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Sarah Renée has loved writing from an early age. At the age of 10, she came up with the idea for The Tiger Princess and wrote the novel when she was 12. She is fascinated with wild animals and the wild world outside her home, and has a great love of tigers. She enjoys spending time with her cats, reading, drawing, and playing her violin when she is not writing. In her free time, she is constantly daydreaming about her many characters, creating new ones, and coming up with interesting adventure story ideas. She is now 17 years old.

Visit Sarah Renee’s website at www.thetigerprincess.com to learn more about Sarah Renee, her books, and more!

Thank you for joining us today, Sarah. Can you please start off by telling us a bit about yourself?

Thank you for interviewing me! My name is Sarah Renée, I’m 17 years old, a huge cat-lover, and the author of a series of fantasy adventure books written for ages 8-12 called the Saderia Series.

When did you first get bit by the writing bug?

Probably before I was even born! I have loved telling stories for as long as I can remember. When I was really young, I used to just love scribbling out stories on a piece of paper. As I got older, I started writing more complex stories – but even then, they were just short stories about my cats! When I was 12, though, I started getting serious about writing and decided I wanted to be an author. That was when I wrote the final draft of my first book, The Tiger Princess, a 300+ page fantasy novel about a curious tiger Princess named Saderia, which I later went on to publish at the age of 13.

Why did you decide to write stories for children?

I didn’t actually make a conscious decision to write stories for children when I wrote my first book, The Tiger Princess, since I wrote it at the age of 12. When I wrote it, I only wanted to write a story that I would like to read and that other kids around my age would enjoy reading.

Do you believe it is harder to write books for a younger audience?

In my case, no. Since I started writing at a young age – the age The Tiger Princess and the other Saderia Series books are geared toward – writing from a 10-year-old tiger’s point of view for a younger audience came naturally to me. I’ve gotten so used to writing from my young characters’ point of view in the years since I wrote my first book that it still feels natural and easy to write for a younger audience even now that I’m 17. Plus, it probably helps that I haven’t grown up much since then!

What is your favorite part of writing for young people?

It definitely has to be the fact that you can write so freely. Children in the age range I write for have incredible imaginations – I know I did! What I love about writing for children is that I can capture their imaginations in such fantastic ways. Stories for children don’t have to be totally based in reality – you can write about magical adventures and extraordinary characters when you write for children, and hopefully you can inspire them to use their own imaginations to come up with their own stories too!

Can you tell us what your latest book is all about?

My latest book, Rock Bottom, is actually the fifth book in the Saderia Series. It would be difficult to talk about it without describing the other ones, though, so I’ll describe the first book first.

My first book is called The Tiger Princess, a fantasy adventure book written for ages 8-12. In the book, a sassy and brave tiger Princess named Saderia makes it her goal to solve the mystery of what happened to her parents, the King and Queen, after they vanished in a fire ten years ago. On her quest to uncover the truth, Saderia also stumbles upon ancient secrets and even incredible magic powers!

The second book, Dash, follows Saderia’s adventures in a new school as she tries to befriend a mysterious classmate with a dark secret. The third book is called Hunted Home, and it tells the story of a canine named Dingo who lives in a harsh desert and has to fight not only to save himself, but also Saderia when she finds herself lost. The fourth book, Enchanted Home, introduces a new character named Jeb, who was framed for a crime he didn’t commit and who seeks Saderia’s help and magic powers in finding the truth. And that brings us to the fifth book, which tells the story of how Saderia and her new friends must fight to save a lost member of her family – and in the process, uncover a few dark truths.

What inspired you to write it?

More than anything, a love of telling stories and a love of the characters I created inspired me to write each of the books in the series. I actually came up with the idea for the first book, The Tiger Princess, when I was 10 by combining my love of tigers and animals with a fascination with royalty like Princesses and Queens. Now my love of the story of Saderia’s adventures inspires me to keep writing the next books in the series!

Where can readers purchase a copy?

The Tiger Princess is actually free on the Amazon Kindle right now, and you can pick up your e-book copy here. It is also available for free on the Barnes & Noble Nook, which you can find here, and on most other e-readers. If you’re looking for a paperback copy, you can also pick one up on Amazon at the same link. For a list of all the places you can get The Tiger Princess, as well as the other books in the series (Dash, Hunted Home, Enchanted Home, and Rock Bottom), check out the official website for links to all the places you can get them!

What is up next for you?

I have just finished writing the 11th book in the Saderia Series (of which there will be about 16 books), so I’m planning on writing the 12th book and the rest of the books in the series soon and hopefully releasing Book 6 sometime in 2014. I’m also tossing around an idea for another series I’d like to write. So in short, a whole lot of writing!

Do you have anything else to add?

Nope, just a big thanks for interviewing me and letting me share my story!

Thank you for spending time with us today, Sarah. We wish you much success.

Thanks again for interviewing me and thanks to everyone for reading and for checking out The Tiger Princess and the Saderia Series!

The Saderia Series Virtual Book Tour Schedule

November 4^th

Book 1 review at This Little Book of Mine

Interview at The Children’s and Teens’ Book Connection

November 5^th

Guest post at Bookingly Yours

November 6^th

Book 1 review at YAdult Review

First chapter reveal for Book 1 at CelticLady’s Reviews

November 7^th

Interview at Between the Covers

November 8^th

Series spotlight at Literal Exposure

November 9^th

Book 1 spotlight at Classic Children’s Books

November 11^th

Book 1 review at Classic Children’s Books

November 12^th

Interview at Pump Up Your Book

November 13^th

Guest post at The Crypto-Capers Review

November 14^th

Interview at Blogcritics

November 15^th

Guest post and giveaway at The Busy Mom’s Daily

November 18^th

Book 2 spotlight at Paperback Writer

November 19^th

Book 2 review at This Little Book of Mine

November 20^th

Interview at Examiner

November 21^st

First chapter reveal for Book 2 at CelticLady’s Reviews

November 22^nd

Book 1 review at Cheryl’s Book Nook

November 25^th

Book 2 review at Cheryl’s Book Nook

November 26^th

Guest post at Literarily Speaking

November 27^th

Series spotlight at Thoughts in Progress

Guest post at 4 the Love of Books

November 29^th

Series spotlight at 4 the Love of Books

Series spotlight at The Children’s and Teen’s Book Connection

Book tour highlights at The Book Rack

*****This behemoth of a graphic novel is a new favorite of mine. I have a weakness for attractive book covers (see previous entry for example of unattractive book cover). Exhibit A:  *Maps and Legends by Michael Chabon. I saw this book when it f

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(This is me and my baby brother a few years ago before the Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot-- 5 miles. I still slog my way around the block. This past fall my brother finished the New York City marathon-- his first!)

This week Sara at Read Write Believe and Liz at Liz in Ink have been doing a great series of posts called The Exercise of Writing. (If you haven't been following along, here and here are the places to start.)

Yesterday Sara asked- How is writing like your favorite sport? Here's my list of answers. Once I got going it was quite hard to stop- kind of how it is with writing and running!

Writing is like running because:

1. It helps to warm up.
2. Some days it's good to get it done early.
3. There are slow runners and fast runners. (Different abilities, creative processes.)
4. If you slip and fall it's good to just get up and keep going. (Rejections.)
5. Except for the times it would be good to take a break. (Rest, relax and re-inspire.)
6. The more you practice, the better you'll get.
7. A long shower feels great when you're done. (Sense of satisfaction.)
8. It helps to have goals.
9. Hills are hard, but good. (Challenges.)
10. Some days you'll catch that lovely high and coast along.
11. Other days it's okay to just walk. (Perseverance-- you're still moving.)
12. Be wary of cars-- they can be dangerous. (Critics. Nay-sayers.)
13. Sometimes you'll get an annoying pebble in your shoe. (Doubts about a story. Or your abilities.) You could stop your momentum and shake it out. Or you could bear with it and fix it later.
14. Whether you have the fanciest high-tech gear or just a ratty t-shirt and an old pair of sneakers, you still have to put one foot in front of the other.
15. And finally, there will always be other runners who are faster, stronger and look better in spandex shorts. Are you going to let that stop you?