft will stink. That's what revising is for. But don't give up, and write, write, write.

Do you have any final thoughts?
God gives everyone gifts, and if your gift is in the writing field, wow. You have so much power! The pen really is mightier than the sword, so with that gift comes a lot of responsibility. Words have caused wars and created peace, saved lives and taken lives, advanced cultures and destroyed cultures.

So be careful, but don't be afraid. Write Truth in love. This nation--this world--needs Truth, and it needs writers who stand on the Truth and proclaim it.

I know a lot of Christian teen authors, and I'm telling you, this upcoming generation of novelists/journalists/screenwriters/poets/etc. is going to rock our world! It is so exciting to see so many young people like myself who love to write, who have a gift for it, using it to honor God and spread the Truth. Don't let anyone discourage you. Just keep writing.