Thursday, March 6, 2014

Guest post by Annie Tipton, author of 'Diary of a Real Payne' series


“I’d like to write a book someday.”
            If I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard someone say this when they find out I’m a published author, I’d have a whole sock full of nickels. What I want to say to this well-meaning person is that writing a book ain’t all sunshine and roses, pal. That on a good day sitting down to write means working through a moment (or an hour) of panic before finally being able to put fingers-to-keyboard and tap out a handful of useful words. And that the reality is, Mr. “I’d like to write a book someday” probably doesn’t have enough to say to fill a pamphlet.
            But instead of being Debbie Downer, I smile and nod and say things like, “I’m sure your book would be fascinating.”
            Here’s the cold truth: writing is hard. It’s mentally, emotionally, and even physically demanding. We writers obsess and agonize over words and characters and plot and dialogue and how-on-earth-am-I-going-to-meet-this-deadline and why did I sign up for this?!
            A year ago when I was feverishly writing the first book in the Diary of a Real Payne series, I learned I can’t write as quickly as I thought I could. But I also learned to trust myself as a writer and storyteller. That the first words that I put on the page, although definitely not final, are actually pretty good. (So please stop reading them over and over – just keep writing, Annie. You’ve got a daily word count deadline to hit!)
            Even though hindsight is 20/20 when it comes to such things, hindsight also has an annoying habit of having short-term memory loss. When I sat down to start writing Church Camp Chaos, I was shocked to feel that moment of “I have no idea what I’m doing” panic creep in again. “Relax,” I coached myself. “You did it once, you can do it again.”
            If “writing is hard” is the cold truth, here’s the warm truth: there’s nothing so wonderful as seeing your work in print, and—even better—getting feedback from readers who grabbed onto your story and characters and love them as much as you do. That’s what makes my heart sing. That’s what keeps me writing.

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Title: Diary of a Real Payne Book 2: Church Camp Chaos
Genre: Fiction – Children / Juvenile
Author: Annie Tipton
Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc.
Purchase link: www.barbourbooks.com

ABOUT THE BOOK:  In this second fabulous release in the Diary of a Real Payne series for 8- to 12-year-old girls, young readers will find themselves ROTFL as EJ ismore than ready to be done with Ms. “Picky” Pickerington, CoraLee McCallister, and fourth grade in general. Hello sunshine, hello 11th birthday party, hello free time, hello. . .CAMP! It’s EJ’s first summer to spend an entire week at Camp Christian: friends, swimming, bunk beds, games, campfires, s’mores, hiking, and even a gigantic zip line. In classic EJ form, she dreams up even more fantastic adventures for herself. It’s colossal fun and Church Camp Chaos for EJ fans!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Award-winning author Annie Tipton made up her first story at the ripe old age of two when she asked her mom to write it down for her. (Hey, she was just two—she didn’t know how to make letters yet!) Since then she has read and written many words as a student, newspaper reporter, author, and editor. A native of Wooster, Ohio, Tipton received a bachelor’s degree in Communications at Milligan College in Northeast Tennessee. She currently resides in New Philadelphia, Ohio.

Find the book on Facebook. Watch the trailer

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