Author Ingrid Paulson shares writing advice, details on her latest release WHY I LOATHE STERLING LANE + a Giveaway

I'm excited to have Ingrid Paulson with us today to chat her newest release Why I Loathe Sterling Lane and share some writing advice. Make sure to scroll to the bottom of the post for a chance to win a prize pack!

Thanks so much for coming to Thinking to Inking! We're so excited to have you! Tell us a little bit about Why I Loathe Sterling Lane.
WHY I LOATHE STERLING LANE tells the story of a neurotic girl (Harper) whose world is turned upside down when Sterling Lane transfers into her boarding school and befriends her twin brother. Harper and Sterling immediately engage in a battle of wills that evolves into a battle of wits, and finally culminates in a reluctant partnership to rescue Cole from his own mistakes. (ahem, plus lots of kissing).

Which character do you relate most to?

This is a hard question, as I intentionally made these characters a little bit prickly at first. However, I probably relate a little more to Sterling. He says and does a few things that I wish I was brave enough to do or say. In fact, when I’m in a situation that requires me to be more assertive than I’m comfortable being, I think to myself, what would Sterling do? I usually take it down a notch or two, because let’s face it, fully stepping into Sterling’s shoes could land me in jail. But harnessing his character for a moment helps me square my shoulders and press on in difficult moments.

Was your writing process for Why I Loathe Sterling Lane different from Valkyrie Rising? If so how? Anything that surprised you along the way?
In revising Valkyrie Rising, I spent a lot of time focusing on world building and consistency of magical objects. It was much more story and flow oriented, whereas in revising Sterling Lane, I focused more on character development, and tried to find the balance between Harper being prickly and being outright unlikeable. She is still a challenge to get to know, but the point for me was to present a different sort of narrator.

The cover design for Why I Loathe Sterling Lane is really fun! How much input did you get in the design of your cover and what was that process like?

I’m so glad you love the cover too! Entangled does a fabulous job with covers and always manages to find the right tone to match the story. They did ask if I had an idea of what the cover would look like, and for this one, I really didn’t. I thought there should be people on the cover and some way to convey the tension between them, but I wasn’t sure how something like that would be executed. Fortunately, there are professionals who knew exactly how to handle it.

Are you a write-one-thing-at-a-time author, or do you typically juggle multiple projects at once? How do you stay focused?

I’m a write-one-thing-at-a-time author. I tend to really immerse myself in the characters, which makes it hard to switch back and forth. However, I have had to revise one project while writing another, and I seem to be able to do that. But I can’t imagine trying to keep multiple new ideas straight at the same time! I’d feel like I was cheating on my characters!

What advice would you give writers still working to make their publishing dreams a reality?

For me, the biggest struggle was learning to revise and incorporate feedback. After countless hours writing and polishing a novel, it can be hard to hear that something still needs to be changed or isn’t quite working. It’s very easy to get defensive and dismiss the critic because they just don’t get it. Granted, sometimes that will be true, no book is for everyone. However, it’s important to really think feedback through and be unafraid to revise and to step outside of your love for the project and be self-critical. Ultimately that will help your novel be even better!

What are you reading now?

I just finished the latest Sara Maas novel in the Court of Thorns and Roses series. I really enjoyed it!

Congrats on the launch of Why I Loathe Sterling Lane. I can't wait to get my hands on it! And thanks so much for stopping by Thinking to Inking!

About the novel

Why I Loathe Sterling Lane by Ingrid Paulson

Publication Date: June 6, 2017

Publisher: Entangled Teen

  

Per her 537 rules, Harper Campbell keeps her life tidy—academically and socially. But the moment Sterling Lane transfers into her tiny boarding school, her twin brother gets swept up in Sterling’s pranks and schemes and nearly gets expelled. Harper knows it’s Sterling’s fault, and to protect her brother, she vows to take him down. As she exposes his endless school violations, he keeps striking back, framing her for his own infractions. Worst of all, he’s charmed the administration into thinking he’s harmless, and only Harper sees him for the troublemaker he absolutely is.

As she breaks rule after precious rule in her battle of wits against Sterling and tension between them hits a boiling point, she’s horrified to discover that perhaps the two of them aren’t so different. And maybe she doesn't entirely hate him after all. Teaming up with Sterling to save her brother might be the only way to keep from breaking the most important rule—protecting Cole.

Goodreads | Google Play | BAM | Chapters | Indies | Amazon | B&N | Kobo | TBD | iBooks

About the Author

Ingrid Paulson does not, in fact, loathe anyone. Although the snarky sense of humor and verbal barbs

in Why I Loathe Sterling Lane might suggest otherwise (and shock those who think they know her best).

Ingrid lives in San Francisco with her husband and children and enjoys long-distance running, eavesdropping, and watching science documentaries. She has always loved books and writing short stories, but was surprised one day to discover the story she was working on wasn’t so short any more. Valkyrie Rising, a paranormal girl power story was Ingrid’s first novel. Expect another humorous contemporary romance to join the list soon.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Pinterest

Enter for a change to win a Why I Loathe Sterling Lane Prize Pack, including:

* A tote bag

* A mug

* stickers

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Writers Block

This is a topic I've run into on my last two WIPs.  In fact, after months of fretting, I finally slapped an ending on one and moved onto the next project.  Yet again I'm faced with how to end the next book.  I've searched and searched for ways of dealing with it and came up with something new I'm going to try.  In www.whynottedit.com/writers-block, I stumbled upon a really fun suggestion.  When stuck writing, I usually skip to the next part,
but since I'm now at the end, I can't do that, but I can use a random sentence generator to get some ideas flowing again.  So that's my helpful tip for the day.  Try out some of plot and sentence generators to help reboot your writing. You may not use the finish product, but it gets you back on track.

YA Book Pick: THE GIRL I USED TO BE

Once a month, we choose an outstanding YA book to review. We want to spotlight books of interest to aspiring writers, as well as highlight some of our favorite books and authors!
This month's Book Pick is THE GIRL I USED TO BE by April Henry.

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

When Olivia's mother was killed, everyone suspected her father of murder. But his whereabouts remained a mystery. Fast forward fourteen years. New evidence now proves Olivia's father was actually murdered on the same fateful day her mother died. That means there's a killer still at large. It's up to Olivia to uncover who that may be. But can she do that before the killer tracks her down first?

First Line: "The only sound I can hear is my own panicked breathing."

From just this line, you know that this is going to be a suspenseful book and the main character is going to find herself in some kind of horrible danger. 

I don't always love the technique of starting off with a scene from later in the book and then flashing back, but it's done really well here, with just enough details to make the reader curious.

Highlights: Ms. Henry is local to me and was a faculty member at an SCBWI workshop I attended last weekend, so I picked up several of her books before the event. She is a master of page-turning suspense and cliffhanger chapter endings. I thought I'd guessed who the murderer was—but I was wrong, which always makes me happier than when I'm right!

I enjoyed the law enforcement details of this book and several others I read, so it made sense when the author talked at the workshop about her meticulous research into these areas. She goes out of her way to speak with experts, try out weapons and methods of escape, and take classes relating to her writing.

A Good Read For: Ms. Henry has written many stand-alone books and several series, but I think this one is an excellent introduction to her work for someone who wants to see how to do life-in-danger suspense and mystery for YA.

Which Country Is the Most Literate?

Most writers love reading. So a statistic like "27% of US adults didn't read a single book in the last 12 months" can be really disheartening. This recent Writer's Digest infographic includes this and many more literacy statistics—including the fact that the US is only the 7th most literate country in the world.

What can authors do to improve literacy? Well, the obvious answer is to write a book that everyone wants to read. How many people have you met who said they didn't read after they were done with school, but then they picked up Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, or Twilight, or The Da Vinci Code, and that got them reading again?

Another answer is to remove any judgement associated with reading "fun books," or "books for kids."   I'll never forget a conversation I had with one of my husband's college friends. He told me he used to love to read, and we bonded over our mutual love of Patricia Wrede's Enchanted Forest Chronicles. Unfortunately, he graduated college with the idea that the only acceptable books were weighty, impressive books of the type he studied in classes. The result was that he'd read only a handful of books in the ten years since.

I find this is incredibly sad. Everyone should be able to read whatever they enjoy, whether that's the Harry Potter series, category romance novels, or the classics (there have to be people out there who actually enjoy the classics, right?). Reading has been proven to improve quality of life. Let's let people read whatever makes them happy.