Tag: books

New Releases for Fantasy Lovers by Royce Buckingham

Enter a world of uncharted lands, fantastic creatures, emerging civilizations and the darkness that will define it all. Enter Mapper – Royce Buckingham’s best selling German series, today! Download yours – Click Here!

 

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The Demonkeeper Series

Demons are all around us – most of them relatively harmless, like ones that go bump in the night. But some are dangerous – some can kill. Since orphaned as a boy, Nat Grimlock has been trained by his aged mentor Dhaliwahl to be a demonkeeper controlling a menagerie of demons in their rickety house in Seattle. but now Daliwahl is gone, and Nat is on his own.

When Nat goes on a date with Sandy, a librarian’s assistant, it’s a disaster in more ways than one – a very scary demon called the best escapes. Can Nat get the Beast back to the house and make things right with Sandy?

With its fast-paced action, slapstick humor, and a winning, unlikely hero, the Demonkeeper Series is a high-spirited romp that will keep readers glued to the page!

Demonkeeper – Urban Fantasy
Demonkeeper II – Urban Fantasy
Demonkeeper III – Urban Fantasy
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Great Writing Retreat Reveals for Children’s Authors

When I returned from the SCBWI’s Weekend on the Water writer’s retreat in Dumas, WA last month, I dove back into the hustle and bustle of my day job, sports carpools, parenting, and an onrushing deadline for my latest 500 page project for Random House-Germany, Princess Assassin. It’s due Dec 1st. Am I panicking? The answer is “absolutely.”

Despite all this life happening to me, I have a moment to share some great stats and insight I learned from Chelsea Eberley at the retreat. Chelsea is an editor for Random House Books for Young Readers, which is a big reason I decided to attend the retreat. Coincidentally, I write books for young readers, and I have more stories for young readers to tell. I appreciate Chelsea’s time and insight and want to share some of it with you.

If you ever wondered….here are the Page Counts/Word Counts for different types of children’s books:

  • Board Book: 100 words; 1-2 words per page.
  • Picture Book: 400-800 words; 24, 32, 40 pages.
  • Beginning Readers: 32 pages or 48 pages.
  • Chapter Books: 8,000-11,000 words; 100 pages.
  • Middle Grade: 30,000-50,000 words; Protag 10-13 years old – kids want to read their age or a little older.
  • Young Adult: 60,000 – 80,000 words; Protag 14+ years old.
  • New Adult: 60,000-80,000 words; Protag 18+ – early 20s and in college.

Other tips:

  • Avoid “Manufactured (artificial) Urgency”
  • *Avoid an unnecessary prologue (*I star this one, because this was Chelsea’s comment on my piece).
  • Avoid opening with dialogue. Who’s that talking???
  • Avoid jumping in with a fight scene. We don’t care who wins yet!
  • Climactic scenes should (at least) have logic and the main character.
  • Take a moment to describe the setting.
  • Wounded characters need time to heal. Duh.
  • Climactic scenes should be tightly edited to convey urgency.

Here’s a Good Exercise to Try: Pretend the scene is being used as a cover quote, and read it aloud.

And finally, some parting words and advice from Chelsea…

  • “I don’t expect perfection, just forward momentum.”
  • How to respond to editorial letters: “Thanks for your notes. I understand them. I’ll think about them and get back to you by _____.”
  • If you disagree with the editor, say: “I feel strongly that…”  “My priority is…”
  • Avoid these responses to an editor: “No!” “I’m the writer.” “Who in the world gave you a fine arts degree?”

While it is hard to take the time out to attend conferences and events, the connections made are excellent. The information that I have shared above is uber-useful (like a reasonably priced ride on the path to publishing) and, as important, not copyrighted.

Additionally, the opportunity to talk personally with an editor who is in tune with current trends and willing to take the time to discuss my very own current story pitches is invaluable.

A big thanks to Western Washington’s Chapter of SCBWI and Chelsea!

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So Royce has been Doing a LIttle Genre Jumping Lately

By Guest Blogger: Cara Buckingham

Royce has been on a roll. As you may know, his book, The Dead Boys won Washington State’s 2014 Sasquatch Children’s Book Award. Naturally, you might be wondering what middle grade readers can expect next. Well…he has more stories to tell for that age, it’s just that they’ll have to wait. You see, Royce’s first YA title, The Terminals just came out and he has an adult legal thriller called Impasse due out next March.

The Terminals is a spy thriller for young adults with a twist. Royce started developing the story several years ago when he wondered ‘what if  group of teens with only a year to live could spend their remaining time completing dangerous spy missions?’ The result is an action-packed, entertaining read that is still fun but more grown up than his middle grade monster stories.

And talk about growing up, Royce’s next book, Impasse, is a full-fledged adult legal thriller. The story follows Stu, a washed up attorney who’s sent into the Alaskan wilderness for a week by his law partner to ‘man up.’ Royce says his experience as an attorney prepared him to be a technician when it comes to writing. He never thought he’d come home from work and write about work – he’s a prosecuting attorney having worked in the criminal justice system for 13 years and has practiced law for more than 20.

For all of his middle grade fans, don’t you worry, he has many stories to tell and feels lucky to be able to be creative and try out new genres. And he has several outlines prepped for more middle grade novels. In the meantime, feel free to recommend Demonkeeper, The Goblin Problem (formerly Goblins! An UnderEarth Adventure) and The Dead Boys to your friends…and stay on the look out for the Kindle release of Demonkeeper II and III.

 

 

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