ondelle of grioth

Poetry, Prose, and Purpose: an Interview

September 4, 2014 by Danika 1 Comment

A few months ago I was interviewed not only by March Twisdale of (aired on Voice of Vashon) I was also interviewed by her 12 year old son, who had just read the first three books in my White Forest series.

The interview is now officially for listening!

March Twisdale and Danika Dinsmore

It’s lovely. March is a fantastic interviewer and adds much to the discussion. But it’s long interview, over an hour, and we’re all so busy these days. So, I created a handy-dandy Table of Contents for the so as you’re listening, you can just click to the part that piques your interest.

** TEACHERS, LIBRARIANS, and other EDUCATORS: there’s a portion about what I do in the schools that begins around 45 minutes in. 🙂 **

If you’re like me, I like to listen to interviews while I’m cooking or baking or cleaning up from cooking or baking. I’ve added two links below to the items I made while listening to this interview.

00:00 Mini Introduction to Poetry, Prose, and Purpose

01:26 (“sneaky” part of interview) a sound check and casual chat with Jordy (12) & Danika about her White Forest series (SPOILER ALERT – do not listen to this portion if you want to avoid some major spoilers from Books 2 and 3)

12:45 Official Introduction to the show, to March’s son Jordy, and to how March met Danika

14:40 Jordy’s official interview with Danika begins

15:15 Danika talks about Book Four (Fall 2015) and the remainder of the White Forest series

17:00 How parent/kid focus groups are helpful for writers

18:00 Discussion of Book Two and the Ancient’s plan for uniting the world

20:00 Discussion of how the series might appeal to a boy audience

21:25 Interview with March begins: The adult writer/reader perspective and significance of children’s literature

24:50 Significance of science fiction and other speculative fiction in young adult literature

28:52 Discussion around themes in Danika’s fantasy series and other children’s books

38:25 Discussion around the Power of Story

41:15 Danika’s new work in progress: YA contemporary (The Perks of Being a Wallflower for queer girls)

45:38 Danika’s work in the schools and inspirational writing exercises

51:50 Danika reads an excerpt from Book One

01:03:25 Final question: In a world filled with “bad” news, what message of HOPE would you like to leave readers and listeners?

~ ~ ~

Recommended things to cook while listening:

Pumpkin Apple Curry Soup (This is some seriously good soup)

Hemp Heart Breakfast Cookies (I used hemp hearts, coconut, and raisons for my “extras”)

For more health-conscious recipes, check out my Sweetwood Cookbook collection on my Pinterest Page

Children’s Book Week: Ides of May White Forest Extravaganza

May 8, 2014 by Danika 4 Comments

Next week, Children’s Book Week, is going to be a pretty exciting all around in White Forest land.

First, I’ve joined a BLOG HOP, which I don’t often do. But it’s a Blog Hop Giveaway during Children’s Book Week, so how could I turn that down?

Never Blog Hopped before? Basically, you go to a list of blog links from authors, book bloggers, and others who are GIVING PRIZES AWAY all at the same time (who doesn’t like prizes?). And you hop from one to the next adding your name to the drawings. If you like children’s lit, what have you got to lose?

The hop runs from Monday, May 12 through Sunday, May 19, so you’ve got plenty of time to get around to all the blogs. And you’ll need it, because as of this morning, there are 93 blogs participating! That’s 93 chances to win.

ALSO NEXT WEEK:

Hydra House is RELAUNCHING the first two books in the White Forest series with NEW COVERS! Thanks to Christian Fink-Jensen, and his mad typography skillz, the books have a bright and poppy new look to them.

In celebration of this relaunching, the ebook version of Book One, Brigitta of the White Forest, will be FREE on Amazon from May 14-16 next week. So, if you haven’t gotten your copy yet, now’s your chance.

ALSO, the ebook of Book Two, The Ruins of Noe, will only cost $2.99 from May 14 – 31. (then it goes back up to $4.99, which is still a pretty good deal).

IN ADDITION (Wait, you say, there’s more??), on MONDAY, MAY 19, the publisher will release an ebook COLLECTION of all THREE books for $7.99. So, even if you miss the free Book One window, you can get an excellent deal for all three books at once.

It’s all part of the (cue booming / echoing voice)…

CHILDREN’S BOOK WEEK:
IDES OF MAY WHITE FOREST EXTRAVAGANZAAAAAAA

Weekly Writing Workout: Three Ring Circus Part Two – NEED

February 3, 2014 by openchannel 2 Comments

Quick post today because I have a FULL week ahead. As a matter of fact… I have a full few months ahead of me as I make my way toward the launch of BOOK THREE of my Faerie Tales from the White Forest series on April 15. Can I get a squee?

And from today until April 3, you can enter to win your very own print copy. CLICK the IMAGE below for the GoodReads Book Three Givaway Page:

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Last week I talked about the three ring circus that is my head and gave a character exercise around WANT. Want is pretty easy to figure out because it’s the exterior goal. He wants the girl (or boy), she wants the grail (or tiara), the Detective wants to solve the murder, the Clown wants to perform for Cirque du Soleil.

Want marks the plot of the story, the trajectory the protag (or other character) takes to get this thing. But NEED marks the inner journey. It’s what the protagonist has to realize or face in order to become a better person, to become the person he or she is meant to be. And generally, we want our protags to emerge as better people (or faeries or dragons or giants)

In the movie Gattaca, a character driven near-future sic fi with Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman, Hawke’s character is a “genetically inferior man” who assumes the identity of a superior one (Jude Law) in order to pursue his childhood dream of going into space. That’s what he wants… but what he really NEEDS, what has been eating at him his entire life, is to confront his older brother and prove to himself that he is not inferior. It’s a great story about perseverance, about not letting other people’s views of who you are get in your way.

And as an audience, I don’t think we’d be completely satisfied without that moment. It’s a fist pump “yeah!” moment.

YOUR WORKOUT

1) SET YOUR TIMER for 7-10 minutes.

Start with the line: The inner block my character has, that is getting in his way of being all he can be, is …

Write without stopping, crossing out, rereading, or editing.

2) SET YOUR TIMER for 10-12 minutes.

Start with the line: If he confronted/faced/addressed this block then…

3) SET YOUR TIMER for 12-15 minutes.

There should be a moment where what your character wants is in conflict with what he needs. Perhaps addressing this need will get him into trouble. In Gattaca it’s when the MC challenges his brother to a swim in the ocean. He could die, they could both die, but he’s going to friggin’ prove himself.

Start with the line: The moment when my character reaches a threshold, on the other side of which his better self lies, happens when…

Write without stopping, crossing out, rereading, or editing.

And have a great week!

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If you are a blogger who would like to post your own weekly workout exercise with me every Monday, please write to info (at) danikadinsmore.com