We're thrilled to have Mila Gray join us to share more about her novel COME BACK TO ME.

Mila, what was your inspiration for writing COME BACK TO ME?

My first book, which is a young adult book written under my real name Sarah Alderson, is called Hunting Lila. It’s actually casting at the moment and is going to be a movie (very exciting!). That book was set near to San Diego and two of the main characters worked on the Marine base near to there. When I was asked to write a book for a slightly older audience I immediately thought about that setting. I wanted to write something compelling and real with loads of heartbreak and war and its affects are something I’m very interested in.

I knew I wanted to write something with lots of heartbreak but also something that captured the thrill of an illicit first love. I wanted all the feels! I discovered that I’m really good at writing hot sex… which is somewhat embarrassing. I’ve had to ban my parents from reading my Mila Gray books. They’re a bit too risqué.

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For this one, switch up your sketching medium. Usually use a pencil? Try a pen. Usually use small strokes, use long ones instead. Just make sure you're not making your mark the same way you always do.

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Visual development artist Matt Gaser has released a compilation of his personal artwork called "Fantastical: The Art of Matt Gaser." It's a full-color book loaded with sketches and digital paintings of monsters, robots, giants, floating cities, and spaceships.


Matt has worked as a concept artist and illustrator for Lucasfilm video games, so all of his paintings suggest stories and scenarios behind the imagery. The gallery includes subchapters with Gaser's science fiction and fantasy worlds, including Metakron, Oasis, Edmund & Hunter, and Dr. Zammsy.



His approach is surreal, whimsical, and colorful. As Christian Alzmann says in the introduction, "Where science fiction is often notoriously grim, the future bleak, even Matt's darkest work hints at goodness with a light and playful quality."
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Fantastical: The Art of Matt Gaser
Hardcover, 11 x 8 inches, 112 pages, full color, Cameron & Co.
Matt Gaser's website

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Question: Okay so I really love writing, it is my dream to become an author. Right now I am writing a story and I have all the ideas for it in my head

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A creative tip for writers and illustrators: Every so often, take the time to look at things around you differently than you normally would. Sounds like a glib cliché, I know, but I encourage you to really give it a shot. When I'm walking through a familiar area or doing something I've done a zillion times before, I tend to take my surroundings for granted. Every once in a while, I force myself to stop and really look at something or someone. I mean really LOOK. If I have the time, I sketch or write about it in my notebook. If I only have a few minutes, like when I'm waiting in a grocery line, then I make it a mental exercise. I also do this through my found object art and encourage young people to do found object art for the same reason.

Since I consciously started doing this, I have found my work showing the benefits. I'm sharing this tip here in hopes that it might help some of you as well.

How you can apply this principle in your illustrations: Before settling on a way of illustrating a scene, experiment with different perspectives and other ways of interpreting the text. Feel free to use one of my brainstorming templates. Do more art just for the fun of it to keep yourself from falling into a rut. Doodle, experiment. Remind yourself you don't have to show anyone what you're drawing.

How you can apply this principle in your writing: Avoid describing people and things in clichéd phrases ("she was fit as a fiddle" etc.), take the time to make your characters and stories unique, don't chase trends. Carry around a notebook and jot down phrases, descriptions, ideas, names. Brainstorm. Write every day; it doesn't have to be for a book project or something you want to get published. Write for FUN. Experiment with poetry (you don't have to show anyone); I find writing poetry makes me more conscious of word choice and the sound of the words. Read what you write out loud; read in a different voice, at different speeds.

Do you have your own creativity boost techniques? Feel free to share them below in the comments.

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New York City, home of Oxford Dictionaries’ New York offices, has made numerous contributions to the English lexicon through the years, as disparate as knickerbocker and hip hop.

The post Manspreading: how New York City’s MTA popularized a word without saying it appeared first on OUPblog.

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I am so excited about the new Sketchbook Skool Kourse, which will launch early 2016. One of the new Fakulty members is illustrator, water colourist, art teacher, and wonderful artist Felix Scheinberger, and I was lucky enough to visit him in Berlin this summer to film his Klass for Sketchbook Skool. Here’s a little video I made when we went outside for a stroll and some filming.

The post How it feels to be portrayed appeared first on Make Awesome Art.

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Many people download free computer games day-to-day. It is a enormous strategy for saving you some funds in terms of buying video games that may grow to be very pricey with regards to the video clip game that’s popular and then for which game method that you may have. There are lots of latest games that are developing a free computer game download along with your buy.

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OK, this one's weird... but bees and bears are both in need. A snow hive here and some busy bees in fits of arctic exploration. 40 cards to the Presidents far! Send some of your own with the template here!

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Every town has their ghost stories and tales of the past that remains mysteries to this day. That’s why The Headmaster’s Cave book review with matching activities was an intriguing journey!

The Headmaster’s Cave Book Review

In D.S. Allen’s book The Headmaster’s Cave, the town of Ballymagee is tainted by a horrible past: the murder of seven students by their headmaster. Descendants of the victims still mourn their families, but they all accept the mystery at face value—that the crazy headmaster kidnapped the kids and murdered them in a cave by the coast.
When friends George, Katie, and Dougie receive a mysterious email asking them to come to Headmaster’s Cave (a dangerous journey), they are both intrigued and frightened. They all three want answers, especially Dougie and George, both descendants of victims, however, George and Katie both recognize the danger of the journey and agree to go on a different, less lethal, adventure. But this isn’t good enough for Dougie. When George and Katie, along with George’s best four-legged friend Flanagan, realize that Dougie has decided to meet the sender of the mysterious emails, they have no choice but to go after their friend and help him.

After encountering many trials along the way—bullies, The Magic Forest, Old Maggie and her pack of bloodthirsty dogs, and bullies again—they are saved by a gentle giant by the name of Leonard who seems to appear out of nowhere. He explains that he can lead them to Dougie, who is already waiting for them at the cave. Little do the friends know (well, maybe Flanagan knew; dogs are intuitive after all), that they are walking right into a trap!
Will they solve the mystery of The Headmaster’s Cave? And most importantly, will they survive to tell the tale?

This is an intense, action-packed adventure, great for both guy and girl readers! The two main characters, George and Katie, are a great pair, both powerful and intelligent in their own ways. I love how important George’s dog, Flan, was to the story mainly because I think that dogs are awesome! This was definitely a riveting story.

DISCLAIMER. This book has some intense material and scenes. This book should be reserved for intermediate – middle school aged kids (Age Level: 8 – 12, Grade Level: 3 – 6). They’ll love the action, mystery, and adventure! Get ready for a couple good ghost stories.

Thanks to the author D.S. Allen and Renee from Mother/Daughter Book Club for providing a review copy.

The Headmaster’s Cave Activities-Something To Do

1. George’s dog Flanagan is very crucial to this story. He’s basically a main character. Are you thinking about getting a four-legged friend? Then here’s a quiz to help you find the perfect, loyal dog breed for you!

2. George prided himself on the fact that he knew how to make a fire, however, he accepted Katie’s help when he realized he might not know as much as he thought. Here’s two fire tutorials: one real and one a nice decoration for the holidays:


3. Interested in learning chess like George and Dougie? Here’s a chess 101 lesson from Enchanted Yankee:

**some of the above links are affiliate links. I was gifted a copy of Headmaster’s Cave and the opinions expressed are purely my own.

Note from Valarie: As the holiday season approaches, consider adding the gift of books to your shopping list. There are many wonderful booklists available for parents looking to give their child the gift of reading and adventure. A book makes a great gift because they are meaningful, beautiful, portable, appealing, and inexpensive and it’s a gift that can be opened again and again. Books are the perfect gift for any age and a gift that doesn’t require batteries or sizing instruction!

If you would like to get started on your family reading adventure, or would just like to add to your family bookshelf, Audrey Press has some special deals on their catalog of books to get readers and gift-givers on their merry way. From November 30^th to December 15^th, give the gift of reading, adventure and education at extra-special (and extended) Black Friday prices! Go here for the full scoop on the Holiday Book Love Sale!

The post Every town has ghost stories: The Headmaster’s Cave appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

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When you’re writing a character, it’s important to know why she is the way she is. Knowing her backstory is important to achieving this end, and one of the most impactful pieces of a character’s backstory is her emotional wound. This negative experience from the past is so intense that a character will go to great lengths to avoid experiencing that kind of pain and negative emotion again. As a result, certain behaviors, beliefs, and character traits will emerge.

Characters, like real people, are unique, and will respond to wounding events differently. The vast array of possible emotional wounds combined with each character’s personality gives you many options in terms of how your character will turn out. With the right amount of exploration, you should be able to come up with a character whose past appropriately affects her present, resulting in a realistic character that will ring true with readers. Understanding what wounds a protagonist bears will also help you plot out her arc, creating a compelling journey of change that will satisfy readers.

NOTE: We realize that sometimes a wound we profile may have personal meaning, stirring up the past for some of our readers. It is not our intent to create emotional turmoil. Please know that we research each wounding topic carefully to treat it with the utmost respect. 

Examples:

• Being unable to deter a friend from driving while impaired
• One’s mother dying in childbirth
• Having a disagreement with someone right before they commit suicide
• Being unable to pick someone up and them being struck by a vehicle while walking home
• Being blamed for not stopping another’s risk-taking behavior
• Not understanding a friend was in distress (alcohol poisoning or a drug overdose) because of one’s own impairment
• Being in charge when someone falls down a set of stairs (an elderly grandparent, a party-goer, etc.)
• Being unable to protect one’s sibling from themselves (who get involved in crime, drugs, etc.)
• Being the older sibling during an unfortunate situation (playing outside together and one’s younger brother is kidnapped right in front of one’s eyes, etc.)
• Horsing around that turns deadly (a sudden fall, a freak accident, etc.)
• A farming accident where one was driving when a family member slips in front of a tractor wheel
• Riding a quad with a friend who refused to wear a helmet and crashes, or who runs into barbed wire, flips his quad, etc. and is killed
• Being unable to save someone in time (life guard/drowning victim; a fireman/victim of a house fire; a police officer unable to talk a shooter into surrendering during a hostage situation, etc.)
• Having two people to save, but only having the time or resources to save one
• Being the driver in a no-fault accident where another is killed
• Calling in sick and a co-worker covering one’s shift is killed in a robbery
• When a parent is killed by a drunk driver while out searching for the character who has run away, not returned home when supposed to, etc.
• For not seeing the signs of a love one’s depression and their plan to take their own life

Basic Needs Often Compromised By This Wound: safety and security, love and belonging, esteem and recognition, self-actualization

False Beliefs That May Be Embraced As a Result of This Wound:

• I should have died instead of ___
• My life is not my own; I need to live life the way (the deceased) would have had he lived
• I will never be able to make it up to (the person who holds blame and the deceased)
• I do not deserve to be happy or have good things happen
• I am a terrible person/mother/father/sister/brother/wife/husband etc.
• Life is unfair, there is no God
• From now on I must be perfect to make up for this
• I am not capable of being in charge or making important decisions
• I must prove I am capable and worthy by being responsible for everything and excelling at all I do

Positive Attributes That May Result: appreciative, centered, courteous, disciplined, honorable, introverted, just, merciful, nurturing, private, protective, responsible, sentimental, spiritual

Negative Traits That May Result: addictive, compulsive, defensive, evasive, inhibited, insecure, morbid, nervous, pessimistic, resentful, self-destructive, uncommunicative, volatile, withdrawn

Resulting Fears:

• fear of relationships and being responsive for others
• fear of vulnerability
• fear of persecution
• fear of making mistakes
• fear of making decisions
• fear of risk
• fear of retribution

Possible Habits That May Emerge:

• walking on eggshells around those who are the source of blame
• difficulty with trust and relationships
• shifting between confusion and anger at being persecuted
• feeling one must justify oneself or explain
• being unable to move forward in a healthy way (relationships, following one’s passions and dreams, etc.)
• remunerating about the past, and what one could have done differently
• withdrawing from friends and family
• being prone to stress and anxiety; needing to go on medication
• drinking heavily to escape
• difficulty making decisions
• striving for perfection in all one does, pushing oneself constantly
• holding oneself to the highest standards and expectations
• sacrificing oneself for others, even to the point where others take advantage
• taking on extra work and responsibility, trying to be all things for everyone

TIP: If you need help understanding the impact of these factors, please read our introductory post on the Emotional Wound Thesaurus. For our current list of Emotional Wound Entries, go here.

For other Descriptive Thesaurus Collections, go here.

Image: publicdoainimages @ pixabay

Winners For Our 9 Writing Wonders of the World:

Monique Loubert (On Writing)

Wendy McLeod MacKnight (First Five Pages)

Lind Andersen (Self-Editing For Fiction Writers)

Ruth Nestvold (Writing Screenplays that Sell)

Roland Clarke (Description)

Cindy Huff (Save The Cat)

Rose (Writing 21st Century Fiction)

Misha Kudo (Stein of Writing)

Natalie Aguirre (Structuring Your Novel)

The post Emotional Wound Entry: Being Unfairly Blamed For the Death of Another appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS™.

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In the late 1960s, an ugly little rhyme circulated in Britain’s declining industrial towns. At the time, seemingly unstoppable mass migration from Britain’s former colonies had triggered a succession of new laws aimed at restricting entry to Britain, followed by a new political emphasis on ‘race relations’ intended to quell international dismay and reduce internal racial tensions.

The post Migrants and medicine in modern Britain appeared first on OUPblog.

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Don't shy away from the formulaic "I am" poem! There are so many possibilities...

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A lovely thing has circled back into my life here in Edinburgh - storytelling. I did my exit show in college on the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee, and you may have read about my history with Jack Tales, so it's lovely to have this element back in my life again.
     The Scottish Storytelling Centre is a very big deal here in Edinburgh. The country is full of storytellers after all. In fact, the Centre is located in the heart of the Royal Mile on High Street - a most venerated location! I was eager to get involved both because of my background and because of the project I've taken on for my MFA Thesis about Tricksters - those clever characters who exist in most cultural storytelling histories. (More on that soon.)
     Recently, Stan and I bought tickets to go see the most famous storyteller in Scotland, David Campbell, in an attempt to bring these stories back into our lives. (I blogged about David HERE.)
     But then we got sick and couldn't go. PAH!
     But THEN, a few days later when I was feeling much better, lo' and behold, I ran into David in the mall of all places!
     "YOU'RE THE STORYTELLER!" I blurted and nearly accosted him. He was so kind. We had a brief, yet lovely conversation while holding up foot traffic in the perfume isle. I offered to buy him lunch (and to quiz him about Tricksters) and David kindly shared his contact information. First, he had to go tell stories in Ireland, but two weeks later I emailed him as "The strange lady from the mall." I was able to make good on my promise. Which led to...

     We had lunch in a sweet little French restaurant, Le Petit Paris, in Grassmarket where I interviewed him about Tricksters. Folks at the nearby tables started looking our way, figuring out they were in the presence of a celebrity. Nervous flirting and gracious laughter ensued. Personally, I had the oddest feeling I had made a life-long friend right then and there. (David reminds me a bit of Doris Abernathy - to whom my novel, A Bird on Water Street is dedicated.) Which led to...
     A local documentary cinematographer and director, Leo Bruges, was wanting to shoot three of the nation's top storytellers all telling the same story, which he would later loop together. The storytellers are David Campbell, Duncan Williamson's widow Linda Williamson, and apprenticing storyteller, Joshua Bryant. (He's all of 18 and very, very good. And just like Duncan took David under his wing, so has David taken Joshua under his wing.)Leo was going to film in David's flat like they did for the documentary I linked to above. However, David's flat is on a main street, which means busses, and there was construction going on nearby. Which led to...
     Wednesday! I wasn't able to go to school anyhow as our finals are in and are being evaluated - the studio is off limits to students as they grade. So the timing worked out perfectly for the documentary to be filmed at our flat. Stan and I were completely honored to have the renowned storytellers being recorded for posterity in our home!
     The filmakers, Leo Bruges and Sandy Harris arrived about an hour early to start setting up. Our flat went from normal looking to soundstage in no time flat.When the storytellers arrived, along with photographer friend, Dennis Newton, there was much chattering going on.But soon, everybody got down to the business of telling the story "The Fair Maids Tresses" as told by Duncan Williamson.
     It's a heart-breaking story of two sisters in love with the same man and how one sister's jealousy changes everything.Here are Leo (standing) and Joshua (sitting) getting ready for Joshua's stint.
     Linda spread her shawl like a bird, looking just like the cormorant from the story, and sang the Gaelic enchantment song - which enchanted us all. David used his amazing skills at drawing visuals and connecting with the invisible behind-the-camera audience. (And yes, he wears kilts most of the time.) And Joshua pulled us in with his steady pacing and legacy storytelling skills. (His mother is the equally famous Beverly Bryant.)
      Meanwhile, Stan and I got to sit back and watch our flat transformed into a magical arena of storytelling history recorded for archives and future generations. (It will also be on YouTube - I'll share the link when it goes live.)
Just like Leo (right) and Sandy (left),Richard Chase did a similar thing for the Jack Tales in Appalachia, and generations later, I am so grateful that he did. As did the Brothers Grimm in Germany. So, Stan and I felt a part of a true and similar happening - history in the making. What an honor!
      And now for our next get-together... David, Joshua and I will have lunch next week at the best Indian restaurant in town. I told you I'd made friends - oh, what lovely friends!

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Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries was marked by years of political and religious turmoil and change. From papal authority to royal supremacy, Reformation to Counter Reformation, and an endless series of persecutions followed by executions, England and its citizens endured division, freedom, and everything in between.

The post Portraits of religion in Shakespeare’s time appeared first on OUPblog.

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       Last week, as I mentioned, they awarded the 'Russian Boker' prize, and now they've also named the winner of another major Russian novel prize, the 'Big Book' award; see also, for example, Alexandra Guzeva's Russia Beyond the Headlines report, 3 major Russian books of 2015.
       Guzel Yakhina's debut novel, Зулейха открывает глаза ('Zuleikha Opens Her Eyes'), won -- beating out a 2000-page novel.
       See also the Elkost agency information page -- and note that aside from foreign rights already having been sold in the usual places (France, Germany) and not having sold in the usual places (US/UK) the Tatar language rights have already been sold. Yes, this will be appearing in Tatar, apparently before -- perhaps long before ... -- it appears in English.

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       At the British Council Emma Shercliff writes about The changing face of Nigerian literature -- especially domestically, which isn't quite the same as what's seen/read abroad.
       And while perhaps understandable -- it's written for the British Council -- it is a bit disappointing that the focus is entirely on English-language writing (because, you know, that's really not all there is in Nigeria ...).

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       In the Financial Times Liz Jobey has a Q & A with 'Elena Ferrante', who still keeps her identity cloaked.
       Interesting to see some sales figures:

Sales of the Neapolitan quartet have now reached 750,000 in the US and are approaching 250,000 in the UK.

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'Divine command theory' is the theory that what makes something morally right is that God commands it, and what makes something morally wrong is that God forbids it. There are many objections to this theory. The four main ones are that it makes morality arbitrary, that it cannot work in a pluralistic society, that it makes morality infantile, and that it is viciously circular.

The post Does moral obligation derive from God’s command? appeared first on OUPblog.

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Deer, The Huron Carol

A detail from the border of deer, antlers and swirling snow. There were four tribes or nations in the Huron confederacy, the Bear, the Cord, the Rock and the Deer tribes.

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Nicola Yoon’s debut novel, Everything, Everything, is a must-read, inviting a broad spectrum of audiences, from preteens to the older generations.

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