{"id":596,"date":"2014-11-07T21:33:59","date_gmt":"2014-11-07T21:33:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crazy4fiction.com\/?p=596"},"modified":"2014-11-07T21:33:59","modified_gmt":"2014-11-07T21:33:59","slug":"fiction-with-a-mission-author-jake-smith-on-writing-last-chance-giveaway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.tyndale.com\/crazy4fiction\/fiction-with-a-mission-author-jake-smith-on-writing-last-chance-giveaway\/","title":{"rendered":"Fiction With a Mission: Author Jake Smith on Writing + Last Chance Giveaway"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hey, readers! Our Crazy4Fiction team is gearing up to present our upcoming Summer 2015 titles to our sales force this coming week. It’s a very busy, and exciting time. Head over to our Facebook page <\/a>next week for the inside scoop on some great fiction and for other behind the scenes photos and goodies!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Today, we wanted to share a great article by debut novelist, Jake Smith featured on The National Writers Series <\/a>. This website is a wonderful source of writing inspiration as you hear from your favorite authors on the power of storytelling.<\/strong><\/p>\n

NWS Author Next Door Spotlight: Jake Smith<\/strong><\/h1>\n

Jake Smith \u2013 dog lover, editor, and a committed writer who never let a rejection letter get him down.<\/p>\n

How did you become a writer?<\/em><\/strong>
\nI inherited it from my dad \u2013 he\u2019s a well-known outdoor book and magazine author and editor. Mom and Dad nurtured our imaginations very early on; my sister explored her creativity with music, my brother with art, and I used words. And then I got my hands on, surprise, The Hobbit<\/em> and The Lord of the Rings<\/em>. That cinched it: I wanted to write something like that.<\/p>\n

A newspaper column in high school turned into magazine articles that turned into non-fiction books that turned into magazine editing. Through it all, that high school dream of writing fiction remained, that desire to make people feel the way I felt after watching a powerful movie or reading an especially thrilling book. So I plotted and outlined and wrote one book after another \u2013 a novel a year for six years straight, from a sweeping medieval war epic, that I still really love, to a young adult science fiction saga, that I also still really love. Apparently, I was the only one who loved them, as they all met with great big piles of \u201cno\u201d from the literary world \u2013 118 for one book, in fact. Yes, I kept track.<\/p>\n

\"Wish\"<\/p>\n

While stewing over Rejection Number 118, I forced myself to step back from the action-y stuff and think of something different. That something different was an image of a young father standing alone in the middle of a Major League Baseball field \u2013 in uniform, under the lights, the crowd going nuts \u2013 wondering how in the world he got there.<\/p>\n

At my college graduation 17 years ago, my dad gave me a beautiful fountain pen, saying, \u201cFrom one writer to another.\u201d I have to confess that I never really felt like I could call myself a writer until I sold a piece of fiction. I used that pen to sign the contract for\u00a0Wish<\/em>.<\/p>\n

How do you write? What is your process?<\/strong><\/em>
\nThe fountain pen my dad gave me plays a role. Before I start writing, I sort of just hold it, say a little prayer for an open mind and vivid imagination, and set it on my laptop. And I listen to a lot of movie soundtracks.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Who are your favorite authors?<\/strong><\/em>
\nI wish I could mention some obscure writer to send everyone scrambling to the bookstore, but I have to go with the aforementioned Tolkien, of course; and I love the Harry Potter series (I told you I was a nerd). The imagination in Rowling\u2019s and Tolkien\u2019s works is simply astounding. Actually, the world of Young Adult adventure literature right now is amazingly rich with fabulous authors and stories \u2013 which I\u2019m absorbing through my three kids. Dan Walsh\u2019s\u00a0The Discovery<\/em>\u00a0(a novel within a novel) is a delight. And Traverse City\u2019s Doug Stanton: his novel-esque treatment of non-fiction events, with so much painstaking research\u2026 wow.<\/p>\n

Head over to The National Writers Series <\/a>to read more and get to know Jake Smith!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Don’t forget to enter our October #shelfie giveaway<\/a>. Ends 11\/10.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"October<\/p>\n

Be sure to stop by and say hi on Facebook<\/a> next week as we share some exclusive Crazy4Fiction sneak peeks!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Have a wonderful weekend!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hey, readers! Our Crazy4Fiction team is gearing up to present our upcoming Summer 2015 titles to our sales force this coming week. It’s a very busy, and exciting time. 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