Today, we're doing something a little different. This is our 22nd guest author interview on the Marie Lavender's Books! blog, and fellow author Natalie Silk is visiting us.
Hello! :)
Hi. Thank you for having me today.
Oh, it's my pleasure!
Can you tell us a little bit about your book? When did it come out and where can we get it?
Thanks in advance for reading about me. My current work is Snowfall’s Secret. It’s about a girl from another world who must live like any other tween on Earth
(and she suffers from amnesia). Of
course, she learns to enjoy shopping at the mall with her very own debit card
and has a few secrets. At its core is the message that everyone has value
and has something special to share.
Interesting! And that's so true...
Did anything prompt this book? Something that inspired you?
Did anything prompt this book? Something that inspired you?
The
story was inspired by a dream I had when I was twelve. I saw five monks standing in a
semi-circle. They were all wearing a
triangle-shaped pendant with a red stone in the center. One of the monks looked at me and said,
“You’re not ready,” and I woke. I had
subsequent dreams of a girl with a pendant to the one the monks wore and I
wrote them all down.
My favorite character to write about
(funny how that turned out) was a secondary one to the story: Mrs. Margot Greenfield. I based her on a
favorite childhood teacher.
By the way, my favorite genre to write is science
fiction. Surprise! Just kidding.
My focus right now is science fiction for
girls; but I’m still playing around with a short story that’s alternative
history to give myself a mental stretch. I have this irrational fear that
the last thing I finish writing will be my last. I wonder if I’m not alone.
Wow! I love the way the creative process works.
As for the other, I'm sure you have nothing to worry about. You have two great books out now. :)
I
began writing when I was ten and back then we didn’t have home computers.
That's cool. Believe it or not, one professor I had called me a Luddite because I sometimes do the old-fashioned thing and start writing stories by hand in my journal or in a cheap one-subject notebook. LOL.
Let's try another question, all right?
Do you write in a specific place? Or time of day?
I’m
pretty ‘old school’ when it comes to my writing habits. The first thing I do is buy a brand new
hand-sized spiral notebook and use it to write the basic story that’s mostly
action punctuated here and there by dialogue. The little notebook helps me believe that I’m
accomplishing so much. I then use my
trusty laptop to write the second draft that looks as if I threw words down to
see what sticks. The technical term I
like to use is word hurl. Each subsequent draft looks a little more
refined than the previous one. I then use
the little spiral notebook to make notes and jot down ideas for the story.
Awesome! Word hurl...I love that!
Natalie, are there any words you'd like to impart to fellow writers? Any advice?
I’ve
been asked advice by aspiring writers.
I’m very, very flattered. But let
me tell you, I’m still an aspiring writer. My advice is simple: don’t ever, ever (and I mean ever) give up.
I agree. That's wonderful advice. Thank you!
And thanks so much for stopping by, Natalie! It was such a pleasure to have you here. :)
Readers, here is the blurb for Snowfall's Secret.
Mrs. Greenfield thought to Jamie and the words were clearly in S’Renen.
You are being sought after and we can’t let anything happen to you.
S’Renen is still occupied and Deg’Arios agents are looking for you. Now
speaking in English, “It is very important that you must remain here in
hiding. Please understand this.”
Here is an excerpt.
The
girl slowly chewed a spoonful of undercooked scrambled egg and, forcing herself
to swallow, looked enviously across the table at Ami. What would happen if she
tried one or two of the wayward crunchy small circles that escaped the little
girl’s spoon and bowl? Would it be worth the nausea and subsequent pain?
She
patted the spongy yellow goo with her fork and wondered what else wouldn’t make
her sick to her stomach. The first three days were a culinary experience gone
awry just trying to keep a meal—any meal—down. So far, eggs were
added to her limited choices along with water (which tasted awful), plain white
rice, grapes, and carrots.
Did
I ever have a problem with food? she thought. I can’t remember if I
did. I can’t even remember my own name. Her memory had so many holes, but
she felt sure that food was never an issue. There was a sudden flash of picking
fruit in a grove. The memory quickly came and left when Jennifer entered the
kitchen.
Kissing
her smiling daughter on the head, she asked, “Are you done with your cereal? We
need to go shopping.”
Ami
dropped her spoon on the table and clapped her hands “Yayyhhh! Done!”
“Finish
your orange juice and we’ll go.”
Ami
obliged her mother by picking up a small plastic cup and tipped it forward to
sip the last remains.
“What
about you? Almost done?”
The girl looked at the last two bites left on her plate. “I
will be.” She wanted to shovel the morsels in her mouth, but something deeply
imbedded in her psyche prevented her from gobbling the food down in a single
huge mouthful. Was it etiquette? It must be, because even though she was
right-handed, she still knew it was bad manners to not eat with her left hand.
What else did she know? She knew that her hosts—except
Tom—were very patient and kind, even when she couldn’t tell them her name or
where she was from. She knew that Tom didn’t like her because he did his best
to avoid her—at least that’s how she felt. She knew English. She knew that she
had to wear the pendant at all times—but she couldn’t remember why.
Her right hand began to hurt when she started to think of Tom
again. She looked down and saw that she was clutching the silver triangle at
the end of the chain too tightly. She uncurled her fingers and saw that the red
stone in the center and the elaborate, intricate pattern on the back left
indentations on her palm and fingers.
“We need to get some clothes for you. Mike and I talked last
night. We’ll wait after the long weekend to get help for you. In the meantime,
you can’t just go around in one of my t-shirts and have me pin one of my shorts
on you. And whereever you end up, at least you’ll have clothes.”
As soon as Jennifer mentioned the pinned shorts, the girl
lifted the hem of her shirt to make sure that one of the pins on the waistband
still held in place. Even though she was glad to add to her very meager
wardrobe of borrowed clothes, she rather liked the yellow short-sleeved shirt
she had on because it was long enough to be worn as a tunic and she could also
wear it with her leggings and boots. The shirt had flowers on the front with a
name of a place she learned was a local beach.
“I think shorts, a few t-shirts, and sneakers would be a good
start.”
“What are sneakers?” The words tumbled out of her mouth
before she could stop and now she forced herself to control the heat from
rising to her cheeks.
The question caused Jennifer to arch an eyebrow, but she
quickly changed her expression.
Being helpful, Ami held out her right leg and pointed to her
foot. “See?”
The girl looked down at the shoe. “Oh.” A few days after her
realization that she was no longer ‘home’, Mike had explained to her that the
house was loaned to them for a two-week vacation with his family and friends.
She didn’t want to ask what a ‘vacation’ or a ‘loan’ was; Mike and everyone
else probably thought she was pretty foolish with all her questions.
Jennifer
set Ami’s cup down next to the bowl and wiped her daughter’s mouth and hands
with a wet paper towel before lifting her out of the chair. “One more big sip,”
Jennifer said, giving the cup back to her daughter.
The girl swallowed
the last bite of egg and then picked up her dishes along with Ami’s and placed
them in the sink alongside two sets of bowls and spoons. One set she already
knew had belonged to Jennifer.
“Where is Tom?”
“He’s out for a run.”
The kitchen door
slammed as Mike, Dean, and Rob came in from a morning of surfing.
“How was it?” asked
Jennifer. She took the empty cup from Ami and placed it in the sink with the
other dirty dishes.
“Tom missed a good
one,” said Dean.
“We’re going
shopping, Daddy!”
The girl saw Jennifer
grimace when Mike looked a little worried. Jennifer nodded her head towards
her, “She needs clothes. Remember our conversation last night?”
He shifted his
weight from one leg to the other. “Yeah. Well—”
“I’ll put it on my card.”
Mike seemed slightly mollified.
“Uh-huh. You don’t have any coupons with you. Or do you?”
“Don’t worry,” and giving him a
reassuring smile, “You know I’m a good shopper.”
Mike changed the subject while
looking at the girl. “I’ve been searching all the
websites for—”
Jennifer interrupted him, “I
thought we had a no electronic-zone policy.”
“I used my phone outside.”
This caused Jennifer to raise an
eyebrow and smirk at him.
He continued, “No one reported
you missing. There’s nothing about you. I’m going to the police while you’re
out shopping. I should have gone sooner and I don’t know why I put it off as
long as I did.”
“I can’t believe no one is
looking for you,” Jennifer said.
“It’s the truth.”
The girl tried to hide being
upset while wondering if Mike said that out of sympathy for her–No one is
looking for me? –obviously it wasn’t working.
“Hey, we’ll find your family. I
promise. Just go have fun shopping.” He gave his wife a quick kiss and left the
room. The stairs creaked rapidly as he ascended to his bedroom.
Noises from slamming cabinet- and
refrigerator doors came from the kitchen. Dean and Rob were not exactly quiet
as they busied themselves searching for something to eat.
She wondered how long Tom would
be away. Ever since that time he saw the window ‘close’ by itself, she had the
strange feeling that he was avoiding her. She didn’t understand why. What was
it that was so wrong? What did she do? She felt like such a coward for not
being brave enough to ask him.
Definitely a fascinating story here! I want to find out what happens next...
Purchase Links:
Universal Amazon: http://bookgoodies.com/a/B01KII53EQ
Thanks again for visiting us on the MLB blog, Natalie, and telling us about your writing journey, your process and letting us know all about Snowfall's Secret! :)
Readers, don't forget to pick up your copy of Snowfall's Secret! The book officially releases on August 27th, but you can pre-order this YA science fiction novel now. ;)
Author Bio
Natalie had fantastic dreams about a girl
and a special pendant when she was twelve and wrote them down. She turned those
dreams into short stories during her years in junior high, high school, then
college, and beyond. Some would call it tenacity—she would call it
insanity—for never giving up her passion for sharing her stories with
the world.
Author Links:
Website: http://www.nataliesilkauthor.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Natalie-Silk-Author-313822162074307/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/natalieasilk
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Natalie-Silk/e/B00EA8VY76/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6973168.Natalie_Silk
Publisher: http://solsticepublishing.com/natalie-silk/
http://www.darkoakpress.com/starsfire.htmlNatalie's Books:
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