writer's life Archives - Donna Galanti - Where heart and hope meet adventure!

From Hawaii to Cape Cod, New Book Written, New Release + 3-Book Giveaway!

Happy Labor Day if you celebrate here in the U.S.! I hope you have special plans to celebrate all your labors this year.

I haven’t posted here since March! Life has been pretty busy—in all good ways—but I miss sharing with you all. So, let’s get right to the fun stuff! I’m giving away a fantastic mix of three middle grade hardcover books today—spooky, heartfelt, and adventurous. Be sure to scroll down to enter to win at the bottom of this post. Contest ends September 12th. U.S. readers only please.

We’ve got:

Daybreak on Raven Island by Fleur Bradley
From the critically acclaimed author of Midnight at the Barclay Hotel comes a thrilling new middle grade mystery novel inspired by Alcatraz Prison. If you love ominous, atmospheric stories, then you’ll love this book.

Read my 7 Reasons Why to Like Daybreak on Raven Island and my full review here!

Sunshine by Marion Dane Bauer

Set in the northern Minnesota wilderness, a timeless novel about a boy and his imaginary dog explores the legacy of guilt and blame—and what really constitutes a family.

A must-read for dog lovers, children of divorce, and the imaginative and outdoorsy, Sunshine is a poignant, ultimately hopeful story about self-discovery, facing big realities, and finally, forgiving the things—and people—you can’t forget.

The Dare Sisters by Jess Rinker

Savannah Dare has always wanted to be a pirate. She grew up on legends of Blackbeard from her grandfather―her best friend and fellow treasure hunter.

But now he’s gone. Savannah and her sisters, Frances and Jolene are left to find Blackbeard’s lost loot on their own. It was their grandfather’s dream, and they can’t let him down.

Check out book 2 as well, The Dare Sisters: Shipwrecked!

And now for some bookish news of my own …

The final and third volume of Unicorn Island: Beyond the Portal has released digitally in a 5-part serial on the Epic! Unlimited platform for young readers. Get access here to the entire Unicorn Island series in a 15-part serial at the award-winning, leading digital library for kids: https://www.getepic.com/! However, to read the entire serial of Unicorn Island’s three volumes you’ll need the unlimited subscription for $9.99 a month. Plus, all the audiobooks are included as well! Not online here? No worries—the 3rd volume also releases in hardcover April 4th, 2023. Check out my Unicorn Island books and get all the Unicorn Island updates here.

Pre-Order Volume 3 in hardcover Beyond the Portal here! Out 4/4/23

And on to travel news! In May I visited my son, Joshua, on Oahu for three weeks. He picked me up at the airport after a very long travel day with a fresh lei! We had so much fun touring around the island from where he lives in Waikiki to botanical gardens to pretty Kailua Beach to farmer’s markets to my fave spot, Haleiwa at the North Shore.

The best part of our trip? Spending five days on the Big Island … because volcanoes! I immediately fell in love with this big island (literally like four times the size of densely populated Oahu). It’s wild, ruggedness was breathtaking. Plus, waterfalls galore and so empty and black at night, you see nothing for miles driving under the stars. The climate is wild as well. It can go from 50 degrees at night to 82 driving north then to 75 and 65 and back to 82 all in the span of an hour’s drive. We traveled down the 19-mile long Chain of Craters road all alone at night to walk an ancient petroglyph field with flashlights.

We stayed in this little Hawaiian paradise house on a private tropical acre where we heard and saw no one except dozens of tree frogs. Back in 2018, a volcano exploded in this neighborhood taking out 700 homes as lava made a swath to the sea. Miraculously, no one was even hurt but it’s eerie to drive around to come upon a road to nowhere as jagged black lava has taken over. And oh, there was more lava! Volcanoes National Park was AMAZING. To see bubbling craters and lava rivers at night was something I’ll never forget. We even hiked across an old lava crater lake. Our favorite town was Hilo—the largest on the island with 4,000 residents. Best farmer’s market, too! Local crafts and exotic food like ice cream fruit and sour sop fruit.

After Hawaii, there was more travel twice to Cape Cod for lovely writing retreats. I did lots of hiking along the bay and ocean and even kayaked among a pod of 50 seals!

We celebrated the release of my friend’s second novel, The Edge of Summer. If you’re looking for a heartfelt read check out The Edge of Summer by talented author, Erica George.

You’ll be swept away by this big-hearted novel about one girl navigating first loss and first love during her summer on Cape Cod.

Our son came home to visit in July, and we had a blast getting away for a week in the Finger Lakes of New York and touring Jim Thorpe, PA.

We had a peaceful cabin on ten acres to explore. There was hiking at Letchworth State Park and kayaking ….

On the way home we visited the Corning Museum of Glass. Highly recommend! You need an entire day to take in the glass blowing demonstrations, glass art, and historical glass collections going back 3500 years. Plus, the town of Corning is adorable and the perfect spot for lunch. Then Josh and I zoomed down to North Carolina as he wanted to see his grandpa.

I got to see my Little Sister again, too. My first Unicorn Island book is dedicated to her.

It’s been so wonderful to see her grow up over the years. While I’ve now moved too far away to officially be her Big Sister anymore, I’m still grateful to have her in my life. She is such a joy. I see the world through a different, amazing lens with her. This is so much why I love to write for kids. If you’re considering joining Big Brothers Big Sisters, I highly recommend this organization.

AND I’m so giddy as I decided to treat myself and rent writing office space away from my home office.

It’s the perfect space on an adorable little historic street and I’ve already met so many people in the neighborhood strolling by “the author’s office” who will be characters in future books. LOL!

And this office space was just what I needed to finish writing THE END on a new book! There’s nothing quite like this feeling of exaltation for a writer. I created the idea on a walk last December and didn’t start it until this spring. I struggled with it for many reasons … family needs, vacation, health issues. Also, the fact it’s a different kind of story for me. Writing middle grade in alternating points of view for the first time and in a school setting (I skipped much of school in my time, off daydreaming, reading, and writing in secret nooks!). It also includes characters with autoimmune issues like me.

Writing THE END again got me thinking of my book writing journey over the past years and I looked to what I’ve accomplished.

My first finished book sits printed in a shoebox (literally), others are unfinished or unrevised (or need major re-plotting!) or didn’t sell (yet!).

Here’s what I discovered I’ve achieved. It gives me heart, and to remember this when I’m feeling despaired over writing.

14 books written
6 books published
3 book ideas plotted to start
3 books to be revised
2 book ideas
2 books in-draft
1 book coming out 2023
1 book on submission through my agent

Others have done so much more than me, and others less. But this is my journey, no one else’s. Remember that for you, too. If you have dreams to achieve, I hope you write a list of all you’ve accomplished and take heart in what you’ve done–and all you can still do with the time you have ahead.

And finally, I’ve been working on a big project I’m super passionate about! As you all know I love being in nature and creating—so I decided to bring my two favorite combos together with my very own Etsy shop. My shop “Go Wild Design: Nature Inspired Gear, Gifts, and Apparel” offers my unique designs.

I have 150 products created but will debut this fall with about 35 and release more monthly. Here are some I’m working on. So much fun! Looking forward to sharing soon!

Happy reading everyone!

ENTER THE 3-BOOK GIVEAWAY!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Meeting John Grisham

By Donna Galanti

I’ve loved John Grisham a long time. Over 25 years.

He came into my turbulent life with The Firm. I stayed up all night reading it, my heart racing and on the run with Mitch McDeere. I didn’t want the story to end and return to my uncertain life.

In John Grisham’s stories, the characters were pushed into uncertainty. But, unlike me, they always found their way. I, too, was seeking answers after failing out of college (panic attacks hinder getting to class!), a failed marriage, and a stint in the Navy – I landed in limbo. Like John Grisham’s characters, I had been on the run a long time. Running from my depression, from my dark childhood, from my anxiety, from my uncertainty – from not believing I had any worth.

Reading and writing were my only escapes then where I could have purpose, have strength, have confidence, and change my life.

John Grisham was there for me.

I fought for justice and the truth in The Last Juror. I faced my demons and overcame them in The Testament. I returned to my childhood and found solace from it in The Painted House. I sought a champion by my side in The Client.

Just some of my John Grisham books!

So, when my husband passed along the ad that John Grisham was coming to our town’s bookstore, The Doylestown Bookshop, for his first book tour signing in 25 years to celebrate the release of his 30^th book, Camino Island, I rushed to get a ticket.

Giddy with delight, I fan-girled in line waiting to get my book signed with another lady as giddy as me. And he was all I dreamed of. Gracious, inviting. He shook my hand, looked me in the eye, asked me about my books. He was a true southern gentleman. I couldn’t breathe! He’d been my rock star author for decades.

This man had given me hope in desperate times. Times when I knew I wanted to be an author but didn’t even know myself yet. I could only dream of writing a book and getting it published. And at times, the hope of fulfilling this dream was all I could cling to.

But my time with him wasn’t over. I sat in the front row for over an hour and listened to him in discussion with author Lisa Scottoline. His conservative wit crackled alongside her unbridled humor.

He told us that he wrote his first book, A Time to Kill, without any outline. It came out to 1,000 pages! He said he would never do that again as the editor cut over 1/3 of it. He said, “That third was a year of my life!” He always uses an outline ever since then and knows the end first.

Just like me.

He shared how he rose at 5 a.m. each morning to write for hours on his first novel at his office before his lawyer job started.

Just like me.

He said how he was rejected for years but never gave up.

Just like me.

He persisted. He kept writing.

Just like me.

John Grisham knew what he wanted to write. He’s forged the top niche in legal thrillers. He’s written a book a year for 30 years. I didn’t always know what I wanted to write. I just knew I must.

My uncertain years. Here as a Navy photographer in Hawaii.

I’m not that young woman I was decades ago when I first fell in love with him. I am no longer uncertain about my path. I am no longer paralyzed with fear and depression. I am worthy. But I didn’t take the straight road to get here. I took the road of his characters. I wandered. I stumbled. I ran into walls. I ran away. I wrote my first novel from grief when my mother passed away, a dark thriller. I wrote my demons out with that series. I wandered then to writing middle grade. My writing path has been a crooked twist.

It took me longer to get here but I. AM. HERE.

John Grisham made it all clear to me in a time now when my life is filled with so many project details – business and teaching – that flood my day. I was born to be storyteller. That’s what I do. That’s what I need to get back to. The simplicity (and complexity) of telling a story, sinking myself into it, and not tearing its claws from me until I am done. Share my awareness of the world around me. Share the human condition. Explore our purpose. Take readers on a journey to find themselves. Just like John Grisham did for me.

He made it clear to me that all this messiness of life can’t get in my way of doing what I was born to do. And if one way doesn’t work out, I will find another. And another.

And I have finally found my way in my writing. To write for kids and weave stories in that magical place with one foot in the dream world of endless possibilities and one foot grounded in the grown-up world. A place where I dwell as well. I took a roundabout path to get here. But I. AM. STILL. HERE.

The next 30 years look splendid.

Thank you, John Grisham.

Meeting John Grisham from Donna Beckley Galanti on Vimeo.

***

Are you a debut author or writer looking to get published? I just released a free author marketing mini-course. It’s a great snapshot to help you jump start your online presence and build an influencing community. Please consider leaving a brief review if you enroll as it helps boost the course (like book reviews! ). Happy watching!

Writer’s Life: School Visits, Radio Shows, Book Launches & YouTube Channels!

By Donna Galanti

Hi all, it’s been a busy week! I had a wonderful school visit at Alburtis Elementary. I’m so lucky to get to share my love of reading and writing with students as an author.

These awesome kids are what fuel on my writing for middle grade!

They get so excited and ask the most fun questions like:

STUDENT: “Would you ever write your cats into your books?”
ME: “No, because my cat is too fat to keep up on our adventures!”

I’m also talking about how I find my childlike wonder to write for kids on Writers in the Storm blog this week. Pop on in! And be sure to check out my live Q&A on Reddit Books where I did an AMA (ask me anything!). Was a blast!

If you missed it you can also catch my radio show interview here on Global Radio Network Authors on the Air (my dad and so many friends popped in 🙂 ) and my Skype interview with Philadelphia Writers.

And I’m super excited to have just launched my first YouTube channel! I share all kinds of info on the writing life from craft to marketing to inspiration to my writing process. Please subscribe and hit Thumbs Up if you like the videos there.

I also attended a wonderful writer’s meetup led by the Liars Club called The Writer’s Coffeehouse.

My friend, Janice Gable Bashman, invited me to come talk to writers on what they can do before they get a book published. Was a really great crowd!

I’m also leading a writer’s retreat this fall in Upper Bucks County, PA. If you are local to Southeastern PA please join us! I mean, look at this gorgeous place. Margaret Grandinetti, artist and writer, so graciously offered her home to host writers.

Come enjoy glorious fall on a one-day writing retreat at this 68-acre historic, preserved property built in 1742. Millhouse is an ideal tranquil setting for writing and perfect for any type of writer who loves writing in nature. Plenty of walking trails. 20% of all proceeds will be donated to the Pearl S. Buck House Writing Center to fund conferences and programs for writers in need. Full brochure here .

And I attended three book launches at my favorite local bookstore, The Doylestown Bookshop, this month for friends with books out.

Check them out!

My friend Kate Brandes’ debut, THE PROMISE OF PIERSON ORCHARD, is a layered family drama, hailed as Erin Brockovich meets Promised Land, about a Pennsylvania family threatened by betrayal, financial desperation, old flames, fracking, and ultimately finding forgiveness.

I loved this book! You discover each character in alternating points of view along with the splintered divide of their family, and town, torn apart.

Read my 5-star review here!
Kate’s website

My friend’s Baldev and Marie Lamba have their debut picture book out called, GREEN GREEN: A Community Gardening Story.

It’s adorable with a powerful message. In the book, green grass is wide and fresh and clean for a family to play in, and brown dirt is perfect for digging a garden. But when gray buildings start to rise up and a whole city builds, can there be any room for green space? The neighborhood children think so, and they inspire the community to join together and build a garden for everyone to share in the middle of the city.

Marie’s website

Also, my new friend, Christa Tinari, led a valuable discussion on “Raising Kind Kids” with the launch of her book, Create a Culture of Kindness in Middle School: 48 Character-Building Lessons to Foster Respect and Prevent Bullying.

Check out this important resource for families and schools.
Christa’s website

Happy reading everyone!

Build the Author Life You Seek & Empower Kids!

By Donna Galanti

I’m excited to be a guest on two blogs this past week! Writers Helping Writers is a great resource for writers and one of 101 Best Websites for Writers by Writer’s Digest. I’m thrilled to be on today (for the 3rd time) talking about how you can build your author life BEFORE your first book comes out! Calling all writers, stop in and share your thoughts and tips too.

“As writers, the rejection never ends with queries, book proposals, editor notes, or bad reviews. But there is a key to creating and sustaining an author life while surviving endless rejection: build a support community. We can write alone, but it’s very hard to get published (or succeed) alone. To enhance success, we can build the foundation before we’re published, just like the railway built to connect Vienna and Venice. It was built before any train could travel up such a steep grade. A feat of civil engineering that took 20,000 people! You won’t need 20,000 people, but you will need a few, along with these 3 steps …” READ MORE

Writers, you may be interested in my other two posts cheapativanpriceonline.com there on Eight Steps to an Agent, Publisher, and a Two-Book Deal and Building Suspense: Meeting Readers in the Middle.

And if you love middle grade books than stop on by Project Middle Grade Mayhem where I talk about celebrating the power of kids and share my favorite books that empower kids. Come share yours!

“I’ve met and read about so many amazing kids lately that are overcoming obstacles, big and small, and letting the power of their voice shine through. Like Caine. At nine he built his dream and didn’t give up, even when no one would share in it. You’ll be so inspired by what he started. Read the story. And Mason, a seven-year-old who gave up birthday presents to feed an animal shelter. And Erik, an amazing teen author, book blogger (This Kid Reviews Books), and super reader. Get to know him! Kids matter. We need to let them know they matter. We need to let them know their voice matters. As writers, we can do that through books. You’ve got the power!” READ MORE

#ThrowbackThursday: A Childhood Story + Fave Books

By Donna Galanti

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Bethel Woods Campground, NH, 1978

I took a spontaneous book research trip last fall to travel back in time to the New Hampshire campground my parents owned and operated nearly 40 years ago.

You can read about that here.

I resurrected an old manuscript rich with one of my childhood settings. It prompted me to go back in time to the campground my parents owned and operated in New Hampshire. When I drove up, I was zapped back to the 1970s.

Suddenly, I was nine-years-old again. I swam in the pool, fished with my dad, romped through the woods, collected dead butterflies and shotgun shells, whizzed about on strap-on roller skates, played pinball machines, and spun 45 records on the jukebox.

Returning was an emotional gut punch. I could be a child again in that place of innocence but just as it resurrected joyous moments from childhood, it also brought back painful ones and prompted this short piece from a harsh memory.

Holderness, NH, 1978, Winter

Thwonk!

A flash of pain wacked my chest. Ice balls hurt!
“Go somewhere else, fat and ugly,” Tommy said, snickering with his older brother, Brian.
“No, it’s my bus stop too,” I said as another ice ball slammed into my arm.
And another. They double teamed me.
Hurry up bus! But no yellow flashed around the corner, only the endless white spread everywhere.
They’d tied me up yesterday. It’d been for fun (I thought). It must be cool to have brothers to play with, so I let them. The rope had scratched and then bit into me as Tommy pulled tighter.
“Double knot it,” Brian said.
Tommy nodded with a laugh and jerked it harder against my wrists to the chair.
“Ow!” I yelled, kicking the edge of my chair. It wobbled but didn’t break.
“Just sit still.” Brian gave me a dirty look so I did.
Musty bits of dust fluttered up from around old chains and tires and shovels, making me sneeze out a big cloud of frosty air.
“Okay,” Tommy said. He and Brian smiled at each other. “We’ll be right back.”
I nodded. And waited. My fingers grew numb. The cold seeped through my red mittens. The light slanted across the one smeared window in the shed.
A snowplow swooshed by at the bottom of the hill.
“Hey,” I called, not wanting to sound scared. But I was.
I wiggled my wrists. The rope sawed against them. The light grew dim. I wiggled more. When were they coming back? It was a game. That’s all. But there was no stopping the tears that burst forth. No way would I let them catch me crying.
I yanked my wrists as hard as I could. Cramped my fingers to untie the knot. The last light slipped away. Shadows reached for me. I ripped the rope away and ran home. Aha! Wait until they come back. They meant to come back, right?
I told my mother what happened as she turned my bleeding, raw wrists around. No big deal. But the fire in her eyes told me otherwise as she ran next door.
Now here I was today, facing my enemy.
Thwonk!
“Fat and ugly!”
Their laughter shot loud through the crisp air. I scooped up ice and snow, packed it down, and winged it right in Tommy’s face.
“Hey!” He yelled with surprise.
Red streaks cut across his cheek.
Thwonk! Thwonk! They pelted me. I turned and ran.
“Come back!”
But I didn’t. I ran to my special place as fast my chubby legs let me in my snow pants.
Swish swish.
I was the only sound in the forest. I spread out in the snow under a pine tree and let the silence fill me up. How long could I stay here? All day? If I did would I disappear?
From down the hill the school bus braked and shuddered then pulled away.
Snow fell soft like butterflies, melting on my nose.
I made a snow angel and looked up at the sky from my wings.
My body soon betrayed me.
Shivering, I tromped home.
I hoped the fire in my mother’s eyes would be the good kind.

Squam Lake, Holderness, NH where I caught my first fish

What did this trip back in time deliver?
*The vivid feelings of childhood – the good and the bad – to enrich my writing.
*A chance to revisit my creative foundations that gifted me with the yearning to write again.
*The inspiration of a majestic setting to fill my soul.
*The connection from childhood to adulthood – and how the paths we travel drive who we are.
*As a parent now, an appreciation for my parents and their challenges of running a business and raising a child.
*That I write to understand and feel so not alone.
*Through writing I can find meaning in my past and face the future with peace.
*Remembered what I am in my heart: a storyteller.

This visit filled me with a jumble of emotions all tied up with a childhood bow, reflecting splintered sunshine through broken panes.

In writing this piece I realized that I am also drawn to books that revolve around kids experiencing challenging times. Here are some of my favorites books that involve kid heroes:
Anne Frank: the Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
Holes by Louis Sachar
Rules of the Road by Joan Bauer
Surviving Bear Island by Paul Greci (my review – love this book soooo much!)
My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
The Sky is Everywhere by Jandi Nelson
Wonder by R.J. Palacio
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell
Sparrow Road by Sheila O’Connor
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Read my reviews of these and more books on Goodreads

Have you ever taken a trip into the past to follow creative inspiration? What did you find?